5 best and 5 worst places to live in GA? (Atlanta, Columbus: school, colleges)

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by rant913

We are looking to possible relocate to Hephzibah, Ga. We live in Oh & absolutely hate the cold weather here. We lived in Florida & loved the weather there but the hurricanes have scarred the life out of us so moving back there is out. Please can anyone give us some information on places in either Hephzibah, Ga or anywhere in Ga where it is nice weather, LOW crime rate, great place to raise a family (we have 5 kids...3 still at home) and great employment. Thank you.

In general the state of GA has a moderate climate and 4 seasons. The winters do not seem to be as cold as they once were--Dec--Feb. Hot during June-Aug/Sept and a nice fall from Oct to Dec--spring is lovely Mar-May.

Some snow and ice in the northern part of the state --perhaps 3/4 times per winter--usually a day or two.

Tornadoes come from the west/Alabama --maybe the eastern side would be better for you?

I don't know of a particular area that might be ideal for you. What sort of employment do you seek? Do you want to live in a smaller town?

Many posters say that Smyrna, Acworth, Woodstock--NW of metro Atlanta are family-oriented, have reasonably priced housing and a number of good schools.

Go to City-data Homepage and review the FYI on those cities or others of interest to you.

good luck.

sls

[classylady]

I live in the lake country of Georgia. Close to Milledgeville, Eatonton, Greensboro, and Madison. All are small towns but great places to raise a family. I strongly suggest the lake country area.

[brodave1916]

Originally Posted by peachtreecity2003

Peachtree City was nationally recogized as one of the top 100 places to live in the U.S. Definitely worth checking out.

I've heard that. My wife and I are going through there next week and expect to take a little time to look around. Thanks for the tip.

[cool_mommy]

Originally Posted by bhs119

Tornadoes come from the west/Alabama --maybe the eastern side would be better for you?


sls

Is there a lot more tornado activity in the western part of GA? I've looked at the National Weather Service and found the last destructive tornado to come through the western part of GA was about 10 years ago. Is this info valid or maybe selective? Does the western part of GA receive a lot of tornado warnings? I saw the destruction that the tornado in Americus left in its path this year, it was awful.

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by cool_mommy

Is there a lot more tornado activity in the western part of GA? I've looked at the National Weather Service and found the last destructive tornado to come through the western part of GA was about 10 years ago. Is this info valid or maybe selective? Does the western part of GA receive a lot of tornado warnings? I saw the destruction that the tornado in Americus left in its path this year, it was awful.

Cool Mommy--
I suppose I am guilty of generalizing, certainly not an expert on weather.
Map of GA tornadoes>>
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/images/tornado.gif

Google lists pages of information on how tornadoes form and identifies affected areas--for decades.

sls

[Suetj]

We're from Calif. and Lawrenceville is on our list of places to live, how are the public schools there?

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by Suetj

We're from Calif. and Lawrenceville is on our list of places to live, how are the public schools there?

You can click 'Search' at the top of the page and insert keywords--such as 'Lawrenceville'--related threads will be retrieved.

Here is one>>>
http://tinyurl.com/3ya947

You could also research: Suwanee, Buford, Duluth,(Gwinnett County) and Forsyth County--John's Creek.

sls

[FarNorthDallas]

I know folks in Buckhead, Cumming and Blairsville and they are all happy in those places. The Buckhead and Cumming people do private school though. I am amazed at how spread out everything is. 6 miles to the grocery store. Ugh, with $3 gas.

(My user name refers to TX not GA.)

[Michigan Aaron]

Originally Posted by cool_mommy

Is there a lot more tornado activity in the western part of GA? I've looked at the National Weather Service and found the last destructive tornado to come through the western part of GA was about 10 years ago. Is this info valid or maybe selective? Does the western part of GA receive a lot of tornado warnings? I saw the destruction that the tornado in Americus left in its path this year, it was awful.

I've lived in Atlanta for 20 years and north Georgia rarely gets tornadoes anymore. Just about all of the major twister activity occurs to the north in Tennessee, and to the west in Mississippi and Alabama. Atlanta doesn't even get good thunderstorms anymore the way it used to when we first moved here. Systems always die out as they come across the border from the west. I wouldn't be concerned with tornadoes in this area at all.

[webcruiser]

I lived in Valdosta for 2 yrs. An interesting mix of country and city. Biggest community service is their love of football. Monumental rivalries. School is actually out for homecoming games! Great location ie., proximity to Tallahassee, Jax, Gainesville, Disney etc. for the FL lovers. all except Disney no more than 2-3 hrs depending on traffic.
More emphasis being put on education,it is definitely needed. Valdosta State University and Wild Adventures are 2 well kept secrets. The University is impressive for a small school and Wild Adventures is Disney without the acres of parking lots and long lines. You can park in the paved parking lot for $20.00 or park in the back pasture for $3.00. It's a 5 minute walk difference.

The city is a bit backwards when it comes to business, some shop owners don't use computers. But that's not necessarily a bad thing unless they screw up your taxes and have the IRS hounding you. LOL All in all, a good place for young families who don't mind not being in a "big city" atmosphere.

If your affiliated with the military, Moody AFB is one of the major employers.

Housing is still relatively cheap but it is getting expensive really quick. In just 2 years housing market has grown from average 79K to now 120K, and that is the older homes.