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

[suthrnborne]

Thanks FlourChild

[Meloyler]

This is also a very small town, but I thought this seemingly quaint town in NE GA, about 1 1/2 hours drive east of Atlanta, was nice, but then I don't have any knowledge of the area either - other than it is very small.

Thanks.

[deja-zebbie]

Southernborn

Madison...we go there OFTEN and just love it. Yes, as mentioned above it is somewhat touristy, but not in what I'd call an overt way. I don't find it touristy in a fake sense (such as Helen, Ga). As far as I can tell, the town subsists mainly off of people coming in to shop and eat in the town's restaurants.

Madison is a charming town, lots of historic buildings, flowers, etc. but what I especially like is that the locals wander around down town with dogs..benches to sit on and chat. Good interaction between folks of different ages. Good restaurants -- which if you've visited/lived in Middle Georgia you will know can be very difficult to find. What I mean by this is that Madison has a number of good restaurants in close proximity. I have no connection with these restaurants (other than the pounds I've acquired by eating in them). Try Town 220, always good with a daytime price range from inexpensive to moderate. We've eaten there at night and really enjoyed it, I think it might be a bit more pricy at night. They use a lot of fresh herbs, have nice daily specials and often their deserts include things like pastries made with a variety of FRESH berries. Good view as well, overlooking a park. Ice House is also good. Amicis on the main street USED to be a great Italian/pizza place with a sort of college feel, but I personally think it's gone downhill in recent times. Probably still worth a try for a casual meal. There are other restaurants on the main street which look good, but which we haven't tried. I think there might be links on the Madison website.

Madison also has an independent bookstore. This was sold a while back to someone else, so I'm not sure of the current selection. Antique Sweets is good with homemade caramels and other candies and I'm not sure of the particulars but know they make cakes to order such as coconut cake. I found this out when I asked what the candy folks were doing with coconuts in the shell.

LOTS of antique stores in Madison. And, I don't mean necessarily upscale. We furnished most of our home in Georgia with vintage and antique pieces from stores in Madison and Rutledge (one of the Rutledge stores moved to the mainstreet in Madison a while back). When I say not upscale, I mean very reasonably priced. The store owners generally will lower prices. We went from a contemporary home in a Western state to a small historic home in Middle Georgia and wanted the furniture to sort of go with the style of our house. .
I'm not to aware of entertainment available in Madison but at least one of the restaurants seems to have live music and also the cultural center in Madison features different exhibitions and shows. Another nice thing (to me) about Madison is that there are a number of farms which APPEAR to be kept in really nice condition. By this I mean that a lot of these farms and their animals seem to be VERY well cared for. Since we spend a lot of time driving through rural areas, I'm pretty familar with farms in Middle Georgia and a lot of the Madison farms look impressive to me.

Near Madison is a VERY small "town," Rutledge which is about 7 miles --by back roads. When I say small, I mean a couple of streets and some houses. As Madison is supposed to be price-y, I've often thought if I were younger that I'd look around Rutledge for housing, in the areas just outside their downtown. I'm not talking housing developments here but detatched houses on land.

Madison is not far from Greenboro (or Greenborough, something like that), a nice looking town which some people on this list have spoken highly of. We've been through there a few times, eaten at a local restaurant downtown. Folks in Greensboro seemed friendly, I just don't know much about it but some people on this list do.

Out in the country areas around Madison you'll also find glass and pottery studios which can be fun to visit if you like that type of thing.

Also, Madison is CLOSE to Athens. I think it's about 30 miles and one can get there by roads with little traffic, which provide a chance to look at small towns and rural areas. Athens itself has a CHARMING downtown. The public transportation in Athens is supposed to be first rate. I haven't used it, but have seen plenty of CLEAN-LOOKING buses around. Of course Athens is a college town and a lot of the areas around the college downtown have a park like feel. I understand that crime can be a problem there, but folks on this list know more about where the crime is. I think there is a mall somewhere around Athens or Madison, but haven't visited it.

Downtown Athens has a decidely European feel, with sidewalk cafes, GREAT bookstores, and lots of restaurant choices. Madison, on the other hand, (to me) has a decidedly old South charm.

Frankly, in the back of my mind I think seriously of Madison as a retirement area since it has so many amenities in such close proximity. Madison is one of those park and walk around small towns. I'm speaking of the downtown area.

If you think you'd be interested in Madison or the towns/areas surrounding Madison and Athens you could post a separate thread asking about this because I know there are several people on this list who know all those little towns very well.

All the best,
zebbie

[honesty25]

The ideology of Augusta makes it the worst. The want to be gang bangers all over the city. The hypocrital religious people that shove their views around. Don't try to be anything but Baptist and live here. You will never do anything but work, go the movies and out to dinner. Join a gym or cook your own meals to keep from looking like the locals after a few years. Don't dare talk about a healthy lifestyle, you will be looked at like a criminal. Race relations are terrible.

[ME-Evergreen]

We lived in a suburb of Atlanta called Dunwoody in the 1980s and really liked it. There is quite a lot of traffic and that can be problematic. It is a very scenic place to live and the people are generally very nice and helpful.

[cmarie1230]

Originally Posted by Jarvisteam

Not sure why people decided not to answer the questions and just wanted to "crap" all over Atlanta. Atlanta is one of the best cities to live near, hands down. You won't find better weather, more things to do anywhere else. I would say that people here are great, but now with so many transplants, it's becoming tough.

METRO ATLANTA - includes 13 counties

1. Alpharetta - The high appreciation, parks, schools and shopping make this the most sought after location outside of the city. The drawbacks are traffic to and from Atlanta and the high prices.

2. Suwanee - Named by money magazine as one of the top 10 places to live. Suwanee has parks, great schools access to many great shopping opportunities and it continues to grow. Housing is extremely affordable as well.

3. Marietta - Marietta is one of the most convenient cities on the north side. It has decent schools, slightly high prices and a few parks. It's very convenient to Atlanta. The east side of the city features one of the best schools in Georgia. Several athletes have come out of the high schools here.

4. Peachtree City - Or "pilot city" - this city is where a lot of the pilots live from Hartsfield. The schools are better than the average South Atlanta school and price are reasonable. Out of the areas south of I-20, this one has some of the lowest crime statistics.

5. McDonough - I'm trying to name cities all around Atlanta, so this one makes the list. Usually it doesn't come close. Homes are very affordable and the schools are slightly above average.

Other Great Cities: Lawrenceville, Dacula, Grayson, Snellville, Duluth, Roswell, Cumming, Vinings, Kennesaw, and Dallas.

Worst Cities

1. Riverdale - high crime and poor schools make this one an awful choice.
2. Norcross - Mostly non-English speaking residents, likely to alienate anyone that doesn't speak at least one of the many languages represented here. Gangs abound as does crime.
3. College Park - Great place to go to college, not a great place to go to school or leave a car unattended.
4. Forest Park - Again, crime and poverty abound, some of the states worst schools.
5. Sandy Springs - The city may try to "nicen" it up, but the traffic is horrendous and the crime and schools are some of the worst. There ARE nice neighborhoods in Sandy Springs, but the rentals are what makes it not as nice to live there.

i was curious, have you ever lived in college park? do u really know what goes down there? sure, u might here things about it. so did i before i moved there, but it is an okay place to live. i have never had a problem with leaving my car unattended, and some of the areas are nice to live in. college park is not as bad as people make it out to be.

[ME-Evergreen]

I lived in Dunwoody (northern suburn of Atlanta) and loved it. Best of luck in your search.

[MayorOfMacon2019]

Macon, Georgia was also spared.

[brentyoung12]

Just wondering why Jarvisteam said

3. College Park - Great place to go to college, not a great place to go to school or leave a car unattend

....What makes College Park a great place to go to college without even having a real college lmao? More hot air blown, dude doesn't really know anything about College Park besides seeing that the city is named "College Park" and assuming some nice sized university was there.

[Wolfdaddy]

Macon is the worst. It stinks because of the paper mill. Its crime rate is worst then atlanta.