LCoL cities/towns in Georgia (Atlanta, Columbus: real estate, low crime, how much)

[tarade]

We're thinking of relocating our young family (My husband & I are in our mid-late 20s; small children) to GA. Husband is in business/finance; I telecommute so I can work from anywhere.

We currently live in a New England small town with about 22,000 people, quiet, low crime rate is 80.6 (compared to US average = 252.6), great school system & hospitals, and although it's small and has that out-of-the-way feel we have nearby shopping/grocery and are about 15 minutes away from the city.

We really like it here, however the cost of living is expensive. The median house value is $306,000 and property taxes are about $2,514. Food, utilities, gas is soaring and we just can't afford any of it anymore.

I've looked at housing websites and see houses in other parts of the country are $100,000+ cheaper than my drafty timewarp-to-the-70s-fixerupper, and are nicer and bigger and Cost of Living calculators make me blush as to how much I am overpaying compared to other parts of the country.

So...I am hoping for some input from locals about where would be a good place for us to concentrate on. I'd imagine for my husband's job we should focus on towns bordering cities like Augusta or Atlanta for his work. I've read that Martinez & Columbia County in general has good job growth and low housing costs too.

Based on where we are coming from, where would be a good fit for us? We don't mind living in a bigger town but good schools, low cost of living, low crime rate, & cheap housing are musts.

Thanks for reading and for any insight you can offer!

[ATLCOL1]

Originally Posted by tarade

We're thinking of relocating our young family (My husband & I are in our mid-late 20s; small children) to GA. Husband is in business/finance; I telecommute so I can work from anywhere.

We currently live in a New England small town with about 22,000 people, quiet, low crime rate is 80.6 (compared to US average = 252.6), great school system & hospitals, and although it's small and has that out-of-the-way feel we have nearby shopping/grocery and are about 15 minutes away from the city.

We really like it here, however the cost of living is expensive. The median house value is $306,000 and property taxes are about $2,514. Food, utilities, gas is soaring and we just can't afford any of it anymore.

I've looked at housing websites and see houses in other parts of the country are $100,000+ cheaper than my drafty timewarp-to-the-70s-fixerupper, and are nicer and bigger and Cost of Living calculators make me blush as to how much I am overpaying compared to other parts of the country.

So...I am hoping for some input from locals about where would be a good place for us to concentrate on. I'd imagine for my husband's job we should focus on towns bordering cities like Augusta or Atlanta for his work. I've read that Martinez & Columbia County in general has good job growth and low housing costs too.

Based on where we are coming from, where would be a good fit for us? We don't mind living in a bigger town but good schools, low cost of living, low crime rate, & cheap housing are musts.

Thanks for reading and for any insight you can offer!

If he works in banking or real estate, you guys should look at Atlanta and Columbus. I know both of these cities very well so I will be glad to help you out.

[tarade]

Thanks for the offer! Unfortunately he is in the accounting/auditing sector though.

[lastminutemom]

Our schools are very different than those in New England. You know the expression.. you get what you pay for. I would hope that you would make several visits here before making a decision.

Before moving here, your husband should research employment opportunities. Because GA is a lower cost of living state, it is possible, though certainly not guaranteed, that his salary could be lower.

The key in all this is finding a job first. The employment picture in GA isn't as strong as it has been.