Moving to Valdosta---advice please (Commerce, Montgomery: real estate, rentals, credit)

[Kelliehnova]

Hello. My husband and I are transferring from Lackland AFB in San Antonio to Moody AFB in Valdosta. We do not have kids yet, but are hoping to move to a nice family friendly community. Our biggest question is if it is best to rent or buy and which areas in Valdosta seem to be better communities????

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Dart03]

Valdosta - Lowndes County is a very up and coming area in South Georgia. I have a few family members that live there and they really love it. I'm not sure exactly on specific neighborhoods but everything I have heard and seen about Valdosta is very positive.

[southgeorgia]

There are many great neighborhoods, so the question is going to be which location do you want to be in.

If you want to be near all the amenities, then look at Valdosta. If you don't mind the country life, then Hahira is a great area for you.

If you're planning on kids anytime soon, and send them to public school, then here are a couple of things for you to know.

MAFB sits on the borders of Lowndes, Lanier, and Berrien counties, and I would rate their schools in that order. If you live in the Valdosta city limits, you would be in the Valdosta school system. They have a great academic program but many locals look down on their schools because they are full of the low-income students.

The base sits on Bemiss Rd., and its lined with subdivisions from the city limits all the way past the base. You could really just drive through all of them when you get here and see what fits your taste.

As for family friendly though, I would say Hahira is most likely your best option. There are many AF personnel living there and its mostly young families in the new subdivisions.

If you go to hahira, make your way to south hagan bridge road and check out the new neighborhoods there, and go north up owens street and follow it right in to autobahn heights (i think that's the name). Those are very family friendly neighborhoods. Its right off the interstate and about 15 minutes back to the mall area in valdosta.

There are some other new subdivisions in hahira, but I haven't worked in them much and couldn't tell you about them.

The best thing to do is call a local real estate professional and tell them what you're looking for.

[dodiebee]

There are lots of great (family) communities within minutes of Moody. Homes here are very affordable and (although it's a buyers market) real estate values have held steady. I strongly recommend buying rather than renting (especially if you qualify for the home buyer's tax credit). There are realtors that specialize in Moody personel placements. You should be able to get more information from the base. Good Luck!

[willacoochee]

Here are some helpful links maybe:

City of Valdosta

Valdosta-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism

Valdosta City Schools

Lowndes County

Lowndes County Schools

Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce

Hope those are helpful

[lisdol]

Originally Posted by Kelliehnova

Hello. My husband and I are transferring from Lackland AFB in San Antonio to Moody AFB in Valdosta. We do not have kids yet, but are hoping to move to a nice family friendly community. Our biggest question is if it is best to rent or buy and which areas in Valdosta seem to be better communities????

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We owned a home in Foxborough (on Foxborough Blvd as a matter of fact) in the older section (the 1970s homes). It was a very desirable neighborhood because it was in the Hahira Middle School district. The older part had a lot of rentals but for whatever reason Foxborough Blvd seemed nicer and more well-kept than the other old streets (Lantern Lane, etc....)

Editing to add: Foxborough is off of N. Valdosta Rd, near the cemetery about halfway between the interstate and Country Club Rd.

If we moved back I'd be looking at Hahira.

When we lived there buying was cheaper than renting.

The area near St. John school was very nice as well. (North of Gornto Rd from Oak st to Jerry Jones).

[David C.]

My suggestion:

1. Go to the greatschools.net website.
2. Do a search for all schools in within the distance you are willing to commute.
3. Sort the schools by test scores or greatschools rating. Do this for all school grade levels, regardless of the age of your kids, or even if you don't have any kids at all.
4. Look at realtor.com for houses in your price range that are zoned for the best schools.
5. Pick your house. You will find that the neighborhoods you select will be full of other Air Force families, because this is a common way to find houses among AF folks.
6. You will also find that when you are ready to move, your house sells quickly because so many people will be doing steps 1-5 just like you did.

I did this method when I lived in another Air Force town, Montgomery, AL. Most of the families chose the Daniel Pratt Elementary School District in Prattville. Which fed the AF families to a handful of subdivisions near the school, all filled with military families, government contractors, engineers, and federal law enforcement. When I had an unexpected job change a year later, I sold my house in just a couple week to a Colonel.
Just my two cents. Good luck.

[drexrex]

I will be moving to Valdosta in Aug and this thread has been really informational in general. I will work at VSU, hence want to stay in Valdosta ...

@Kelliehnova
How has your experience been so far as far as apt/house-hunting is concerned? Any tips for me?

[csan8]

Hi,
I saw your ad requesting information about Valdosta and since I am thinking of moving there, I wondered if you could share any info about the city.
jalady@yahoo.com.
Thank you,
csan8/Josephine

[Ollie1946]

i respectfully suggest you rent in these current economic conditions. first, you will be free to relocate again without having a house to worry about. Second, it will give you time to look around for the right property with no rush. third, there is every chance that this economy will get worse and that house prices will continue to fall. fourth, there will be distressed properties which might interest you. you might also get a VERY good deal on a rental because someone else really needs to rent/sell theirs. just the way life is. valdosta will be a shock to you coming from san antonio (i retired from Kelly) so i know what the change will be like despite valdosta being a relatively nice area. compared to san antonio, it is small potatoes.

we are in an economic meltdown. it shows no signs of easing off. don't commit yourself to a property you may not get rid of when you need to. not until things settle down and look better.

rent.