Soperton info. please (Atlanta, Macon, Dublin: trip , work, construction)

[Wyomiles]

Howdy goose1, I am not sure about priorities I just wanted some general info on the area. When we get the plant built there should be several new folks coming down there. I have always loved gardening so some acreage would be a nice change and the woods down there look really nice. I like to hunt and fish so will have to learn how things are done down there. I won't have to worry about schools but medical and dental etc would be important.
In Wyoming and Colorado we get used to driving , sometimes for hours, to get to a store or restaurant so I am used to driving. I don't like HOA's, don't like others telling me what I can or can't do with my property but there are lots of folks out there who think they have that right.
Anyway thanks for responding.

[jlh410]

Vidalia is your best choice. It is a MUCH better living enviroment than Dublin, trust me I live in Vidalia.

[Jillian2]

jih410 , that is just your experience lol , but definitely not everyone's. Believe me , Dublin is a very nice place and has a lot more to offer than Vidalia.

[Jillian2]

Here are some links for Vidalia and Toombs county . Read them , come and visit both Dublin and Vidalia and see them first hand , which I am sure you will do before moving.


Vidalia Georgia

City of Vidalia, Georgia : Information Resources for Vidalia Residents and Visitors.

Vidalia, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Toombs County Georgia History and Genealogy Project! - [AHGP]

[vanthils]

SOPERTON GA. might be the site of a new Ethanol Plant proposed to start later this year, and operational by 2008. (I doubt it would be built in the town.)
For Soperton it would be a great opportunity to have a few more amenities.
A grocery, a pharmacy.
I don't think it would bring in a great influx of new people, except thru the construction phase, but there would be new job opportunities.
If you Google "soperton ga ethanol" you read over 500 hits about the place.
It's how I found this forum.

Right now, we are in a small Missouri town, about 2700. It has a grocery, pharmacy, video rental, and all the other things you have now.
But it also is home to a plant (though a different type) that’s about 5 miles out of town.
It was never overrun by growth, it's 45 minutes to a town of 17,000 and 20 minutes to a town of 5800, that has a small Wal-Mart and small Sears.
It is quiet, and the people are kind.
It is a far cry from our home in Arizona, but we go where my husbands work dictates, and stay until completion of a project.

So no matter what it is like there, if we go there, it will be like all the rest of the projects we go on: The people will be kind, the pace and of the hum of the community will stay the same. Few things will change.
And after all the construction is complete, things will get back to being as they were, just a few new faces and places in town! And new friends.
How good is that!!

So if the city fathers were a big help in drawing the plant location next to Soperton, hats off to them!!

[Hyun-Soo]

Soperton, Isn't it the pine capital of Georgia?


The city in the pines?


Well not much there, but pleasant indeed.

I suggest Dublin, Hawkinsville, Cochran or even Warner Robins and Perry.

[goose1]

Just wondering what's going on with your company. I saw something on another board concerning breaking ground soon. Has a date been set for this plant to be up and running? I think this will be an asset for all the surrounding areas. Interstate 16 is also close by. Be sure and look carefully at all areas. As you posted earlier you liked the outdoors and I think you will be pleased with your new surroundings. We have lots of rivers and hunting clubs you can pay to join if you choose not to buy land. Keep us posted this plant should bring in families and maybe other industries to the areas.

[Wyomiles]

Howdy all, sorry I haven't been around for a while. Been pretty busy at work, getting ready to make ethanol in Georgia ! Looks like there were a few questions so I thought I would try to answer them. I work for a company called Range Fuels, you can check out our website for in depth info. We make ethanol out of wood chips and have big plans in Georgia so stay tuned. We are a small company now but are growing. Most of our employees will be in Soperton on Tuesday , Nov. 6th for the official groundbreaking. The plant will be built in steps but there will be oportunities for construction work and latter for full time operational employees. So hopefully we can be good neighbors and help out the local economy.
Again thanks for all of your help with info on the area !
So let me ask you all what a mountain boy should do with a few hours while I am down there ? We will be staying at a hotel in Atlanta the first and last day and driving to Soperton to spend all day Tuesday. Not sure how much spare time we will have to look around on this trip but I am sure we will be flying back and forth a lot over the next few years so what should I look forward to doing, seeing, eating ?

[Dixie Dawg]

Hello Wyomiles - I just saw your post and would like to give some suggestions as well. I am originally from Augusta, Georgia and lived in Jacksonville, Florida for six years. In addition, I am the former owner of a travel business so I can hopefully give you some helpful information.

Two years ago I moved to South Georgia about 7 miles from Soperton because my family lives in this area and because of a job. I met my husband down here (thank you Lord) and now I live about 14 miles from Soperton. Here is what I have learned about this area. South Georgia is very different from other parts of Georgia because it is very country and very rural. The people are relatively friendly but it has been my experience that they stay to themselves - at least until they get to know you better. If you're accustomed to driving long distances to go to a store, I would definitely suggest living in Dublin, about 20 minutes from Soperton. Now, if you like a lot of land, I promise you there will be no shortage of land and you can live in the woods in total privacy, no matter what town you choose.

Most of our doctors and our dentist is in Dublin and they have a good hospital, Fairview Park Hospital. Jillian2 is absolutely correct in that Dublin has a lot more to offer and it is definitely growing. Here is a sampling of what Dublin has to offer:

Restaurants:

Cracker Barrel, Ruby Tuesday, Applebees, Chick-Fil-A, Sonny's Barbecue, Shoney's, Longhorns (Brand New), Red Lobster, Starbucks Coffee, Subway, McDonald's and of course, other fast food chains as well.

Grocery Stores:

Winn-Dixie, Kroger (A very nice one) and the new Super Wal-Mart just opened.

Retail Stores:

A mall that includes Belk, Goody's, a small JC Penney, Farmer's Furniture, Jewelry Stores, the Shoe Department, etc.

K-Mart, Fred's, Dollar General and your general discount stores.

A Christian Bookstore - The Olive Branch

A very nice ladies clothing store - Plum Alley

Used bookstore

Various little shops spread over the town that are locally owned and very nice.

Several car dealerships

Pharmacies:

Rite Aid and CVS Pharmacy

Doctors and Hospital:

Hospital - Fairview Park Hospital (My husband and I have both been patients at this hospital and were very impressed with their care)

Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Opthamologists, Gynecology, etc. etc.

Colleges and Schools:

Founded in 1984, Heart of Georgia Technical College offers high-tech
training in technical and industrial technology, medical arts, information
technology early childhood care and education, and business technology,
along with GED, basic skills and adult literacy classes. In 2000, HGTC
built the 60,000 square foot DuBose Porter Business and Industry Training Center, which was host to the 2000 & 2003 Georgia Chamber of Commerce Congressional Luncheons.

The University System of Georgia's Dublin Campus is made up of three state colleges: Middle Georgia College, East Georgia College and Georgia College and State University. Bachelor degrees are offered in nursing, education and business administration.

If you have children, I would suggest a private school - Trinity Christian School. This will be better than the public school system. There is also a good library in downtown Dublin.

Entertainment:

There is a small theater is downtown Dublin that plays host to different country music entertainers as well as regional groups.

Churches:

In this area, there are many churches to choose from in practically every denomination. (Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Catholic, Inter-denominational, etc.)

Hotels:

Holiday Inn Express, La Quinta (Brand New), Jameson Inn, Hampton Inn, Super 8, Comfort Inn, and a hotel connected to Shoney's. The hotels are located right next to Interstate 16.

Airports:

Macon and Savannah - Macon would be the closest for you, but maybe more expensive.

Macon, Georgia is about an hour away from Dublin. Savannah, Georgia is two hours away and it is a coastal town - lots to do down there, rich in history, great restaurants, lots of hotels and bed & breakfasts and home to Paula Deen of the Food Network. Savannah would be a blast to visit. Macon, Georgia is home to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame, a big mall and a lot of restaurants. It's also home to the Cherry Blossom Festival. If you need to do major shopping, I would suggest Macon, Savannah or Atlanta or online (HA HA!) You may even want to go to Jacksonville for shopping.

You will also be about three hours from the Florida line and there is a LOT to do in Florida. You will be close to the ocean in this part of the world, which is very nice. St. Augustine, Daytona Beach and Orlando offers a lot for couples and families. Jacksonville is home to Alltel Stadium which is an NFL Football Stadium. Of course, Daytona has NASCAR and Gainesville, FL has the Gatornationals.

For anyone coming down here who loves to play golf, Georgia and Florida both have great golf courses. Vidalia, Georgia has a nice golf course which is close to the Soperton area.

Wyomiles, I have to be honest, even though I'm a native Georgian. I am from the hometown of the Masters Golf Tournament, which is totally different from the Soperton area. Augusta has a lot of money, a state university, a great technical college, a major medical center and a much larger population. The people are different, a little more educated and yes, sometimes a little arrogant. Augusta is about 2 1/2 hours from where I live and it is as different as "night and day". (Atlanta is very different as well because it is a major metropolitan area.)

First of all, I don't want to offend anyone on this forum, but I am just speaking from experience. I am a very outgoing person, am a webmaster for my own website and am accustomed to speaking to groups, etc. My husband is from Texas, has a doctorate and is a former vice-president of a university. We have found certain people to be very friendly, but we have also found people to be very much to themselves, in a rather "stand-offish" way. If you call them, don't expect them to immediately return your phone call. They may tell you yes when they mean no. (It's a Georgia thing - they want to be polite but they will run you around in circles when they should have told you "No, I don't want to get involved in that project") You will find some people (and not all, of course) to be backwards and seemingly ignorant. Then again, you will find some very friendly and generous people. Some people down here were raised in these woods and they've never been anywhere and don't know anything else but "these woods". You will quickly discover who they are. There are some very wealthy businessmen and women down here, but they will behave as though they are poor.

If you ask for directions, here is what you will get: "Well, go down there to the next road, turn right, and when you see Mr. Johnson's place, it about 2, 3 or 4 miles from his brother's house". Everyone assumes you have lived here your entire life - LOL!

This area is not a wide-open space and for the first few months you may feel rather "closed in" because of all of the pine trees on each side of the road. Now, if you want to live to yourself, have a lots of land and not be bothered, you have found the right place. You can live "way back" in the woods and have as much privacy as you like, no matter if you live in Treutlen, Montgomery, Laurens or Toombs Counties. This is woods, woods, and more woods. Again, no offense meant to anyone at all - I'm just being straight with you, Wyomiles. This is a different world down here - very, very rural. Even though I'm from Augusta, I am still "getting used to" the way things are down here. Not to discourage you, just to let you know, you may experience brief periods of "culture shock".

If a person decides not to live on a huge piece of land in the woods, there are nice residential areas in Vidalia and Dublin - very nice homes in the $250,000 - $500,000 range and even higher. Real estate has actually been a little more expensive here than I expected. Rent is very inexpensive, though. If you decide to rent in a rural area, be careful. Landlords do not believe in pest control or fixing things that are broken unless you pressure them to do so. Many landlords who rent houses simply do not keep up their rental properties and this is very frustrating. Weeds and rust do not bother people down here - it's a part of the landscape.

If you need further info, please feel free to private message me. I would be glad to give you names of good doctors, dentists, etc. etc. I have lived in two towns with great medical centers and I can definitely offer suggestions for good doctors.

[Wyomiles]

WOW !! Thanks for that excellent post Dixie Dawg ! I ,and many of my co workers at Range Fuels, are very excited about coming to the Soperton area. I grew up in Wyoming and your discription sounds very familiar. I myself am a private person and although I like the things you can do in the "big city" I have always dreamed of having a place in the country to do my thing. See ya'll in a couple of weeks.