Long Island'er Looking to Retire in The atlanta Area (Athens-Clarke County: homeowners association, crime)

[Rich4a1]

I am a Retired Long Island'er who is looking to find a great place to retire. I now work in the music industry (a passion I have had for over 40 years), I'm a DJ on a local radio station, I have a recording studio, manage a few bands and play myself.

I have lots of friends in the Atlanta/Athens area that are in the music business. So finding friends is not a problem .. the problem is the Atlanta friends warn us of the perils of such Places like Athens and Jackson County .. very rual .. Bible belt .. Fox watching Republicans (I'm a libral Ny democrat with non religous Leanings) .. The Athens folk warn of the crime and congestion of the Atlanta area ..

I like the room and settings of many of the homes in Jackson County (Jefferson, Jackson, etc) and the schools seem to be good (my 11 year old grand daughter is moving with us) .. Gwinnett County also has some nice homes .. and the schools such as Collins and Brookwood have good ratings .. but the problem is the Homeowners associations .. They whole Idea does not sit well with me .. I don't like the idea of paying someone to tell me what I can and cannot do on my property.

I like Gwinnett because it is inbetween Athens and Atlanta .. so I'm close to both sets of friends .. I like Jackson because it's close to Athens and has homes with more Elbow room and no Homeowners associations ..

I would love to hear from other "Northerners" who have moved down to the area what they think about the pros and cons of Gwinnett County and Jackson County .. Remember I don't have to commute .. My main "wants" for an area would be Good schools, Access to shopping, Hospitals, some sort of nightlife, etc. Nice folk who can accept my NY ways .. .. etc ..

Rich

[Rich4a1]

As a post script we are looking to buy a house .. budget between $180K-$260K .. I will be building a recording studio so a basement is a must .. if there is a large detached building that would work is a plus .. etc ..

[IntownHomes247]

Have you looked into Athens-Clarke County? I'm not a Northerner, but am a liberal democrat who went to graduate school in Athens. Athens is a college town and, like the Emory University area of Atlanta, is much more liberal than the more rural areas like Jackson County. I'd be surprised if Jackson County has the amenities you're looking for (although, I haven't lived in Athens for 15 years so maybe Jackson County has really built up in that time). But I suspect you'd be driving into Athens all the time anyway.

I've known people who live in Gwinnett to commute between Athens and Atlanta, but it's always been a case of being a long way from anywhere. If it were me, I'd rather live in either Athens or Atlanta (whichever I felt better in), and make the 70 mile drive to the other when necessary rather than living somewhere I'm going to need to drive 40 miles whenever I want to go anywhere or do anything.

Depending on the type and size of house you're looking for, you could also find a nice home in a nice neighborhood in Atlanta. If you're in Atlanta, you'd probably want to stay on the east side since you plan to spend a good bit of time in Athens. I'd look in the Leafmore neighborhood. Or out near Northlake Mall/Tucker.

[Rich4a1]

We looked in the Athens-Clarke county and found the schools to be lacking for what we are looking for .. we also found the home prices to be higher .. which equates to less for your money ..

[K'ledgeBldr]

Though I understand your logistics-
But have you considered other "music" cites? Like Nashville, or Austin?
If I were in your shoes my first choice would be Austin. No state tax, lower property tax, milder climate, etc. Oh, and you can purchase alcoholic beverages on Sunday!
- But I'm not a tea-sipper fan. I'm an Aggie- I bleed maroon and white.

[roxyrn]

I second Austin. My husband is from LI, too.

[lastminutemom]

Have you checked into Oconee County? I understand the schools are there and I think it may be a bit more liberal because of the number of university employees that live there.

[tomno00]

Originally Posted by Rich4a1

We looked in the Athens-Clarke county and found the schools to be lacking for what we are looking for .. we also found the home prices to be higher .. which equates to less for your money ..

homes are more expensive for a reason. Athens has a lot more to offer than Jackon county.

[ski-mann]

Hey Rich: Reconsider southern Gwinnett County and Snellville which is northern border of "Southern Gwinnett County." We have a large population of native New Yorker's (City, USNY and western NY). You will feel very welcome in the area proving the old adage that your first impression was right.
TAKE NOTE!! Two of the young nationally famous singers have houses in Snellville (do not know that set by name so research it online) itself and two (some reports say three) old rock stars have homes in southern Gwinnett County. As a technology center Snellville has weathered the recession about the best of any area in the metro and is poised to fully recover quickly.
One of the High Schools that serves south Gwinnett is the excellent Shiloh High School known for a high percentage of Ivy League and prestige University admissions! One of the rising young actor/model's graduated from there in recent years as well. Several of our neighbors are both high professionals (him and her both six fig) and ALL OF THEM use the public schools here.
The HOA's are NOT a problem at all. Atlanta is very upwardly mobile and they are there only for the peace of mind of the upwardly mobile citizenry. I came here from Albany eons ago to go to grad school and stayed and haven't fought with my HOA yet and I have a textbook Albany-fast-mouth LOL. I entirely agree with what you are saying and I did not like the "idea" of it myself either but the reality is that it is not an issue as it might seem that it would have the propensity to be.
We own a home in Albany still and I can never wait to get back to southern Gwinnett County when we go home!
The food in and around Snellville will not offend your NY palate either and that is true NOWHERE ELSE in the metro!!
We also have a very large English population here for some reason and a growing Jewish population due to the popularity of the relatively young Temple Beth David in Snellville. Canadian's seem to have a presence in some numbers as well.
You will find yourself in your price range able to pick up what was a 500k OR HIGHER home before the recession!!! Look off Anniston Road and Scenic Highway all the way south to County Line...alot of times they will have very fine homes on acreage in those areas.
If you move into a neighborhood in the price range you are in (or even in a lower price range if you wind up floored at how much house you can get) I am certain the homeowners would be elated to have a fine New York artist in their midst!
That may be why so many NYer's and English live down here in the part of the metro!
Good luck! Southern Gwinnett County WAS the correct impression when you got it!
Keep us up to date.

[ski-mann]

Rich4A1 I forgot to mention EMORY EAST MEDICAL CENTER is in SNELLVILLE!!! Everywhere fought to get that branch of this mega-quality prestige hospital and they came to us in Gwinnett County!!
Also the Pharmacist's at both the local supermarket Pharmacy we usually use AND the local national chain RX we sometimes use are both from LI! One of the good local restaurants also belongs to a man from Manhattan whose wife is from LI.

I do have two NYer friends who lived in Jackson County at separate times (one from Ithaca, the other from Little Falls). The latter said it is the stage set of the tv series Hee-Haw and also said very recently it would be prime for the location scout to stumble upon if they remake the Burt Reynold's flick "Deliverance." I will try to get one or both to come on and comment some time next week.

For shopping you take Main Street all the way into Atlanta and you will wind up on Ponce De Leon in Druid Hills (where Miss Daisy from the play lived in fiction). Take Ponce De Leon to mid-town and get on Peachtree Street (where Scarlett Ohara and Capt Butler lived in fiction) and it goes out to the Buckhead Malls WITHOUT EVER GETTING ON AN INTERSTATE!