Paulding County vs Cherokee County GA to live (Atlanta, North Atlanta: for sale, real estate)

[USAcafe]

Hello, Retired conservative couple is looking to move to Georgia from California. Some homes look ideal for us in the golf course communities of: Woodmont in Canton GA, The Frog The Georgian in Villa Rica GA, and Mirror Lake in Villa Rica GA. The prices look very similar, what the communities appear to offer seem similar, and the quality of the homes seem similar. But can you offer your thoughts and comments on which county or golf course area we should try to target for our home buying search? Some things we seek are safety, conservative values, access to good shopping areas & great hospitals, a nice lap pool, sidewalks for pleasant walks, low crime, senior tax breaks, and tame politics. And, of course, being from California we would seek mild weather patterns, low frequency of storms, lowest possibility of tornadoes, and the most minimal humidity (if that is possible?). These two retired CA folks appreciate all your valuable advice to help us decide where to buy a home there in GA! It has just gotten too expensive here, in California, and politics get crazier & crazier So we would like to move to your lovely state of Georgia!

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by USAcafe

Hello, Retired conservative couple is looking to move to Georgia from California. Some homes look ideal for us in the golf course communities of: Woodmont in Canton GA, The Frog The Georgian in Villa Rica GA, and Mirror Lake in Villa Rica GA. The prices look very similar, what the communities appear to offer seem similar, and the quality of the homes seem similar. But can you offer your thoughts and comments on which county or golf course area we should try to target for our home buying search? Some things we seek are safety, conservative values, access to good shopping areas & great hospitals, a nice lap pool, sidewalks for pleasant walks, low crime, senior tax breaks, and tame politics. And, of course, being from California we would seek mild weather patterns, low frequency of storms, lowest possibility of tornadoes, and the most minimal humidity (if that is possible?). These two retired CA folks appreciate all your valuable advice to help us decide where to buy a home there in GA! It has just gotten too expensive here, in California, and politics get crazier & crazier So we would like to move to your lovely state of Georgia!

All three of the communities you named are good golf communities, though Woodmont in Canton might have a slight (or even noticeable) advantage over the other two communities in the Villa Rica area because Woodmont, with its foothills location in Cherokee County, is located only minutes away from the southernmost ranges of the highly scenic and recreational offerings of the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachian mountains of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.

One of the major reasons that many people like living in the area north of Atlanta (where the suburbs and exurbs of North Atlanta fade into the outer exurban and rural areas of North Georgia) is because of the easy access to the scenic and recreational exploits of the Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachians mountain region.

While Woodmont has the advantage of being the closest to the recreational and scenic exploits of the Blue Ridge/Southern Appalachians mountains region of North Georgia, Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee (an area which features a robust tourism industry), The Frog/The Georgian and Mirror Lake are also two great communities which should remain at the top of your list for consideration.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by USAcafe

Hello, Retired conservative couple is looking to move to Georgia from California. Some homes look ideal for us in the golf course communities of: Woodmont in Canton GA, The Frog The Georgian in Villa Rica GA, and Mirror Lake in Villa Rica GA. The prices look very similar, what the communities appear to offer seem similar, and the quality of the homes seem similar. But can you offer your thoughts and comments on which county or golf course area we should try to target for our home buying search? Some things we seek are safety, conservative values, access to good shopping areas & great hospitals, a nice lap pool, sidewalks for pleasant walks, low crime, senior tax breaks, and tame politics. And, of course, being from California we would seek mild weather patterns, low frequency of storms, lowest possibility of tornadoes, and the most minimal humidity (if that is possible?). These two retired CA folks appreciate all your valuable advice to help us decide where to buy a home there in GA! It has just gotten too expensive here, in California, and politics get crazier & crazier So we would like to move to your lovely state of Georgia!

So that you are not confused...

The Frog/The Georgian is located in Paulding County...with a Villa Rica address.

Mirror Lake is located in Douglas County...with a Villa Rica address.


And keep in mind, most of Villa Rica proper is located in Carroll County.




(Woodmont is fully located in Cherokee County...with a Canton address.)

[USAcafe]

Thank you, Born 2 Roll and aries4118, for the appreciated comments and information. As you noted the counties, tax structures, also apparently the scenic and recreational offerings vary when comparing The Frog, Mirror Lake, and Woodmont.
When comparing these specific communities, do you happen to have comments comparing the weather situations to possibly expect (humidity, tornadoes, floods, snow etc.), safety, the politics, and conservative nature of the areas considered. Then, all we have to do is find a great recommended Real Estate agent, or agents, to show us the homes for sale. It seems like a distance between these communities we would like to see, so we are not sure that one agent would want to cover that large an area, and in different counties. Thank you again for your thoughts!

[Silvers2]

Low humidity in GA????
I heard good things about the Hospital in Newnan GA.
From what I hear, Jimmy Carter has or had a retirement home on Walnut Mt in Gilmer County.
Gainesville = Airline pilots. It's not too far north of rich Alphretta, Mall of GA.

This is mostly hearsay except for the humidity. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I've always hated GA humidity.

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by USAcafe

Thank you, Born 2 Roll and aries4118, for the appreciated comments and information. As you noted the counties, tax structures, also apparently the scenic and recreational offerings vary when comparing The Frog, Mirror Lake, and Woodmont.
When comparing these specific communities, do you happen to have comments comparing the weather situations to possibly expect (humidity, tornadoes, floods, snow etc.), safety, the politics, and conservative nature of the areas considered. Then, all we have to do is find a great recommended Real Estate agent, or agents, to show us the homes for sale. It seems like a distance between these communities we would like to see, so we are not sure that one agent would want to cover that large an area, and in different counties. Thank you again for your thoughts!

In the areas in question, the humidity will be significantly higher than almost anywhere in California (exponentially higher humidity in the Southeastern U.S.) but not as high or as oppressive as the humidity is in other parts of the Southeastern U.S. at lower elevations.

The tornado threat is much higher in North Georgia than it is in California but not as high as in other parts of the country further west, north and south.

Floods do happen in North Georgia but are rare compared to other parts of the Southeast because of the relatively higher elevation of the area.

Cherokee County (where Woodmont is located) does see a slightly higher probability of inclement weather during the winter because of its closer location to the Blue Ridge Mountains but winter weather there is still rare as it is throughout most of Georgia.

Crime is not known to be much, if any, of a factor in any of the communities in question.

All of the communities in question are located in outer-suburban/exurban areas where the politics are decidedly conservative but not intrusively conservative....Though Douglas County (where Mirror Lake is located) seems to be trending towards future moderate and Democratic dominance because of demographic changes that have pushed the county's population to 'majority-minority' status.

[winston1972]

I live in Paulding County and think you would be much happier in Canton than the uber conservative, no growth government and atmosphere of Paulding. Downtown Carrollton is very nice but a long way from Mirror Lakes.

[USAcafe]

Thank you again. We just returned from our trip from CA to N. Georgia to view properties, and try to experience the environment there. It was a pleasant trip and the weather was very nice overall. We did not go to Pauding or Carollton. Based on research, we find we are still considering Woodmont but also in the consideration faze is the retirement community of Soleil Laurel Canyon. During our visit, we found that the people were generally nice and we felt comfortable in these parts of Georgia. If I were to compare the areas we frequent in California to the areas we visited in N. GA (Canton, Cumming, Woodstock mainly), I would say general attitudes and the political atmosphere are very very different.

In CA, people seem to be less conversational, somewhat self-centered, and quick to judge and take offense. In N. GA, where we visited anyway, most seemed very warm, easy to chat with, polite, and easy to get along with. In CA, being not far from Berkeley, many believe it is oh so important to protest ways of thinking different than their own & to force their attitudes onto others (sometimes violently). Political picketing has even been seen in a very small nearby town. We always comment amongst ourselves that most of us would be out earning a living during the day, but that is inevitably following by: I think someone wealthy is paying them to protest though.

In GA, admittedly we were only there a week this time and two weeks 2 years ago, there seems to be a general acceptance of others and it appears just easier to get along with most. The only complaint we would have is regarding those that tailgate, and for no justifiable reason - I mean going the speed limit in the slow lane should be acceptable Maybe our the overall positives would be different if living there in N.GA. full time. But hopefully if we do move to this area where we feel comfortable, then that would continue to be our experience overall. There does not seem to the overt insistence to bombard others to convince others to your own personal way of thinking.

IMHO another distinct comparison has to do with simple niceties. N. GA: strangers often open the door or hold the door open for other people, or greet people they do not know. CA: these courtesies are rare; going to a local CA store last night, it was customers and some employees who would run you out of the way with their carts of merchandise. We could get into the incessantly increasing practice of walking aimlessly while texting on a smart phone, but that is a whole other topic indeed...

And, I think if we can weather the fires/droughts/floods/earthquakes here in California, then we can probably learn to cope with the types of weather experiences in Georgia. A friend in the South says that is why the houses tend to be larger there, because ya 'all live indoors when the weather is not that great. We tend to have smaller (more expensive) houses here, and smaller houses do not seem to be as common there in GA. These are only our opinions based on our own personal experiences. Thank you all very much for sharing your opinions!