Augusta with a family (Atlanta, Sandy Springs: homes, buy, bankruptcy)

[mSooner]

We have a chance of moving to Augusta this summer for 5 years. The honest truth is I have never been there, but am not fond of the idea. It would put us far away from family (and it seems like it is difficult to get a decent airport?) and I feel like I might feel isolated compared to living in a larger city.

What's it like for someone used to living in a city OKC-sized or larger (DFW?). How are the public schools? Is there a decent Catholic community? How often do you have to go to Atlanta or Columbia for shopping?

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by mSooner

We have a chance of moving to Augusta this summer for 5 years. The honest truth is I have never been there, but am not fond of the idea. It would put us far away from family (and it seems like it is difficult to get a decent airport?) and I feel like I might feel isolated compared to living in a larger city.

What's it like for someone used to living in a city OKC-sized or larger (DFW?). How are the public schools? Is there a decent Catholic community? How often do you have to go to Atlanta or Columbia for shopping?

Many people from larger cities have relocated to Augusta... The Medical District, Fort Gordon, and SRS attract people from all over. Now the city has multiple GRU developments underway/coming soon, Plant Vogtle, NSA at Fort Gordon, Starbucks, etc..

The airport provides three direct flights(DC, Atlanta, Charlotte), but the Dallas flight should be returning shortly(cancelled in 2011 due to the American Eagle bankruptcy). The airport is working on direct flights to NYC, and Florida.

Augusta is similar to anywhere in else in terms of the better public schools are located in the nicer areas, but you have magnet schools all over.

The city of Augusta has large historic catholic churches downtown, and spread across the metro.

Augusta has less overall shopping compared to Columbia, but the quantity is better(Michael Kors, H&M, Apple, Costco, etc)... I don't think you would need to visit Atlanta very often unless you're shopping at the upscale stores at Lenox/Phipps, outlet mall in the metro area, or somewhere like IKEA.

[Karlsson]

Most Holy Trinity is one of the oldest Catholic Churches.

History :: Church of the Most Holy Trinity (Augusta, GA)

[zumaboy]

I'm a former CSRA (i.e. Metro Augusta) resident of 26 years (1983 - 2009) and a Catholic. There will be adjustments - Augusta will feel quite a bit smaller than OKC or DFW, but it is not "small town" in size. Many people elect to live in Columbia County for the school system (we did), but it's become fairly congested over the years - you just have to visit and figure it out. There are large and active Catholic parishes in the Summerville district of Augusta (St. Mary On The Hill) and in Columbia County (St. Teresa of Avila). Shopping and restaurants in metro Augusta are pretty good, but if you're looking for the large city shopping experience then take a weekend visit to Atlanta (easy drive). Shopping in Columbia is no better than Augusta. The airport is a disappointment and it's often better to drive to Columbia for more options. We raised our kids in Augusta/Columbia County and always thought it was a good location for that. As always, opinions will vary...

[badmajon]

Just make sure you move to Columbia county, Richmond county except for a couple of areas, is generally a low-income ghetto.

[nortonguy]

I lived in both counties, and the above comment is absolutely false....

The Augusta forum is know for a person with different screen names trolling, and be very careful listening to anybody who recently joined with only a few post..

[badmajon]

Hah, say what you like. If you buy a place south of I20, you're making a big mistake. There is a reason they want to designate half of your city a slum.

[nortonguy]

A lot of Columbia County is located south of I-20.

Their are million dollars homes near the Augusta Exchange south of I-20 in Richmond County. Electrolux recently moved to the Charlotte, but the CEO lived right by the Augusta Exchange south of I-20.

This is not metro Atlanta in terms of I-20, and having large parts of North Fulton, Gwinnett, etc north of I-20.

The vote for the oppurtunity zone didn't even happen yet. The city may go ahead without using the word slum, but it would still be one due to Georgia law. The plans are only for the CBD and some of the Medical District. Neither place is really a true "slum", and the oppurtunity zone has been used all the state. Including Sandy Springs in metro Atlanta which is one of the richest cities in the nation. Locally Columbia County did the same thing with part of Washington rd in Martinez north of I-20. The plans for downtown and the CBD include the studenhousing/retail development, biotech park, walmart market, etc.

[GRU_Minion]

I disagree with the comment on the airport being a disappointment. There are many flights per day to Atlanta and Charlotte (and the one to DC) that will connect you to anywhere you want to go. The 2+ hour drive to get to Charlotte or Atlanta for a direct flight somewhere doesn't save you enough money for the extra time and parking hassle you'll incur by doing so. Furthermore, I've often found that flying out of the Augusta airport and connecting at either of those airports is often CHEAPER than the direct flight from those airports for some reason. May have something to do with a discount for multiple legs or something. And unless you're going to some more obscure destinations, your layover at either of those places is often an hour or less. A whole heck of a lot less hassle with parking, security and baggage claim in our fair city, too.

As for shopping, the only reason I ever have to go to Atlanta for shopping--being a single male in my early 30's--is to hit up IKEA (which you can also do in Charlotte) or to see a nicer selection of musical instrument stores since I'm also a musician. Other than that, the only places ATL has that you can't find similarly here are more upscale designer retailers. Columbia honestly doesn't have much of anything Augusta doesn't have, they just have more quantity of mostly the same places (I think Nort meant to say 'quality' and not 'quantity' when mentioning what we have in AUG). The only thing either ATL or COLA have a significant advantage in is concerts and other entertainment venues.

After work today I headed down to the Veggie Truck Market in the Harrisburg community behind St. Luke UMC and talked with quite a few students/residents from GRU who were there. Many of them shared the same sentiment that they had a lot of similar apprehensions as the original poster about coming to Augusta when they found they were placed here or decided to come to school here. They went on to say that once they got here and settled in a bit, they found that it was a much better experience than they expected or had heard about previously.

[footdock]

I concur with GRU minion; I personally like flying out of Augusta and alot of times it is cheaper than flying out of Atlanta or Charlotte. Flying out of columbia is better than those large cities as well. I think Augusta is great for raising kids. I use to live in Atlanta and its great if you are single and need to go clubbing and sporting events, but if you are settled, you do not want the traffic and Augusta has pretty much everything and if it doesn't it soon will. I've lived in both Richmond and Columbia Counties. I prefer CC