Moving to the area. . . (Atlanta: crime, homes, neighborhood)

[bblawson]

Okay, so now let's get down to discussing my paranoia. How about personal safety? Tell me about the relative risks of walking alone, being outside after dark, etc. . . How prevalent are drugs and gangs in this area? And while we're at it, let's go one step further, if you are so close to the river, tell me about the potential for flooding, please.

I am thoroughly enjoying all your informative posts. You don't happen to work for the town, do you?

[MantaRay]

I'm glad I can be of help. I've actually been on this site asking questions about various cities on my top places to retire to list, and people giving real insight has been a huge help for me. So I'm more than glad to help somebody where I can with what I know. People don't get attacked or accosted on the North Augusta greenway. The greenway closes at dusk, and most of it isn't lighted, so you're typically not going to be on it after dark anyway. The riverfront portion in the vicinity of Hammond's Ferry and the 13th street bridge is lighted, so you'll have a little more time in the few minutes after dusk. In the neighborhood where I am, plenty of people go out walking after dark because the streets are lighted, even pregnant women with their husband or friends, and there is never any problem, but nonetheless it is always a good idea to go out with at least one other person if you're going to do that. Dusk is a really good time to walk in the summer, when the heat and humidity during the day make you want to walk at dusk.

Gangs are more of a problem in Augusta. North Augusta is so "Mayberry" that the problem doesn't really extend over here. There isn't a big drug problem, although like just about everywhere else there has been a house in a single family neighborhood raided because some young adult set up a small meth lab. But in listening to the news, I really don't hear about drug problems over here much at all. On the other hand, I have heard from unofficial sources that the Greenbrier High School has a drug problem. But it doesn't surprise me because nationwide it is now known that a lot of the drug problem is in the more affluent suburbs where kids have more money to buy them. Anyway, you won't hear about people shooting or robbing other people in NA over drugs like you will in the inner city low income neighborhoods in Augusta.

Flooding really isn't a problem because of the dam at Clark's Hill Lake aka Strom Thurmond Lake. If the dam were to go, everything along the riverfront would be under water. But that's not going to happen. The only reason Hammond's Ferry was able to be built was because of the protection from flooding that the dam offers. And most people who are going to move to NA aren't going to live on the riverfront anyway because only so many people have $500k and up to put into a house, and usually they're older and retired, not the bulk of families with school age kids. North Augusta goes uphill as you move in from the river, so once you get to where the 13th street bridge ends, you really won't have a problem with flooding even if the dam goes (NA downtown is at a higher elevation than Augusta downtown), and again the further in you go, the higher the elevation is. Google Earth shows the Augusta downtown and Hammond's Ferry site elevation at 131ft. Bluff Ave. where the new municipal building is being completed is 155ft. The neighorhoods I mentioned between Riverview Park and Georgia Ave. are 230-380ft. The ones off Bergen Rd. I mentioned are between 340-400ft. and the ones off Walnut Lane are between 510-540ft. So flooding isn't a realistic concern, even though the furthest neighborhoods away from downtown I mentioned are only a 10-12 minute drive.

No, I don't work for the town. But I do wish I had seen a site like this one before I moved to the area. I would have moved to NA from the beginning instead of driving twice a week and on the weekends across town to the NA greenway. And the really sad thing is seeing people like one lady at my job who is a single mom and bought into the "best schools" rhetoric and since Evans pretty much only zones for higher cost neighborhoods, ended up living from check to check and basically struggling, when she could have made a better financial decision and still got a good education for her kids. Of course she and her kids have faced the "everybody in my class has this and that and is able to do this and that but not us" sort of thing, which is really unfortunate. So my thing is that if people only KNEW, they would be able to make better decisions for themselves and their families. Or at least if they make the more expensive decision anyway, they knew the truth about the decision and about their options. It's a sad thing to see people suffer for a lack of knowledge and make choices based on bogus criteria. So I'm trying to get all Suzy Orman up in here.

[bblawson]

I am learning so much from you. I agree that sites like this are so vital in helping people learn more about a potential area. I feel that in listening to the people that actually live there you can get a more realistic view of what goes on in the area.

You've told me all the major chain stores. Have you any local mom and pop stores? How about restaurants that aren't national chains? We've previously lived in the metro DC area and know all the chains! We currently live in a small town in England and are quite happy to be away from all that busy-ness. That is why we are more interested in looking for a smaller town with a good vibe to it.

Can you tell me about your library? I looked at it online, but as you know, you can't really get a feel for it online. Is it well stocked or able to get books in from other libraries if needed?

Loved looking at all your neighborhoods online. I would try to narrow it down somewhat, but with everything I've read in the past few days, I'm still a bit overwhelmed!

[MantaRay]

There are a few local non-chain restaurants. With North Augusta being as small as it is and as close as it is to the major shopping, most of us drive about 10 minutes to the various restaurants in Augusta. There's a little restaurant and wine place just as you enter downtown NA from the 13th St. bridge. And a mom and pop Chinese place on Georgia Ave. downtown that serves hulking portions. 13th St. becomes Gerogia Ave. in downtown. There's Gary's Burgers downtown which has really good burgers (usually gets Augusta's best or is close) and excellent strawberry shakes which I've found real strawberry bits in mine. Yum Yum. Further out in North Augusta there's Old McDonald Fish Camp which is really good if you like catfish. But really, my favorite non-chains in the area are Giuseppe's on Wheeler Rd. in west Augusta for Italian, Rhinehart's Oyster Bar on Washington Rd. in west Augusta for shrimp, Village Deli on Wrightsboro Rd. across from Daniel (air) Field in Augusta for just about any kind of sandwich and fries (3 kinds) and onion rings and just about everything else. T-Bonz is a regional chain but is usually voted Best Steaks in Augusta. It definitely has the best steaks I've tasted in the area, but I hear Snugg's is right up there too. T-Bonz on Washington Rd., actually not that far from Rhinehart's. Washington Rd. has the highest concentration of restaurants in the entire metro area and is a 10 minute drive from NA.

I don't know a lot about the library. I've been there once and it seemed like a nice facility. My computer once went belly-up and I went to use the library computers and the facilities were ample. But I don't know how well stocked it is.

Happy hunting!

[MantaRay]

Originally Posted by lzbthc82

I am also moving to Augusta and I just wanted to say thank you manta for all that great info. I'm glad to hear about the recycling and pedestrian focus of the area. These are major concerns for our family. Thank you again!
Liz

Good luck with your move. When you get a chance to visit, don't forget to check out the North Augusta Riverfront. Go south on Crystal Lake Dr. until you get to the river and park along the public park area and take a few minutes to walk a little of the greenway. If you have enough time, also check out the part of the greenway along the northern edge of the River Golf Course. I guarantee you'll not find more beautiful park views in the entire metro besides these two sections of trail.

[bblawson]

I have been loooking at photos online this morning and having a good time seeing the area through the eyes of local residents or visitors. The internet sure is a treasure trove of information - if you know how/where to look!

Saw something called Augusta Canal - not sure what it is, but it looked pretty for a walk with the family. Also photos of the dam (not sure if it's the one you mentioned).

The restaurants sound great. I like having local places to choose from.

Unfortunately, we won't have a chance to visit before actually arriving in the area to stay. That's the way this job is. But, as previously mentioned, the internet is a great resource.

Just read online that N Augusta says you can only have max 3 dogs or 3 cats per household. Do you know anything about this regulation? I find it only a little worrying as I own 4 cats and will not find a home for one just to live in N Augusta.

Regarding the schools, how far out of town can one live and still be within the N Augusta HS area?

[MantaRay]

The thing with the max dogs and cats is to prevent what occassionally happens where a house is found to have 30 cats and dogs, with feces and urine all over the place and people living in that filth and the house having to be condemned. By having an ordinance like that, it protects neighbors and neighborhoods from having this one house that drags down the value of the homes in that neighborhood. You'll have to check, but I think the more rural sections are more lax with how many pets you can have. I think all the more populated suburbs in the metro area have some similar ordinance to protect homeowners.

The Augusta Canal was built during the Industrial Revolution so that Augusta manufacturing could compete with northern manufacturing by having a waterway branched off the Savannah River for on-site power generation. It was also used as a towpath to transport goods, usually with a mule on the bank pulling a small barge of goods. Today it still provides power for a former factory turned urban apartment complex and it is primarily used as a mostly unpaved walking/bike trail and for canoeing/kayaking and is protected as a historic site. It begins at what is called the Savannah Rapids Pavillion and ends in downtown Augusta. Plans are to eventually connect it to the North Augusta greenway.

As far as how far out you can live and still be in Area 2 (NAHS), the website with a (not very detailed) map is aiken.k12.sc.us/site/maps/Area_2_Map.html which seems to indicate the county line as the northern edge, the eastern edge comprised of Ridge Rd., Woldus Rd., Crystal Springs Rd., Duncan Rd., and Belvedere-Clearwater Rd., and the southern edge somewhere around the railroad tracks south of US1 (Jefferson Davis Hwy. aka Aiken-Augusta Hwy).

And speaking of looking at photos, a couple tools I like to use are the bird's eye view from maps.live.com and the street view from maps.google.com. The maps aren't always 100% up to date (with new construction within the past year or so sometimes not showing up) but it's a good substitute if you don't have actual on the ground pictures.

[bblawson]

Yes, I know about Google maps not being up to date. I've lived in this house for 5 years and the aerial shot still shows the previous owners vehicles in the driveway!

I'll check out the website and I thank you once again. When husband goes into work tomorrow morning, he is going to accept the job offer. Another adventure begins!

[bblawson]

You're right about the school map - it's terrible! I'll try to make sense of it later, after the kids have gone to bed!

[lilmusket]

The Augusta area is included on google maps street views, and they were done within the past year.... shows the construction at I20 and I520... it's a great resource, as it allows you to visually tour the area b4 you even get here.