Aiken SC, or Augusta GA (Atlanta, Savannah: lease, daycare, homes)

[SeaSpur]

Originally Posted by EastsideDave

I was wondering if you or anyone else knew about what was being built on Trolley Line Road near Trolley Run? The land being cleared is part of the area that is meant for the retail/commercial part of the Trolley Run development, it's right before you get to the houses on Trolley Line Road if you're going towards Graniteville. They've cleared off a decent sized chunk of land... If you look at the plan for Trolley Run, that land I'm talking about is the commercial property on the far left of the map: Trolley Run Station: Master Plan (http://trolleyrunstation.com/masterplan.html - broken link)

I'm not too sure what is being built specifically in that area, although it is zoned for commercial property according to the Master Plan. I have noticed that it was clear off- at first, I was thinking they were just going to make another entrance for easier access from Trolley Line Road.

To be honest, it is hard to know exactly what is going on from an outsider's perspective...one day a big crew is out working in the area where the YMCA is supposed to go- then one day, there is a crew across from the apartment complexes clearing off land and a bunch of other construction.

[par4him]

Live in Aiken. Much better city with a lively downtown.

[bmitchell1876]

Can you be more specific when you say Aiken is a "better" town. Maybe Im missing something...

[cmarie2010]

My job will be in Aiken however I crave a city/suburban life when not at work so that we aren't bored out of our minds with limited places to go for eating, shopping, entertainment etc. The 20-25 minute drive does not seem bad.

Can anyone refer nice suburbs in Augusta which have good schools/daycares? On the other hand if people drive daily from Aiken to Augusta maybe I could do the same for entertainment purposes. I think I'll get a better feel once I am able to visit. Aiken looks really nice however the size and limited shopping scares me a bit. What about movie theatres and video stores??

[cmarie2010]

Thanks Par4him! :-)

[nortonguy]

Par4him disses Augusta (city) on every post. While Aiken is nice, he would say any city or town is better than Augusta. Just read any thread on the forum.... His bio says he lives in Marietta. But nobody has ever seen him post in the Atlanta forum once. Even though there are plenty of threads in the Atlanta forum asking info on Cobb county (schools, nice neighborhoods, etc)..

Aiken has a movie theatre... Im not sure about the # of video stores in Aiken.
Regal Aiken Mall Cinema 8 Showtimes and Tickets

The huge movie theatre is in West Augusta. The theatre has Imax.
Movie Theater Showtimes in Augusta, GA

A nice suburb in Augusta with good schools/daycares? West Augusta zipcodes 30907 and 30909 in Richmond county.

[cyclingdawg]

You should check out North Augusta. This will give you an Aiken small town feel with a 10 min or less drive to most of Augusta's attractions and shopping. It is Augusta's best kept secret. There are 2 ten mile long greenways and the new Hammonds Ferry is awesome and you are in a great school district and downtown Augusta is just across the bridge. There are plans to extend the greenway down the 5th street bridge and develop it into an outdoor mall with condos and shops.

[cmarie2010]

Ok I am getting a bit confused. I'm receiving conflicting opinions not surprisingly so on Aiken vs. Augusta and North Augusta vs. West Augusta.

My job will be in Aiken however I do not mind the commute as long as it does not exceed 20-25minutes.

I've seen pictures of Aiken and read about Aiken county and I have to admit it looks like a beautiful place to live; however it looks to be totally different than the life I am used to here in the Detroit area. You can totally tell Aiken is a small town. My family and I currently reside in a suburb however the city is less than 10-15 minutes from us. We are in our early 30's and have small children so we would want to have tons of options as far as places to shop, schools, entertainment, etc.

I feel torn...I admire the quiet peaceful suburban appearance of Aiken however I don't want to drive far away for my day to day/weekend activities.

I read and I've heard about part of Augusta to aviod due to crime. Can anyone tell me where that is??

Is Aiken really as boring as it seems. Is there a TGI Friday's in Aiken, Chili's or similar restuarants?

[EastsideDave]

CMarie, there are plenty of restaurants in Aiken, including a Chili's. There's also an Outback, Red Lobster, etc. Plus, there are many very good local eateries throughout the city, many in downtown Aiken.

If you live in Aiken, it would only take you 20 mins. (30 mins. max.) to get to Augusta.

In an attempt to avoid a rather large argument with other members of the forum (believe me, it's happened in the past), I won't say which area(s) of Augusta to avoid because of crime...BUT I can tell you in a private message if you'd like.

Also, I must warn you, NO city in metro Augusta can even come close to comparing to Detroit, so if you want to live somewhere similar, you're in the wrong place, this metro as a whole is only 500K people, so there's a LOT less in terms of 'stuff' when compared to metro Detroit. But, there is still plenty of things to do in the CSRA and I think you'd be very happy in either Aiken or Augusta (or even the lovely suburbia that is Columbia County).

You should check out the Metro Spirit website, I've provided a link to last week's issue, it was their 'Augusta City Guide' publication, which provides all sorts of information for newcomers to the area including entertainment, shopping, and dining options throughout the city.
Metro Spirit: Archives (http://metrospirit.com/index.php?cat=121304064644348&z_Issue_ID=110123021 02850588&Year=2010 - broken link)

[nortonguy]

There is no part of Augusta to avoid totally. There are some sketchy areas in East Augusta and the older parts of South Augusta(inner 520).


For the nice areas look at West Augusta, Hephzibah city limits(south of willis foreman rd, there are places with a Hephzibah address but not in the city llimits), Diamond Lakes, Goshen, Forest Hills, Summerville/Hill, and Augusta Exchange area.