S. Ga. Info please (Atlanta, Valdosta: crime, how much, homes)

[ElMar]

Hello again. Trying to relocate my family out of Tampa Bay Florida by summers end. Had been focusing on Berrien County or the nearby Valdosta area. Husband may have a job opp. in Bacon County, the city of Alma. Anyone with info on the city/county please help fill me in, not able to find out much online. We are a family with three school aged kids, so of course I am concerned about schooling and crime stats. The price of housing is AWESOME in comparison to Tampa Bay. Florida has robbed us dry financially and we are looking for a fresh start.

Thanks for any and all help.

ElMar

[Bulldawgfan]

ElMar,

I once lived in the Tampa area (for 14 years) and now live in central Ga.. I have traveled all through the area you are talking about and I must warn you of the culture shock you are in for. I cannot add anything in regards to schools, but be prepared to be remote. Very remote. More remote than you can possibly be in the entire state of Florida. I will add this though, once you get used to it (if you ever do) it is a great way of life. At least to me, any ways. Besides living in Tampa I have lived in Atlanta and the Chicago area so I consider myself a city kind a guy. I now will never move back to a metropolitan area again. Thats how much the simple country life has had an effect on me. Good luck on your move.

[j0ja]

I have relatives in Colquitt county and Moultrie, that is SW Georgia. Valdosta is about an hour's drive. The previous poster summed it up well. It is very rural: people are generally friendly but you do have a small town mentality to deal with (assuming you have lived in smaller towns). Housing near or in Valdosta and Tifton may be your best bet. Most of your shopping can be done in those "larger sized" SW GA towns.

One very beautiful city in that area is Thomasville which is a comfortable drive from Valdosta but seems more inconvenient for Berrien County. Thomasville has many beautiful old homes and is worth at least a drive through. Thomasville used to the last train stop for passenger service many years ago, so many wealthy people bought retirement homes there long before Florida became popular.

Since are concerned about schools, definitely check out the counties in that area with this website (Georgia Public Policy Foundation) (it covers all of Georgia, and is a must for people with kids and deciding on a decent public school) You can narrow down your search by the rankings of all public schools relative to that area.

Georgia Public Policy Foundation - www.gppf.org (http://www.gppf.org/default.asp?pt=doc&doc=reportcard - broken link)

Good luck!