Blue Ridge Georgia...Military friendly???? (Atlanta, Rome: rentals, houses, transfer to) - (GA) - City-Data Forum

serrendipity · 08-03-2010, 12:18 PM

My husband and I are looking for our forever home. We normally move every other year so this is a huge deal to finally settle somewhere. My husband will be working out of Atlanta (he will drive there once every four days). So first question...how is the Atlanta commute?

The other one is I hear blue ridge doesn't welcome Floridians? Not sure if thats true. Do you think they would welcome Military? We don't have southern accents, we homeschool, and arent religious. But, we are good people, tax payers, and we'd love to settle down and enjoy the country. I have three boys.

Also how's the weather? We currently live in Arkansas and it 107 degrees.

Anyhow another place I've thought of is Dahlonega. Were looking for laid back, small town, quaint, country tranquility. Reasonable prices 150,000-350,000. I'd also like to be able to volunteer with my kids, and possibly open up a private practice.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated ( :

flyonpa · 08-03-2010, 12:49 PM

BlueRidg: Its going to be a hike to get to atlanta, about 90-120 mins non rush hour (Rush 6-10a) about 2.5-3H) Its a little cooler then metro atlanta, does get some snow in the winter Weatherlink: http://www.wunderground.com/weathers...3&yearend=2010 . It seem to be millitary frendly, A lot of the HS kids there go on to the military (there is very little in the way of jobs there). Its a bit bible belt;ish but not overly.

Dahlonega: Same driving time to atlanta. I;d say its little less religious there,

Both area are not very ethnically diverse.

go falcons · 08-03-2010, 01:09 PM

Dalonega is the home of North Georgia College ,which has a military training school so there are lots of officers in training there.
Both are beautiful towns with great highway access. Blue Ridge has lake Blue Ridge which may be a plus . Dalonega has a lot of water acess as well mainly rivers and streams though.

serrendipity · 08-06-2010, 11:27 AM

Thanks so much for posting guys. Both towns sound beautiful. One concern I have with Blue Ridge is the lack of a college. What is the reputation of North Georgia College? I'd like my boys to go through the engineering curriculum and maybe transfer to Georgia Institute of Technology. It looks like it has small classes, and good teachers which is precisely what I'm looking for. Would you recommend?

Also I keep seeing that Blue ridge is more accessible in the winter. I was wondering if that was true?

As to religion. We currently live in Arkansas and as soon as we mention (when asked) that we dont go to church people refuse to associate with us except other military of course. Is Blue Ridge or Dahlonega that religious. We would like to be accepted in the town obviously so it's a concern since will be retired and unable to move.

flyonpa · 08-06-2010, 04:11 PM

Weather wise (winter) they are about the same, From what I've seen they are military friendly, as long as you dont pack your tank in the chruch parking lot.

FromGA · 08-06-2010, 06:52 PM

If you dont find what you are looking for in the N. Ga mountains try the Athens area. There are several counties around Athens, rural to urban. To Atlanta once in 4 days is do-able from several of these areas.

Georgiafrog · 08-06-2010, 06:57 PM

Or if not Athens, look to Rome. Great schools (#1 in Ga in 2009) and colleges, great downtown, a little closer, and 300k would buy you a mansion.

Rome, Georgia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lastminutemom · 08-07-2010, 06:24 AM

There are plenty of rentals in both areas, I think I would try it out for a while before buying. The commute will be a bear. (And you might see some real bears too.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I am not sure how large the non-religious homeschooling communities are in those areas and I am not sure how you will find people to hang out with, if that is your concern.

N. GA houses a military college and is highly respected among many people.

Georgia Institute of Technology :: Undergraduate Admission :: Regents' Engineering Transfer Program (RETP)

This indicates that GA Tech approves of the program there and it would be suitable preparation.

serrendipity · 08-07-2010, 06:36 PM

You know lastminutemom, I looked at the dalonega nugget paper and it had some pics of bears. Are there many?? I looked at the site you recommended for the transfers. Very helpful, that will save us a great deal of money.

My husband did visit Dahlonega a month or so ago and said he liked it, but I wanted to visit Blue Ridge to.

As to the religion....well, I'm okay with pretty much any religion. It's just been a problem where I currently live cause you either go to church (preferably theirs) or the locals won't talk to you. A very force you to convert mentality that doesn't appeal to me.

Homeschooling and religion doesn't bother me, they tend to be that way. I was just wondering if in general we were likely to get a fair shake if we couldn't account for a church affiliation?

Oh and thanks for the advice on Athens and Rome, I'll look into those to. I just want to do my research so to speak before committing. Thanks so much for everyone's help ( :

lastminutemom · 08-08-2010, 07:43 AM

How old are your children? If they are already high school age, you may want to read up on the HOPE scholarship and homeschooling to make sure you understand the requirements. If they aren't yet high school age, make sure you understand that the HOPE is financial trouble and the rules/funding/opportunities may very well change.