lue Ridge or Blairsville, GA (Atlanta, Clayton: rentals, crime, home)

[basailuolin]

My husband and I live in a small town (600 residents) in Maine and can no longer take the long, snow filled, subzero winters. We have been looking into moving south to an area that is still in the mountains, has 4 seasons, but not constant snow. We spent some time in Asheville, NC area, and although beautiful, the prices are too high and it is too congested. I think it is sad that they build home on top of home on the side of every available mountain.

We originally started our search in N. Georgia and have come back around to it. We think that either Blue Ridge of Blairsville may be our final destination. The one thing that we keep hearing, and is making us doubt a possible move to that area, is that the local people are hostile towards outsiders. Most of the comments seem to be directed to Floridians, but lets face it, an outsider is an outsider.

When we moved to Maine we heard pretty much the same thing, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The people here welcomed us with open arms and in no time we were considered "Mainers". We are hoping the same might be true of N. Georgia, and am hoping maybe some "outsiders" can tell us what their experience has been. And maybe some locals can let me know how you feel about Mainers!

Thanks for the help,

[GAmtnman42]

Good, we need more like minded people up here. You'd be leaving a tax hell for a tax paradise. Rent first - never buy unless you're sure that you want to spend the rest of your life here. Georgia doesn't tax social security and anything less than 35k in pension benefits isn't taxed either. The counties control the tag licensing. You'll want to spend a few weeks poking around, check in with several agencies for rentals.

[induchman]

Town: Pop:
Hiawassee 810
Blairsville 652
Blue Ridge 1290
Clayton 2019

[AnsleyPark]

Originally Posted by basailuolin

My husband and I live in a small town (600 residents) in Maine and can no longer take the long, snow filled, subzero winters. We have been looking into moving south to an area that is still in the mountains, has 4 seasons, but not constant snow. We spent some time in Asheville, NC area, and although beautiful, the prices are too high and it is too congested. I think it is sad that they build home on top of home on the side of every available mountain.

We originally started our search in N. Georgia and have come back around to it. We think that either Blue Ridge of Blairsville may be our final destination. The one thing that we keep hearing, and is making us doubt a possible move to that area, is that the local people are hostile towards outsiders. Most of the comments seem to be directed to Floridians, but lets face it, an outsider is an outsider.

When we moved to Maine we heard pretty much the same thing, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. The people here welcomed us with open arms and in no time we were considered "Mainers". We are hoping the same might be true of N. Georgia, and am hoping maybe some "outsiders" can tell us what their experience has been. And maybe some locals can let me know how you feel about Mainers!

Thanks for the help,

I live in Blue Ridge part time. Ya know, I see all kinds of things in the online forums about "outsiders." In my four years of experience in Blue Ridge, there seems to be little if no disdain to outsiders. I think the forums tend to attract the vocal (and sometimes crazy) minority of folks. The Blue Ridge citizenry has always been friendly, nice and good neighbors. It's a charming town in a beautiful mountain environment. Lake Blue Ridge, right outside of town, is also a great asset to area.

[ReneeP80]

Concerning Blue Ridge and the rest of Fannin County, Ga:
The town of Blue Ridge sounds small statistically(less than 1300 people) but the "within the city limits" population is
just a fraction of fannin county(population of around 25,000 -not including the multitude of tourists at any given time and
the populace of neighboring Copperhill, Tn residents), which functions as a whole ( not necessarily governmentally, but
communitywise).
As far as people go, there are some who will give you the shirts off their backs, and there are just as many who are all
about appearances, very clannish, two-faced, and judgemental. You might want to read the posts on the Blue Ridge [domain blocked due to spam]
website if you would like some insight into the local mentality.
This is a small town, but as I said do not be fooled. Crime does take place, only you don't hear about it as much. Local
officials don't want to tarnish the image of their tourist town. Get a local paper and read the arrest/incident reports,
this will give you greater insight, but be aware that some of the newspaper higher-ups are majorly involved with the local
chamber of commerce, so some information might possibly be biased and some of the noteworthy happenings pertinent to your
query might possibly be left out. For an example of local crime, just recently a man shot and killed 3 members of his
extended family because of a dispute concerning property lines, just 10 miles down the road in the "Grassy Creek" area of
Polk County, Tn. Crimes do take place. I would never sleep with my windows open in this town, and havent for years.

Meth and prescription drug abuse is rampant in this area. It is a way of life for a lot of these people. Burglaries are on
the rise and this place had over 20 suicides in one year! The yearly suicide rate, especially in winter, is staggering.
Look on some of these statistics sites and you will see that the likely hood of injury in this area is almost twice as high
as Ga average. Access to good medical care is lacking. The larger majority of the population of the county is on welfare or
elderly retirees. There is very little for young people to do in this town which has led to a higher rate of teenage
pregnancy. Neighboring Gilmer county supposedly has a larger percentage of their population that are HIV positive than the
city of Atlanta. There are limited job opportunites. It is no Mayberry by a long shot, but Mayberry is what they want
people to think. I live here and believe me, I would LOVE to move to some place more rural. Rapidly this town is becoming
merely a suburb of Atlanta and losing its rural charm. Much of the way of life that made this area a wonderful place to
live is quickly dissolving with the influx of population from other towns, and their subsequent push for change and growth
is destroying that very small town atmosphere for which the area is so touted. This explains the unfriendly attitude of
locals who do not wish to see a bar on every corner, and other such insults perceived to be at the hands of local
authorities who seem to cater to the tourist and neglect to try and make this town a great place to actually live in (not
just visit).
If you want a truly rural atmosphere, try Ironsburg, TN or some place in North Carolina. Both are growing much more slowly
and retaining much more of a neighborly attitude toward one another, imho.