Where should I live in the Athens/GA region??? (apartment, home)

[eudeohio]

Just thought of one more question about the Athens area. What about the weather? Do you have many humind days? Tornadoes warnings/watches?

The area we live now deals with strong storms and tornado warnings quite often. Just wanted to be prepared!

[Ollie1946]

Hope your visit is going well.

We do have humid summers. In the spring we have a pollen storm and for weeks we have yellow, thick pollen covering everything. We have water restrictions meaning that odd number addresses can use outdoor water on Sundays from 10 - 4; even numbers can have Saturdays for the same time period. But washing a car during the pollen season is pretty much a useless endeavor.

Falls are great and winters (we are not having one this year evidently) are fairly mild compared to northern climes.

Summers are typically hot and humid so having good A/C is useful in both car and dwelling.

We can have some storms. Athens has been hit several times by tornadoes. However, it almost seems that Atlanta diminishes storms coming our way somewhat. My house has a basement and we have spent some time there during bad weather. The longest we have ever lost power was about a day's worth or a bit more. I would hate not to have a storm cellar/basement or some "safe" spot in the house.

[eudeohio]

We were jus back from Athens a couple of days ago. It was a very nice visit! Athens itself is pretty and downtown has lots of restaurants and cafes. We loved that! We got to visit Oconee Co. and some of its facilities. I was impressed with the schools there, the physical buildings that is, although we did hear they are one of the best in the country. Oconee co. is very spread out, different from what we are used to here in the Dayton area. Here all cities connect, not much room in between and very few farms. But it seems like Oconee and Clarke counties offer enough for a small family. And then Atlanta is always there for extra entertainment, shopping, etc.

We visited the botanical garden (very nice!), the Bear Hollow zoo (small, but free – worth visiting!), the mall (very small!), and a few playgrounds in the area. We also visited UGA campus and stadium (beautiful campus!!) and downtown Athens of course, all sorts of food and young people all around.

[eudeohio]

Also, I can’t remember where in the GA forum that I read this but someone was looking for information on rentals in Athens. I found a little magazine/advertizing brochure at the Athens visitor’s center with lots of rental opportunities in Clarke Co and even some in Oconee co. It’s called Apartmentfinder.com. Hope this helps!

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by eudeohio

We were jus back from Athens a couple of days ago. It was a very nice visit! Athens itself is pretty and downtown has lots of restaurants and cafes. We loved that! We got to visit Oconee Co. and some of its facilities. I was impressed with the schools there, the physical buildings that is, although we did hear they are one of the best in the country. Oconee co. is very spread out, different from what we are used to here in the Dayton area. Here all cities connect, not much room in between and very few farms. But it seems like Oconee and Clarke counties offer enough for a small family. And then Atlanta is always there for extra entertainment, shopping, etc.

We visited the botanical garden (very nice!), the Bear Hollow zoo (small, but free – worth visiting!), the mall (very small!), and a few playgrounds in the area. We also visited UGA campus and stadium (beautiful campus!!) and downtown Athens of course, all sorts of food and young people all around.

For what its worth... Oconee is very rural or suburban-subdivison in nature, especially near 316 and loop 10.

If you can find a house with convenient traffic free to Loop 10 you will have an easy drive to Olympic Dr., which is east of the city.

I would -not- locate the the southern end of the Oconne and drive through east Athens to get to loop 10 as traffic from students backs up pretty bad getting to campus just inside loop 10.

I think Ollie has given you solid advice, but I wanted to add two small details.

If you do decide to move into Athens-Clarke, many of the neighborhoods that aren't apart of the old town, but are built more like a suburban subdivision with a single entrance, cul-de-sacs, and curvy roads on full size lots tend to have few students. There are many of these west and north in the county, Like along Timothy Rd or Epps Bridge Rd.

There are a couple of mostly family-residential neighborhoods in East Athens that could work, but I'd also caution when looking. East Athens has many apartments and is a common place for students to live. However, it is very close to Olympic Drive.

However, I would recommend Oconee Co. for schools alone.

As for shopping... my two cents. I would be more concerned finding day-to-day and week-to-week shopping needs locally. The Athens mall and mall area is located to the west and near Oconee, but if you ever want access to many more options and really good shopping Oconee is actually sort of semi-accessible to Gwinnett/Mall of Georgia. It is more of a weekend day or half-day trip though. You can get there in about 45 minutes, but it is some of the best the Atlanta area has to offer. It is a somewhat easy drive, since you don't have to drive all the way into the city.

Oconee Connector to Mall of Georgia Dr - Google Maps

Seems like alot compared to normal, but this isn't that uncommon of a thing for many in Athens to do sometimes.

[eudeohio]

Dear cwkimbro, tks for your input. All info we can get is welcome and appreciated

We liked Oconnee for its school system, but I found it very spread out, far from things I guess. But very very pretty! Good schools for us is a must. So we might be goign with Oconnee, that's if we do move.

If you think of anything else, please do share. Tks!

[FromGA]

(I posted this in Geordie's thread as well)

eudeohio, if your Athens employment opportunity is a good one, and considering your kid is still at early elementary age --
an option is that you could rent in the Five Points area of Athens -- Barrow Elementary district is the best elementary in Athens (make sure you know the rules regarding attendance there). Once you have figured out the area you could decide your future course. Good luck.

[loose cannon]

This is the town that Stipe built. Why are you questioning its greatness!

[kfihser6270]

I am considering Athens for retirement in a few years. I want a place with good gardening potential, a good Y and outdoor activities. Athens seems to fit the bill from initial view. But what do people who live there say? Can anyone tell me about the Y, is it good, offer a good variety of classes to include yoga and water classes? The area north of the perimeter road seems to have houses in my budget. What is that area of town like? Thanks for input.

[Ollie1946]

I would not live in the north if you are thinking 441 North towards Commerce.

As for gardening, we are in a big drought situation and operate under water restrictions. If it is that important to you, I'd look at a place with a private well or one where you can have one bored. My neighbor has a private well here in East Athens and has a beautiful garden area on his 2 acres. Also has a small pond in the front yard. House has been for sale for a while now. Has a deer fence around the entire property. Don't know what he wants for the place anymore, just that he wants to sell.

Cannot address the Y. The YWCA is in East Athens area and has the usual stuff I think. The YMCA is across town and seems to have a lot of kids stuff.