Should we consider Athens? (Atlanta, Roswell: fit in, to rent, chapel)

[Geordie]

Hi!
My family and I are thinking of moving to Athens Georgia and I am curious if anyone can offer any insight into this area? Here is a little bit about my family.
I have two children ages 11 and 9 so good schools are important to me. I am open-minded, a progressive thinker, and appreciate nature, so am looking for a place that is progressive, artsy, culturally diverse, and pretty. I also am a vegetarian and like to buy local so farmer's markets are important. From what I've read it sounds like Athens has all of this but in order to get my kids into good public schools I would have to live in either Bogart or Watkinsville. My question is, will we fit in here?
At the moment, we are living in a place about an hour from NYC and it is just too cold here. I know Athens gets hot but I can tolerate the heat. Prior to NY we lived in the San Francisco Bay area for 2 years and before that were in Boulder, Co for 6 years. I adored Boulder and seem to gravitate toward college towns. I loved that Boulder was close to Denver for conveniences like air travel etc. and likewise, like the fact that Athens is near Atlanta. All of our family is in the east, so that is why we are looking for a place on this side of the country. My husband and I are both teachers BTW and are wanting to find a place we can settle down and call home for the long term. Your thoughts are much appreciated!

[FromGA]

You could definitely consider Athens/Watkinsville. However, it might be a little too "small" for your taste. Chapel Hill/Raleigh might be more to you liking (based on your past experieinces). Only you can answer that part.

If you visit Athens, let us know in this thread, and we could give you some suggestions.

[Geordie]

Thank you for your reply FromGA. I don't really mind small at all. I mainly want to live in a nice area that is open-minded, friendly, safe, with good schools and nearby shopping and farmer's markets. Athens sounds lovely from my research, but I'm concerned that by moving outside of Athens, in order to get my children into the better schools, that I will end up in an area that is not so open-minded and lacks an appreciation for diversity. The two areas that I am considering outside of Athens are Bogart and Watkinsville.
I also am curious about the job prospects for teachers around Athens-Clark County and Oconee county if anyone can comment. My husband is a high school earth science teacher and I teach elementary ed.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by Geordie

Thank you for your reply FromGA. I don't really mind small at all. I mainly want to live in a nice area that is open-minded, friendly, safe, with good schools and nearby shopping and farmer's markets. Athens sounds lovely from my research, but I'm concerned that by moving outside of Athens, in order to get my children into the better schools, that I will end up in an area that is not so open-minded and lacks an appreciation for diversity. The two areas that I am considering outside of Athens are Bogart and Watkinsville.
I also am curious about the job prospects for teachers around Athens-Clark County and Oconee county if anyone can comment. My husband is a high school earth science teacher and I teach elementary ed.

Athens is definitely a wonderful community and a diamond in the rough as far as a more liberal/bohemian-ish communities go. They have nice parks. It is a nice a community all around.

One thing I do want to note that is different between Athens and other college town like Boulder, Austin, and Chapel Hill is there aren't many high-paying jobs or big businesses outside of the university itself. Atlanta really steals attention away from Athens. Many of the people who live in Athens tend to be students or work in slightly lower-income sectors.

Oconee County is small and ruralish-suburbanish. It is the nice area where some people with more money end up...many from the University. The schools are definitely much nicer, however this community tends to be more conservative just like you were worried about. You really have to drive in Athens for that liberal town. But for schools alone...make Oconee County a go-to place.

The rural areas of Northeast Georgia are extremely conservative. Of course, this is a somewhat common trend.

What I will say is life is more affordable and the city has its own unique vibe. Gwinnett County in Northeast Atlanta is much larger and has some big-city shopping and entertainment options without driving all the way into Atlanta. (aprox. 45 minutes)

I can't give you any advice on job prospects, but before I read your reply that is what I was going to say. I would make sure can get a job. There aren't too many places to get a job, because the city is smaller.
Barrow County is a growing exurban county in between Gwinnett and Oconee. It might have some teaching positions a short drive away. In an extreme circumstance you could look in some of the northeastern Gwinnett schools, but that is quite a bit of a drive and I think many teachers try hard to get those positions as well.



Good Luck!

[FromGA]

As much as I would love for people to experience the Athens area (I lived there 15 years), this is the challenge I faced in the one year I tried out Oconee county (Bogart/Watkinsville):

I apologize for stereotyping and exaggerating, but most of the the people there would fall into one of the following categories:
(1) business owner/doctor types with non-working spouses
or
(2) church going conservative types

I ended up moving to metro Atlanta. I may have been over sensitive, but since you are specifically looking for a socially liberal atmosphere, I want to caution you.

Schools in Athens (Clarke county) are not good, and with you kids getting into middle school, you will have a tough situation in Athens (Clarke county) schools.

If you already have a job in Athens, or have a specific reason to move there -- I would suggest ways to work around. But since you are not in that situation, I hesitate to recommend the area (specifically because of your requirements).

If you have to move to Georgia, I would suggest Suwanee or Alpharetta/Johns Creek/Roswell (North Fulton). I live in this Johns Creek now. The cost of housing has fallen quite a bit in metro Atlanta, and 250K can get you into a nice place in this area.

I think there is very little difference in cost of living between Oconee county, and the above metro Atlanta areas.

[Geordie]

Thank you for your input cwkimbro and FromGA! Your comments are helpful and give me a better understanding of the area!

I am really trying to feel out and see if Oconee county will be a good fit for us. I personally am not a church going conservative type but I am fine with people's view points as long as it is not constantly pushed on me and my family. I would say I am spiritual rather than religious. I enjoy cultural diversity and have brought my children up to appreciate, and care about people regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientations, etc. Politically, I lean liberal but have some conservative friends. Again, I respect their opinions and ask that they respect mine. In Oconee would I expect to be the only liberal minded person in a sea of conservative thinkers? Would my children be exposed to racism and prejudice on a daily basis?

FromGA, out of the areas you suggested which would you recommend based on my comments so far? I am planning a trip late spring/early summer and would like to check them out. $250,000 is my target range for housing. How did you know?! This may help in suggesting a specific area. Thanks again!

[lastminutemom]

Please understand how difficult it is to get a teaching job. Also, you need to understand what the salary scale is.

GA's economy is in rough shape and the school systems are years away from being plush again.

[FromGA]

Originally Posted by Geordie

Thank you for your input cwkimbro and FromGA! Your comments are helpful and give me a better understanding of the area!

I am really trying to feel out and see if Oconee county will be a good fit for us. I personally am not a church going conservative type but I am fine with people's view points as long as it is not constantly pushed on me and my family. I would say I am spiritual rather than religious. I enjoy cultural diversity and have brought my children up to appreciate, and care about people regardless of their race, religion, sexual orientations, etc. Politically, I lean liberal but have some conservative friends. Again, I respect their opinions and ask that they respect mine. In Oconee would I expect to be the only liberal minded person in a sea of conservative thinkers? Would my children be exposed to racism and prejudice on a daily basis?

FromGA, out of the areas you suggested which would you recommend based on my comments so far? I am planning a trip late spring/early summer and would like to check them out. $250,000 is my target range for housing. How did you know?! This may help in suggesting a specific area. Thanks again!

I said 250K because that is about what I would spend in this area, if I were to buy a house. It costs about $1500/mo to rent in a good school district. Please dont buy a house as the first thing in any possible move.

I am assuming you are open to metro Atlanta, as opposed to Athens area alone. So if you are asking about metro Atlanta, Suwanee (Gwinnett county) and Johns Creek/Alpharetta/Roswell (North Fulton) pretty much look the same if you drive around -- subdivision houses, with reasonable dining and shopping options nearby. From east to west, you will be going from Suwanee (racially mixed I think) to Johns Creek (racially white and Asian predominantly) to Alpharetta to Roswell. People in this Suwanee to Roswell zone are from all over the country, so you will find a good blend of people.

People here think about school districts rather than cities as they all blend together. This area is also heavily populated with school age kids, so it may be the place where you might find a teaching job (I have no idea about the job opportunies for teachers.)

I am a fan of the Northeast USA as it is a much more economically strong region. Have you tried investing in good winter clothing?! However, GA is a pretty reasonable place.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

[wareii]

I will end up in an area that is not so open-minded and lacks an appreciation for diversity. The two areas that I am considering outside of Athens are Bogart and Watkinsville.http://www.*****.info/g.gif (broken link)

[eudeohio]

We have been to Athens last week, we spent 3 days exploring the area. Although we had learned before hand of the contrasting political/religious ideologies of Athens/Clarke and Oconee (if you look at data here, they are opposing actually!), we werent able to see/feel anything obvious during our stay. So I guess one does need more time in the area to get a feel for that. Thus the comments I've read here from locals, who have more experience with the area.

One point I wanted to bring up though, is the nature of the dwellers of Oconee. Generally professors/academic individuals tend to lean to a liberal political perspective. If those are living in Oconee, I would imagine one can bump into them every now and then. I guess my point is, although predominantly conservative, liberals are there too.

Our family is more liberal than conservative too. We are spiritual and not religious. But we do have friends who are both conservative and religious, and as long as our boundaries are respected, I'm ok with both. I just don't like to be imposed by anyone's political and religious views. I prefer to respect their choices and mine to be respected too.

That said, a question for the locals in the forum. As for the political and religious conservatism of Oconnee Co., are political and religious views overbearing/overriding?