New Questions About Moving to Athens, GA (Watkinsville: apartment complex, rent)

[outoftime73]

Hello,

First, apologies for the redundant question since I see there are quite a few similar to this one on the message board except in different variations.

I'm a single, professional 41 year old male looking for residence in or around the Athens area. I've been doing some research on Athens and it looks primarily like a college town. At my age, I'd obviously prefer being away from that sort of thing.

I'm aim to live in a peaceful and quiet area although (as not to contradict myself) yet live around downtown Athens or at least close to the vicinity.

It would also be of an advantage to live in an area closer to good physicians and hospitals. The area I live in now requires an epic journey simply to make my bimonthly visit to the cardiologist.

The closest I can get to living in an area low on crime (particularly an area that has the least drug problems) and high on friendliness and hospitality the better.

Like most of us I'm on a very tight income and would like to find something affordable in perhaps the 500/550 a month range where pets (a cat) are allowed. I have absolutely no criminal background whatsoever (if that sort of background check is required) and am a very responsible tenant.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you kindly for your time...

[RunningNorm]

//www.city-data.com/forum/georg...athens-ga.html

... outoftime73, I am sure you saw the thread above. I, too, am looking at moving to Athens. Will know in a few weeks if I am getting the position at UGA. Looking forward to the opportunity!

While, I enjoy the college atmosphere, I like where you are headed with this: "I'm aim to live in a peaceful and quiet area although (as not to contradict myself) yet live around downtown Athens or at least close to the vicinity."

And this: "The closest I can get to living in an area low on crime (particularly an area that has the least drug problems) and high on friendliness and hospitality the better."

Looking forward to input from the good folks on this forum!

[DJDeadParrot]

Originally Posted by outoftime73

I'm aim to live in a peaceful and quiet area although (as not to contradict myself) yet live around downtown Athens or at least close to the vicinity.

...

The closest I can get to living in an area low on crime (particularly an area that has the least drug problems) and high on friendliness and hospitality the better.

What distance would be your breaking point for being outside the vicinity of downtown Athens?

What you're looking for is not impossible. The thing to understand about Athens is that its not just any college town; it is home to one of the nation's largest colleges boasting a football season that has its own gravitational field. Not to mention a very active indie music scene where everyone is trying to be the next REM. Consequently, downtown Athens doesn't stay quiet for long.

If you're okay with being 15 minutes from downtown, I would absolutely recommend having a look at a town a few miles south by the name of Watkinsville. That said, I have no idea what rents go for out that way.

[Cdarocks]

I live in Watkinsville and see rent signs out here and there. I did happen to see one yesterday for what looks like maybe a 2 bedroom modest home I would consider to be in a good location (street is a bit busy). The sign actually had the price on it - $635/mo including all appliances. It has a decent yard.

Watkinsville is more expensive than Athens, but many people feel the slightly rural setting is worth it. My neighborhood is home to many UGA faculty and professionals. It is about 10 minutes to campus, but feels like a world away. That being said, I just flipped through Craig's list and did not see much in Athens in the $500/$550 range. I think this budget is going to get you into a somewhat undesirable apartment complex based on what I see listed at the moment. You are competing with thousands of students and what is left at this point is everything they didn't snarff up.

[yarnlover]

We just moved here from NM and are very content on the east side of town (except for lousy cell phone coverage) near Gaines School Road/Barnett Shoals. We're renting a house off Cedar Shoals, but there seem to be a lot of apartments/townhouses between here and the University (don't know the rents). We are happy to be on this side of town instead of the west side, which you can access quickly for shopping, if that's your thing, using the Inner Loop. This side of town seems quieter, less densely populated and much less congested, but you have easy and quick access to UGA, Watkinsville, the center of town, and 5 points, and there are some excellent restaurants and groceries.