Pros and Cons of Living in Georgia? (Atlanta, Savannah: crime, cheap home)

[StMarysRichard]

Originally Posted by kool hand luke

I've lived in georgia since 1968. Pros include alot of entertainment, with mountains, beaches, etc. The roads are better than most, with alot of good churches. Cons include terrible schools, and in general- a somewhat backward way of thinking by alot of natives. That opinion isn't aimed at all people that live in Ga, but I do believe that (especially outside the Atlanta area) alot of people are close minded and naive.

You say that outside of Atlanta Metrois naive? OMG yo got that backwards, son. It is the suburbanites who are kings and queens of naivete. You got a lot ta' learn sonny boy. By the way is your name for Kool Hand Luke BRYAN- from Leesburg GA? lol

[kool hand luke]

Originally Posted by StMarysRichard

You say that outside of Atlanta Metrois naive? OMG yo got that backwards, son. It is the suburbanites who are kings and queens of naivete. You got a lot ta' learn sonny boy. By the way is your name for Kool Hand Luke BRYAN- from Leesburg GA? lol

I am not from Leesburg. You are arrogant to suggest someone else has alot to learn. Focus on what you need to learn, not others. I go by my experience of living in Georgia for 46 years- all over the state.

[SavannahLife]

if you like south GA for what it is (scenic, rural, fewer bland chains), please stay. If you don't, please leave. Have a nice day!

[dwaine99]

Originally Posted by James Wolfe

Hello!

Me and my wife (both mid 20s) are currently living in Southern California and are considering moving to Georgia. I am self employed as a video producer and my wife works as a marketing assistant. We are looking to buy our first home and raise a family in a pleasant, safe, community. Some of my initial research has attracted me to the Athens area. Also we love small towns and Madison, Social Circle, and a couple others nearby caught our eye, especially Madison.

My questions are:

1) As objectively and honestly as you can answer, what are the pros and cons of living in Georgia? (Climate, people, real estate, food, traffic to and from Athens and Atlanta, crime, job market, schools, recreation)

2) I stated earlier that we were attracted to Athens and Madison. Are there any other cities or towns that are fun, cute (as per wife's request), up and coming, safe, within an hour of the airport, etc?

Ps. We have both experienced extreme humidity so that won't be a huge shock for us hopefully

Thank you

Plenty to do in Athens... and Madison has some beautiful homes. The climate is great here... I've lived in Charleston SC, Columbus GA, Fredericksburg, VA and Hartwell, GA. There are some great deals on Allegiant Airlines out of Greenville-Spartanburg, SC Airport (GSP) and we found them to be much cheaper than Athens or Atlanta but it depends on where you are traveling.

Charleston and Columbus were too hot and Virginia too cold... We moved to Hartwell almost 3 years ago and feel we made a poor choice. Madison or Athens seems like excellent choices for you and would have been a better choice for us. We are looking for land just outside Dahlonega off of a main road for some quiet. Dahlonega is just in the edge of the mountains, not far from excellent medical facilities in Gainesville and the summers are milder than Hartwell, Columbus or Charleston....

[masonbauknight]

@Dwaube99. What did you think of living in Frederickburg, VA? Am curious how you see it. The old downtown has always impressed me -- pretty place, nice to walk around in, and with a train station right there linking it with DC -- but I hate the outskirts of town.

[dwaine99]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

@Dwaube99. What did you think of living in Frederickburg, VA? Am curious how you see it. The old downtown has always impressed me -- pretty place, nice to walk around in, and with a train station right there linking it with DC -- but I hate the outskirts of town.

Old downtown Fredricksburg reminds me of Charleston and very similar to Old Towne Alexandria. I used to ride the train to Quantico and then walk two blocks to my office..... Both of my kids graduated University of Mary Washington....It's was a nice place to live, wages were above average but I prefer Georgia anyday....

[StMarysRichard]

Originally Posted by masonbauknight

@Dwaube99. What did you think of living in Frederickburg, VA? Am curious how you see it. The old downtown has always impressed me -- pretty place, nice to walk around in, and with a train station right there linking it with DC -- but I hate the outskirts of town.

Pleasejust get this post outta here. Expensive, fake , and petty Fredericksburg or NOVA is not in Georgia.

[RiverBird]

re: Georgia

We're taking a trip to Georgia in April. Any suggestions on where a retiree could live that is slightly more liberal, with art events and classical music concerts, etc and not in the path of tornados and hurricanes and possibly cooler than the rest of the state in summer?

Thanks for any suggestions.

[ThePage]

Property taxes are too high in Georgia, at least from what someone told me.
You might want to check that before moving there.

[bUU]

Originally Posted by newenglandgirl

We're taking a trip to Georgia in April. Any suggestions on where a retiree could live that is slightly more liberal, with art events and classical music concerts, etc and not in the path of tornados and hurricanes and possibly cooler than the rest of the state in summer?

No place will be all those things. We have comparable political perspectives (if I recall previous discussion threads we've both contributed to, correctly) and chose Roswell (as opposed to, say, Cumming or John's Creek or East Cobb) mostly on that basis. Details about historic and cultural affairs in Roswell can be found here: City of Roswell, GA - Official Website - Cultural Affairs & Historic Homes The only record of tornadoes I could find here Tornado History Project: Fulton County, Georgia were three F1s from 1975, 2006 and 2013. 0 fatalities and 2 injuries among the three. The primary damage in the 2013 tornado was apparently a car wash, which was rebuilt and is now quite a high-class place to get your car spiffed up. You could knock some degrees off the summer highs further north, but Roswell is the last blue outpost before the vast red wilderness to the north.

PM me if you'd like to chat about our relocation.

Originally Posted by ThePage

Property taxes are too high in Georgia, at least from what someone told me.
You might want to check that before moving there.

Our property taxes went down by 33%, even though our square footage went up by 15% and we went from condo (where our land's property tax was paid through the condo fee) with a 8'x10' deck and a 6'x5' front stoop, to fee simple (where we pay the property tax on the land) with a real front yard and real backyard.