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My family and I are looking into relocating from MA to GA. I have lived in MA my whole life and am ready for change. I can't bear the winters anymore and the cost of living is just crazy. I have two children 4 and 2 1/2 so school systems are important.
I would love to hear your experiences on moving there and where you live. And if you like it better than MA. Everything I see looks like a much better quality of life down there compare to here. But that is over the internet so I would love to hear real opinions. We are planning to come down for a week or so to look at different areas in May. So I would love to have a list of areas to check out. My husband just started the job search so we don't have a specific area yet.
If anyone can also list local newspapers in the area that would be great. That is the field he is in.
Are you looking for an urban lifestyle, something suburban, or a rural, small-town atmosphere? GA is a big state with plenty of options in any of those categories.
HI! We have lived in Georgia for about 10 years and like it. Although we really love the Northeast! We're originally from Southern Michigan but haven't lived up there for almost 16 years. We live in a town called Woodstock (Cherokee county) , here's the link if you care to see: Woodstock, GA - Official Website
A large portion of Georgia is under severe water bans and have been since last Summer due to drought and I fear that it's only going to get worse. They say our water rates will go up too, just something you might want to look into before heading down.
But on the other hand, we rarely have any snow to talk of, we did have a few days of light dusting on the ground this Winter and, it was cute seeing the kids get bundled up to go out "sledding" in their yards! Also, you can get a great house for less than you can pay up in MA. For example, our neighborhood is about 7 years old (+ or -). Most houses have 4 -6 bedrooms, 2 1/2 - 4 bathrooms on about 1/3 acre lot and and will sell for $270,000 - $300,000 ish. Of course, you can buy less expensive or more expensive. We have neighborhoods in our town starting in the $800,000 range too.
BobKovacs- we are looking for suburban with somewhat of a yard. Here in MA I grew up in a City 10 min south of Boston and the houses were on top of each other and until I moved and bought my own house that never bothered me. We had NO yard. Now we live about 30 minutes South of Boston and have a half acre. That is what we really wanted until we were constantly out there doing yard work. So really just enough room for the kids to run around is fine with us. And from the looks of it most of the communities down there have a playgroud and things for the kids to within walking distance. (am I right?) Where we live there are no sidewalks to walk and people fly down the street so we never go out for walk right from our house. And I know it is a big state and not knowing where my husband will find work there are alot of options. But I just wanted to hear where you think we should start our search and if you are glad you decided to move down there.
CalieCat - Thank you for all of the information. I will look into Woodstock. We live in E. Bridgewater and really loved it but we really would just love to live in a community that we could actually take walk and bike riides and get to know our neighbors. But around here to live in that type of community we would have to pay probably over $500,000 for a house. And that would probably be a fixer upper. I am just ready to try something different and I would not mind not seeing snow for a while!! I can always come home to visit and that would be fine with me.
How are the school systems there? I always hear you can't compare GA to MA but I really don't think the school systems here are anything to talk about unless you live in Weston where you need to pay over a million for a house. I think it is what you put into your child's education too. So from what I have read on Greatschools.org it looks like there are plenty of good schools even in neighborhoods that you don't have to being paying top dollar for houses. Is this right? I am just making sure I am not reading things that are not true.
I meant to ask in my last post. What is an average water bill right now? And what are your taxes? Our taxes are almost $4000 yr. And that is not water, sewer or trash pickup. Not sure how it works in Ga.
I have a lot of family in your area (E. Bridgewater, Stoughton, Holbrook) and my Mom was born and raised in Boston, so I'm pretty familiar with the area you're coming from. I lived in Columbia County in GA for seven years, went back to CT (my home state) for a few years and now I'm back in GA.
Wow, are you in for a change! The geography, culture, climate and, most importantly, people are so different that I'd strongly recommend a trip down here to get a feel for the area before you move. In my opinion, at the stage in life you're in with small children it would be a very good move.
The only place I've lived here is Columbia County, so I can only give my opinion of what's around here. My children were in kindergarten and first grade when we moved here and I've never found the schools to be inferior in any way to the schools they went to in CT. I was very happy with the education they received here and the dedication of the staff at our schools. My daughter went to college here and now teaches first grade in the same town she grew up in. It seems like they're constantly building new schools in Columbia County, so there's no overcrowding. This year her class has 13 kids, so there's plenty of individual attention. I'm pretty sure you'll find the school system is a positive change.
The people here are very friendly. I know how people in the Northeast are viewed - sometimes being reserved and giving others their own space is viewed as rude and I'm not here to start a debate on that. People here are a lot more welcoming and chatty. Life in the subdivisions here is sort of a village feel. You get to know everyone and there's a lot of socializing, particularly among families with children. My kids were never bored growing up here. There's always someone to play with and something going on. You'll find most houses are in a subdivision. There are a lot more here than up north. I won't even get into home prices. Cost of living is much, much easier on the wallet.
Summers are hot. And very humid. Period. No getting around it. You'll get used to it. AC is everywhere. By September you may be getting the southern version of cabin fever. Winter makes up for it. I never wore a winter coat while I lived here. Maybe a lined blazer or heavy jacket.
Pay is generally less than up north, but don't let that scare you. You can get by on a lot less.
I think you'll love it here. I still need my New England fix every year and it will always be my favorite place to go, probably because I grew up there.
Do a visit if you can, to whatever area interests you.
If you're looking for great schools and decent size lots with a nice house you might consider Cherokee County. Canton is the County Seat and has the best schools! Ball Ground has more bang for your buck, but there is much less to do and some of the schools aren't as good (but still good) Woodstock is very nice in the Towne Lake area and there is a lot to do there too.
I meant to ask in my last post. What is an average water bill right now? And what are your taxes? Our taxes are almost $4000 yr. And that is not water, sewer or trash pickup. Not sure how it works in Ga.
We live in a 3300 sq ft home which is 4 years old. Our annual property taxes is only $2200. We pay an average of $40-55 per month for water and sewer. Sometimes it can be more if you water your lawn (when we are not under outside water ban due to the drought...) and it would certainly be less is you live in a house where you have a well and not city water. We also pay a little less than $20 per month for trash/recycling service.
I agree with a previous poster, people in the South are more "friendly" and will talk to you more readily than up North. I know pretty much everyone on my street.
The school system where we live has continually been rated excellent. Here's a link to it: Sequoyah High (http://www.cherokee.k12.ga.us/sequoyah-hs/ - broken link)
We're in Cherokee County as well, in Holly Springs. You can definitely get the yard you're looking for out here. The only concern would be the commute- if you've got to work in Atlanta proper, your commute could be over an hour if you go in during typical rush hours. There are several small local papers up here, though- the Cherokee Tribune and Cherokee Ledger- so you may be able to avoid a hellacious commute.
I have a lot of family in your area (E. Bridgewater, Stoughton, Holbrook) and my Mom was born and raised in Boston, so I'm pretty familiar with the area you're coming from. I lived in Columbia County in GA for seven years, went back to CT (my home state) for a few years and now I'm back in GA.
Wow, are you in for a change! The geography, culture, climate and, most importantly, people are so different that I'd strongly recommend a trip down here to get a feel for the area before you move. In my opinion, at the stage in life you're in with small children it would be a very good move.
The only place I've lived here is Columbia County, so I can only give my opinion of what's around here. My children were in kindergarten and first grade when we moved here and I've never found the schools to be inferior in any way to the schools they went to in CT. I was very happy with the education they received here and the dedication of the staff at our schools. My daughter went to college here and now teaches first grade in the same town she grew up in. It seems like they're constantly building new schools in Columbia County, so there's no overcrowding. This year her class has 13 kids, so there's plenty of individual attention. I'm pretty sure you'll find the school system is a positive change.
The people here are very friendly. I know how people in the Northeast are viewed - sometimes being reserved and giving others their own space is viewed as rude and I'm not here to start a debate on that. People here are a lot more welcoming and chatty. Life in the subdivisions here is sort of a village feel. You get to know everyone and there's a lot of socializing, particularly among families with children. My kids were never bored growing up here. There's always someone to play with and something going on. You'll find most houses are in a subdivision. There are a lot more here than up north. I won't even get into home prices. Cost of living is much, much easier on the wallet.
Summers are hot. And very humid. Period. No getting around it. You'll get used to it. AC is everywhere. By September you may be getting the southern version of cabin fever. Winter makes up for it. I never wore a winter coat while I lived here. Maybe a lined blazer or heavy jacket.
Pay is generally less than up north, but don't let that scare you. You can get by on a lot less.
I think you'll love it here. I still need my New England fix every year and it will always be my favorite place to go, probably because I grew up there.
Do a visit if you can, to whatever area interests you.
Good luck!
I am ready for a change! We are at the point with what do we have to lose to try it out. I am really just looking for the best life for my children. My husband and I would just like to slow down a bit and enjoy watching our children grow up. With him working 7-8 shift a week to stay afloat it is hard to do that. I know pay is lower down there but raises here aren't keeping up with the cost of living here. Our taxes just went up $500 and who knows for what. I know it probably won't go to fix the pot holes the size of small children on all of the streets. Our water bill has more than doubled since we moved here and we don't have a draught! We have a good amount of money to put down on a house that would actually make a difference in our mortgage down there. If we wanted to move closer to family here we would be paying probably $400,000 for a 3 bedroom fixer upper. So I can only hope that he finds a job and we can make the move. We are putting our house on the market soon and move in with family so we won't have the hassle of selling when a job comes along. Hopefully we can get it sold in this awful market!
Thank you for the advice!
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