Athens? (Commerce, Lula, Bogart: house, public schools, university)

[MWEast]

Researching the posibilities to move to Athens, GA. I have read some of the older post but is mainly single, college people. I have two children, 6 and 16 yrs. old and I would like to know how is family life, school. We are very outdoor people. What's outhere besides museums, nightlife and dining? It doesnt have to be Athens.

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by MWEast

Researching the posibilities to move to Athens, GA. I have read some of the older post but is mainly single, college people. I have two children, 6 and 16 yrs. old and I would like to know how is family life, school. We are very outdoor people. What's outhere besides museums, nightlife and dining? It doesnt have to be Athens.

Well Athens isn't known for very high paying jobs outside the university, so that makes it a somewhat mediocre city for families.

It is a very interesting and wonderful city though.

Most families are attracted to Oconee County to the west. It is where the better public schools are, suburban/exurban housing, and many professors' families. Locally, for a city it's size Athens has a good little park system and plenty of walking trails. It also has the Georgia Botanical gardens, which is really nice.

The best use of outdoor space, especially on weekends, would be a few hours drive north to parks in the start of the Appalachians and about 1-1.5 hours south to Lake Oconee.

[Star691]

^Agreed.

[old_and_in_the_way]

I second the Georgia Botanical Gardens, and Appalachian Mountains. Other outdoor spots include Sandy Creek Park, Sandy Creek Nature Center, UGA Intramural fields and walking trails, Scull Shoals Park, Watson Mill Outdoor Recreation Area, and Clarke County Greenway. There are a handful of great municipal parks, too, like East Clarke Park, Memorial Park and Ben Burton Park.

I am single, but have a number of friends with children. I feel like this is a family-friendly area. Athfest, our big music and art festival is very kid-friendly, and there are a lot of kid-friendly restaurants.

[hal2814]

You may enjoy kayaking down the Oconee River. There's a business or two that do that. It's by no means serious kyaking but it's something to do. There is some great camping at Fort Yargo, Victoria Bryant, and Tugaloo State Parks, which are all somewhere between 30 minutes - 1 hour from Athens. There's a cool zip line course in Lula, GA, which is about an hour away from Athens. I'll put 3rd on the Botanical Gardens. (And not to nitpick but the Botanical Gardens are in Clarke County, not Oconee, but just barely.) Memorial Park has a small zoo in it that's worth checking out (and is a relatively cheap place to host a birthday party). Sandy Creek Park and Sandy Creek Nature Center are also worth checking out.

And I know it's not outdoorsy, but for a 6 and 16 year old, I'd highly suggest driving 30 minutes north to Commerce for Funopolis. It has miniature golf, go-karts, a decent arcade, and a climbing wall. The Tanger Outlets are also in that area. A 6 yr old may be interested in the inflatable jump house over in Bogart by Georgia Sqaure Mall. I think it's called Pump It Up but I could be mistaken. There's a family-friendly bowling alley in Athens near Milledge and Loop 10.