Do NOT move to Georgia unless you are rich

[Shagbark Hickory]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

In MN the various utility companies are prevented by law from turning service off during the winter months for precisely that reason.

I was under the impression it was the same way here in the northern part of the state anyway. I don't know for sure but I'd imagine this is not something the power companies publicize.

[cityrover]

Originally Posted by indianmama11961

I moved here almost 2 years ago and I wish I would have stayed were I was at because despite the bad schools and crime. At least they cared about people, since moving here we have had a hard time making it, even when we had 4 people working it was Ramen Noodles for most suppers, my sons have been discriminated against, we have no health care cause we can not afford the insurance and I can not even find a free clinic to get a prescription for asthma,all they want down here is MONEY MONEY MONEY.

Indiana mama? I've been to indiana. Yes... GA aint nothing like OH/IN. But its not expensive, just not as cheap as there.

Remember, any move, even within the same town will generally create havok in your finances. When i used to move back when i was a renter it took months to balance it out with the new bills and companies and what not.

Then when i settled in............... im still paying for it but the expenses are dropping. My point is every move will have such an effect and its something you just deal with.

No, we are not a welfare state. You pay or you dont get to play. I pay for my healthcare and so should everybody else.

welcome i guess.

[cityrover]

Originally Posted by Shagbark Hickory

I was under the impression it was the same way here in the northern part of the state anyway. I don't know for sure but I'd imagine this is not something the power companies publicize.

Nope. GA power will cut you off in a heartbeat. So will the EMCs if you are wired to one.

[Richmonder27]

Originally Posted by indianmama11961

I moved here almost 2 years ago and I wish I would have stayed were I was at because despite the bad schools and crime. At least they cared about people, since moving here we have had a hard time making it, even when we had 4 people working it was Ramen Noodles for most suppers, my sons have been discriminated against, we have no health care cause we can not afford the insurance and I can not even find a free clinic to get a prescription for asthma,all they want down here is MONEY MONEY MONEY.

Horsepucky! Im from Virginia and Georgia has nothing on us. Although we are fairly close. The DC Metro Area and Atlanta are viritually identical! Same McMansion Starbucks latte attitude.

I dont know. Richmond is much nicer though. Fine 'ol Southern hospitality. Its what you make of it, really.

Id take Georgia and Virginia over Conneticut or NJ any day !

[Georgia]

Originally Posted by indianmama11961

I am actually from Rochester NY a real low class city with a whole lot of crime and bad schools, it seemed like every street corner had a memorial on it. I moved to Kennesaw because of no murders and then my daughter started going to Sprayberry a great high school and has pretty much requested that we not move from the area until she graduates in 2 years, and from what I have heard Kennesaw while a safe area is expensive, so for her sake I am trying to tough it out.I have been trying to find a cheaper house to live in ours takes a good bit of our income. Thanks for the information about Savannah we are going to take a trip there this summer so we can see the Ocean, on a positive note I could never been able to see all we can see here if I lived in NY it was Rochester, Syracuse (Junk Yard LOL0) or Buffalo not fun.

Mama, Coming from upstate NY to the Atlanta metro area (you stated Kennesaw) does provide for a higher cost of living in overall cost, but of course much less in taxation.

Folks coming in from the north have this perception that Georgia and for that part most of the south is a "cheap" place to live and close to Utopia, which is the furthest from the truth. You stated crime, yes Rochester is rather rough and Syracuse is the suicide capitol due to lack of sunlight, but Atlanta's crime rate is one of the highest in the nation. So, with this in mind and like most other places in America you will get what you pay for. If you pay cheap you will probably find higher crime, lower schools, and rougher neighborhoods. Granted, all areas are not free of issues espicially in today's world, but just because you are down south does not mean anything will be different than up north.

Another item, The Atlanta metro area has increased it's population by 200% over the last 20 years. Now approaching 6 million people a native "Southerner" if harder and harder to find. I tease my wife all the time about retirement, folks say where? I say back to New Jersey! They say what? I say, well since Jersey folks, New Yorkers, and just about half of the Northeast in general are moving here in droves, Old NJ will be rather desolate in a few years, almost like Wyoming with the Ocean They will all be down here.

In closing I noticed you said Savannah And your trying to stay away from crime Chatham County has it's issues much like the Atlanta area. With Savannah being one of the oldest locations in America, untouched from the Civil War, and a tourist hotspot, Real Estate is some of the highest priced in the South. You better spend some $$$$ on a nice home or bring kevlar. Nuff said there.

Good Luck in your search

[StPaulEastSider]

Okay "Indian -a- mama" If you are not from Indiana, where did you live prior to moving to Georgia?

Are you in the Atlanta area? I too have asthma, in fact I had my first asthma attacks when I first moved to Atlanta 20 years ago - it seems Georgia has some varieties of vegetation which I hadn't been exposed to previously while growing up in Minnesota .

I didn't have insurance, I was working as a paralegal for an attorney who was in private practice, and when you are young and healthy, you don't think you really need to spend money out-of-pocket each month on insurance.

So I started having allergies and asthma attacks, and I didn't have insurance. Someone directed me to "Central Presbyterian Church" located downtown Atlanta and they had a sliding-fee clinic in the church -so I used that clinic for my medical needs.

Grady Hospital is a waiting game if you don't have a life-threatening injury... my husband, when he was an art school student w/o health insurance, once waited on a gurney for nearly 24-hours before being taken to last-minute surgery for an appendectomy. He also once waited more than 24-hours to be seen for a broken ankle, by the time he was seen the bones had begun to set. Years later, when he had a union job with decent health insurance, he had to have surgery on that ankle to correct the damage where his mis-aligned bones had fused together.

But for an asthma attack, when I went to Grady, they immediately whisked me into an "asthma room" and I was put on a Nebulizer within minutes of walking through the emergency room doors. So if your child is having an asthma attack, Grady should be as good as any other hospital for getting immediate care. In fact, it may be better to go directly to Grady - I've heard of private hospitals transfering patients with life-threatening conditions to a public hospital, thus delaying treatment of life-threatening conditions. By going to Grady from the get-go you will hopefully avoid this type of delay in treatment for life-threatening conditions. Hopefully.

++++

I checked the Central Presbyterian Church website, while it does not look like they have a clinic in their building anymore - but they do host a Mobile Health Clinic on the 1st, 3rd & 5th Friday of each month... Central Outreach&Advocacy Center - Outreach

In fact contacting the larger churches in your community is probably a good place to start to find low-cost clinics. Also, most drugcompanies have programs to help low-income, uninsured, patients get needed medications at low or no cost. Check out this link: How to Help Your Low-Income Patients Get Prescription Drugs - November/December 2002 - Family Practice Management

I understand Grady Hospital got a spiffing up for the Olympics, but I don't know that the service is any better today than it was in the early '90s. Hopefully it has improved, at least somewhat.

Another suggestion would be to contact one of the larger churches in your community, they could no doubt direct you to resources to help you meet your child's medical needs.

+++

The "Twilight Zone" references... so true. I work with inner-city families in the Twin Cities - the facilities, speed of care, and quality of care at the public hospitals and clinics in Minnesota far outpaces what I saw when I was in Atlanta. Granted, my experiences in Atlanta are now rather dated - but I'd be surprised if it's much improved.

This was something we took into consideration when we were planning our move back to Atlanta. When in the south, you do not want to be caught on the "wrong side" in a life-threatening situation.

At least not in most circumstances. I don't know about Atlanta and Grady Hospital, but in most major cities, if I were to get shot, I would want to be taken to the public hospital for treatment.

+++

I understand the "broke but not poor" comment... I'm with ya sister.

Reminds me of a friend of mine who jokingly likes to refer to herself as " 'po', black & ugly"... she says she's so poor she cannot afford the "o" and the "r"

Honestly, she's often just "broke, but not poor"... I tell her she may be black & ugly, but she ain't poor, and she most certainly ain't 'po' "

[orangeblossom]

Hmm I'm going to tell my friend about this thread. She's moving there from Seattle. I'm not sure where though in Georgia. Thanks though for all the info provided.

[afonega1]

Like anywhere,if you do not have insurance its bad.It maybe worse in Atlanta.If you do have insurance it is fine.There are lots of great hospitals.Grady has gotten better.It is one of the nations top rated trauma hospitals.You still have to wait because its has so many people that need the free care.I have a friend that is a doctor their.With the new leadership,their has been a major shake up.

[bgnzsavnh]

Originally Posted by StPaulEastSider

Education is another example, in Minnesota you can send your students to a highly-rated school even if your family is not wealthy, due to charter schools, open enrollment between districts, and magnet schools in the inner-city schools. In Georgia, you had better be able to afford a school district with decent schools or you are pretty much SOL.

Now there is a system of charter schools, open enrollment, and magnet schools in the larger cities.

And it does helps to have a small trustfund to make ends meet everywhere

[Tdonald]

New member here...just saw this thread while trying to do my research about the location of my new job, and thought I'd toss a few thoughts out here.

First: Whenever you move from one place to another, the very first thing you should do is go here:
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed
That is Sperling's cost of living calculator. You'll get a very, very clear view of what you can expect for expenses.
Second: If you're planning a vacation, or can afford a GPS unit, then you're doing much better than a lot of people. I look at why I have to move, yet again. The job I was working closed shop back in November, and the town I'm in (currently in AL) is a ghost town that hasn't figured it out yet. So, it's going to be pack up the wife and 4 children and move to the next town where they have a job for me. As a father of a family of 6, with a stay-at-home wife (because day care for 3 children is more than she makes anyhow), things start to look really slim when you've been out of work 6 months.

Everyone complains about costs, but has anyone taken a good look at what they are spending their money on? I don't lease my truck. It's an old Chevy S-10 that needs a muffler. My wife drives an old GMC van to cart the kids around at need. GPS is MapQuest Maps - Driving Directions - Map and my cell phone if she isn't with me. Full coverage insurance is a thing of the past. Yet, we don't have $600+ a month in lease payments either. How about that high speed internet connection with 10MB d/l speeds? Or that new Blackberry you pay how much a month for? Come on....Those are all costs that are going to stay the same no matter where you go.

Sorry, everyone, I don't mean to rant. I just finished reading an article about how a couple that makes over $250k is complaining about President Obama's tax rate on those making $250k+....kind of got me going.

Anyhow, use the cost of living calculator, and your internet...I'm sure you'll be able to weed out the places you want to avoid indianmamma.