Has anyone ever lived in Georgia? (Atlanta, Savannah: rent, low crime, house prices)

[lehtofamily]

Our family is considering a move to Bartow County in northern Georgia. Has anyone ever lived in that area? I'm concerned about schools (we have 4 kids) as well as crime issues. We want to move there to be closer to family and we can get a much larger home than our place in Mason county. We lived in Seattle for 4 years and miss diversity and things to do. Any suggestions for places to move are appreciated.

[WazzuCoop21]

I have a friend that lives in Savannah that is from the Tri-Cities like me. He doesn't mind Georgia, but the heat and humidity are a killer to a lot of folks that aren't used to it (trust me any humidity in WA doesn't compare at all to the South!). Mold will grow on your clothes unless you take extra precautions to keep things dry. He absolutely hated it down there for 3 years, but it's finally starting to grow on him and he would probably come back to the NW if his gf wasn't there. I don't wanna burst your bubble, but just make sure you're aware of what you're getting into before you move down south. Good luck.

[RobertC]

You've probably already done this, but try asking around the Georgia forum. I'm sure the friendly natives will have a lot more to say about the area, and give more reliable suggestions!

[chris]

I'd agree, Georgia forum will probably have people who currently live there and can give helpful information.

I lived in Cobb County (GA) about 7 years ago and ironically live in Mason County (WA) now. I spent a lot of weekends camping in/around the lake (didn't really know it was Bartow cty) and points north of there.

I'm sure the area has changed a lot since then. The only things to think about for anyone leaving here (Mason Cty WA) for there would be:

1: Traffic if you have to work in or near Atlanta - one of the worst traffic areas in the country. Here in Mason/Thurston/Kitsap, it's almost never an issue.

2: Wages and house prices go together, in most areas, although honestly if you're building yourself, I think Mason county would be about the same.

Heat isn't a big issue for me, you get used to it. I'm not sure I understand what lehtofamily meant by diversity, I think there's about the same amount of things to do here as there.

kdizzle, you want to see humidity/mold, come on over to anywhere in metro seattle for an unpleasant surprise. It's probably a lot like savannah, minus the heat of course.

[lehtofamily]

[quote=chris;281023]I'd agree, Georgia forum will probably have people who currently live there and can give helpful information.

Yes, I did post there on Monday before I posted here, but no one responded. Thank you for the input.

[mtnma]

The area is probably more rural than anything else. It's on the Alabama side of the state, more toward central GA than north GA. The city of Cartersville is growing, but not at the pace of mountain areas in north parts of the State, definitely not at the pace of metro Atlanta. Would not consider it to be within commuting distance of Atlanta. It's a "fur piece" from Savannah, so humidity not a problem except maybe for short times in summer. Haven't heard anything negative about crime, schools, community or economy over that way. I'm a Georgia native, and have lived in Helen (White County in NE mountains) for most of my life. Hope this helps.

[WazzuCoop21]

Originally Posted by chris

kdizzle, you want to see humidity/mold, come on over to anywhere in metro seattle for an unpleasant surprise. It's probably a lot like savannah, minus the heat of course.

I'm very familiar with Seattle and have been up there enough to know it can get humid and there is mold, but it doesn't compare IMO. I'm currently living in MI and the humidity is absolutely horrendous during the summer. Yes, humidity is much worse with the heat, and it does get hot here in the summer. You start sweating out of pores you didn't even know existed on your body. Moving here was a HUGE shock, because I came from the desert climate with essentially no humidity (TC) and it is quite severe in MI in the summer time. But the south is worse IMO. Like I said, just know what you're getting into.

[Westward]

I live in nearby Cobb County and wouldn't live any place else in GA...til anyplace else grows up, anyway. I guess it just depends on what you want out of life. If you want to live near restaurant row, and/or a mall (where all the other shopping and activities are concentrated), more than one grocery store, Target, or whatever, then I'd get closer towards Atlanta. You can get cheaper houses the farther out you get from Atlanta, but you also sacrifice finding things to do, shopping, etc.

If your goal is to get into a house, period, get what you can, wherever. But if you have a few dollars to spend, you'd be better off in Cherokee, Paulding or Cobb Co. For example, if you are into health food, the Whole Foods and health food stores are in Cobb Co. Sure, there may be one here and there farther out, but forget price competition, selection, and such. Same with medical care and most other things. There is no better shopping that I know of between Marietta's mall and Rome. I even know people in Rome who drive 1 1/2hr to Marietta to shop, if that tells you anything. Bartow Co is between Rome and Marietta. Rome is a nice little town with a small mall and beautiful Berry College.

I don't know anything about the schools in Bartow, but the crime is probably low. Cobb is GA's 2nd wealthiest county. That should say a little about school quality. There are some nice private schools around that cost ~$4-6000/yr. Generally, the schools in Cobb are clean and well kept. You also have several colleges to choose from, in or near Cobb. I'm not sure you'd want to drive daily from farther out tho.

It's about 40 minutes to Atlanta. Another thing to consider is well-developed roads. Don't kid yourself about traffic farther out. Many places in GA have only one main road in and out, and the traffic is miserable. It pays to get near major crossroads, and roads that have been widened. Cobb seems to have better roads than most counties around. Things like that can really add to (or detract from!) the quality of life. And you'll find more jobs closer in.

So if you're expecting something more than Friday night at Bubba's fried hot dogs n' goobers, get closer towards Cobb/Atlanta. If you're not into shopping, or want land, farther out could be better for you. In any event, you can rent wherever you need to work, and look around from there.

Westward

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by lehtofamily

Our family is considering a move to Bartow County in northern Georgia. We lived in Seattle for 4 years and miss diversity and things to do. Any suggestions for places to move are appreciated.

~~~~~~~

I imagine that Seattle and Bartow County/Cartersville/Dalton area are 'worlds' apart.

In fact --I don't believe GA can offer the sort of diversity that is found on the West Coast. Atlanta is headquarters for many corporations==the city is being revitalized --may one day be more like Chicago or NYC--but when you leave the metro area it is evident that agriculture was once the major industry in the state. A tremendous effort is being made to move in other directions--tourism is a growth industry.

As other posters have said--try Cobb County--Alpharetta--Roswell etc. Best to go and see for yourself.

SLS

[Lookingforasafehome]

Safe, country like type of area with a good school system..COBB and Bartow sound like heaven to me, so far anyhow! Low crime with affordable housing where I live is not happening, and its getting worse.