Northern Georgia or Western North Carolina? (Atlanta, Roswell: apartment, rental, condo)

[NeedAChangeFromFL]

I am cross posting this on the GA and NC forums. My family and I live near Tampa, FL and need/want to relocate. We want to go to either GA or western NC, and are fairly familiar with both places...more familiar with N. GA though. I would really appreciate ANY advice!

In GA we are looking north of ATL, but not in ATL. Areas like Kennesaw, Roswell, ETC or further north would be ok too. In NC we are looking in the Hickory & surrounding areas such as Granite Falls, etc etc.

Here's what we need/want (the more qualifications an area meets, the better):
1) Good schools (3 young children starting elementary school)
2) SAFE neighborhood (low crime rate, etc)
3) Friendly, child friendly place to live in general
4) Parks and outdoor activities are a must
5) Shopping area (not necessarily a mall, but grocery store, maybe Target, etc) within 15-20 minutes away.
6) We love the mountains & lakes, etc so the closer the better
7) We do not want to live in a rural area (semi rural is ok, but no driving 30-40 minutes to the grocery store)
8) We do not want to live in a cookie cutter neighborhood where every house looks like the one next to it and your neighbors are on top of you.
9) MUST MUST MUST be within 30 minutes of a hospital, preferably a large hospital...especially one with a pediatric specialty center or hospital. We have a disabled child, so this is very important to us.
10) We are looking to rent a 3+ bedroom house (not an apartment, condo, etc) with a maximum rent of $1000-$1100/month.

[rohlendorf]

We live in Sarasota. We have lived here for 17 years. We were also looking at NC - Lake Lure, Hickory, Asheville and surrounding towns. All of the areas were very nice but we were pulled to the area north of Atlanta in Pickens county. There are several small towns, we chose Jasper. Jasper has all of the amenities that you are looking for. Fifteen minutes south of Jasper is Canton. Fairly good size mall with all the restaurants like Red Lobster, Outback, etc. There is also a Super Walmart right by the mall. If you travel another 15 to 20 minutes south on I-575 you get to a very large very nice mall. I have posted the Pickens county site for you to take a look at. Check it out, it's beautiful up there. Actually, from Jasper to McCaysville is all beautiful. I can hardly wait to move. As soon as we sell our home, we are gone!

georgia.gov - Pickens County

Best of Luck!

[goozer]

$1000 for a 3-bedroom house? I think that would be hard to come by in a metro Atlanta suburb in a decent neighborhood. It sounds like Hickory may be your best bet (Asheville is a great city in Western NC, but you would not be likely to find a house to rent for $1000 -- it's one of the most expensive towns in NC).

Overall, I think you will find better pediatric and hospital care in metro Atlanta simply because it serves over 5 million people. In Hickory, you would probably be traveling to Charlotte for any serious medical needs, which could be an inconvenience.

Since you are considering a town like Hickory, you might also want to consider Athens, GA and Rome, GA, which are Hickory-like in size but still an easy 75 minute drive from Atlanta.

[NeedAChangeFromFL]

Wow, is it really that expensive to rent there?? I see houses in Kennesaw, etc all the time for less than $1000/month...is Kennesaw a bad city?? I have asked on a few other boards about Kennesaw/Douglasville/Roswell and a few other cities...the majority of people made it seem like if I enter the city limits I will be shot dead on the spot because they are such bad areas.
I have been to GA several times and have been through Roswell (never really stopped) and have spent a lot of time in Dawson county, Gilmer county, and Lumpkin county. I LOVE these places, but they are a little too rural for us. I want out of FL so bad, but don't want to make a bad choice.


As far as NC goes, we were in Hickory last week and looked at houses...inside the city was a little pricey, but we don't need to live inside the city. I can't even see why it is so pricey because the area we saw was not very desirable....How is Conover or Granite Falls?? Any opinions on Asheville? We've been to Asheville, but I have heard the crime is high, and there are a ton of homeless people wandering the streets, lol.


I appreciate all the insight....keep it coming!!

[rohlendorf]

We found NC to be a bit redneck. As far as crime goes, there aren't any urban Mayberry's.

What size of city or town are you interested in? You say that you are near Tampa. How near, of what county do you currently reside in?

[NeedAChangeFromFL]

We are in Wesley Chapel currently. We are looking for a medium size town...a small town would be ok as well, but again I don't want to be in an extremely rural enviroment. We definetly do NOT want to live IN a major city (i.e. Charlotte, Atlanta, etc), outside of it is fine.

[rohlendorf]

Isn't Wesley Chapel a little "rural"? If your looking for towns with populations similar or slightly larger then Wesley Chapel, look at Canton, GA, Holly Springs, GA or Woodstock, GA.

Good luck, I hope you find what you are looking for.

[luvsthebeach]

Need A Change From FL.....we are in central NC right now and are patiently waiting for Summer so that we can ge the heck out of NC and into NW GA. While I believe NW GA towns may be a little too rural for you (south of Chattanooga, TN), I am here to tell you that you more than likely would NOT would to move to NC. IT is extremely high to live in this state. If you can find a modbile home on a 1/2 acre for under $1,000. you are doing pretty good. I would really stick to GA. Also, they have the HOPE Scholarship which, if your children maintain a decent grade average thru high school, college at a public establishment would be paid for by your taxes. Look up the HOPE Scholarship in GA. Its a great thing. Good luck to you and maybe we will see in NW GA....cause, so long NC and lookout GA, here we come!

[NeedAChangeFromFL]

That's the same way it is here...you can't get a trailer in a park for $1,000 a month anymore, LOL. I worry about northern GA because of the employment thing. My hubby can work almost anywhere, but it has a be at least semi-close to a middle size city. We live an hour from my hubbys work right now and we don't like living that far, but we can't afford to move any closer because housing costs are so high. What part of NW GA are you moving to?? I haven't been west of Ellijay, but we love it there.

[georgiaroots]

Hi NeedAChange...I live in Dalton, Georgia and I love it. The hospital is well regarded and has a website: Hamilton Health Care I know they are adding on to the hospital complex now as well, but I don't know exactly what they're adding. I know they have a cancer research center and a huge wellness center/gym/walking trails, etc. As far as schools, my experience is through friends and my niece and nephew. I know my nephew (who recently moved here from Virginia) is suddenly doing exceptionally well in school, and in the past, in larger schools/districts he didn't. The other day he came home all excited and said "you know what...I'm not dumb anymore...and you know what else? My teacher smiles at me every single day!" It was just so cute. I know folks who moved here from South Georgia who rave about the schools. There is a lot of growth and construction going on here. (Three starbucks in the last six months!) I don't know rental rates - but I found a great house in the historic downtown area and my mortgage is about half of what it would have been in the L.A. area, where I came from. The population is diverse (there are some folks on these boards who send out flamers about the illegal alien population, but in fact all of the hispanics I know here are legal and well educated and active in the community. I also know Belgians and Indians and Israelis and Germans who've moved here recently and I think that is kinda cool for a small Southern town. And we are getting lots of folks from FLORIDA!) You could also check out this site for links and more info. Greater Dalton, Call It Home.