Atlanta/Georgia DUer: a little location information, please?

[Flaxbee]

I've been researching the entire southeast for a place to move to, and have decided that Asheville, while lovely, costs just too darn much. I'm not going to pay $25K for an acre of land when 10-15 years ago it was $500/acre, I just can't do that. Call me stingy. Greenville-Spartanburg doesn't light my fire, and while the N.Georgia mountains (Ellijay, Blue Ridge) are lovely, jobs don't seem too plentiful (please correct me if I'm wrong) and land there is starting to go sky-high unless you're willing to be far away from either Ellijay or Blue Ridge. I now live 30 min. from the local pizza place in my part of Virginia, and I don't really want to move someplace again where I can't just go grab a bite to eat and a movie without making it an all-day excursion.

Anyway, to get to the point, it looks like, from Internet research, land over near Rome, Georgia isn't as expensive as it is in the mountains, yet Rome's far enough away from Atlanta to not be part of the suburban crush, but close enough for a dose of liberalism/sophistication when I need it? What can you tell me about the area (including Clarksville, Cartersville, Plainville, Adairsville, etc.) that I can't find out from the 'net? It looks like the area might be pretty, Rome seems like it's got some amenities (seems like a heavily equestrian area - is that a misperception?), but what else is pertinent?

Any info you can impart will be greatly appreciated. Or, if you can recommend other areas to check out, I'd love that info, too. Mostly I want someplace where I can get about 5 acres of land, at about $4-5K per acre (or less), that is in / near a town with some amenities / some liberal sparks... is it possible in Georgia outside Atlanta?

[burythehatchet]

1. I would welcome you here but

all areas outside Atlanta (I don't know about the coastal towns) are conservative to ultra conservative.

[billbuckhead]

5. I lived and worked in Cartersville for 2 years

These are basically good blue collar people who fall into 2 camps at the end of the day, Christians or bikers. Cartersville has 10 times more churchs than bars (I'm even counting the Red Lobster and Mexican,Chinese and Italian restaurants as a bars). It's the only town, I've ever seen a Taco Mac go out of business. Bartow county has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates of all advanced nations and a coal fired power plant makes the air dirtier than even Atlanta's. If you like to party or are an athiest, you probably wouldn't like it there. If you're a moderate, like boating on a lake or a Christian, you might like it. The people are basically good natured, almost like Pleasantville.

[Florida_Geek]

2. While not your cup of tea

I was researching land around jacksonville fla and in Jan saw a 4 acre with a double wide on it for $75,000 just southwest of Jax.

So if you take your time you can find something. And sometime it takes a visit to understand a town. I did a contract in Jax and know the Southeast part of the city is the hi-tech area and has good shopping and restaurants.

[ulysses]

3. here's my take

If you want to be outside Atlanta enough to be affordable, but close enough to have some kind of reliable civilizing (non-reactionary) influence, you're largely SOL. I'm not familiar enough with the Rome area to say for sure, but it's a crapshoot. Same with Athens, even with the UGA collegiate influence. You might ask kodi, he lives out that way.

I'd look intown. You don't necessarily have to be an urban pioneer - we found a decent place on a little more than a quarter acre in a working-class area east of Decatur for $59,900. Of course, that leaves out the 5-acre thing, but you never know.

[Flaxbee]

4. you're kidding... Decatur?

Any other in-town gems? I'd like to keep my purchase price under $75K, simply because I'll probably renovate anything I build... and I just LOATHE the idea of being saddled with a big mortgage (and therefore tied to some heinous corporation) for 30 years.

I'll check out in-town. I read a "Dwell" magazine from last year where some guy bought and renovated an old, out-of-use trolley station & it really was quite cool when all was said and done.

Thanks.

[ulysses]

6. not Decatur proper.

A mile further west and we wouldn't have been able to buy the place. Scottdale, though, has a rep because black people (hide the children!) predominate just south, literally across the tracks.

Some solid houses on our street have gone for $35k or so lately, but a block away the same kind of places are bringing $135k and more, so it won't last. You might look around East Atlanta (Moreland Ave. just south of I-20) for bargains, although I suspect that they've already trended upwards too.

[RebelOne]

7. I live in Woodstock, GA just north of Atlanta

and it is a really great place. It is suburban and has all the amenities of the city, such as loads of shopping areas. And my sister lives in Ellijay, where I would love to be, but I would have too far of a commute to work, since my job is in Marietta. My sister and her husband bought a home in the mountains of Ellijay about 8 years ago for a dirt-cheap price. Check out real estate up there.

[Gildor Inglorion]

10. Commute?

I've known people to commute from Murphy, NC, to Marietta, GA, 5 days a week to work at Lockheed. And that was before Highway 515/Interstate 575 was completed, or even started. I can't imagine what kind of life they must have had.

[kevinam]

8. just my 1.3 cents...

I live a little east of Atlanta. The area I live in is called Covington. You may have heard about it recently. Covington is where that lady got arrested for trying to pass a $1 million bill at Walmart. I don't know if it falls in the price range and what not that you are looking for, but it isn't a bad area, in my opinion. It is a little on the country side of things. Which is good, because there is not rush hours traffic and stuff like that. It has a decent little square, with restaurants and shops. Just recently there was a city referendum for restaurant alcohol sales on sunday, and just over 600 people voted total to allow sunday sales. Like most small towns, it might be a bit on the conservative side of things. It is around a 40 minute drive into Atlanta, so it is not out of the question to do things in town. Good luck on your hunting. Oh, and the local newspaper website is www.covnews.com if you are trying to find info...Kevin.

[Gildor Inglorion]

9. Hey! I'm from Ellijay originally!

It's a great place, but another alternative you might want to consider is northwest Georgia, the Chattanooga suburbs. Same mountain scenery, plenty of employment (at least there used to be), and lower cost of living than the Atlanta-oriented suburbs and exurbs. Murray County (Chatsworth) is particularly nice. Has a large wilderness area and a great state park.

[Flaxbee]

11. thanks!

Murray County just coughed up a cute house or two when I searched...
I've looked all around Atlanta, and am simultaneously attracted and repulsed by the area: so much building, yet lots of interesting stuff to do.

[kodi]

12. check out clark/madison/jackson counties. they are all near athens,

current land in unincorporated areas varies from $3K-10K/acre.

i live on property in the country that runs $4K/acre.

value is that out here athens and its scene is only a 20 minute drive from a wooded place with horses and pastures on two sides of the property...and atlanta is an hour away.

but i do love ellijay and if you could, check out chatanooga and its surrounding counties, cheap land up there, and the mountains there are a bit like asheville's.

best to ya'.