A series of events have led us to consider moving. I have always wanted to live in a warmer state (so very tired of the cold/snow). So, I thought I would ask all of you out there in blog land to rate your city/state. I’m interested in knowing the following, plus anything else you would like to share:
~what you like and dislike about your particular area
~how the economy currently is and what you think it MIGHT be in 5-10 years (strickly your opinion, I’m not an economist by any means, but I definately have opinions about my area, just looking for your opinion)
~what you think of the schools (high school/community colleges/universities)
~is property available in the country–I’ve lived way too long in a small town to live in a city setting, BUT I would like to be close to a city (within 30 minutes or so)
I know I can find a lot of this information on various websites, but I would really like first hand accounts from all of you out there. Please leave the name of your city/state, along with any info you’d like to share, in the comments. Also, if you’d be so kind to pass this blog link onto others for their input. I really would like to have a wide range of states to read about. We are not considering any one place at this time…just tossing around some ideas.
Thanks so much 
Hi Deb – So it looks like I am the first to respond. I was born and have lived the majority of my life in Athens, GA. My parents, grandparents and great-grandparents all were raised here in Georgia so I have some pretty big southern roots. Athens is the home of best college in the land, the University of Georgia (UGA), just ask anyone who has ever gone there!
Because of the presence of the university the economy in Athens is pretty stable (at least as stable as you can be in these times). Living in Athens has a small town feel but offers some of the larger town amenities. We are also only an hour from Atlanta. There are plenty of rural small towns within a 30 mile radius of Athens making the ability to buy acerage or farmland very accessible. It was where I decided I wanted to raise my children and I have never regretted it.
The negatives: 90-100% humidity in the summer & I would really like to see it snow a couple of times in the winter (we are lucky if we get any flurries).
I lived in Asheville, NC for 5 years and would have to say that it is the prettiest place I've ever lived and would likely be where I'd move to if we ever left GA.
Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other specific questions. Best of luck in your search!
Happy Holidays,
Sandy
Thanks Sandy. That definately helps. There is a website called findyourspot.com that has picked Athens, GA for me—I always wondered about that area. I'm not sure DH could deal with the humidity, but I'd be willing to give it a try.
NC is in our top 10, but seems like everyone is moving there so not sure it's the choice.
Hey Deb!
Well here's another vote for Asheville! I've lived here since I was 13 aside from going off to college for a little while. It's a stunningly beautiful place to live. I think the people are very friendly and there is lots of stuff to do. Though it's considered a smaller town (~70K people in Asheville proper), it is jam packed with arts, festivals, community happenings….
You're right… lots of people are moving to this area, but it's just such a lovely place to be! We don't feel crowded where we are. And the locals are working hard on getting legislation in place to curb mountain-side construction and stuff like that.
What I don't like is mainly that there are few jobs. If you are in the health care field, you are set. Otherwise, there's not a whole lot. Before becoming a full time SAHM, I worked in health care. My husband works from home in computers.
Economy wise… The main thing that I hear people talking about is that there are people moving in from NY, CA, and FL who have much more money to buy property here, driving the property prices up. Still, we were able to find land for a decent price and there is still stuff out there, but it's going fast. We live ~15-20 minutes from downtown asheville.
I homeschool, partly because of the county schools that my kids would go to in our area. City schools are supposed to be pretty good, and there is an insane variety in private schools. There are a couple of community colleges (AB Tech, Haywood Comm. Coll) near here and also a state college UNC-Asheville). All have a nice variety of degrees and courses.
Thanks Marie,
I was afraid that there wouldn't be very many jobs in NC—that's a bit disappointing. I need to probably consider moving to a state that the NY, CA, FL are NOT moving to—definately not a lot of $$$ coming out of MI.
NC is one of our absolute favorite places to visit—I have often dreamed of living there, but we really need a state that has a low unemployment rate.
Can't help you too much -moving to WI would be like jumping out of the (frozen) pan and into the snowbank! I wouldn't trade it though-
Jobs are tight but not unobtainable in NC WI, land is inexpensive ($2,000-2,500/acre rural)
Kris