I live near Statesboro Georgia and I absolutely love it here I live in the country I don't have any neighbors well not for about a quarter mile I just love it I absolutely never I've been to so many states I've lived in six states and this is the most beautiful state I've ever lived in and I'm 44
Idk.....I moved from Charleston SC to Valdosta GA about 8 months ago. The cost of living is lower, less crime, no traffic jams. In Charleston, we had to plan our activities around the rush hour traffic. Here, not a problem. As a military retiree, I have access to Moodys AFB and its commissary/exchange activities. There's a nice rifle range down the road and nice neighbors with far less drama.
Valdosta and Charleston are wildly different, I would agree and yes, Valdosta is very cost effective in compairson. As someone who grew up in Valdosta, I would say that for the reasons that someone would want to live in Charleston, you could not get that in Valdosta so it would make sense then if soeone preferred Valdosta over Charleston--bc the Charleston things aren't appealing. I'm happy you found a place you love!
I used to live in Quitman & Thomasville... worked in Camilla, GA. I shopped, went to Church, and had all my doctor's offices in Tallahassee (Bradfordville). I luckily lived right behind Publix in Thomasville, so this was the only place I didn't have to drive 45 mins or more to access. The hospital in Thomasville was very nice, but it even couldn't handle some of the things we needed. My wife and I had to go to Tallahassee to have our child, bc of a prior C-section. I work for USDA, so the job had me down there. I now work in Athens, which is near my family's farm in Jackson County. I miss a lot things about South Georgia... the folks were more of "my kind of ppl", but droving 45 mins for all things except groceries was a struggle for my family.
Also, I had to live in Thomasville, bc the real estate market was slim pickings in other areas, making a commute another thing I had to balance... more driving! Harvey's and IGAs are nice if you need one or two things, but they were smaller and more expensive in total. 😅
South Georgia = more humidity, more bugs, so remote from amenities of larger cities. As a senior citizen, the better healthcare of the ATL area would be a draw for us. We also like to visit the mountains, so North GA is more convenient to the Appalachian Mountains and Smokey's.
Sarah, I'm going to come at this from a different angle. The angle would be that South Georgia could capitalize on those long time (or even lifelong) residents of Florida who find the state too congested, too expensive, have grown weary of the frequency and effects of the hurricanes (or all of the above), and are looking for an alternative They'll find South Georgia similar to Florida weather wise, but, for the most part, free of hurricanes. They'll also find the area has a much lower cost of living (particularly housing), as well as far less congestion. Although this mostly applies to seniors, the state of Georgia offers very generous exemptions of their retirement income from state income tax, as well as generous property tax exemptions (both state and county) to those home owners over 65, a huge benefit to retirees of more modest means who need to stretch their retirement dollars. A lot of small towns in South Georgia would welcome retirees into their communities as they'll be spending their retirement dollars in the local economy, they don't commit crimes, and they volunteer their time to local causes. I will agree on the job prospects for the young and upwardly mobile being lacking. As for health care, I also agree there's room for improvement. But the influx of retirees in South Georgia will necessitate more resources being committed for updated hospitals and specialized heath care facilities. One other note, even though right now Florida has twice the population of Georgia, keep in mind that up through the 1950 census, Georgia had more people than Florida did. Starting with the 1960 census, the trend was reversing. Interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
I agree that South Georgia would be a good replacement weather wise and yet, I find most of the clients we help are leaving Florida because they want to escape the weather--South Georgia is very similar to Florida weather but you don't have the option of going to the beach. Just hot, hot, hot. The clients we have helped like North Georgia for the change in seasons, access to the mountains, etc. I agree that South Georgia could be a great place in terms of affordability and healthcare would need to catch up!
Thankfully there some growth Savannah, which wasn't surprising Georgia finally decided to invest in the port. This will continue up coming years. And I hope for improvements in rail infrastructure, as this is both beneficial for passager rail and cargo. Infrastructure is expensive but is extremely important for growth, economic prosperity. Also Amtrak is bring back Atlanta to Savannah passager rail. For years Amtrak has only had one rail service, for Atlanta. Amtrak has already seen increasing interest in ridership. As well as more people wanting to ride on trains. * Also forgot to mention the highway that connects The military bases in the southern portion of United States. This will help create growth in those areas. As it is also a logistical need for the military. So you will see some growth even if it is modest in the southern of the state portion in the up coming years.
I grew up in still live about 45 mins south of Atlanta, been here for 35 years, it used to be rural now its basically the same as the Northern suburbs.
I was born in Americus, moved to Tifton in high school, went to Kennesaw for college, and now we live in Newnan. The longer I live the more I want to go back south. I absolutely love the city, but the traffic even in Newnan is getting horrendous. It takes me over an hour to drive 20 miles to work in the morning.
All of Bryan county is basically a bombing area for the 3rd id. Some days you can feel the earth shake from the bombing practice 👍🏻. I will say the Savannah area will extremely boom since Florida is becoming expensive and theres a massive migration of people moving here because it’s cheap and you still have beach access. With the port expanding to the other side of the Savannah river this will bring tons of businesses and jobs.
I was born and raised in Cordele. Only good thing there is Lake Blackshear. My family went to Albany or Macon for shopping and entertainment. I grew up in the countryside there working in the fields. Now live in Statesboro finishing up at GSU. I hate it down here. Very rural, not many jobs, very hot and humid. Growing up, I had never even heard of publix before. Nothing in Cordele but typical fast food restaurants. As a child I always dreamed about going to the mountains. I finally did to meet my family in Mexico. It was mesmerizing, I was used to the flat fields or pine forests. I want to move up north where it's cooler and somewhere in the mountain, not too far from my family. I was thinking North Carolina. Or even DC. Just somewhere away from the boring, hot coastal plains. One thing I always wanted to do is go hiking and fishing by the mountain rivers and creeks. Or go mountain biking. I've always wanted to do that but you can't do that on the flat land here obviously.
I’m originally from DC, it’s not mountainous there, it’s a Piedmont region that merges with the coastal plain. Your best bet is Canton, Elijay, Jasper, Blue Ridge, Ball Ground, Gainesville and Blairsville, GA. All within the Appalachian regions or foothills of GA close to water estuaries and rivers. You might also want to look into Cleveland, GA, Toccoa, GA which borders SC or west NC, if you want a different topography; but still want to be near family. We as humans want what we don’t have or havnt experienced, or as some say “the grass is greener syndrome”.
Idk, me and my wife drove up 575 to Elijay; and it seemed like the suburbs never ended. There was congestion, new townhomes, commercial major retail outlets going up thru Jasper all the way to Elijay. If I’m not mistaken these cities are in the Blue Ridge, same with the Valley Ridge, a lot of development too. I’d say literally the whole torso from right above Macon is just continuously growing; some slower and some faster. I always thought some of the coastal regions are doing okay to the eastern side with select middle Georgia counties. Then again I could be wrong. Seems like it’s every county for themselves. Some will either adapt and grow; or sink. You have some stagnant and dying counties that are taking notes of more prosperous counties to lay a blue print. This is actually a good thing, healthy competitive envy. Barnesville, Perry, Centerville and the Warner Robbin area should get an honorable mention in middle GA.
Warner Robins survivor here! Although Warner Robins can be pretty bland, it is one of the better parts of middle GA. Everywhere else in middle GA is either country, extreme poverty or both. I’d pick Warner Robins over literally anywhere else in middle GA, but I’m glad to be out of middle GA in general
@@keithbryant1632 coming from the DC Maryland area born and raised, this dynamic isn’t unique to GA, it’s just about every state of some importance with the rural/urban divide. The same issue plagues the southeastern shore area of MD and the western edges of the state, that aren’t in the metro area net of DC. I’ve driven thru most of GA, and middle GA has some beautiful towns that are doing decent and others not so much. Perry and Kathleen are actually thriving, same with Byron. It is true that a much higher amount of counties on the top half of GA are mostly growing. However the bottom half does have some counties that are growing, but some of them border counties that are stagnant or declining. Almost the whole coast area is seeing a net growth too. Georgia is an urban state now, with some rural areas at this point and development is occurring all over the state, even in the slower growth lower half from Macon and below. The areas around Macon are growing especially in Houston county. On the other hand, the top half of GA is literally becoming one of these three categories, either urban, suburban or exurban ;with most of it becoming suburban even sprawling into the Appalachian cities.
@@neox9369 Warner Robins is a good town. There is a range of middle to upper middle class jobs that are provided by the Air Force Base, jobs from its proximity to Macon, it’s relatively decent sized hospital, and a solid school system. Warner Robins generally feels less like a middle GA town and more like an Atlanta suburb. All of the areas you described (Byron, Kathleen, Perry) benefits from its proximity to Warner Robins (basically all being fully in or partially in Houston county). The surrounding counties outside of Houston county generally rural and economically disadvantaged.
@@keithbryant1632 “The surrounding counties outside Houston are generally rural and economically disadvantaged”, that’s why I said some counties in the lower half are adapting and progressing, but they might be near or neighboring the stagnant or dying counties. Every county in a state can’t and won’t be urban and suburban, it’s not possible, and there needs to be some balance. Georgia however is more of an urban suburban state at this point. The more rural counties will either have to adapt to industry desires and find creative ways to attract business/residence or sink. It’s very competitive, counties are on their own mostly, everyone for themselves.
South Georgia does get residual effects from hurricanes with greater iimpact than North Georgia. Hurricane Helene recently did significant damage in south Georgia. Definetly something to think about!
Georgia is at Risk for a Helene like hurricane. Even all the way up in the south, we just got lucky. The damage hit NC/SC but that could have been Atlanta easily. Hurricanes don't slow down over land anymore, thats a new development.
@@TheWillvoss When I was searching for a house in ATL from NJ, one piece of advice I heard was to buy anywhere north of the Airport due to natural calamity concerns. I didn't have time to research that further and ended up in Gwinnett County. Now when my friends are asking me the same question as the house price is low south of ATL, I am trying to find the reasons why not south ATL but north of fall line (around Macon)?
@@joygeorgek lol, thats where I ended up as well. Lots and LOTS of new development, and you're close to cool areas like Deluth and lawrenceville. Looking at helene, id stay up here. We're like a sweet spot for weather, its either above us (North GA/NC/SC) or below us (augusta) that takes the brunt of weather. but thats just my opinion. I wonder if the geography/topology is playing a roll. But Climate expertise is definitely a thing that needs to happen for modern real estate in 2024. I dont like big cities so gwin is perfect. If you have no kids and want a cooler more LA/NYC experience i'd vote the city. Macon McDunah is nice from when i've been but you'd really have to check history/weather damage.
@@TheWillvoss Gwinnett feels perfect to me as I am raising 2 kids. It has got good schools, and lower home prices compared to the Alpharetta/Cummin area where a lot of Indians flock. 1 hour to IT companies in downtown or in to Alpharetta area. Has a mix feel of the city and countryside. Mixed racial makeup. After observing most of the process of forming a new city and the upcoming city election, it seems people are aware of politics and are active in making the community better. The only thing is it doesn't look like a good place after retirement, hence looking south of ATL somewhere near /30 minutes to the airport. Anyway thanks for the answer and let me continue my research
I was stationed in Kings Bay/St Marys GA for 4 years. Besides my friends and church community, there wasnt much to do at all😂. We would go to florida to do anything 😂. But it is quiet!
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I live near Statesboro Georgia and I absolutely love it here I live in the country I don't have any neighbors well not for about a quarter mile I just love it I absolutely never I've been to so many states I've lived in six states and this is the most beautiful state I've ever lived in and I'm 44
Idk.....I moved from Charleston SC to Valdosta GA about 8 months ago. The cost of living is lower, less crime, no traffic jams. In Charleston, we had to plan our activities around the rush hour traffic. Here, not a problem. As a military retiree, I have access to Moodys AFB and its commissary/exchange activities. There's a nice rifle range down the road and nice neighbors with far less drama.
Valdosta and Charleston are wildly different, I would agree and yes, Valdosta is very cost effective in compairson. As someone who grew up in Valdosta, I would say that for the reasons that someone would want to live in Charleston, you could not get that in Valdosta so it would make sense then if soeone preferred Valdosta over Charleston--bc the Charleston things aren't appealing. I'm happy you found a place you love!
That sounds awesome!
I used to live in Quitman & Thomasville... worked in Camilla, GA. I shopped, went to Church, and had all my doctor's offices in Tallahassee (Bradfordville). I luckily lived right behind Publix in Thomasville, so this was the only place I didn't have to drive 45 mins or more to access. The hospital in Thomasville was very nice, but it even couldn't handle some of the things we needed. My wife and I had to go to Tallahassee to have our child, bc of a prior C-section. I work for USDA, so the job had me down there. I now work in Athens, which is near my family's farm in Jackson County. I miss a lot things about South Georgia... the folks were more of "my kind of ppl", but droving 45 mins for all things except groceries was a struggle for my family.
Also, I had to live in Thomasville, bc the real estate market was slim pickings in other areas, making a commute another thing I had to balance... more driving! Harvey's and IGAs are nice if you need one or two things, but they were smaller and more expensive in total. 😅
South Georgia = more humidity, more bugs, so remote from amenities of larger cities.
As a senior citizen, the better healthcare of the ATL area would be a draw for us. We also like to visit the mountains, so North GA is more convenient to the Appalachian Mountains and Smokey's.
I agree!
Sarah, I'm going to come at this from a different angle. The angle would be that South Georgia could capitalize on those long time (or even lifelong) residents of Florida who find the state too congested, too expensive, have grown weary of the frequency and effects of the hurricanes (or all of the above), and are looking for an alternative They'll find South Georgia similar to Florida weather wise, but, for the most part, free of hurricanes. They'll also find the area has a much lower cost of living (particularly housing), as well as far less congestion.
Although this mostly applies to seniors, the state of Georgia offers very generous exemptions of their retirement income from state income tax, as well as generous property tax exemptions (both state and county) to those home owners over 65, a huge benefit to retirees of more modest means who need to stretch their retirement dollars. A lot of small towns in South Georgia would welcome retirees into their communities as they'll be spending their retirement dollars in the local economy, they don't commit crimes, and they volunteer their time to local causes.
I will agree on the job prospects for the young and upwardly mobile being lacking. As for health care, I also agree there's room for improvement. But the influx of retirees in South Georgia will necessitate more resources being committed for updated hospitals and specialized heath care facilities.
One other note, even though right now Florida has twice the population of Georgia, keep in mind that up through the 1950 census, Georgia had more people than Florida did. Starting with the 1960 census, the trend was reversing.
Interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
I agree that South Georgia would be a good replacement weather wise and yet, I find most of the clients we help are leaving Florida because they want to escape the weather--South Georgia is very similar to Florida weather but you don't have the option of going to the beach. Just hot, hot, hot. The clients we have helped like North Georgia for the change in seasons, access to the mountains, etc. I agree that South Georgia could be a great place in terms of affordability and healthcare would need to catch up!
The medical 🏥 information is excellent.
Thank you 👍🏽
Thanks for watching!
The lakes and fall season is what made my parents choose north. Less likey to get hit by a hurricane too
Very true! Thanks for watching.
Thankfully there some growth Savannah, which wasn't surprising Georgia finally decided to invest in the port. This will continue up coming years. And I hope for improvements in rail infrastructure, as this is both beneficial for passager rail and cargo. Infrastructure is expensive but is extremely important for growth, economic prosperity.
Also Amtrak is bring back Atlanta to Savannah passager rail. For years Amtrak has only had one rail service, for Atlanta. Amtrak has already seen increasing interest in ridership. As well as more people wanting to ride on trains.
* Also forgot to mention the highway that connects The military bases in the southern portion of United States. This will help create growth in those areas. As it is also a logistical need for the military.
So you will see some growth even if it is modest in the southern of the state portion in the up coming years.
President Trump approved Federal money for the Savannah Port growth. We needed it.
I grew up in still live about 45 mins south of Atlanta, been here for 35 years, it used to be rural now its basically the same as the Northern suburbs.
I was born in Americus, moved to Tifton in high school, went to Kennesaw for college, and now we live in Newnan. The longer I live the more I want to go back south. I absolutely love the city, but the traffic even in Newnan is getting horrendous. It takes me over an hour to drive 20 miles to work in the morning.
All of Bryan county is basically a bombing area for the 3rd id. Some days you can feel the earth shake from the bombing practice 👍🏻. I will say the Savannah area will extremely boom since Florida is becoming expensive and theres a massive migration of people moving here because it’s cheap and you still have beach access. With the port expanding to the other side of the Savannah river this will bring tons of businesses and jobs.
Thank you for watching!
I was born and raised in Cordele. Only good thing there is Lake Blackshear. My family went to Albany or Macon for shopping and entertainment. I grew up in the countryside there working in the fields. Now live in Statesboro finishing up at GSU. I hate it down here. Very rural, not many jobs, very hot and humid. Growing up, I had never even heard of publix before. Nothing in Cordele but typical fast food restaurants. As a child I always dreamed about going to the mountains. I finally did to meet my family in Mexico. It was mesmerizing, I was used to the flat fields or pine forests. I want to move up north where it's cooler and somewhere in the mountain, not too far from my family. I was thinking North Carolina. Or even DC. Just somewhere away from the boring, hot coastal plains. One thing I always wanted to do is go hiking and fishing by the mountain rivers and creeks. Or go mountain biking. I've always wanted to do that but you can't do that on the flat land here obviously.
I’m originally from DC, it’s not mountainous there, it’s a Piedmont region that merges with the coastal plain. Your best bet is Canton, Elijay, Jasper, Blue Ridge, Ball Ground, Gainesville and Blairsville, GA. All within the Appalachian regions or foothills of GA close to water estuaries and rivers. You might also want to look into Cleveland, GA, Toccoa, GA which borders SC or west NC, if you want a different topography; but still want to be near family. We as humans want what we don’t have or havnt experienced, or as some say “the grass is greener syndrome”.
Idk, me and my wife drove up 575 to Elijay; and it seemed like the suburbs never ended. There was congestion, new townhomes, commercial major retail outlets going up thru Jasper all the way to Elijay. If I’m not mistaken these cities are in the Blue Ridge, same with the Valley Ridge, a lot of development too. I’d say literally the whole torso from right above Macon is just continuously growing; some slower and some faster. I always thought some of the coastal regions are doing okay to the eastern side with select middle Georgia counties. Then again I could be wrong. Seems like it’s every county for themselves. Some will either adapt and grow; or sink. You have some stagnant and dying counties that are taking notes of more prosperous counties to lay a blue print. This is actually a good thing, healthy competitive envy. Barnesville, Perry, Centerville and the Warner Robbin area should get an honorable mention in middle GA.
Good explainer.
Glad it was helpful!
You're forgetting about Piedmont, that is literally everywhere.
peachtree named streets too...
Lived in Warner Robins for two years. Middle Georgia is horrible. The food is ass the people are rude and entitled.
Warner Robins survivor here! Although Warner Robins can be pretty bland, it is one of the better parts of middle GA. Everywhere else in middle GA is either country, extreme poverty or both. I’d pick Warner Robins over literally anywhere else in middle GA, but I’m glad to be out of middle GA in general
I lived here my whole life. Now you're comment makes me feel depressed 😭
@@keithbryant1632 coming from the DC Maryland area born and raised, this dynamic isn’t unique to GA, it’s just about every state of some importance with the rural/urban divide. The same issue plagues the southeastern shore area of MD and the western edges of the state, that aren’t in the metro area net of DC. I’ve driven thru most of GA, and middle GA has some beautiful towns that are doing decent and others not so much. Perry and Kathleen are actually thriving, same with Byron. It is true that a much higher amount of counties on the top half of GA are mostly growing. However the bottom half does have some counties that are growing, but some of them border counties that are stagnant or declining. Almost the whole coast area is seeing a net growth too. Georgia is an urban state now, with some rural areas at this point and development is occurring all over the state, even in the slower growth lower half from Macon and below. The areas around Macon are growing especially in Houston county. On the other hand, the top half of GA is literally becoming one of these three categories, either urban, suburban or exurban ;with most of it becoming suburban even sprawling into the Appalachian cities.
@@neox9369 Warner Robins is a good town. There is a range of middle to upper middle class jobs that are provided by the Air Force Base, jobs from its proximity to Macon, it’s relatively decent sized hospital, and a solid school system. Warner Robins generally feels less like a middle GA town and more like an Atlanta suburb. All of the areas you described (Byron, Kathleen, Perry) benefits from its proximity to Warner Robins (basically all being fully in or partially in Houston county). The surrounding counties outside of Houston county generally rural and economically disadvantaged.
@@keithbryant1632 “The surrounding counties outside Houston are generally rural and economically disadvantaged”, that’s why I said some counties in the lower half are adapting and progressing, but they might be near or neighboring the stagnant or dying counties. Every county in a state can’t and won’t be urban and suburban, it’s not possible, and there needs to be some balance. Georgia however is more of an urban suburban state at this point. The more rural counties will either have to adapt to industry desires and find creative ways to attract business/residence or sink. It’s very competitive, counties are on their own mostly, everyone for themselves.
weird i was just thinking about how effective doing a youtube channel would be for real estate.
What about the natural calamities in north v/s south Georgia? I heard the south is more prone to hurricanes.
South Georgia does get residual effects from hurricanes with greater iimpact than North Georgia. Hurricane Helene recently did significant damage in south Georgia. Definetly something to think about!
Georgia is at Risk for a Helene like hurricane. Even all the way up in the south, we just got lucky. The damage hit NC/SC but that could have been Atlanta easily. Hurricanes don't slow down over land anymore, thats a new development.
@@TheWillvoss When I was searching for a house in ATL from NJ, one piece of advice I heard was to buy anywhere north of the Airport due to natural calamity concerns. I didn't have time to research that further and ended up in Gwinnett County. Now when my friends are asking me the same question as the house price is low south of ATL, I am trying to find the reasons why not south ATL but north of fall line (around Macon)?
@@joygeorgek lol, thats where I ended up as well. Lots and LOTS of new development, and you're close to cool areas like Deluth and lawrenceville. Looking at helene, id stay up here. We're like a sweet spot for weather, its either above us (North GA/NC/SC) or below us (augusta) that takes the brunt of weather. but thats just my opinion. I wonder if the geography/topology is playing a roll. But Climate expertise is definitely a thing that needs to happen for modern real estate in 2024. I dont like big cities so gwin is perfect. If you have no kids and want a cooler more LA/NYC experience i'd vote the city. Macon McDunah is nice from when i've been but you'd really have to check history/weather damage.
@@TheWillvoss Gwinnett feels perfect to me as I am raising 2 kids. It has got good schools, and lower home prices compared to the Alpharetta/Cummin area where a lot of Indians flock. 1 hour to IT companies in downtown or in to Alpharetta area. Has a mix feel of the city and countryside. Mixed racial makeup. After observing most of the process of forming a new city and the upcoming city election, it seems people are aware of politics and are active in making the community better. The only thing is it doesn't look like a good place after retirement, hence looking south of ATL somewhere near /30 minutes to the airport. Anyway thanks for the answer and let me continue my research
I was stationed in Kings Bay/St Marys GA for 4 years. Besides my friends and church community, there wasnt much to do at all😂.
We would go to florida to do anything 😂.
But it is quiet!
Quiet is right! Lol.
South Georgia is the same as Mississippi and South Alabama, and no one wants to live in those places either.
South Georgia is NOT the same as Mississippi or South Alabama.