Hi, I am looking for info on Atlanta area. I have 5 children. I homeschool so schools are not an issue. I am looking for a nice family community of middleclass. Homes for around $200,000. I want to be within an hour from Atlanta. Curently I live an hour outside Boston. (Rarely go there but it is nice if you need to.) I want a town that has parades and little league and opportunities for kids. I would love it to have parks and a main street. I do not want a ton of traffic but I don't want a dying community. I would like one that is new and growing. (Maybe around 15000.) My husband is a Pastor and we would like to start a church. I know there seems to be a ton of churches but we feel this is the right area because of all the growth and we feel God pulling us to go south. We currently live an hour outside of Boston near Plymouth Rock. We have also looked into the Raleigh area and Charlotte. Any advice on sweet towns near growing areas for large families would be appreciated!
Thanks!

We live about 30 miles northeast of Atlanta. Have you researched the town of Suwanee? There is a new town park, lots of subdivisions, and I think it has everything you want.

Why is it important to be so close to a big city?

Have you checked out Fayetteville GA? It is also about 30 miles or so from Atlanta. My cousin lives there & is a principal of a school there & 2 of his daughters are new teachers in schools there. It is a pretty place with a small town feel.

Here is what I found to describe it.
Fayette County, Georgia offers the perfect blend of picturesque beauty combined with friendly, Southern hospitality. Ceded from the Creek Indian Nation during the Land Lottery Draw of 1821, Fayette County was named for Marquis de LaFayette, a soldier who fought with General George Washington in the Revolutionary War.

Rich in history and charm, Fayette County is comprised of the cities and communities of Fayetteville, Peachtree City, Tyrone, Brooks, and Woolsey. Fayetteville was named the county seat in 1823; the courthouse was built in 1825 and remains in use to this day, as the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and the Fayette County Development Authority.

The approximately 91,300 residents that call Fayette County home enjoy an exceptional lifestyle. Beautiful tree-lined streets, reputable schools, diverse industry and active civic groups add to the area’s attraction.

The residents and businesses that comprise Fayette County work together to ensure its communities enjoy the best in big city opportunities while maintaining small town appeal. Development is carefully planned in order to preserve the area’s natural beauty.

Fayette County’s overall quality of life is unparalleled throughout Georgia, and is difficult to match throughout the nation. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently declared Fayette as the "Most Livable County" in the Metro-Atlanta MSA, after comparing 16 counties on a variety of livability categories.

I have done a lot of research and plan to take a trip in Jan. but there seem to be so many nice towns and without seeing pictures and being there I wanted first hand info. We are looking at these towns. Can anyone tell me first hand about any of them? Sawanee / Woodstock / SugarHill / Dallas/ Snellville / Acworth / Duluth / Liburn / Peachtree City / Austelle / Lawrenceville / Canton / Weleska / Loganville / Newnan / Buford.
Or any others that seem like a great town to raise 5 children!!!
Again, looking for Community feel and Spirit. Opportunity to start a church. 200,000's for new home. Main street or town meeting spot. It would be good if bigger towns are near by for work opportunities. (We own a business here and will try to start one there.)

We want to be within an hour of Atlanta simply for more business opportunities. BUT we do not need to be! Just thought it would be smart because we all want opportunites for work. We live in MASS and can sell here for 400,000.00 and have no mortgage down there and get bigger and nicer homes. Love the warm weather and MASS is too expensive to live!

Samsof. Do you live in Sawanee? So far that is our first choice then woodstock and Snellville. Sawanee looks great my only apprehention is that it seems more upper class. We are business owners and want to have things in common with our neighbors. We heard it is a lot of Dr's and Lawyers? Is that true? Also that the houses were more expensive. We have 5 kids. Looking for big home less than 250,000. Kids are big into Little League and town sports. We homeschool and we feel Gods leading to plant a Bible church. Is Sawanee saturated with churches? (That is our only big question: Why would God lead us to Georgia where there seems to be soooo many churches and christians?))

Why indeed would God lead you to Georgia under the circumstances. Have you wondered if it might not be the devil tempting you?

Orcas, Sure could be just a huge temptation with the ability to live with more for less and have more time for our family and ministry. Thanks for your bluntness!

We live right by Suwanee. It's a really nice area. That's where our church is located.

There are several churches in the area, but if you feel God is leading you to come to that area, there must be a need for you and your family.

What size house are you interested in purchasing? There are many upper and middle class neighborhoods. I think you could find something in your price range.

If you want to e-mail me, I'd be glad to talk to you more.

Sherry - [email protected]

Holly,
I live in that general area.
If you want to correspond just e-mail me:
[email protected]

I too just moved here after selling my much more expensive house in the mdwest.

Abbyville, South Carolina. There have been several movies filmed there including that Julia Roberts movie where she is stalked by her husband. Can't remember the name.

Sleeping with the Enemy.

This has been bugging me all day and I've been trying to figure out why. I think I've located two reasons.

You have a "calling" to start a church in a sweet middle class community? That's nothing like callings I've heard of in the past.

If you homeschool, how would you grade your post? As a former middle school teacher, I would be concerned if you were the teacher for my five children.

Have you researched the church demographics in the areas you have mentioned? The AJC had a very interesting article this week about the megachurches in the northern arc with congregations numbering in the thousands. One satellite church actually uses a sci-fi 3D transmission of the preacher...who is actually preaching in the home church. Some visitors have no idea that the preacher is many miles away.

Good luck with your calling in a perfect, sweet, "It's a Wonderful Life", "Mayberry" Southern community.

PS - Maybe you should check out the "real" Mayberry - Mt. Airy, NC.

Check out Covington, GA and in particular the neighborhood of Clark's Grove.

Starrsville, Thanks for the encouragement on homeschooling! If you lived in MA in my town you would understand why I homeschool.

We feel called to Atlanta because it has many of the fastest growing towns in the country.

I believe God has a plan for all of us and if it effects one other life it matters! He doesn't call everyone to Africa! Every person needs to know they are loved by their creator. Thanks for your post.

I have to say that I would think that if one was called to minister, going to the Bible Belt which is already saturated with churches seems like an odd choice. Is it possible that your dislike of the community you currently live in is actually a sign that you are called to minister there, not is an area that alread is overrun with churches????

Actually, our area isn't "saturated" with churches, although there are quite a few. We attend a church that isn't a mega-church, and there are lots of smaller churches in our area. I think the majority of people in the Atlanta area probably don't regularly attend church, even though this is the Bible belt

Hollymom, you are in for one culture shock.

You should have no problems finding abandoned churches with For Sale signs in front of them. Many people have your dream.

starrsville, your post makes sense out of hollymom's post.

I live in Lilburn and if traffic is an issue, you need to get much further out of Atlanta than even Covington, Suwanee, Snellville or Fayette county in order to avoid it. That means moving further than an hour away. I live very close to Snellville and the traffic going towards it or going towards Atlanta from it is not a pretty sight! Suwanee has traffic issues also due to the Mall of GA.

Monroe is a nice little town and I don't think the traffic is all that bad there. Washington, GA is nice also. Elberton is a very antebellum city, similar to Abbeville, SC. Athens is nice, but much larger than you want. Check out the cities above Buford and going north up 85 towards SC. Commerce comes to mind.

If you want to stay closer to Atlanta, Grayson (close to Snellville) is a very pituresque, Mayberry kind of place, but traffic is a factor as it's still in the zone where people commute to Atlanta.

Good luck. Let us know where you end up.

DD

I'd agree that Fayetteville has a lot of what you are trying to find: nice neighborhood feel, large houses, but not stereotypical McMansion sorts full of only doctors and lawyers.

I also agree with Starrsville and GT: the bit about homeschooling is a little much, considering two factors: (1) your posts are riddled with grammatical problems and you are looking to move to an area of Georgia that is surprisingly well educated--could be a problem for your children if they aren't up to grade level already, and (2) you should be more concerned about the school systems because that is going to dramatically affect (with an "a") what your neighbors are like and what ype of house you'll be living in.

You might want to re-think this relocation. I am a firm believer in your religious philosophy of God's plan for each of us -- my husband and I have just completed our move to do a similar thing for similar reasons (but not with a church). After going through this experience personally, and knowing the Atlanta area you are interested in, and reading your post, well...something isn't adding up for me. Just a word of caution.

Much luck to you in your new endeavors.

I've also been following this thread and find it very interesting.
Who wouldn't like to relocate in an area that is less expensive with a more appealing climate!!

However I have say I totally agree with the previous post of "bamakelly"--While I understand Hollymom wishes to vacate ultra liberal mass, I think she may be trading one set of problems for another, like "jumping from the frying pan to the fire".

Also brings to mind the cliche "being a light in the darkness".
Regardless, I hope it works out well for you Holly.
God bless.