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Joined
12/5/2011
Location
Philadelphia, PA
US
I have recently been offered a job opportunity in Alabama just off the 20 highway. I know very little about the area. Only what impression Ive been given from TV.
I was initially considering the job opportunity because I was told the job would be closer to Atlanta. I have a lot of friends & family out that way. I just started a family of my own. I like the area. And the wife and I are looking to put down roots. Atlanta was being given serious consideration.
The job would pay very well and it is something I would enjoy doing, (tho only about half of what Im used to making). But the cost of living in the area would be MUCH less than what Im used too. So it's a wash on that front. I have been offered equity in the company and the chance to join a very successful team with a proven track record.
The downsides are that the actual location of the offices I'd be working out of are dead in the middle between Birmingham and Atlanta. Out in the middle of fucking nowhere as far as I am concerned. I'd be living way too damn far from my friends and family to warrant frequent family get togethers. So my wife and I would be starting over our entire lives from a social standpoint.
Another downside is that I cannot seem to find any homes for sale or rent in the area that are not chicken coops. No gated communities. Nothing super nice that we are accustomed to living. Am I just not good at using Zillow or is this really bumfuck nowhere?
I'd like to know what some of you think of the area that have more experience with it.
Are there motocross tracks nearby?
Tennis clubs?
Watersports areas?
Decent neighborhoods?
What's traffic like?
Im considering as far East as the Villa Rica area to find a proper home.
Any feedback or experiences you can share are welcome.
I was initially considering the job opportunity because I was told the job would be closer to Atlanta. I have a lot of friends & family out that way. I just started a family of my own. I like the area. And the wife and I are looking to put down roots. Atlanta was being given serious consideration.
The job would pay very well and it is something I would enjoy doing, (tho only about half of what Im used to making). But the cost of living in the area would be MUCH less than what Im used too. So it's a wash on that front. I have been offered equity in the company and the chance to join a very successful team with a proven track record.
The downsides are that the actual location of the offices I'd be working out of are dead in the middle between Birmingham and Atlanta. Out in the middle of fucking nowhere as far as I am concerned. I'd be living way too damn far from my friends and family to warrant frequent family get togethers. So my wife and I would be starting over our entire lives from a social standpoint.
Another downside is that I cannot seem to find any homes for sale or rent in the area that are not chicken coops. No gated communities. Nothing super nice that we are accustomed to living. Am I just not good at using Zillow or is this really bumfuck nowhere?
I'd like to know what some of you think of the area that have more experience with it.
Are there motocross tracks nearby?
Tennis clubs?
Watersports areas?
Decent neighborhoods?
What's traffic like?
Im considering as far East as the Villa Rica area to find a proper home.
Any feedback or experiences you can share are welcome.
Traffic is Alabama is great, Atlanta sucks. All the time.
This ain't tennis club area. Might be some around but I ain't heard of em.
Got a new sports place in Emerson Georgia, gonna be about 1~1.5 hour drive for you. The lake ain't much further either.
Short story, you're looking in the sticks. Gated communites, tennis, and gay clubs aren't around here. Farms, liquor stores, and motocross tracks is what you get.
Villa Rica is kinda metro Atlanta though, just be ready for the traffic that'll come with it (depending on the hours and direction you're going it may be non existant)
The Shop
Get a Damn dog and a pump shotgun..... seriously
Oh, and interstates in this part of the country are not referred to as "the".... you would get on i-20, maybe "20" if you are talking to somebody that kind of knows where you are talking about.
Me personally, I'll take the safe, beautiful, peaceful living an hour outside a big city over putting up with the city nonsense any day. Don't gotta worry about gangs, don't gotta worry about your kids playing outside, don't gotta worry about too much at home honestly. Just relaxation as it should be for someone who has worked hard.
I used to live and work in a shit hole city with high crime rate. I was absolutely miserable and got outta there as fast as possible. It sounds like you're the opposite. Sounds like you'll be miserable outside of a city.
Moved to Southern California in my 20's and lived all over. Certain pockets I loved living (Westwood, Hollywood Hills, Fullerton) and certain pockets I absolutely HATED living in (Irvine, Temecula).
I've lived in Las Vegas (eventually grew to hate it: traffic, crime, shitty culture). Also lived in Portland which was pretty nice but the long winters were kinda a deal breaker for me. Ive lived in Florida as well but it was the along the eastern coast line. Miami wasnt far away and I was much younger then so my priorities were different.
I moved back to the sticks a few years ago. It was also a lucrative job offer that required me to basically live for work. But at this point the wife and I are both pretty worn out by the 4 hour round trips just to get groceries. Yeah, I love the freedom and space that comes with having a ranch, but I also have done that lifestyle for the better part of 25 years of my life. I was looking forward to living closer to certain creature comforts. Especially since this new job opportunity would require some pretty heavy hours for the next few years.
Family is a big reason for the potential move. The idea of living close to so many friends and family near Atlanta was really appealing. It's not that we couldnt live on a ranch again. But I gotta find at least a decent home to live in for the short term. Which is a struggle via Craigslist & Zillow at the moment.
With gated communities come certain headaches (HOA, etc) but they also come with a certain standard of living. We'd be renting for the first 2 years just to get our bearings. I gotta make the wife as comfortable as possible, she's earned it.
As for getting the lingo down, I think I am fucked either way.
If you're struggling to find a place I know 2 Realtors that work the area. Both are pretty new but I'd trust both of them. Heather was an assistant teacher? At my highschool, and she was pretty damn cool back then. She even helped me with writing into college. If I remember right she's a transplant from somewhere up north. For people living out here I think she'd most understand you desire for suburbia. https://m.facebook.com/kwcobia/?ref=content_filter
Angie Towe is the other but I can't find any links to her realty stuff. I'm thinking she quit? No links on her Facebook, and google isn't a help. But anyways she's lived around here her entire life. If Heather doesn't work for ya, I can message Angie and see if she's still doing it or not.
The wife and I got into tennis this past year. During her pregnancy we were playing 2.5 hours per day. It's been great for both our physical health and our relationship. It helped make the pregnancy a breeze. No drama at all. So I'd really like to keep that a part of our lifestyle. Thankfully there seems to be a decent tennis club in Villa Rica. Clay courts even, which is something Ive never played on.
Im not looking to live in Downtown Atlanta or within the belt. I got family in the Marieta area. That sorta living was what I was hoping to find headed towards the Alabama direction but it appears it will be a bit more rural than that. Even in Villa Rica?
Screw it.....
Boobie pics?
Will you be able to work some from home?
Where are the relatives?
Do you want to live in a country club, or just be close?
There is a country club out this way, they might have tennis. I just know they got the best hunting round here, but I don't hunt.
Like I said, give heather a call. I bet she can help you find the area you're looking for.
Wont be able to work from home. Lots of hands on management of the staff will be required by me.
Relatives & close friends are in Marietta, GA
Dont have to live on a golf course. Just want to live within striking distance of a Whole Foods grocery store (or equivalent).
That's why Villa Rica is looking good:
- 30 miles from a Whole Foods
- 30 miles from family
- 40min drive to work
- 5 min drive to a tennis club
- 45min drive to Highland Motocross
- 30 miles to downtown Atlanta
I was considering the Gadsden area if I could find something on the water.
One thing I was definitely doing wrong was (a) only looking at rentals and (b) my budget was waaaay off.
The inventory of homes available for sale that fit our criteria are huge. I should be able to work out a lease to own situation for some of the nice homes that have been on the market for a minute. And how far $400k will go in this area is soooooo much further than where I live now. It's no wonder I couldnt find anything, I was way off on the budget.
Im blown away at what $250k will buy in these areas. I totally mismanaged my Zillow search.
Pit Row
MX----Mill Creek, Monster Mountain, Enck Cycle Performance (in Waco, GA), SEVMX (Vintage series with modern classes), Echeconnee.
Off Road----SORCS Racing series, SETRA Racing series, SECCA Racing (double moto format of mixed MX/woods), Kentuck ORV Park (near Oxford, AL), Kenda Full Gas Enduro series.
Check out last paragraph. Interesting.
I-20 speed limit is 70 mph from I-285 to Alabama, as far as I know.
Rural Interstate Highways are posted at 70 mph (110 km/h). Until 2014, sections of Interstates passing through a municipality or metropolitan area with a population over fifty thousand were capped at 55–65 mph (89–105 km/h). However, a new law has permitted urban interstates to now be posted as high as 70 mph,[48] and some have already reflected this change, such as I-95 through Brunswick, I-85 in Gwinnett County, and I-75 in Macon, Valdosta, and Tifton. Most urban interstates, however, still remain at or below 65 mph. I-285 in the Atlanta area was recently increased from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 65 mph (105 km/h) (with Variable speed limits on the north portion. I-95 and I-16 through suburban Savannah (the 65 mph limit on I-95 is only for a 1.5 mile section in the vicinity of the I-16 interchange), I-16 from the interchange with I-75 in central Macon eastbound past Exit 2 is at 65 mph, and I-185 in Columbus remain at 65 mph, while the Downtown Connector and portions of I-20 in Atlanta are posted as low as 55 mph (89 km/h). Most non-interstate freeways such as SR 400 and the Athens perimeter highway, are posted at 55 to 65 mph.
Four lane arterials and expressways can be posted as high as 65 mph (105 km/h). However, Dillon's Rule enables counties outside municipalities to keep four-lane GRIP corridors at 55 mph (89 km/h). However, in recent years, US 1 between Augusta and Wrens raised the speed limit to 65 mph. Other rural four-lane highways with a 65 mph include portions of US 441 near Irwinton, US 25 between Augusta and Statesboro, SR 88 between Sandersville and Wrens, SR 16 between Griffin and I-75, much of US 341 between Brunswick and I-75, and much of US 82 in South Georgia.[citation needed]
Two lane state roads by default are posted at 55 mph (89 km/h). County maintained roads will rarely have speed limits above 50 mph (80 km/h) in middle & south Georgia, 45 mph (72 km/h) in north Georgia. Both in the Atlanta area, Ronald Reagan Parkway is posted at 50 mph (80 km/h) as a county maintained freeway and Sugarloaf Parkway is posted at 55 mph (89 km/h) along its new eastern freeway portion.[citation needed]
Inside the municipality, speed limits are generally posted at 35 mph (56 km/h) while it is 25–30 mph (40–48 km/h) in the downtown area.[citation needed]
All roadways maintained by GDOT that are subject to speed limit reductions are given advanced notice with signage that says "REDUCED SPEED AHEAD". Furthermore, GDOT has a policy of doing 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h) increments but never higher than 10 mph.[citation needed]
Georgia is one of few states with anti-speed trap laws passed in the late 1990s. Speed violations less than 15 mph (24 km/h) over the speed limit will have no points assessed.[49] Fines are not assessed for motorists going less than 10 mph (16 km/h) over the speed limit. In 2009, Georgia introduced the "Super Speeder" law, which adds an additional speeding fine of $200 for motorists convicted of traveling 75 mph (121 km/h) or more on a two-lane or undivided road and 85 mph (137 km/h) or more on a divided highway.[citation needed]
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