In this article
Key Takeaways
- Georgia was one of the five fastest-growing states between 2010 and 2020.
- The state offers urban, suburban, and rural residential options, with a wide range of affordability and amenities.
- Year-round outdoor activities and a dynamic economy make Georgia a desirable location for many families.
- Georgia is known for its diverse job market, highly rated schools, and cultural attractions.
- Weather and metro-area traffic should be considered in your relocation plans.
- The Moreira Team provides insights and tools to make the transition to Georgia seamless, from understanding mortgage rates to choosing the right neighborhood.
Is Georgia a Good Place to Live?
Georgia is both cosmopolitan and quaint. It’s steeped in history and leading in high-tech. From ocean to mountains to “the Capital of the South,” this state is as diverse in its people and economy as in its land and lifestyle advantages. Whether you’re looking for a first home or you’re an experienced home buyer, the Moreira Team is an ideal partner to help you sort through the best places to live in Georgia for families.
According to the latest United States census, Georgia was one of the five fastest-growing states in the country. If you’re thinking, “Is Georgia a good place to live? There’s got to be a reason all those people are moving there,” you’re not wrong. The reasons are quite literally countless, but let’s look at a few of them.
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Making a Living
Georgia has a dynamic economy with a huge footprint in manufacturing, finance, transportation, communications, agriculture, forest products, tourism, and construction. Global companies in diverse industries are headquartered in the state, including such giants as Coca-Cola, Georgia-Pacific, United Parcel Service, AFLAC, and Delta Airlines, along with hundreds of national and regional leaders such as Chick-Fil-A, Norfolk Southern Railways, and Home Depot.
Small businesses are a major part of the economy, too. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Georgia is home to over 1.2 million small businesses. The Georgia Department of Economic Development has numerous programs to help those dreaming of starting their own businesses and coaches counties and cities in their support for start-up businesses. It designates those with such amenities as business incubators, resource centers, and youth entrepreneurship classes as “Entrepreneur Friendly” communities.
Is Georgia a good place to live? If your job or business says yes, get started today with the Moreira Team’s help in finding and financing your next home.
Affordability and Options
Despite its dynamism, Georgia remains a relatively affordable place to live. USNews.com ranked Georgia as the 25th most affordable state, with a housing ranking at #26. Small towns across the state like LaGrange combine charm and relatively low costs while some of Atlanta’s most affluent suburbs such as Alpharetta, Peachtree Corners, and Marietta emphasize amenities from massive sportsplexes and nature preserves to pedestrian-friendly shopping, dining, and entertainment districts while boasting whole neighborhoods of estate homes priced at $1.5 million and up. While traffic may be residents’ least-favorite part of life in Metro Atlanta, in other parts of the state commutes are usually more modest endeavors.
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Education
Is Georgia a good place to live, education-wise? School options also vary with location, so it depends. Many districts boast a wide variety of advanced placement (AP) classes, computers issued to every student, and a smorgasbord of sports, performing arts, and other extracurricular activities. Less affluent school districts may focus more narrowly on classes and activities required for their graduates’ college or tech school admission.
The University System of Georgia (USG) includes such internationally known research institutions as the University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), both of which have recently been among USNews’ top 20 public universities. The USG system’s 26 institutions bring higher education close to home statewide. Private colleges and universities number more than 40, including Emory University and Savannah College of Art and Design. Ten Georgia-based institutions, both public and private, are designated as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Savannah State University. The Technical College System of Georgia offers technical education and workforce preparation on 88 campuses, boosting individual opportunities and enhancing the state’s workforce.
Fun and More
Outdoor recreation is a year-round reality in Georgia. With climates and terrain from subtropical islands to four-season subalpine mountains, the state boasts a wide range of outdoor fun as tranquil as bird watching and beachcombing and with as much adrenaline rush as mountain climbing, parasailing, and ATVing.
Georgia boasts many luxurious resorts such as the Lodge at Sea Island, the Chateau Elan Winery and Resort, and the Augusta National Golf Club (home of the Masters Tournament each spring), along with many others that offer world-class dining, spas, golfing, and more.
You don’t have to spend a fortune to have a great time in Georgia: The Peach State has nearly 170,000 hotel rooms in all price ranges and a host of family-friendly attractions, both indoors and out, some aimed at fun and others at awe and appreciation, from Atlanta’s World of Coca-Cola, Delta Flight Museum, Georgia Aquarium, and Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site to Savannah’s historic moss-draped squares, Plains’ Jimmy Carter National Historical Parks, and Lookout Mountain’s Rock City, which owes its success to advertising painted on barn roofs and sides.
Georgia’s park system opens over 60 sites to the public at modest prices, offering activities ranging from kayaking and mountain biking to exploring battlefields, Indian mounds, and plantations that tell the state’s sometimes proud and sometimes tortured history.
The Best Places to Live in Georgia for Families
Whatever your preference of residence, you can readily find it in Georgia: secluded lake cabins, modern farmhouses with acreage for horses, tiny houses in tiny towns, bustling suburbs with every amenity imaginable, and estate homes that accommodate both intimate privacy and lavish hospitality.
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Let’s look at some specific communities.
Alpharetta hosts five post-secondary campuses, and Fulton County Public Schools are consistently named among the strongest districts. The city has top-notch parks and sports facilities offering recreation from trail biking to baseball and soccer to hockey, along with zip lines and a ninja fitness course. It’s just 22 miles from Atlanta, but Alpharetta’s 250-plus shops and restaurants and an active arts, music, and entertainment scene, including the 12,000-seat Ameris Bank Amphitheatre, lessen the need to go there.
As a very young town (incorporated in 2012), Peachtree Corners was planned with details that translate to a high quality of life. Anchored by Technology Park/Atlanta, its pedestrian Town Center and Town Green combine retail shops, restaurants, townhomes, and offices with open-air space for festivals, holiday events, and concerts. Its 11.5-mile trail system connects residential neighborhoods and Chattahoochee River recreational areas to in-town businesses for both recreation and motor-free commuting. Peachtree Corners students attend the award-winning Gwinnett County School District.
Marietta is another Atlanta suburb that gets high marks for schools, parks, and other amenities. The downtown square hosts a weekly farmers’ market and the annual Taste of Marietta showcasing the area’s diverse culinary offerings, and an ever-changing lineup of music, comedy, and other entertainment acts grace the Square, the historic Strand Theatre, and Glover Park, among others. WellStar Kennestone Hospital and aircraft manufacturer Lockheed-Martin are among major employers, and local students attend Marietta City Schools, one of Georgia’s first charter districts, which includes the STEM magnet Marietta Center for Advanced Academics.
Southwest of Atlanta near the Alabama border, rural LaGrange (pop. about 30,000) in 2000 was named an “Intelligent Community of the Year” alongside such cities as Singapore, New York, and Toronto after providing free internet service to all its residents – a practice it maintains a quarter-century later. Education options include Troup County Schools, private and religious schools, and post-secondary education at LaGrange College, Point University, and West Georgia Technical College. Situated on the Chattahoochee River, LaGrange is an outdoor recreation mecca.
The Moreira Team can share more about these communities and hundreds more.
Factors to Consider Before Moving to Georgia
There’s no doubt Georgia has much to offer new residents – a strong job market, abundant recreation, outstanding schools, and natural, historical, and cultural attractions among the most obvious. Add a wide variety of home options from unbelievably affordable to unbelievably luxurious and, when home becomes a little too routine, the world’s busiest airport, and there are so many reasons to move here.
As much as there is to celebrate, though, be clear-eyed about potential weaknesses before you firm up your plans to plant your life in Georgia. Yes, Northern transplants may delight in rarely having to deal with snow, but “hot and humid” only begins to describe summer outdoors (though air conditioning is as common as sweet tea and pine trees), and as Helene proved in 2024, the occasional hurricane is nothing to be trifled with. If you’re aiming for Metro Atlanta, the MARTA transit system offers good options for some commuters, but stop-and-go traffic on the Perimeter and other highways is a nearly daily reality for many workers.
Is Georgia a good place to live? Well, it’s our home.
Using the Moreira Team for Your Move to Georgia
If you’re confident that Georgia is your next home, the Moreira Team is your next contact. We are experts at securing home financing, offering tools like a mortgage calculator that gauges how much house you can afford, what your monthly payments will be on a particular purchase, closing costs, and even comparing loans. We can explain loan options to save money or make payments more comfortable, including quick actions to improve your credit score.
Having walked tens of thousands through the home buying experience, we can also provide you with insights about particular cities and neighborhoods, trendiness vs. timelessness in home design, how commuting figures into affordability, and negotiation tips.
To move toward your home in Georgia, contact the Moreira Team today.
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