Best Places in Georgia
Maybe this describes you: you’ve decided to move to Georgia, but wondering just where in Georgia you should live? I get it. Georgia is a big state and the Atlanta area, where most people moving to Georgia are headed, is a large area. Deciding where to start your home search can feel like a big decision. Some of the best places in Georgia may shock you, so pay attention as I go over the hottest list to date!
Hi, I’m Tim Trevathan with Tim Trevathan Homes and Keller Williams Realty. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to help many families and individuals find the right home as they have made their move to Georgia! Based in Northeast Metro Atlanta, some of my past clients are actually currently living in some of these best places that I’m about to talk about. And if you’re also looking for the right place, feel free to call, text, or email me so I can help setup the perfect game plan to make your move a reality!
Now, I live in the Atlanta area and work with people moving to the Atlanta area, so admittedly this list will focus mostly on the Metro area. If you are planning to move elsewhere in Georgia, I’d still love to hear from you and help you connect with a local Realtor in the area of Georgia you can’t wait to call home.
Each year the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, better known here as the AJC, posts a list of the Top 10 Best Places to Live in Georgia as compiled by lifestyle website Home Snacks. For the past few years, all 10 cities have been in the Metro Atlanta area.
The Metro area of course has its cons, as does any city. In all of the cities that made the top 10 list in 2022, the two top cons are traffic and affordability.
Metro Atlanta is growing. From 2015 to 2050, the population of the entire metro area is expected to increase by more than 50%, going from under 6 million people to over 8 million people. One of the downsides to growth is traffic.
Each of the cities on the Top 10 list are very popular and home to some very, very nice neighborhoods and affordable homes aren’t impossible to find, but it takes some patience and determination.
Before I go any further, here’s the Top 10 Best Places to Live in Georgia as per Home Snacks and the AJC:
- Johns Creek
- Milton
- Sandy Springs
- Dunwoody
- Alpharetta
- Decatur
- Woodstock
- Tyrone
- Roswell
- Flowery Branch
Like I said before, these are all in the Metro area. Decatur is closest to downtown Atlanta, followed by Dunwoody and Sandy Springs right on the north end of the Perimeter, the circle formed by I-285 around Atlanta. Then, Tyrone is in South Metro Atlanta while Johns Creek, Milton, Alpharetta, and Roswell are clustered together in North Metro Atlanta. Woodstock and Flowery Branch are the furthest away from Downtown Atlanta, with Woodstock off to the northwest and Flowery Branch almost directly north of the city.
I’ve done a deep dive into Johns Creek and encourage you to go to my playlist and take a look at the Johns Creek videos to learn more about the AJC’s best place to live in Georgia. Johns Creek has great schools, many community events, has a reputation as a safe community, and is becoming increasingly diverse. The primary downside to living in Johns Creek is affordability and traffic. In August of this year, the median listing price in Johns Creek was $650,000.
If you are hoping to live in a wonderful neighborhood with a luxury golf club membership option within your neighborhood, you’ll want to look at St. Ives Country Club and Country Club of the South, both of which are in Johns Creek.
Alpharetta and Roswell are just down the road from Johns Creek and are similar in many ways. If you are interested in moving to either of these three cities, you can’t go wrong. I would sit down with a map and see which city serves you best as far as proximity to your job, the schools you want your children to attend, friends or family, kid’s sports, etc. Traffic in this area can be quite heavy and even just a few miles
It didn’t make the AJC Top 10 List, but Duluth, Georgia is on my personal Best Places list. Here are 3 quick reasons I love Duluth. One: community spirit. Duluth has poured so much time, effort, and money into its downtown area and the results have been amazing. Downtown Duluth is walkable and has so many great shops and restaurants, and the city hosts family-friendly events throughout the year on the town green. Take a look at this list of events scheduled in just the next few weeks at the time of this filming. You’ll never be bored in Duluth! Second: diversity. Duluth is in Gwinnett County, which is the most diverse county in the Southeastern United States. In particular, Duluth is home to a large Korean community and authentic Korean restaurants as well as Korean businesses of almost every kind. Third reason I love Duluth: its location. Its easy to head north towards Suwanee, head south towards Atlanta, or west over to Roswell or west to Lawrenceville. It is very centrally located, which makes it easy to get anywhere in the North Metro area you need to go. For more on Duluth, check out the Duluth videos in my play list.
If you are looking for a STRONG sense of community and excellent schools, Buford certainly belongs on any best places list. The Buford is located in Gwinnett County but has its own school system and their public schools in many ways look and feel almost like private schools. The schools are one of the top factors that draws people to Buford and love for the Buford Wolves runs deep here.
These next places aren’t in my area of expertise so I’m not going to go into detail as to why I think they should make a “Best Places in Georgia” list, but if you decide to move to the mountains, take a look at Blue Ridge and Blairsville. Only 22 miles apart, these two mountain towns are very popular with Atlantans who decide to buy a vacation home in the mountains or to retire to the mountains.
In the eastern part of Georgia, you can’t go wrong with the Augusta area, particularly the suburbs of Grovetown, Evans, and North Augusta (which is actually across the river in South Carolina). This area is growing, with jobs steadily being added to the economy and new homes and commercial developments being built at a steady pace as well.
Back to Atlanta, if an easy commute to a job inside the Perimeter is on the top of your priority list, I suggest you look at Sandy Springs and Dunwoody, both of which are on the AJC Top 10 Best Places list. Once again, a downside to both is affordability. Homes tend to be quite expensive but the tradeoff for many residents is an easy commute and thus more time home with your family, which can be well worth the price tag of a home in Sandy Springs or Dunwoody. If you are an Atlanta Braves fan, closer proximity to Truist Park is also a perk of living in Sandy Springs or Dunwoody.
Out of curiosity, I also looked at the AJC and Home Snack’s list of 10 Best Counties in Georgia so I could compare it to their Best Places list.
Interestingly, Oconee County and Forsyth County were the top two counties, neither of which has a city on the Best Places list. Watkinsville and part of Athens are the most popular areas of Oconee County and Cumming is the place to be in Forsyth County.
Cherokee and Fayette Counties, home of Woodstock and Tyrone respectively, were 3rd and 4th on the Best Counties list. Remember when I mentioned the Augusta area a few minutes ago? Columbia County is 5th on the list and is home to the Augusta suburbs of Grovetown and Evans.
Morgan, Jones, Harris, and Lee Counties are 6th – 9th on the list and also don’t have a city on the Best Places list.
Interestingly, Fulton County while home to three of the Top 10 Best Places, including first place Johns Creek, only ranked 10th on the Best Counties list for 2022. But, there are 159 counties in Georgia, so 10th place is still very impressive!
Also out of curiosity, I looked at the 10 Most Affordable Places to Live in Georgia list. Not surprisingly, none of the cities listed were on the Best Places list or located in the Best Counties list. But, I mentioned this list because Auburn, Georgia is the 8th most affordable city per the AJC and Home Snacks. It is located in Barrow County and is just over the county line from Gwinnett.
It is further out in the suburbs which can mean a longer commute, but if you want or need to be near the North Metro area for work but housing is just too expensive, the Auburn area may be worth looking into. The drive from Auburn to Duluth is only 28 minutes with out traffic, and about 45-60 minutes when traffic is heavy, which makes Barrow County popular with many families who need more affordable housing than they can find in the Gwinnett or North Fulton areas.
I hope this has been helpful and has given you a starting point for your Georgia home search. My contact information is on the screen and I would love to hear from you. Please give me a call or send and email and let’s find a great new home for your family.
