Mineral Bluff farms, outdoor recreation appeal to buyers

Communities

Mineral Bluff

The homeowners: Roger and Zora Herr are among former Atlantans who have packed up and moved to North Georgia’s Fannin County, which also has attracted vacation homebuyers seeking a bucolic setting and small towns such as Mineral Bluff. “We feel like we’ve done the city thing and didn’t have to live in the metropolitan area. We really like being closer to nature and outdoor recreation opportunities,” said Roger, 54, a freelance photojournalist. Earlier this year, they purchased a 16-acre property on a creek in Mineral Bluff, which is north of Blue Ridge and near Georgia‘s border with Tennessee and North Carolina. The Herrs' 16-acre property came with a barn, fenced pasture and a workshop. Roger and Zora, 62, a therapist, traded the immediate access to services or even staples such as grocery stores for a reprieve from traffic and crime. Sidra McCain Dinco with Harry Norman, Realtors, said Mineral Bluff is 10 to 20 minutes from four historic downtown areas, with shopping and dining -- McCaysville and Blue Ridge in Georgia as well as Copperhill, Tenn., and Murphy, N.C. But the big appeal is the outdoors. More than 40 percent of Fannin County’s land is Chattahoochee National Forest property, with trails, campsites, picnic sites and recreation areas. The area also is home to the 3,290-acre Lake Blue Ridge, hiking on the Appalachian Trail, and rafting on the Toccoa and Ocoee rivers (the Ocoee Whitewater Center, used during the 1996 Olympics, is nearby). The Herrs have gotten involved in Feed Fannin, composed of volunteers who grow food in community gardens to combat hunger in the county and promote sustainable agriculture. “We just really feel at home in many ways,” Roger said. Although their busy work schedules take them to Atlanta and other cities, Roger said it’s often a relief to get home. “The pace of life is obviously slower, but these are all things that at this stage, we’re really happy to have access to,” he said.