Newcomer Living
Newcomer Living is a new feature that appears regularly in Homefinder. If you moved to Atlanta and bought a residence in 2013 and are willing to share your story, contact Lori Johnston at lori@fastcopy.biz.
A desire to flee the frigid winter in New England caused Bruce and Nancy Crawford to consider moving to Arizona, California, Florida and Georgia. The opportunity to experience all four seasons in Georgia, as well as the cheaper cost of buying a home in a golf community, won them over.
Why Atlanta?
The Crawfords, who moved from Rhode Island, chose metro Atlanta for its affordability and range of temperatures throughout the year. “If you want a temperate climate, you get all four seasons here, but they’re not really harsh winters,” Nancy said.
Bruce, 62, a computer software consultant who travels for his job, also needed to be located near a major airport.
Putting down roots
The Crawfords moved down to Georgia, stayed in a hotel in Duluth and put their furniture in storage as they searched with Lisa Harris, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Center. Bruce had visited Atlanta several times in the past couple of years for work, but he had not traveled north of I-285.
They were interested in a home with an open floor plan and high ceilings, built in the past decade.
During their search, they found newer homes were much cheaper than new construction in New England. The five-bedroom, three-bath home they purchased was a Freddie Mac foreclosure, and originally they were outbid. With foreclosures, “you had to be selective, but you had to be quick, too,” Bruce said.
Their home had been awarded previously to another buyer, but the deal fell through. When the home popped up again on the Freddie Mac website, they put in another offer. The home, built in 2000, was in such good shape they only needed to refinish the hardwood floors. The house also had been repainted, had new carpet and came with a two-year home warranty.
“You hear these horror stories where houses had been stripped of things inside. We could move in without doing anything,” Nancy said.
The golf-loving couple decided on Dacula’s Hamilton Mill neighborhood, whose golf course is part of Canongate Golf Club (with multiple courses for members to play). Hamilton Mill’s setting, northeast of Atlanta, reminded the Crawfords of New England. “I like the idea of being up here. There are the foothills here. There are a lot of contours in the land,” Bruce said.
The community was within 50 miles of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, which was the farthest they wanted to be from the airport.
Relocation tip
Get the lay of the land by driving around communities and stopping to shop and eat while you’re there looking at homes. “We had to learn a little bit about where we were living and how to get around,” said Bruce.
