What it's like to live in Georgia

If you’re thinking of relocating to Georgia, know this: It’s one of the very best places to live in the South. Thriving cities, charming small towns, a beautiful countryside … mountain vistas and white-sand beaches within a few hours’ drive … world-class entertainment, sports and restaurants … plus, a climate other states would love to have. That’s life in Georgia.

Georgia’s affordable.

Below-average housing costs, low taxes — and a cost of living that’s lower than what you’ll find in many other U.S. cities — all combine to make Georgia an affordable place to live.

cost of living index

Georgia’s got lots to see – and experience

Georgia ranked as one of National Geographic Traveler magazine’s 21 “Best of the World” destinations for 2017 – and for good reason.

A thriving arts scene features some of the nation’s finest interactive museums, unique galleries and award-winning music venues. The renowned Woodruff Arts Center offers the world-class Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art and Alliance Theatre in a single enterprise. Throughout the state exist opportunities to experience folk art, sacred art, intricately designed gardens, and more.

Georgia also gave rise to some of the nation’s most significant performers — Otis Redding, R.E.M., James Brown, Ray Charles, Zac Brown Band and Ludacris to name just a few. Across the state, you can experience a vast array of musical genres – bluegrass, country, classical, hip hop, rock, soul and gospel.
Families love Georgia because there’s so much for people of all ages to enjoy. Pick apples in Ellijay, ride the rides of Six Flags Over Georgia, take in the butterfly center at Callaway Resort & Gardens, visit the Center for Puppetry Arts, or thrill in the Great Wolf Lodge indoor water park. No matter what you do, you’ll find that Georgia is family friendly.
You can’t experience Georgia without encountering history. It’s everywhere - from ancient Indian mounds to antebellum mansions, or the Center for Civil and Human Rights to Andersonville National Historic Site. Visit more than 30 historic sites on Georgia’s Footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Trail. Whatever your area of interest, Georgia’s got a lot to teach.

civil rights wall

Georgia’s a sporting place

Here’s proof:

A pro team visits Atlanta once every three days (on average) to take on the Braves, Falcons, Hawks, Dream or Atlanta United FC.
The Masters Tournament in Augusta is a rite of spring, and the Tour Championship in East Lake caps off the professional golf season in the first days of autumn.

The Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association (ALTA) is the largest city tennis league in the world, with more than 80,000 members.
The Peachtree Road Race is the world’s largest 10k run, held annually in Atlanta on July 4th. 60,000 amateur and professional runners from around the world compete.
College football is a way of life in cities and towns every Saturday in the fall. The College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta draws visitors from around the country.
A number of professional teams in baseball, hockey, soccer and basketball have minor-league teams based in Georgia.
Atlanta is the No.1 city for Major League Soccer attendance (Atlanta United). In fact, on a Saturday in June 2018, more people attended the Atlanta

United game than any of the World Cup

soccer matches held the same day!
Atlanta will host Super Bowl LIII in 2019.

Georgia’s truly seasonal

The Georgia climate is a major reason so many people continue to move to the state. While Georgia climate varies among the state’s six land regions, all areas of the state are colored by four well-defined seasons:

A warm summer brings an average temperature of 80 degrees and the added benefit of warm days and cool evenings well into October.
Autumn is brisk, with brilliant fall foliage throughout the state, particularly in the mountains.
Winters are brief, with average temperatures in the upper 40s and light snowfall several times a year in the north.
Springtime is glorious -— Georgia is famous for its dogwoods, azaleas and other flora.

springtime in georgia

The appealing Georgia climate also encourages a variety of outdoor adventures. Experience the great outdoors hunting in the vast countryside, fishing in beautiful rivers and streams, hiking the Appalachian Trail or paddling the Okefenokee Swamp.

You can reconnect with nature while exploring a multitude of state and national parks, dozens of waterfalls, canyons, protected beaches, hiking and biking trails and much more. See what we mean by exploring Georgia

From urban to rural, there’s literally something for every interest

It started as a master’s thesis in 1999 and has become one of the largest, most wide-ranging

urban redevelopment projects now underway in the U.S. Scheduled to be completed in 2030,

the Atlanta BeltLine is transforming disused rail lines into 33 miles of urban walking and biking

paths, and will loop around the city with streetcars and connected parks.
Cumberland Island off the Georgia coast offers protected beaches and forest. There, you’ll find a sizable population of loggerhead turtles and the Dungeness Ruins, the remains of a mansion built by the brother of steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.
A 61-mile paved trail connects west metro Atlanta to the state of Alabama. The Silver Comet Trail – built along an 1897 rail line – is popular with bikers, runners, walkers and their dogs.
See where your favorite movie or television show is filmed. Georgia is the No. 1 production center in the U.S. for top grossing feature films released at the U.S. box office in 2017 (Film L.A.). On any given day, you’ll run into a production crew or two somewhere in the state.
Want to drive a military tank? Visit a seven-acre visionary art site? Tube down a quiet river? Visit our Explore Georgia website for those and many other uniquely Georgia experiences you’ll always remember.