Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be spending the last years of my life in the state of Georgia. Over time, I have lived in Kentucky, Texas, Maryland and now North Georgia. The longer I am here the more I appreciate the climate, the towns, the medical facilities, the churches, the shopping available and the people who have lived here all of their lives. There are just enough new comers to make it interesting. A few towns have a Newcomers Club for any who need or want a group to help them assimilate.
My friend belongs to a group called "Meet and Eat". That is all they do. It gets them out and meeting new people and new places to eat. I guess it is unique in that it has no side issues, no need to keep minutes, or record of who is there and who is not. They look forward to seeing the friends they have made from previous meetings and having a different place to eat.
Another great aspect of this particular area is beautiful Lake Lanier. Many people have settled around the lake because they just like being around the water. We did have a drought two years ago and that effected the lake level for a while. Some had to remove their boats and folks with docks had to contend with moving their dock in and out. If you do not want to hassle with that, there are companies to do it for you. The many parks around the lake make for pleasant visiting to picnic. This is a free fun thing to do. Some parks are not on the water but offer interesting activities like paved paths for walkers while the children have playground equipment to enjoy.
Our winters are short and usually not severe. Our electric servers keep trees cut in anticipation of downed trees so power outage here is at a minimum. Some summers can be humid and make outdoors uncomfortable. When that happens folks have learned to stay in where it is air conditioned. Thankfully that too is short lived.
When the end of February comes we have delightful surprises all around. Ornamental trees start to bloom, daffodils pop up and bloom whereever they are planted. To see this happen so early in spring brings hope to the darkest heart.
Speaking of heart, we have the top heart center in the state in our town. If you are not blessed with good health and even if you are, any medical specialist you may need is found here. And if your heart - and soul - need nurturing we have all of the churches here that anyone could want. Some are huge, like 3,000 members and others are small with less than 100 members. A lot of them offer Day Care for young families and all have friendly, helpful members ready to welcome one and all.
If I have painted a rosy picture of our area it is just because it has so much to offer a law abiding, productive, population. Our sheriff and his deputies are present and ready to help, protect and counsel any resident who asks for it. I have never had occasion to be reprimanded by them, nor do I want to, but they are up to the task if needed.
One last thing,if you like growing your own fresh vegetables, the climate is perfect for that. If you are not a gardener there are summer markets and Pick Your Own farms waiting to see you. I have only touched on the tip of all the agreeable situations here in our area. If you are sick and tired of all the snow, and ice problems of the north, come south, we have the cure.
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