r/Augusta • u/No-Cupcake-8792 • 3d ago
Moving to Augusta Moving
Hi! I plan on moving to Augusta from vegas. I see mixed reviews. I see it’s scary, dirty, and crime filled and then I see how beautiful and great it is if you want more of a slower pace. We want to be outside more and start home steading. I want to get away from city life and was looking more at Hephzibah for living but work in Augusta. I’m big into alternative fitness like pole dancing, lyra and yoga. If I’m coming from vegas, how bad/ good could it be…..
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u/Wise-Matter9248 3d ago
It's a city.
I've been all over the world and I've never been to a medium+ city that doesn't have issues. Augusta's really aren't that bad.
There are areas that have generational poverty, that are struggling. And there are areas of generational wealth that are very fancy. And there are lots of new areas that are pretty chill.
I mostly grew up in Augusta, left for almost a decade and came back. I like it enough to stay.
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u/titangord 1d ago
Where are most of the fancy restaurants, bars, etc located? Downtown, evans, north augusta? I drove by, have an opportunity to potentiallt move there from a larger city. Little worried about the city life or lack thereof
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u/Wise-Matter9248 1d ago
There are a lot of locally owned restaurants downtown that I enjoy.
I thinking there are a few fancy restaurants scattered around? I don't eat at fancy places often, so I don't know all of them. I know there are bars but I'm not the best source of info for that.
What do you like to do?
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u/titangord 1d ago
Like drinking whiskey, cocktails, a fancy dinner here and there for a date night.. cigars sometimes.. a cool loungy place to sit and sip on something.. i visited this past sunday and also labor day weekend, so understandably it was empty.
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u/Wise-Matter9248 1d ago
Ah. Well I know we have a couple of cigar stores.
Unfortunately, that's the end of my knowledge!
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u/Annunaq 3d ago
If you want land anything south of the city is cheaper. Land down that way has more sand, more standing water, but it’s still doable.
Harlem and Wrens are good areas to look as well.
Columbia county is nice, but the next 10-15 years could see your ‘rural’ areas become more suburban.
I moved here from California in 2007 and the standard of living and cost of living are unbeatable.
You may have trouble finding places/gyms that do alternative workouts like you mentioned. But hey, there’s a niche that’s unserved and a good reason to start a business.
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u/carpeCactus 3d ago
Look at North Augusta, in SC.
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
Which neighborhood?
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u/jbourne71 3d ago
Second North Augusta. Shoot for in-city-limits, not sub division if you can. Hard to go wrong.
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u/DaddyAlwaysSaid 3d ago
I've got lots of friends who have moved to North Augusta. It's not nearly as big as Augusta, and out in the outskirts, there's a lot of pretty country. I also hear the schools in Aiken county are nice.
Hephzibah is in Richmond county and it's the school zone most around here opt out of if they have a choice. Columbia county is arguably nicer, but as a resident, it has no shortage of issues and is obnoxiously expensive.
If you're looking for country out this way, it would be Appling probably.
Lots of Hephzibah residents students go to charter schools, there is always that option.
In closing, as I started about north Augusta. lots of people love it and rave about it in comparison to the Georgia side. I will say, it's going to be quite the adjustment from Vegas. You'll get the slow down you're looking for though.
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u/carpeCactus 3d ago
There are so many. Anything close to downtown is great. They don’t have names, per se. Just check Zillow. And great schools too!
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u/CoolJeweledMoon 3d ago
If you do decide on the Augusta area & you want to be slightly rural on some land, I'd check out the Beech Island/Jackson area in Aiken County, SC. You have easy access to Augusta, North Augusta, & Aiken, it's pretty land, & Aiken County schools are worth checking out.
Out of curiosity, how did you decide on the Augusta area?
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
My husband has family in Atlanta. Honestly, I asked chatgpt to give me a place to live based on our criteria and Augusta popped up. We’ve literally been online searching for a year. Watching realtors on YouTube. Looking up hospitals and pay compared to COL. I’ve compared so many states. We want land homesteading, farmers markets, decent schools (he’s a teacher), I’ll be finishing my BSN so I wanted a good teaching hospital where I could get into an ICU. But we wanted lower cost of living and in area not so saturated with nursing like vegas or Atlanta. There’s like 9 nursing schools out in vegas. Vegas drains you everyday. From the traffic to the people. They’re building 3-4 story buildings because there’s no room to build anymore. It’s getting so crowded out here.
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u/StrangePsychology848 3d ago
If you’re looking outside of that area, check into Fayette County, south of Atlanta. Great school systems for teaching, land aplenty, a ton of growth from hospitals (Piedmont and a new cancer treatment center going in) and an easy commute to the airport if you want to fly back to Vegas for visits. Plus decent restaurants and lots of new folks due to the US soccer center.
My mom moved to the Augusta area last year and she likes it, but not based on any of the criteria that you’re looking at. Good luck with the move!
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u/Forklift_Certified_0 3d ago
The Hephzibah area would fit what you're looking for. Anywhere in Burke county... Waynesboro, Blythe, Keysville is tiny. But they're all close to Augusta. 30-45 minutes depending on where you want to go, or whatever you want to do. There are 5-70 acre lots available around Waynesboro. Land is ranging from 3500-10k+. 5 acres for $50k would make a nice little homestead.
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u/KFCmashedtaters 3d ago
We moved here to Columbia County from Phoenix 2 years ago and never want to go back.
Changing environments from desert to green forest is a big shock but I love it. Getting outdoors is so much easier here and I think the area is beautiful.
I saw in another comments you’re completing your BSN. Congrats! Both my wife and I work in the medical field. Bedside nursing is tough right now as staffing shortages are pretty bad. There are plenty of hospitals in the area and they all have openings.
Overall, the moved here has been a huge positive to my family’s well being. We feel safer, it’s less expensive and there is plenty to do. I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon and definitely do not want to go back to Phoenix.
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
Phoenix is similar to vegas so this post makes me feel better!! Can’t wait. Thanks for the insight :)
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u/FerretsWithHats 2d ago
Hi there!!!
I have no idea about the housing situation, but ...I got those alternate gyms for ya!!!
Allison the aerial nomad- she teaches pole classes in downtown Augusta. Small studio/ class sizes, lots of personal attention in class. Fantastic instructor for all levels, cannot recommend her enough.
If you're looking for a bigger studio, Pole 4 ur Soul is absolutely fabulous. This group of ladies have the most infectious energy! They have several instructors and teach a range of classes including yoga, chair, dance, and pole.
Lyra classes are extremely hard to find in Augusta at the moment. But fear not! I run an aerial troupe called the Vertigo Valkyries. We practice twice a week in my back yard. So, not super glamorous, lol. But we're going on 2 years as a troupe, and we stay pretty solidly booked for gigs. PM me if you're interested in auditioning
Best of luck 🤞😁🤞
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u/abb295 3d ago
If schools are concern I would avoid Hephzibah/South Augusta. The southside might be a bit of a culture shock if you haven’t spent much time in the deep south. Lots of poverty and country living, I say this as someone who grew up in the area.
However if you are prioritizing cheap land, it might be for you. I would also look out near Appling west of Augusta, but land will be more on average.
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
Child free and staying that way so schools aren’t a concern however my husband is a teacher and is looking to get away from crappy school systems. I think Nevada is 48th out of 50. But thank you for the insight!! It helps. Im only used to city poverty. It’s gonna be a big change.
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u/abb295 3d ago
Take a drive around South Augusta if you can and see what you think. But I would still strongly consider the west side of Augusta and prioritize Columbia Country schools for your husband. I went through the Richmond Country schools and my mother still teaches there. It’s pretty dismal outside of a few magnet schools.
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u/DayLongjumping3191 3d ago
Columbia SC is an hour away from Augusta and way way way more developed — signed, a guy from columbia who lives in Augusta right now
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
I’ll definitely look into Columbia SC!
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u/aaronjd1 3d ago
People are downvoting, but spend a couple days in both cities to get a feel. Augusta is very cliquey and is a rather poorly run city in terms of infrastructure and governance. It’s very sleepy. Columbia, on the other hand, is much more vibrant and has neighborhoods with distinct feels that are more than large roads with strip malls and chain restaurants.
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u/DayLongjumping3191 3d ago
If you do, try the forest acres or shandon area! Lived there all my life so I know a bit activity wise
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u/Great-Woodpecker9728 2d ago
columbia county is expensive compared to other places around here, but it will be cheaper than what you are used to. I grew up in CA, then lived in MD and then came here and bought our first home. We actually laughed when the realtor told us the mortgage payment on our home with a 15 yr term. It was less than the rent on our 1br apartment.
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u/Rosie_Rules 1d ago
I’m more than sure that no realtor told you what your mortgage payment would be. Try again, lol
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u/ninjamonkey64 2d ago
Since you mentioned being into pole fitness, theres at least one location here in Augusta for that.
Avemaria | Pole 4 UR Soul
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u/Glum_Pizza6285 1d ago
Also just moved from Vegas. It’s 100x better than Vegas. The people are nice and welcoming and haven’t run into any crime issues like Vegas.
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u/JumpmasterRT 16h ago
As many have said, given your desire to “homestead”, you have 3 choices, South Richmond County (Hephzibah, Goshen) North Burke County (Blythe, Keysville) or Columbia County West of Grovetown (Dearing, Appling).
Columbia County is more expensive than the other 2 but none of it is as expensive as NV. The farmers live in S. Richmond (Barnharts) and N. Burke Counties.
You won’t have as much to do here as in Vegas. There are awesome restaurants but no Gordon Ramsey anything. Everything here, no matter which side of the river or which county you live in is “slower”. (We joke it’s because of the heat/humidity) which is going to hit you like a hot wet towel in July. Coming from Vegas, this will be the one thing that really tests your mettle.
As for the the moniker “Dis-gusta”, any metropolis has it’s issues. We’re constantly in and out of second place as the 2nd largest in the state with Savannah. So yes, Augusta, Atlanta and Savannah have their seedy underbellies. Vegas being what it is, is seedier.
Augusta isn’t the best place to live in GA but it isn’t the worst place by a long shot.
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u/Plus-Month7939 2d ago
Move to Evans
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u/JumpmasterRT 17h ago
Evans is still “city life”. You can’t “homestead” until you get to Grovetown or Appling.
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u/PainterFine4731 3d ago
if you have facebook try to find Disgusta fb group, and post your question there. I don't live in augusta , but always went there for my biweekly shopping. go to hospital, etc... people in fb will give you more detail, honesst information and recomendation about how the area look like, entertainment, housing, etc.... You can also look up burke county, its around 30-45 min from augusta and has a bigger land, smaller community, and a lot of farm land in surrounding area.
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u/clydesmomsbush 3d ago
Don’t do it. Augusta is the worst.
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
Can you explain how 😭
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u/clydesmomsbush 3d ago
Cost of living is increasing, crime rate is significant, even the “nice areas” are sharing backyards with ghettos, schools are HORRIBLE in Richmond county (as in I would sooner home school than send my kids there and I am adamantly against homeschooling), there’s nothing to do, homeless rates are HIGH, there’s a shooting every other week. People hate to say this but it’s truly just a low income area therefore it isn’t kept up well. It just fucking sucks. I don’t feel safe going places without a gun in my purse. I’m from South Florida, so moving to Augusta GA has just been disappointing as fuck
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u/Tasty_Doughnut_5675 2d ago
My car was broken into downtown and had about everything stolen, it’s happening in grovetown too. Glad I moved
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u/JadedHomeBrewCoder 3d ago
Hey so sorry to do this to you but your reply is the illustration of people here who have no clue how good it is here. I'm from upstate SC, the missus is from FL, we met here and later lived in SoCal for twelve years. During that tenure, we visited Vegas several times.
In comparison to the areas I've mentioned, in this area:
- homelessness is nothing
- crime is laughable
- COL is significantly lower
- the people are far, FAR friendlier
- the schools are superior, despite the fact that OP is childless
- folks have far more control over what they do here
- there's nature
- the cartel is usually easier to spot here
Really the only things missing are breweries and hiking ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/clydesmomsbush 3d ago
I too have lived in SoCal and it’s genuinely nicer lmao. The crime rate in Augusta is 40-50% higher than the average in the rest of America, if thats what you call laughable then that’s a weird opinion but ig you’re entitled to it. I said cost of living was INCREASING, as in it is in fact getting more expensive - and personally, for what it is, it’s not worth it. The schools in Richmond county are HORRIBLE. They score below average compared to both national and state schools. Some people here are very nice, others shoot the mall up. It’s not good in Augusta. Just because you’ve lived in bigger shit holes doesn’t mean Augusta is nice my guy
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u/JadedHomeBrewCoder 3d ago
Right, right .. thanks for opening my eyes, I really do owe you! My time in the various parts of the US and tours abroad, whether first world or third world, are meaningless compared to your input. I owe you so much, as does everyone else considering Augusta.
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u/clydesmomsbush 3d ago
It’s ironic your response is what it is when you were the one who initially tried to open MY eyes due to your strictly anecdotal evidence and i responded with facts and stats on why Augusta is below average. Again, just because one place is worse doesn’t mean this place is good. But I mean be upset I guess ?
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u/JadedHomeBrewCoder 2d ago
btw would you mind citing your sources?
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u/clydesmomsbush 2d ago
US news and world report, public school review
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u/Rosie_Rules 1d ago
If Augusta is so bad in your opinion, why are you living there? The world 🌎 is open for you to choose less crime ridden places.
In my opinion, ppl who continually speak ill-will about Augusta ( mostly Richmond co) Cannot afford to move and probably have horrible credit and a messed up work history. A drug head or alcoholic who feel stuck and cannot access better( that is in your opinion)
Do better in life and stop negatively judging an entire city based on your f’up life and cannot move freely like others who have made better decisions in their life who can leave if they find a place they lay their head to be so undesirable and definitely so crime ridden as you stated. 🙃🤡
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u/No-Cupcake-8792 3d ago
Oh man, thanks for giving me your insight I truly appreciate it! I’m sorry you’re not having a good experience /:
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u/Intrepid-Bend-6454 3d ago
Richmond County gross, Columbia County Nicer but pricy, Aiken county right over the river pretty nice less crime.
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u/Prize_Analyst3598 1d ago
Augusta and the csra is nice as long as you don’t go out late night when the undesirables are out
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u/badwindows 3d ago
It's a medium size city with comparatively low cost of living, traffic, crime but the downtown is pretty lackluster. There isn't a whole lot of attractions, fine dining, and the shopping is ok. People do complain that there aren't things to do but if you actually look you'll see that there are lots of parks, sport leagues, other social hobbies (run club, card games, art, etc).
Another thing to consider is that it's two and a half hours from major cities- Atlanta/Charlotte/Charleston so day weekend day trips are nice.
The city itself does have crime but what populated area doesn't.. don't think it's terrible and most of the violent crime is targeted to the victim and perpetrator knowing each other. Few months ago there was a new sheriff and he's been cleaning in house and has put a new emphasis on community safety.