re: Best place to live in S North Carolina or north Georgia?

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Jackson County, NC

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We just moved to Cashiers a couple of weeks ago. We have been vacationing here for about eight years and really enjoy the area and decided to build a house and retire here.

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Wife and I took a long weekend trip to Dahlonega, GA last year. Not sure if it fits the bill here but you really aren’t that far from north Atlanta the the SE and the smokies just north

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The Smokies are right there, they cover North Georgia from Dahlonega over to Chatsworth

Clayton, Ga. in Rabun County.

Perfect size and the downtown area has boomed and transformed over the past couple of years. Many good dining options that now cater to the Lake Burton vacation home crowd. The place to be in North Georgia mountains right now.

Highlands in NC is slightly larger in population but I would choose Clayton. I am considering buying a 2nd home there myself.

Stay away from Helen. It is a tourist trap and the Carnival Cruise version of Blue Ridge mountain towns. Fun to visit for a weekend once a year. Population of under 1,000 but will have minimum of 5,000 visiting on any given weekend and far more than that in summer and fall weekends. Average to sub par dining abounds. The best two things about Helen are the Georgia Mountain Coaster and the Helen Hat Shop.

Metro Athens has some very nice communities that are red. Watkinsville, Jefferson, and even Winder.

ETA: Why the downvotes? Those 3 towns are in different counties that border Athens and aren't liberal. I live here, I think I know what I'm talking about. All 3 communities are growing like weeds.

I can't think of any towns in the area that I would call "relatively big" but then again, I don't know your definition of that term.

For the north Georgia mountain area I'd recommend:
- Rabun County near Tallulah Gorge county population a little over 17k. Includes small towns of Clayton, Tiger, and Dillard.
- Union County with population of a bit more than 24k. Blairsville is the main town but has a very small population.
- Towns County has a population of about 13k and includes the towns of Young Harris and Hiawassee.
- Fannin County has bout 26k people and includes the town of Blue Ridge. It's a bit further west than the others but still in the heart of the north Georgia mountains.

None of these places have anything resembling a major city, but they all have adequate resources, shopping, internet, etc. The geography and demographics are wonderful (although Blue Ridge/Cherry Log is beginning to see an influx of Atlantans who are building weekend retreats around the area). The biggest draws for these areas are centered on rural/semi-rural Appalachian lifestyles with an eye toward enjoying the natural surroundings that are conducive to hiking, camping, fly fishing (Georgia's DNR manages a great cold water trout fishery), and other outdoor activities.

I'm not really familiar with the areas on the North Carolina side of the border between the two states, but I suspect it'll be quite similar to what Georgia offers.

Bottom line though - there truly are no relatively big towns in the area. The largest towns still have fewer than 3,000 in population. (Of course, thsi is definitely not a bad thing.)

Try Rabun Social if you haven’t been yet. A friend of mine is 1/2 owner. They are also getting ready to open 2 other spaces. A chophouse just before you drive into downtown and the Hendricks Event Center in Downtown. I was up there this past week for New Years and walked through the event center. Going to be very nice with huge bar, live music stage, coffee shop section, etc..

We've done the Clayton Cafe a couple of times.

I will definitely put that on my list for next time we're up there.

I liked Greenville SC a lot. Hidden gem it seemed to me.

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We just moved to Cashiers a couple of weeks ago. We have been vacationing here for about eight years and really enjoy the area and decided to build a house and retire here.

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I always knew that that Cashiers/Highlands had some $ but I recently was taken to the Chatooga Club. I asked the friend who took me "where is your family's house" "all the way at the top" LOL. They own 15-20 car dealerships in Ga.

Another friend is starting on a boutique hotel complex in Cashiers soon if not already. I think they may have been held up by interest rates. They own all of the Grand Bohemian hotels so it may be branded as the same.