They don't call it Hotlanta because of the weather. Since the mid-1990's Atlanta, Georgia has regularly made one top ten list after another. It is a perennial entry in Sperling's Top Ten Cities in the U.S., CNN Money's Top Ten Metro Areas, Black Enterprise's Top Ten Cities for African Americans and CNN Money's Top Ten Places to Buy a New Home. With so many people singing its praises, it's no wonder that the Atlanta metro area is the fast growing metro area in the country.
With Atlanta expansion, outside of the city has become the top places to live in. Atlanta's current population is just upwards of 5 million, and CNN Money projects an increase of nearly 600,000 people by 2011. In many cities, that might be seen as a recipe for disaster, but Atlanta has been expanding its boundaries and building towards this future since the early 90s. The Centennial Olympics put Atlanta on the map in a big way, and the city has continued to run with the advantages that came with being in the spotlight.
While Atlanta proper only has a population of about 400,000, the outlying metro area includes over 100 municipal and town governments, each of them focused on growing their communities. They're being careful about their growth though - no willy-nilly mushroom sprouting cookie cutter suburbs here. Much of the new construction that is being built to meet the growing needs of a growing population resides in carefully planned communities that focus on providing all the amenities needed by residents within a short distance of home.
The top places to live in Atlanta are those master-planned communities that offer residents the luxury of custom built homes, the serenity of a natural setting, the recreational opportunities afforded by mountains, forests, lakes, and the cultural benefits of being within minutes of the largest metropolitan area in the Southeast.
The master planned community concept is taken to heart here in Atlanta. Among the top places to live in Atlanta are a number of cities in Cherokee County, in the northern mountains outside Atlanta where nationally known development companies are creating well-designed master planned communities. These communities offer amenities like private golf courses, private lake access, planned and marked hiking trails, local shopping and full-featured community centers.
Developments have a lake and golf centered communities designed to take full advantage of the natural beauty and benefits of the northern Georgia locale. Developers are taking great care to align the built community with its natural environment. The home sites and amenities planned are designed to make as little impact as possible on the ecological integrity of the surroundings while affording its residents a quality of life that is unmatched by any other.
At the heart of the community is the serene beauty of Lake Arrowhead, one of the largest privately owned man-made lakes in the Southeast. The plans for the community include a full service marina on the lake, a swim and activity park for the enjoyment of residents of all ages, an 18 hole championship golf course, and a mixed use town center that will include retail, recreational, cultural and residential properties to become a gathering point for the entire community.
For outdoor recreation, the community boasts hiking trails and dock access to the lake, making it a dream home for any outdoor sportsman. The planned community center includes tennis and swimming pools, and the member's clubhouse for the golf course includes an outdoor lawn event area that will host outdoor entertainment events for the community.
Thanks to the carefully conceived master plan, homes will enjoy a stunning view of the lake, the mountains and the surrounding forests. Home sites include both mountainside and lakefront lots, and developments are working with over a dozen groups of builders in order to ensure that new home owners in the community will have the maximum degree of custom design and flexibility while upholding the integrity of the site planning.
Located within an hour of the hustle and bustle of downtown Atlanta, planned communities are among the best choices for new residents, offering serenity the serenity of nature, the charm of a small town, the luxuries of upscale living and the amenities of one of the hottest cities in the U.S. How could you go wrong?
