Help with Possible Relocation
 

I currently live in Columbus, Ohio and will be interviewing for a position in Columbus, Georgia next week. Not sure if any FOFC members are familiar with the area but any information would be greatly appreciated. A few issues that I'm currently investigating. Thanks in advance.

-Reputation/state of Muscogee County Schools (Ive read something about furlough days, this kind of scares me as it is not practiced in Ohio)

-Possible tax ramifications of living in the Auburn or Opelika area and commuting to work in Columbus

-Quality of life in general

-Best moving company, PODS is quoting 2300. This does not include movers...

I'd suggest PM'ing Ben, he grew up down there. He may see this & reply on his own accord, but just in case.

I've got several good friends who grew up there as well, one who still lives there, but Ben is probably the easiest FOFC'er to connect with.

Here's the latest I've seen on their furlough situation. Off hand I'm not sure there are many large systems in Georgia who aren't doing some form of furloughs this year and their situation ($200k shortfall) isn't remotely as bad as some others. Here in Athens for example, parapros were eliminated entirely in a decision yesterday but we're still looking at a shortfall of 11-12 million dollars with five furlough days planned.

From the outside looking in, I'd say quality of life is better there now than it was in decades past. Museums, arts, entertainment, etc all seem to have improved. Crime has long been an issue there (in my perception) but seems to have at least leveled off or improved. Presumably you're already familiar with the heavy military influence on the area exerted by Fort Benning.

Oh yeah, btw, living in AL & working in GA means you're living on Central time but working on Eastern.

That's crazy! :D You'd be gaining a nice hour at the end of your day at least...

Thanks. Wow, didn't consider the time zone issue. That's very interesting.

Yeah, but not really, since Opelika is about a 45 minute drive from Columbus (so I'm told), so you're really giving most of it back with the commute.

They're probably not big Buckeye fans in that Columbus.

If he has I be at work by 730, and it's a 45 min drive, you probably have to leave the house around 515-530

That's the ugly downside...yeah. Ick. Not being from down there I didn't realize how far away the two are...with that kind of commute and the time change...yeah...no thanks.

Missed this...

• Yes, it's my home town, and I still visit several times a year.
• Schools are like just about any other medium-sized town: the ones in the middle class and up areas perform well, the ones in the less-affluent areas are teh suk. They have year-round school options, and several magnets.
• My brother and sister-in-law both teach there. I'll ask them about the furloughs when I'm there in a couple of weeks.
• Phenix City, Alabama (right across the Chattahoochee from Columbus) actually observes Eastern time because of its proximity to Columbus. Most of downtown Columbus is less than 5 minutes from Phenix City, and no more than 15 minutes from anywhere in Phenix City. Schools over there suck, though. I went to a private high school in Columbus, and my observation is that many people of means that lived in Phenix City sent their kids to private schools in Columbus. I think around 10% of my school lived in Alabama. The school is in the western part of Columbus, right off the 2nd Georgia exit on the highway, so it was a very easy commute for some. (I had at least two schoolmates who lived in Alabama but lived closer to my high school than I did.)
• I'm not familiar with the details of the tax ramifications of living in Alabama, but my understanding is that people not from there who live over there do mainly for that reason.
• Depending on where you work, Harris County (just north of Columbus) has become a popular suburb lately. Lower housing costs, huge.....tracts o' land...etc.
• PM me with what you're doing, who is interviewing you, etc. I still have a number of contacts there, so I'm mainly curious, but you may get a good story about a boss or co-worker out of it if you give me the 4-1-1. ;)

Oh, and on crime, it also depends heavily on where you live. There are places where I don't bother to lock my car at night, and there are places where I would like to be able to chain the chassis, tires, and battery to a steel-reinforced structure. ;)

This reminds me of something I meant to ask earlier.

The OP mentions Opelika/Auburn but not Phenix City. Not sure whether those were of particular interest for TOSU or if he might have been thinking Phenix City (just to get on the AL side of the border) but said the others.

And then chain that steel-reinforced structure to something heavy, like a bridge.

Well I'll likely be living with my girlfriend, who is starting vet school at Tuskegee. In terms of commute, Opelika is basically the midpoint for the both of us.

Makes sense now, thanks for the clarification (I really was kinda confused about that)

Good luck with getting out of Ohio

From what you told me via PM, you may end up working at multiple locations in Columbus. That would be ok if you happen to be on the north end of town, but there's really not a good way to get to the SE quadrant of the city coming from that direction. If you ended up there, in rush hour you might end up having 30ish minutes after you get to Columbus to get to where you need to be. It could easily turn into a commute of over an hour one-way. But it really depends on where you are. If you're in the northwest part of town, it's almost a straight shot to Opelika. My brother lives in the subdivision across the street from my old high school. I just put in his address, and it's showing 30 miles/39 minutes to downtown Opelika.