|
Join Our Free Great
Retirement Spots Newsletter! |
|
 |
|
Best
Retirement Towns and Cities
Retirement
Communities
Interested
in How to Earn Retirement Income?
Vacation
Rentals
Bed
and Breakfasts/Inns
Hotels
and Resorts
Real
Estate for Sale
Golf
Health
RV
Parks and Campgrounds
Great
Links
|
|
Georgia
Athens, Georgia
| Savannah, Georgia | Thomasville,
Georgia
| Think of Georgia and
all sorts of images come to mind. Stately
antebellum homes on magnolia-lined
streets. Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett
Butler. Peachtree Lane. The Georgia
Bulldogs. Slavery and
Reconstruction. Booming Atlanta.
Gracious Savannah. It is a state
with a varied topography, from mountains in the
north to coastal islands on the east. And
it is a place many come to for retirement.
|
|
|
Georgia was established as the 13th colony
and named after King George III in 1733.
Prior to that, the area had been home to several
American Indian tribes, including the Creek,
Cherokee and Choctaw. When British
general James Edward Oglethorpe settled the area
above Savannah, he declared that the colony
would be slave-free, and it was for 16 years
until economic priorities became the overriding
concern. In 1776, the colony joined
the other twelve and declared independence from
Britain. By 1779, however, Georgia had
fallen to the British, and it took years for the
colony to recover. When Eli Whitney
invented the cotton machine in 1793, Georgia's
economic prospects greatly improved and cotton
became king. Unfortunately, slaves were
soon doomed to back breaking labor as a result.
|
| By 1861, Georgia's
economy rested on the back of slave labor.
Without it, Georgia and much of the South could
not survive. The Civil War left a lasting
scar on Georgia, still seen today in preserved
battle sites and at the chilling Anderson Prison
site cemetery. When General W.T. Sherman
arrived in Atlanta in 1864, much of the city was
already decimated. Yet, Sherman
destroyed 4,000 buildings, and then he and
60,000 troops marched the Sea, burning and
looting nearly everything in their path.
In a way, there are two Georgias, the one
destroyed by the Civil War and that rebuilt and
the one spared by his wrath where glimmers of a
bygone era still exist.
Today, Georgia's capital of Atlanta is
booming, sprawling and re-born. Other
areas seem to have never recovered from the
War. Yet others, such as Savannah, have
built a strong tourism base and are the envy of
the state.
As far as climate, Georgia is considered
mild, but that can be misleading. Summers
are hot and muggy, except in the mountains and
on the shore. Winters are mild, but that
doesn't meant that it doesn't get cold once in
awhile, particularly up north. Springs are
balmy, and falls are lovely, indeed.
|
|