Live in Ridgefield

Being in a safe community is one of the most important factors that buyers consider when purchasing a home, condo or any other type of real estate. So where are America’s most secure places to live? The Farmers Insurance Group of Companies has released its third annual ranking of top 20 ‘Most Secure U.S. Places to Live’.

Bert Sperling, a database expert with http://bestplaces.net, compiled the Farmers rankings based on data from 379 U.S. municipalities. Factors such as crime statistics, unemployment rates and risks of environmental hazards, terrorism threats, natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, were taken into consideration.

The communities were divided into three groups – large metropolitan areas (above 500,000 residents), mid-size cities (between 150,000 and 500,000 residents), and small towns (fewer than 150,000 residents).

According to the survey, the most secure community to live in the U.S. among large metropolitan areas are the adjacent communities of Boise City and Nampa (both in Idaho), which topped all large metro areas. Located among the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the area has one of the lowest unemployment rates and enjoys a wonderful climate.

Among the Mid-size cities, those with a population between 150,000 and 500,000, the safest community to live is Las Cruces, New Mexico. Las Cruces was the first among mid-size cities in low unemployment rate and favorable climate categories.

St. George in Utah topped all small cities with populations of 150,000 or fewer in the survey. The city has 110,515 residents who enjoy a mild climate, clean air and low annual precipitation. It also has the lowest crime rates of all the 379 communities surveyed. St. George stands first in employment rate among the 138 small towns in the Farmers study.

The following are top 20 communities of America’s most secure places to live among large metropolitan areas, mid-size cities and small towns:

The top 20 safest communities to live among the large metro areas are:

1. Boise City-Nampa, Idaho
2. Portland-South Portland-Biddeford, Maine
3. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nevada
4. Honolulu, Hawaii
5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, California
6. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre-Hazelton, Pennsylvania
7. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, California
8. Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Maryland
9. Syracuse, New York
10. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, California
11. El Paso, Texas
12. Albany-Troy-Schenectady, New York
13. Rochester, New York
14. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, New York
15. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks- Ventura, California
16. Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, New York
17. Nassau-Suffolk, New York
18. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pennsylvania
19. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut.
20. New Haven-Milford, Connecticut.

The top 20 safest places to live among mid-size cities are:

1. Las Cruces, New Mexico
2. Rockingham County-Strafford County, New Hampshire
3. Huntington, West Virginia.-Ashland, Kentucky
4. Bellingham, Washington
5. Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont
6. Lynchburg, Virginia
7. Medford, Oregon
8. Prescott, Arizona
9. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, California
10. Binghamton, New York
11. Provo-Orem, Utah
12. St. Cloud, Minnesota
13. Fargo, North Dakota
14. Hagerstown, Maryland -Martinsburg, West Virginia
15. Olympia, Washington
16. Charlottesville, Virginia
17. Chico, California
18. Richland-Kennewick-Pasco, Washington
19. Manchester-Nashua, New Hampshire
20. Duluth, Minnesota

The top 20 safest communities to live among the small towns are:

1. St. George, Utah
2. Bend, Oregon
3. Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, Virginia
4. Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
5. Ithaca, New York
6. Morgantown, West Virginia
7. Logan, Utah
8. Winchester, Virginia
9. Harrisonburg, Virginia
10. Idaho Falls, Idaho
11. Madera, California
12. Glens Falls, New York
13. Wenatchee, Washington
14. Bangor, Maine
15. Lewiston-Auburn, Maine
16. State College, Pennsylvania
17. Billings, Montana
18. Cumberland, Maryland
19. Lewiston, Idaho
20. Pocatello, Idaho

If you are looking to settle down in any of these great cities, contact a good real estate agent who will help you purchase the home or condo of your choice.

I grew up in New York City. Well actually, it was Queens. Those of us living in the “boros” called Manhattan “The City”. But nevertheless, I am a born and raised native New Yorker. So, how, you might ask, did I wind in a 100 year old farm house with roosters crowing at dawn across the street, and horses for my next door neigh…bors? As a Realtor, I am finding that there seems to come a time in many people’s lives when they have just had it with snarled traffic, cars honking, window gates and three locks on doors and living in a sardine can apartment. As exciting as Manhattan always was, I got the bug for the country when I hit 40. Without revealing my age, and without going into a long story, about four years ago I began my quest for my dream country home. I am thrilled to say that I found her and I am living happily ever after. It took awhile to reinvent myself in my new life. I always dreamed of living in and selling real estate in areas where people come to vacation.

New Paltz, New York is a college town about 90 miles north of mid-town Manhattan. It is one of the rock climbing capitals of the country and is home to the historic Mohonk Mountain House. I, like many New Yorkers, came here many times as a kid to hike the magical trails, canoe, and climb the crevices of the Shawangunk Mountains, or “Gunks” as the locals call it. Finally, I bought a home here. I am now happily helping others to escape the city and live their dreams. So, what’s the down side? I had to get used to well water with all kinds of bacteria that creeps in from farms, bad water pressure, a septic system and not a city sewer, having to drive three miles in each direction for a container of milk, a occasional inch or two of water in my basement when the river behind my house swells, the nosy, gossip of small town America, many moths, flies, mosquitoes, bats, and other flying creatures in Summer, and the parade of Harleys that go by my house on Summer nights because I live on one of the most beautiful roads in the county.

It’s harder to make a living here than if I had a practice in Suburbia or the City, and property values aren’t as high and commissions are lower. We have to travel long distances to show homes, often putting 100 miles or more on our cars on a typical weekend day. But the upside is the lifestyle. Not having to lock my car, hearing no horns beeping, no road rage, and having folks smile at you and make eye contact when they pass you on the street is worth more than all the money I could ever make in the Big City. With the advent of telecommuting, there are many places in the country that baby boomers and Generation Xers are relocating to. You can do it if you want to. All you need to do is say “I’ve had enough, let’s move to the country”. Buy the house, and the rest will come.

When people think about the Pyrenées mountains, they usually get carried away with simplistic prints of nature and harmony: they see singing rivers, majestic woods, mountain tracks and heavenly views. This is part of the picture, all right, but what if you let your feet bring you to the remote village of Sost?

When entering the village, the first thing that will welcome you is a strong smell of hand-made cheese. All along your scouting process, you’ll be followed by a floating aromatic cloud whose toxic attributes, as we’ll see, are to not to be looked down upon. The cheese of Sost owns a copyright and cannot be made outside the village limits. It works like a licensed product. Every resident of Sost develops his own cheese, adding to the original receipt a touch of personal witchcraft. The only guideline is: the cheese has to stink in sufficient proportion to provoke death within 2 minutes of close exposure, but it still must be mangeable.

Cheese-making being a very old tradition in Sost, we certainly understand that the population of this village had to take its share of genetical side-effects. One of these side-effects is that the local fellows are incredibly small. Dwarfs and midgets will regularly cross your path and you may start wondering whether Snow-White runs a school there, were it not for the wrinkles on their faces and the smell of piss and rot peculiar to old age.

Dogs and children go free across the narrow streets. Dogs urinate on children and children urinate on dogs. Not out of retaliation, but of community hygiene. It prevents them to spoil the ageless stone walls and doorsteps and that keeps the village clean. Both dogs and children carry urine back home, as old men do with their dropping. The rest lays in womens’ hand.

Once every year, people from Sost celebrate being people from Sost. To do so, they stay in Sost and party with fellow-people from Sost. The green valley echoes sounds of joy and dancing, slapping women and beating dogs. When midnight comes and everyone is pissed to death, a big fighting session takes place in front of the townhall, sometimes involving the mayor himself.
Axes are dug up from backyards, cheeses are thrown at faces, and under the glorious light of a full star summer night, brotherhood and keenness play a concert to the moon…

During my lengthy stay here on Okinawa, I have enjoyed participating in several endurance sporting events. You only live once, right? I’ve completed 26.2-mile marathons in exotic places like Bali, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, and Hawaii. I’ve biked 330 kilometers (206 miles) in the 2-day non-competitive Tour de Okinawa. I’ve also been able to finish the Izena 88 Triathlon twice (2K swim/ 66K bike/ 20K run).

Although I’ve been told many times that I cannot leave Japan without climbing Mt. Fuji, this was another adventure that never really sparked my interest. Why would I want to climb Mt. Fuji? Everybody does that. Then one day I came across information about a 1/2 marathon Mt. Fuji Mountain Race. Perfect. Let’s do it! .

According to the race website, the 21 kilometer race to the summit starts in Fujiyoshida and climbs a total of 9,770 feet, finishing at the summit, 12,388 feet above sea level. Challenging, but something I hoped that I could manage.

It’s been 3 years since I entered this race, but as I recall the first 5 miles weren’t too bad. Well shaded on a nice trail, with the exception of the first kilometer, all uphill. I remember thinking just set the treadmill at an 8% or 10% incline for a few miles and you’ll get the idea what this is like. The stretch between 5 and 10 miles proved a bit more challenging, with some short little climbs over steps and rocks. No big deal.

My time at Station 6 (10 miles give or take) was 1 hr 57 minutes, and little did I know that the fun part of the course was still ahead. At that point all running was replaced by slow, steady, uphill, never ending climbing/walking. The pace wasn’t bad, but I kept looking up, where as far as I could see was a winding trail of people disappearing into the clouds. People that I had no hope of catching.

Below me was a similar image, only they were passing me one by one. I was supposed to be in a race, yet here I was falling farther and farther behind.

With the idea of racing all but over, I focused on reaching that still invisible summit, chatting with hikers carrying their precious walking sticks along the way. Forgetting place and time, I just wanted to get this one over with.

Finally, right at 4 hours, I crossed the finish line! I was happy to beat the 4 hr 30 minute cut-off with a half hour to spare, but then it hit me that I still had to get down. That took another 2 hours.

Was it worth it? I’ll remember this race for the rest of my life, so I guess so. Could I have done better? Sure, if I’d done a lot more uphill running and Stairmaster training. It was harder than I’d imagined, but not as painful as running a full marathon. Will I go back? You know what they say about Mt. Fuji. “One who never climbs Mt. Fuji is a fool, and one who climbs it twice is twice the fool.” That bit of wisdom certainly applies to the Mt. Fuji Mountain Race.

This year, the 59th running of the Mt. Fuji Mountain Race will be July 28th.

St Vincent and the Grenadines make up part of the Windward Islands and lie south of St Lucia, St Vincent. It is volcanic and mountainous with luxuriant vegetation and black sand beaches. The Grenadines are equally lush. Kingstown, capital of St Vincent, is a lively port and market town on the southern coast. The town contains 12 small blocks with a variety of shops and a busy dock area.

Bequia island lies 14km south of St Vincent and is the largest of the Grenadines. Admiralty Bay, the islands natural harbour, is a favourite anchoring spot for yachtsmen from all over the world.

Heading south, the next port of call is Mystique, a gem in the ocean taking up only 4 sq km. Verdant hills roll into soft white sand beaches and turquoise waters. St Vincent is one of the few islands where good West Indian cuisine can almost always be enjoyed. Specialities include red snapper, kingfish, and souse. Many evening events take place in hotels.

The Caribbean island of St Vincent puts on a spectacular show each year during carnival, is a typical West Indian week of celebrations. Originally a pre Lenten affair, it was shifted to late June so it would not clash with other major carnivals in the region.

A highlight is the Miss Carnival beauty show, billed as the number one Caribbean show of its type. Where revellers disguised as devils with paint and mud daubed on their bodies roam the streets in the pre dawn hours.

In addition, there are competitions to find the King and Queen of the Bands, a Junior Carnival, Steel Band and Calypso Competitions. All the fun is rounded off with a Mardi Gras parade of costumed bands on the last day. Its an amazing time to be on this relaxed, tropical island.

Kingstown is the centre for island nightlife, such as it is, though often thats limited to people hanging out in the streets, with car stereos usually providing the music. For official establishments, try The Attic, at Melville and Greenville, which has live music usually jazz most nights and is a decent and popular place to watch sports on the multi screen Tvs.

Eating options on the island are surprisingly limited, with again the most variety around Kingstown and Villa Beach. Prices tend to be lower in Kingstown than in Villa Beach, where you can expect to pay at least twice as much for food and drink than anywhere else on the island.

Due to its volcanic origins, the underwater topography of St Vincent is breath taking, and there are no shortages of dive operators on the island to help you explore it. Dive St Vincent, next to the Young Island jetty at Villa Beach, offers numerous dives, courses and packages, some of which include accommodation.

For a change of pace, why not take your friends and family out to mountain bike holidays? You can all enjoy the sun, the long stretches of road and the wide open spaces together as a group, and in the process get some much-needed fresh air and exercise!

Instead of hiking holidays, mountain bike holidays ought to help you cover more ground, and enjoy more of the scenery. This would allow you to get the best out of being in a new location, which should be all the more reason to want to book a biking holiday somewhere far from home! Cycling instead of hiking would bring about less discomfort on anyone’s part, too – fewer corns aching, legs cramping and dismayed cries of “are we there yet?”

A lot of cycling holidays take place only once a year, per location. This is why you have to book a biking trip preferably months ahead of time! But there are cycling holidays year-round, if you know where to look. If in case popular biking routes are closed due to the season or other less predictable factors, you can try to book a biking trip out of the state – even out of the country!

There are biking holidays in the UK, in European countries, even in Asia, Africa and Latin America. If you’re after truly exotic locations, look into a route that could take you on a scenic journey through the Sacred Valley of the Incas. Or take a trip through the Red River Valley, get to know the natives who live along the tour route, and sample a genuine taste of Vietnamese culture.

The United States also has some lovely biking locations, so don’t miss out on the chance to have fun close to home. There is a good route outside of San Francisco, California, for example, which would take you around Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Mountain and down to Santa Cruz. With luck, you’ll be able to make a booking for a coast-to-coast biking tour. If you and your loved ones are adventurous and able-bodied enough, this could be an extremely memorable trip.

Never underestimate the fun you can have when traveling with your loved ones, and don’t pass up the chance to turn your quality time together into mountain bike holidays. In fact, why not make biking holidays an annual family affair? Select a favorite location to turn into a scenic spot for a regular family reunion, or sample different locations yearly with your free-spirited friends!

Silverton Colorado is one of those little mountain towns that you have to spend some time in to really enjoy. You’ll love the scenery if you come by way of the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gage Railway. The canyons and mountains you’ll go through, and the sheer drops to the river below are breathtaking. But the train stops in Silverton for just a couple hours before returning to Durango, and if you are lucky you’ll miss it and hang out for a while.

If you come by car, don’t just drive down the old-west main street and continue on up to the ghost town of Animas Forks for a few photos. Stop and stay a while. Where else can you see a gunfight in the streets, camp three blocks from downtown, and look up to see snow-capped mountains in all directions in June?

We are sitting in our room at the historic Silverton Hostel as I write this. A hostel, if you are unfamiliar with the term, is a place where you rent a bed for the night – a great idea for a single person who likes to meet other adventurers and travelers. You share a bathroom and kitchen. This hostel is somewhat of a hybrid run-down hotel and rooming house, with beds, private rooms like the one we have, and space to pitch a tent in the backyard.

The sign at the front desk says to pick a room – the keys are in the doors. You can then call to find someone to pay, or pay when you see the manager later. In fact, in case you miss the manager, there is an envelope on the back of the door in each room. Just leave your money in that, the note says.

We ran into the manager, which was good, because she informed us that wireless internet was available. That saved us a trip to the Avalanche Cafe (although we’ll have to visit in the morning for their excellent green-chili omelettes). Checking in didn’t require any paper work other than signing the credit card slip. We heated up some food in the kitchen and met a young man who had recently traveled through my wife’s native Ecuador.

Later we watched the gun fight that is put on in the streets for tourists. Tonight we hope to be dancing at the Bent Elbow Saloon, followed by whatever other bar has live music. The last time we were here we danced to the music of “Too Little O2.” Their original music ranged from Greek dance tunes to reggae to rock and the blues. The locals and outsiders all had a great time. There is something about being isolated and at 9300 feet that seems to help people get along.

Other Things To Do And See Around Silverton

If you like big wilderness, this is the place. The nearby Weminuche Wilderness Area is the largest in Colorado, and has hundreds of miles of hiking trails. It includes several “fourteeners,” (mountains over 14,000 feet) that can be climbed without equipment. Much of the area is above timberline, and it is full of alpine lakes, waterfalls and wildlife.

Twenty-three miles away, at the northern end of the “Million Dollar Highway,” is the town of Ouray, where you can soak in some of the best hot spring pools in the state. The highway itself is an adventure, with drops of hundreds of feet sometimes just inches from the edge of the road. The scenery is incredible, but should be described to the driver.

Jeep tours starting in Silverton will take you to the high tundra, as well as to old mines and ghost towns. You can rent a four-wheel drive vehicle yourself and take the amazing “Alpine Loop.” At the moment (mid-June) you might still have some issues with snow on some of the many passes you’ll go over.

Back in town, you can sing karaoke at the Silverton Brewery and Bar, if it is Friday night. We were there last night, and the songs ranged from Rocky Horror Picture Show music to country, hard rock and Selena (in Spanish). The last was sung by my wife. I guess the $3 margarita was stronger than we thought.

While community living was once reserved for the “over 55″ population, this lifestyle has since evolved; branching out into huge master-planned communities and themed neighborhoods. Here are some of the more unique versions we’ve run across.

Pla d’Adet in the Blue Ridge Mountains represents the vision of professional cyclist, George Hincapie. This family oriented community is perfect for those interested in a healthy, fitness-oriented lifestyle. Along with regular amenities, Pla d’Adet has a 38,000 square-foot state-of-the art training facility, a 25-meter indoor pool, a resort-style outdoor pool, studios for aerobics, group cycling, and yoga, spa and dry sauna.

The 97 one to two-acre home sites range in price from $400,000 to over $1.5 million depending on elevation, location and mountain views. The community is connected with a system of wilderness trails, pathways, cycling loops and owner access roads.

The number of equestrian communities in the U.S. has doubled over the last few years. Now you can live in a country setting, while your horse lives a stone’s throw away, in the lap of luxury. Facilities often include a complete equestrian center featuring barns, paddocks and pastures and activities such as hunter/jumper shows and other horsey type events. Many of these neighborhoods are located on or near trail systems that offer miles of scenic trail-riding.

Also growing in popularity are gay- and lesbian-oriented developments. Currently there are four communities in operation and about 18 more slated for future development across the country.

Retirement communities have come a long way since grandma and grandpa’s trailer park. Today these neighborhoods are geared toward every budget, lifestyle and health need, and contain every amenity imaginable.

Designed for the senior with an active lifestyle, these communities are strategically located close to lakes, golf courses or acreage to take advantage of the many associated recreational activities. They generally have active social programs, a fitness center and community center, and are located to many local amenities.

Continuing Care Communities allow their residents to remain in the same location as they age. Accommodations change as their needs change and may range from individually maintained homes to 24-hr nursing care facilities. The available activities and amenities vary to meet the needs of the different lifestyles of the residents.

Manufactured Home Communities are low maintenance communities that range from affordable, budget-friendly sites to elegant golf club or waterfront homes. Some are seasonal resorts located near lakes with extensive boating and fishing, while others are year-round communities.

RV Communities cater to seniors on the move and may include homes with RV parking or temporary sites for parking the vehicles. They’re usually located in a scenic setting and include community areas with extensive social programs, and recreational amenities such as a pool, walking/biking trails, and tennis courts.

Upscale Communities range from beachfront locations to award-winning golf courses to breathtaking mountain views, and just about everything in between. You can get a patio home, decked out to the nines, or a huge custom home perfect for visits from the grandchildren. No matter which you choose you will know that you’ve stepped into a luxury community.

With a population of over 75,000, the Villages in Florida is more like a “golf city” than a golf community. They have special transportation trails especially built for golf carts. Amenities include – are you ready – over 40 recreation centers, over 24 executive golf courses, 8 championship golf courses with country clubs, a golf academy, polo field, 3 fitness centers, woodworking shop, community gardens, archery range, 2 libraries and several schools (for the employees of The Villages). The community also has two homeowners associations, a daily newspaper, a radio station and a cable channel. Whew!

The life of a Gorilla is the title given to the film local langauge it is ” obulamu bwakyisode”, the film aims to sensitise the public about the plight of mountain gorillas in Rwanda, the DRC and Uganda.

The film creater, US-based artiste Solomon Jagwe, relies on his skills and African roots to create a sombre but humour-filled animated film. His goal is to draw attention to the existence of this unique natural resource.

Galiwango is a tribute to Jagwe’s grandmother whom he says taught him how to tell stories as a young boy.
Jagwe tells the story of the struggles and triumphs of the gorillas from a captured gorilla’s point of view. He weaves into the tale a human element of interaction with technology, war and humour.

The story about the thick tropical forests of the Virunga Mountains is also another contribution . Jagwe traces the gorilla’s journey after it is taken from Uganda and illegally sold to a research facility in an undisclosed Western country.
Years later, Galiwango’s journey comes full circle to Uganda.

A plane carrying equipment and a crate housing Galiwango, is shot down over the Virunga Mountains.

At the crash site Galiwango meets two other gorillas, Muwanguzi, an aging Silver Back and Lutalo, who carries a rifle. The rest of the story explores the dangers of living in a forest that is full of conflict and greed.

Close encounters with poachers and rebels drive the need by Galiwango and his friends to stay alert.

Ugandans in the tourism intrested welcomed the rare gift they have in the mountain gorillas and fight against the possibility of their extinction with estabilshed laws governing the tourism sector.

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?