Leaving The City for the Surburbs

[PJA]

This week the Augusta Chronicle is doing a series of articles on Richmond County's loss of population to neighboring counties. The first article involves the discussion of White Flight. It's a very article.

The Article

[PJA]

Here's another article.

The Article

[Buckley]

Excellent article. However, this is certainly not a new phenomenon in Augusta. Whites have been fleeing to Columbia County for since the 80's and before.

I agree that this has a lot more to do with race than most are willing to admit.

[Pillsbury]

I agree for some people race is the main factor in where they choose to live--and I can think of a couple of people offhand who moved to Evans for that very reason. But I think for most people it's just about being able to control your surroundings. I live on the Hill. It's a beautiful area. But I hear gunshots too often. I see homeless people dragging stuff down the street. I don't mind it. I think it's a safe area for the most part. But I can see where some would be uneasy. My uncle, who lives over on Kissingbower, was standing at his window when two men threw a brick through his car window--for no apparent reason, they just did it. He has a son in school at Richmond. Believe me, he would trade places with somebody in Columbia County in a New York Minute and it has nothing to do with race.

[Buckley]

This is a real shame for Augusta. If you don't feel safe on The Hill, I guess the city is a lost cause. At some point (if not already) you have to assume this is seriously hurting the areas ability to grow as much as it should.

It's also a shame for MCG, GA's only public med school. It can't be easy to recruit faculty when you have to acknowledge right away the only reasonable housing is in SC or 15 miles away in Columbia Co.

Are Ga's other Fall Line cities experiencing this much flight?

[socaguy]

I agree...but this is the case with many mid-size southern cities. Only now is Atlanta starting to reverse this trend...it will be a few years before Augusta starts to rebound...but I believe it will.

[PJA]

I think what Augusta needs to do for right now is start building more upscale neighborhoods in South Augusta. There are tons of acres of land that have yet to be developed. Also you have Crosscreek High School which is a good school. I have never heard anything negative about it in the news. I'm acutually hearing more negative news about Greenbriar, Harlem, and Evans lately. I think that downtown can start to see the rise of condos and other upscale living soon, but not right now because the schools down there are still veiwed negatively.

[socaguy]

I would imagine most of the buyers in upscale condos would be either single professionals (younger) or retiring baby boomers. Many of them would also be snatced up by super rich golfers looking to have a place to stay while golfing or visiting the Masters.

I dont see why there arent more condos around downtown, especially with the high number of young doctors in town.

How are the Port Royal Condos doing? I had a friend whose parents bought a condo there a few years back.

[PJA]

I don't really hear too much about Port Royal. They must be doing fine or else I'm sure we have heard about it. I still think for families, South Augusta would be a great place to start if they want to keep the tax money here. You have West Augusta citizens, whose children go to Westside, which is one of the best schools in Richmond County, probably the best besides the magnet schools. (Speaking of which, Richmond Co. is supposed to add 7 more in the next few years which should greatly help). The problem with West Augusta is there is basically no more land to build and has been that way for sometime. West Augusta spilled over to Columbia County and that's when the growth for them started.

[PJA]

This is the next article in the series. It covers blacks leaving for neighboring counties.

The Article

[Pillsbury]

I think what Augusta needs to do for right now is start building more upscale neighborhoods in South Augusta. There are tons of acres of land that have yet to be developed. Also you have Crosscreek High School which is a good school. I have never heard anything negative about it in the news. I'm acutually hearing more negative news about Greenbriar, Harlem, and Evans lately. I think that downtown can start to see the rise of condos and other upscale living soon, but not right now because the schools down there are still veiwed negatively.

Good idea. If it wasn't for south Richmond I think Augusta's population loss would be even greater. I think it's time for a developer to honestly consider building something a little more upscale on the southside. I know they're trying it in my old neighborhood, Goshen, which is zoned Cross Creek, but those are just townhouses. One thing that makes me nervous is the fact that in Sunday's paper they quoted a couple from Bairfield (sp) who moved to Columbia County because they didn't want their kid going to Hephzibah. That used to be the rich neighborhood when I was in school; if people are moving out of that place we have serious problems.

[PJA]

Here's the next article.

[PJA]

Here's the final article in the series.

[PJA]

This isn't an official article in the series but this article talks about whites moving back into Richmond County. Here's the article.

[Pillsbury]

This isn't an official article in the series but this article talks about whites moving back into Richmond County. Here's the article.

I didn't really care much for that article. I guess since it wasn't very good news and no one offered up any solutions. I wish that maybe they had showed different cities around the country with our same problems and maybe highlighted some of the ways those cities are dealing with them.

I did notice that they had their children in private schools in Columbia County (where the schools are supposed to be so great) but have them in public schools in Richmond County (where the schools are supposed to be so bad). I like the fact that their daughter is going to Davidson next year. I think it's still the best public school in Georgia. I know a couple with children who moved back into Richmond County from Columbia County so their daughter could go to Davidson.

[PJA]

Here's some bad news for Richmond County and good news for Columbia County. Here's the latest population figures.

[socaguy]

I hate to see Richmond county losing people, but at least the metro is still growing at a brisk pace.

I talked with a friend of mine who lives in Richmond County and has for nearly 15 years. He is getting ready to move to Columbia County because the condominiums where he lives are riddled with break-ins lately. He said he would love to stay in Richmond county and hates what is happening to the population, but he doesnt want to live in fear of being robbed, (like that couldnt happen in Evans!)

[Pillsbury]

I hate to see Richmond county losing people, but at least the metro is still growing at a brisk pace.

I talked with a friend of mine who lives in Richmond County and has for nearly 15 years. He is getting ready to move to Columbia County because the condominiums where he lives are riddled with break-ins lately. He said he would love to stay in Richmond county and hates what is happening to the population, but he doesnt want to live in fear of being robbed, (like that couldnt happen in Evans!)

That's sad that he feels that way. You know, compared to a lot of cities around the state we're actually a pretty safe city. It just seems like weird stuff always happens here that get's everyone's attention---like the guy shooting at Tom Lehman during the Masters. Freaky weird stuff that could have happened anywhere but because it occurred inside Richmond it confirmed everyone in Columbia and Aiken County's worst fears about Augusta.

[Pillsbury]

So according to the following article, people are still leaving Richmond for the suburbs, just not as many as in the past: Population Decline Slows