Looking for a mountain home...

[Kdsgone2dogs]

We have started thinking of looking for a mountain cabin/house to purchase that is within a days drive from us (east coast/central FL). Our family (grandkids) is growing and would like a place for us to gather several times a year. Would also like to be able to park our RV on site with (eventually) full hookups so we can have overflow sleeping in case all the kids/grandkids show up for a holiday.
We are open to suggestions! A friend has recently purchased a nice place in Ellijay, GA. so when/if the weather gets cooler, we will head that way. Also Murphy, NC, Clayton, GA, Blue Ridge,GA, etc. Having lived in NC many moons ago, how do I know that certain areas are sometimes not favorable to "outsiders"...would like to stay clear of those areas, but how would we know?
We are not looking for a huge "Kennedy-like" compound, just something we can all go to with friends and family and feel safe, let the kids play and we can sit on the porch....
Open to suggestions....

[Bamaman]

You're looking in the right direction to the North Georgia Mountains. It's one of the places Floridians go on vacations--and Florida license plates abound there. The mountains start about 1 hr. outside of Atlanta proper.

We keep our fifth wheel trailer in a member owned campground in Helen--Unicoi Springs Camp Resort.

Ellijay is a little busy for me, and it's not really in the mountains. Big Canoe is east of there (west of Dawsonville), and it's a beautiful and popular development.

My preferred towns are in the heart of the NE GA mountains--Blairsville, Helen, Hiawasee, Young Harris, Tiger, Clayton, Mountain City.

There are also a number of places in the far western North Carolina--all very mountainous. I'm talking Highlands-Cashiers, Dillsboro and the area outside the NE corner of Georgia.

We drove through Hiawasee last week, and it's on a bunch of islands in the middle of Lake Chatuge--and a very beautiful place.

It all comes down to your budget. You'll just have to get up there and see what's available.

[G.G.]

We just sold our place in Rabun Gap GA, which is a hop past Clayton and Mt. City. It's just before Dillard. We loved it there. It just became too long a drive for us, and with the MH and a place in FL, we didn't need it. If you need a realtor in the area, let me know. Don't know your budget, but the prices in this area are reasonable, and Clayton is a nice little town. There is enough there for groceries, restaurants, etc. that it's not in the middle of nowhere. Franklin, NC is not far for more shopping, etc.

If you go up there to look around and stay in your RV, stay at River Vista in Dillard. Nice place.