Jackson County GA: Real Estate Boom, and The Old County

So I've been blogging for about 2 and 1/2 months now, and I can say it has become a rather fun hobby for me. Mrs. G Blog works weird hours right now, so a lot of the time its just me and the pets. Hopefully, things should settle-down some soon, and we can resume our "normal" lives.

Every blog I've posted to date has been about politics. That's what this site is all about. This one is a little different.

I grew up in Jackson County Georgia, about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta on the I-85 corridor. I grew up on Jackson Trail road, back before the developers moved in. And they have moved in. Jackson County is the 43rd fastest growing county in the nation, and has been moving down the list at a very fast pace since 2000. I don't live in Jackson County now, but I still consider it home.

As a Libertarian, I understand that this is a product of a competitive marketplace, and that it financially benefits the people of Jackson County.

As a product of the rural south, I cringe at the thought of suburbia creeping toward my homeland, devouring acre upon acre of farm land, and spitting out cookie-cutter homes, Bradford pear trees, and asphalt and concrete. My closest neighbor lived 1/4 mile away when I was growing up. The house now has 3 houses to its west, and a 50+ house subdivision adjoining to its south property line. We used to have to drive to hear our neighbors, and now you can see them from the kitchen window.

Land Values are up in Jackson County, and so are the spirits of the locals. Like other rural areas, the real-estate boom has been good to people that live in this area. Like I said, its the free market at its best.

But Jackson County isn't the same place where I grew up. With all the new Red-lights, subdivisions, 4-lane roads, fast-food restaurants, businesses, cars, schools and people that are there, I hardly recognize the place. I'm not saying its not better, its just different.

Maybe that's what they mean when they say "you can never go home".