Augusta, Georgia
In a beautiful city at a beautiful time of year, a golf course of stunning perfection hides its toughness behind a serene facade of manicured botanical beauty. Once you walk the hallowed grounds of the Augusta National, you’ll begin to understand what the allure and mystique of this fabled tournament is all about. But if artistry of the non-golf variety is what you long for, get ready.
Augusta’s growing arts community includes its well known ballet, opera, symphony and theater companies, touring Broadway production that make stopovers in the Garden City and other annual events on Augusta’s very busy cultural calendar.
Speaking of the calendar, it’s very kind to Augusta in terms of climate. We don’t have months of brutal cold—you can play golf in January in short sleeves. Thanks to Augusta’s hot summers and great location, digging your toes into the sand of an Atlantic beach can be a quick and relaxing three-hour trip. Taking advantage of the area’s mild climate for such recreation is easy for Augusta residents because their dollars go further here than they do elsewhere. Over the past decade, Augusta has been among the most affordable markets in the nation on overall cost of living indexes.
Added to those quality of life factors, metro Augusta also has one of the largest and most skilled medical communities in the entire Southeast. Georgia’s first heart transplant operation was performed in Augusta and the medical community continues to be on the leading edge of both transplant and research. The area also hosts one of the most highly regarded burn treatment centers in the Southeast and a new state-of-the-art children’s hospital. The majority of Augusta’s thousands of health care professionals are home grown. Our city is home to the Medical College of Georgia, where each year, thousands of doctors, dentists, nurses, therapists, researchers and other health care professionals are trained. A student could go from preschool to PhD in metro Augusta’s educational institutions and emerge with an education unrivaled anywhere. It is easy to see that Augusta, Ga., with its beauty and charm and its medical, cultural, educational and recreational opportunities, is indeed the best place to live and work! (Courtesy of Augusta Magazine).