Ten Good Reasons to Retire to Dahlonega, Georgia

Nestled in at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains is the quaint mountain village of historic Dahlonega, Georgia---home of the first U.S. gold rush

"Only twenty-five years ago, it was just a small town in North Georgia, a community not many folks outside of Georgia had heard of," says my Dahlonega friend Beck Drew. When she moved here in the early 1980s there wasn't even much of a town square. Today this small town in Lumpkin County, Georgia, is a popular tourist spot and ever-growing community of contented, as well as active retirees.

Yes, the secret is out. Dahlonega is a top area for retirement. According to a story and video released on June 3, 2007, U.S. News & World Report chose Dahlonega as the third most economical retirement location in the United States. But I didn't have to read the article to know it was rated high. We found that out when we first visited this amazing small North Georgia town three years ago. When we first laid eyes on the town square, the majestic mountain ranges, and all the other sites, we knew we wanted to move it when we retired.

Meaning "gold" in Cherokee, Dahlonega was the site of the first U.S. gold rush back in 1828. Later gold seekers moved on to California to mine gold, but it was in Dahlonega where the first migration took place. Some pockets of gold were sited as far north as Virginia, and as west as Alabama, but an abundant supply was discovered on a Georgia Cherokee Indian land, near present-day Dahlonega. Soon this discovery drew a large invasion of gold miners.

Why is Dahlonega becoming such a popular retirement community? Here are a few good reasons why we, as well as other retirees find it desirable...