Out of Atlanta, Into the Mountains

By CHARLES PASSY

Published: September 29, 2006, New York Times

TO drive to Blue Ridge, Ga., from Atlanta is to immediately realize the small town’s appeal. As you head north, the hectic, sprawling urban landscape slowly gives way to something more sedate and soothing; you practically feel the terrain changing beneath your car’s wheels. By the time you arrive — the trip takes about 90 minutes — in this bucolic town with 1,000 year-round residents, there’s no mistaking that you’re in the mountains.

Indeed, the Blue Ridge Mountains are Blue Ridge’s biggest draw, the scenic magnet that in recent years has attracted scores of second-home owners — typically, Atlantans looking for a weekend retreat or Floridians seeking a respite from the heat and humidity. That and the fact that about 40 percent of the land in Fannin County, Blue Ridge’s home, is nationally protected, thereby guaranteeing that views should remain relatively unchanged.

But there’s scenery and there’s the scene — and there’s no denying the latter has quickly evolved to meet the needs of this fairly well-heeled group of new arrivals. Stroll through downtown Blue Ridge, where a scenic railway is one of the region’s principal tourist draws, and you’ll find all the sign of affluent civilization, from an independent bookstore to a Starbucks-style coffee shop (upscale chain stores are notably — and some might add, thankfully — missing, however). This is clearly no longer a backwoods mountain town.

Nor does it have backwoods prices for real estate. You can easily pay as much as $500,000 for a cabin. Is it worth the cost? Most new arrivals say yes, especially around this time of year, when the mountains are a study in painterly colors — reds, oranges, yellows and browns — as the leaves turn.

Sure, you can hike those mountains — or you can go boating or fishing at the 3,290-acre Lake Blue Ridge, the area’s major aquatic attraction — but the primary activity for many second-home owners is doing, well, little to nothing. “I like to read and do crossword puzzles and veg out,” said Joe Gruenhut, an Atlanta resident who spends long weekends at his Blue Ridge cabin.

The Scene

What distinguishes Blue Ridge from neighboring mountain towns in Georgia (such as Blairsville and Young Harris) as well as North Carolina and Tennessee is the proximity to Atlanta. With the exception of Ellijay — about 16 miles to the south — Blue Ridge is the first significant mountain destination along the Georgia Mountain Parkway, the four-lane highway running north from Atlanta that opened two decades ago, sparking today’s boom in second-home ownership. Until then, Blue Ridge was mostly a quiet agricultural community, developed on land taken from the Cherokee Indians in the 19th century.

Thus, it’s no surprise that Atlantans are high on the area — it’s close but not too close. “We’re just far away enough to make it a perfect weekend getaway,” said Jan Hackett, executive director of the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Hackett added that a strong rental market boosted the appeal of ownership. Buyers will often buy a house counting on the rental income “to help pay for it,” she said, noting that there are at least 800 cabins and homes available for everything from weekend to monthlong stays.

With the many Floridians in Blue Ridge, the appeal is much the same. Even though the town is not exactly a short drive away — figure at least 10 hours from South Florida — it’s still about the closest mountain destination from the Sunshine State. And after so many years, that Florida populace has taken on a life of its own, a community within a community. “The best-kept secret is all the cops and firemen from Florida,” said Bob Stevens, a fire battalion chief from Boca Raton who visits his second home in Blue Ridge at least four times a year.

Not that Blue Ridge doesn’t still retain a measure of Southern flavor and old-timey charm. You can tell as much when you stop by the Village Restaurant, a popular place near downtown that’s justly famous for its biscuits, or Mercier Orchards, a roadside apple market turned country emporium, with a bakery that offers the perfect fried apple pie.

Pros

Beyond the obvious — the proximity to Atlanta, the mountain lifestyle, the upscale amenities, the quaint downtown — the greatest appeal of Blue Ridge may be its people. By city-slicker standards, they’re downright friendly and accommodating. Second-home owners always have a story to tell in that regard: about the car mechanic who apologized profusely for taking an extra 15 minutes to complete a job, about the grocery store cashier who doted on a customer’s children (or grandchildren — the area has its share of retirees, too).

The climate is another plus. The area is cooler than Atlanta during the summer, but still far enough south that it snows only occasionally during the winter.

Cons

If you like to enjoy a glass of wine with your meal when dining out, Blue Ridge may not be for you. Beer and wine are sold in shops but are not available at restaurants. Spirits like whiskey, rum and vodka are not sold at all. The effect of such temperance-minded restrictions is even greater than you might imagine: Since high-end restaurateurs rely on alcohol sales to boost their bottom line, they’ve avoided Blue Ridge, leaving the town with little more than mom-and-pop restaurants and fast-food outlets.

And for all the area’s growing sophistication, this still isn’t the big city. Cultural opportunities are mostly limited to a community theater group and an arts association that offers classes in music, art and creative writing. But Blue Ridge can at least boast of having the Swan, one of the few remaining drive-in movie theaters in Georgia.

The Real Estate Market

As more buyers have discovered the appeal of Blue Ridge, costs have risen accordingly — so much so that the area hasn’t really felt the cooling of housing prices seen elsewhere in the country.

But where it becomes truly pricey is with a new wave of country club-style communities establishing themselves in the area, offering a lifestyle that combines the best of what the mountains have traditionally offered with activities like golf, tennis and horseback riding. One notable example: the Blue Ridge Golf & River Club, a development with an 18-hole golf course that’s scheduled to have 220 homes. Prices start at $275,000 — for the land alone.

Lay of the Land

POPULATION It is estimated that about 1,000 residents live in Blue Ridge year round — the 2000 Census put the exact figure at 1,210. But thousands more have second homes in the surrounding area and visit frequently during the summer and fall. Fannin County’s year-round population is about 20,000.

SIZE 2.2 square miles.

WHO’S BUYING Atlanta residents seeking a weekend retreat and Floridians seeking an escape from heat and humidity.

GETTING THERE Blue Ridge is about a 90-minute drive from downtown Atlanta (and about two hours from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport). Take Interstate 75 north to Interstate 575, which becomes the Georgia Mountain Parkway. Continue on this road for 55 miles to Blue Ridge.

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