A nice visit to the garden of Ryan Gainey is in order at some time now or when you move to the Atlanta area!!
http://www.ryangainey.com/productsandservices.htm

How about Atlanta Botanical Gardens http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/home.do

And if you enjoy gardening with native plants, you can visit the Georgia perimeter College botanical gardens. They even have lunchtime sessions with 1 hr. lectures and garden tours. It's a great way to learn!

Good places to shop: I don't know if you have Big Lots up there yet. It's not fancy, but it's fun. Then there is Tuesday Morning which is more fancy and they had all sorts of garden books and stuff when I was there.

Here's a link to Alpharetta shopping: http://www.discoverourtown.com/GA/Alpharetta/Shopping-1500.html

North Georgia Premium Outlets www.premiumoutlets.com

We don't have the outlets that New Jersey does!

Enjoy your stay,
girlgroupgirl

Another garden to visit if you're here for a while is Callaway. www.callawaygardens.com. Callaway Gardens® is in Pine Mountain, Georgia, 60 minutes southwest of Atlanta. If you were to move here, keep in mind that Park Seed Company is only a couple of hours away and they open their gardens to the public a couple of times a year.
Here's a site with things to see and do in Atlanta.
http://sfn.atlanta.net/
I live in Roswell, on the border of Alpharetta. It's a great place to live and there is more here for people who live here, than for tourists. Atlanta isn't so much of a tourist town, but cost of living is fairly good and compared with NJ (my husband is from South Jersey) the cost of real estate, and job pay rates make it worth living here. And we have one of the countries busiest international airports, so you can travel easily to other places when you want to. Hope you enjoy your visit.

The aquarium in Atlanta is nice, but geared towards kids. Still worth a visit. The ATL botanical gardens is also very nice.

I work in Alpharetta (can't afford to live there LOL!). There is a huge mall there, Northpoint mall, so you will be in shopping heaven there. Lots of nice resturants in Alpharetta too. Most of our garden centers have given way to Home Depots, but you will probably want to visit a Pikes while you're here to get an idea.

I'm originally from LI (New York) and love it down here. Much more affordable to live and more comfortable. I was just up in NY for a week and I felt very claustrophobic.

I love the aquaruim! Dh and I went last year and had a great time. Not just for kids!
I also really enjoyed the downtown farmers market.

Hi,
Thanks for your response. I will visit ATL BG, aquarium, Northpoint mall, planning to visit Pine Mountain. And buford, what is Pikes--is this a garden center? Would love to visit farmers market--is this only on scheduled days? I only wish I have a job in Alpharetta, love to garden year round, unlike in NJ. Hope I will be successful in finding a job within a week!!! Thanks guys.
I really appreciate further responses, suggestions etc.

Thanks
a

if you want to visit local nurseries, personally I would recommend both Mullinix (on HWY 141 near Cumming; no website that I know of) and Perennial Grace (www.pgninc.com) on Birmingham Highway over Pike's. Eileen and Dave Becker, the owners of Perennial Grace, are friends of mine, and I really like the quality of their stock. If I may ask, what kind of work are you looking for? I work for a healthcare IT company next to Northpoint Mall, and we frequently have openings. See the URL link below.
jg

Here is a link that might be useful: MedAssets

Hi laxfan,
Will try to visit these nurseries. I am also in IT and work as QA Analyst. I appreciate your help, will check Medassets. Hope I find something in this short visit.

thanks
a

The farmers market is downtown and not that far from the aquarium (5 miles?) but a local needs to chime in as far as directions and such. It's like a grocery store -indoors- and I would think has regular hours.

And don't forget Bar-b-que! Slopes has locations in Alpharetta and Roswell. Also, One Star Ranch is a Texas BBQ joint in north Alpharetta.

If you like garden centers another suggestion would be Scottsdale Farms in Alpharetta - http://www.scottsdalefarms.com

Gardens that you might enjoy visiting (much smaller that the Botanical Garden or Callaway) are Bulloch Hall in Roswell (http://www.bullochhall.org) and the Smith Plantation also in Roswell (http://www.archibaldsmithplantation.org). Roswell is just south of Alpharetta, it is sometimes hard to decide where one ends and the other begins. Both sites contain historic buildings but also have great plantings maintained by local master gardeners.

Alpharetta has a farmers market on Saturday morning at Wills park. Roswell has a farmers market that is also on Saturday at Riverside park. There is also a Green Market on Saturdays in Atlanta in Piedmont Park which is right next to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. They also often include cooking demonstrations at that one (http://www.piedmontpark.org/programs/green_market.html).

Have a great trip! Atlanta has a lot to offer and Alpharetta is a great town. Lots of IT opportunities.

Hi,
I saw few single family homes down here with good size yard, great location, beautiful layout --my my --I will be paying 'Association Fee' for ever, even after completing my mortage payement(after 15 yrs or so)!!!!

By the way, what is 'Downy Jasmine'--does flowers smell good? We don't see this plant much up in North.

a

You should plan to visit Wilkerson Mill Gardens in Palmetto, just outside Atlanta. They aren't usually open to the public during the hot weather, but if you call them and let them know you want to visit, they do their best to accomodate your visit.....very nice folks. Take a look at their site below.....it is a wonderland to visit and view. They specialize in hydrangeas but have lots of other shrubs, trees and perennials.

Also while in town, visit HARRY'S FARMERS MARKET -
http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/harrys.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Wilkerson Mill Gardens

If you like Mediterranean food, you really need to try CAFÃ EFENDI while you're in Alpharetta. I LOVE this place, but it's a bit far for me to drive on a regular basis. http://www.cafeefendi.com/

If you like really unusual plants try Randy's Perennials & Water Gardens in Lawrenceville. The place is stuffed to overflowing with plants, many of which I'd never seen before in person. They also have a butterfly house and large koi ponds. http://www.randysnursery.com/

Good luck & Have fun! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Randy's Perennials & Water Gardens

Danita, I had no idea this place existed!! I need to go, YUMMY!!

GGG

I'll be checking out both the resturant and Randys!

http://www.starprovisions.com is a great little gourmet place in atlanta, they have a little deli/bakery and so on. I've heard good things about this place too...have yet to try it: http://www.flyingbiscuit.com/

On the edge of Alpharetta, I think it's in suwanee ? Is the freshmarket grochery store, a little gourmet grochery store. Nice place to stop at if you end up living here:)

Hi,
You guys were of great help. Thanks again and again. I did visit most of the places that was mentioned in the responses. First love aquarium and next Coke taste. Did visit few garden centers, did not buy any thing Âbecause of my plans to move here any how. I fell in love with this place--Alpharetta especially. Though the weather was hot, I felt it was less humid and in shade and under fans it is quite good. I did give couple of interviews here and think at least one of them is going to be positive. If every thing works out fine, I will be starting veggie garden in larger yard (within a year or at least next year). Hope I find good school for my school going son. I am exited about this place. Great place with good people.

Thanks
a

What did you think of Alpharetta? I may be moving to Atlanta in the next year or so, and that is one place I was thinking of looking at. Based on what you saw, were there many places up there that have large lots (1/2 acre or so) that would be conducive to having a big vegetable garden in the back yard? On Google earth, the whole metro area seems to be covered w/trees, and the larger properties I found on realtor.com seemed to be covered w/shade trees as well.

Hi,
Alpharetta is a good, calm place-every thing looks new! I did visit few nurseries /greenhouse in this location. Except that patch, the nurseries were surrounded by tall trees (I loved the entire setting). As you mentioned in your original post Âit is green every where in GA (at least cities that I visited). Roswell, Norcross, Sandy Spring, Duluth, Dun Woody Âall these places are really nice, apart from AlpharettaÂto me. In Alpharetta, I did see many houses with big lots, with that white wooden fence. It is amazing to see those southern style homes, I like the architecture!! You could say that I have fallen in love with GA. Big veggie garden, this is why I want to move to GA--ideal, perfect state. Hope, this helps you.

Thanks
a

Thanks so much for the follow-up. I've been looking on realtor.com and the area there and also Roswell look really nice. A little more looking, and I've found quite a few houses with bigger lots as well as sunny areas for a garden.

Have you looked in the new city of Milton? Used to be a part of Alpharetta and has just recently incorporated. All lots are at least 1 acre in size and the area has a very genteel, agricultural feel to it. A little pricey but the schools are first rate and the atmosphere is incredible!

I saw a couple of places on realtor.com that were in Milton that looked great, so we'll certainly be checking out that area.

Only downside is that it's a bit farther from the Marta station. The idea of a long commute is what I'm most apprehensive about when it comes to relocating. I've had 5 years worth of 8 minute commutes. An hour is highly unappealing!