Tina Fountain's Blog: All Categories

As one of the most affluent cities in Georgia, Sandy Springs boasts a well-developed residential community and a booming economic base coupled with high property values and a relatively low cost of living.

North of Atlanta and convenient to Interstate 285 and Georgia State Route 400, Sandy Springs provides its residents and visitors with a diverse
range of cultural and recreational activities including miles of Chattahoochee River shoreline for swimming, fishing and boating as well as
260 additional acres of wooded trails, green space and recreational facilities. Additionally, the Taste of Sandy Springs food festival is a favorite event that attracts visitors from all over the state.

With a median annual household income of over $106,000 it…

Most commonly referred to as "The Beverly Hills of the South," this posh, urban district termed of Buckhead, an unincorporated area of Fulton County, is one of the most sought-after communities in Atlanta. Northwest of Interstate 85 and northeast of Interstate 75, Buckhead is home to approximately 100,000 fortunate residents.

Originally settled by Native Americans and seized by Federal government in 1821, Buckhead's name is derived from a story that in 1837 general store and tavern owner, Henry Irby, killed a large buck deer and mounted the buck's head for everyone to see. Prior to this it was referred to as Irbyville through most of the 19th century. By the late 19th century, Buckhead had evolved into a very wealthy estate suburb for prominent…

If you find yourself surrounded by beautiful, stately homes, lush woodland and trees draped over the roadways like canopies, you are probably in the Chastain Park neighborhood. Located minutes from Midtown and Downtown and a next door neighbor to Buckhead and Sandy Springs, this tremendously sought-after Atlanta community has the best of all worlds.

Chastain Park attracts an affluent blend of young professionals and empty nesters as the average home price is around $500,000 and exceeds $2 million. Named after former Fulton County Commissioner Troy Chastain, this dignified yet quaint community has an abundance of conveniences and luxuries not often found in metropolitan neighborhoods.

One of Atlanta's most prominent landmarks is located in the…

Twenty five years ago my husband and I purchased our first home computer. It was an IBM XT, it came with a 10 MB hard drive, a color monitor, and 512k of memory.  We actually paid extra for the color monitor and to double the RAM to 512K.

We had not been married very long, and had to save up to buy it. I don't remember the actual cost but I do recall it was over $3,000.00, which was about half the normal price.  We were able to get it cheap because IBM had just come out with the IBM AT.  Of course, we could never have afforded the AT, you know with all it's speed and memory!  BY the way, out of all the computers that we have owned over the last 25 years the XT is by far the most expensive.

We also bought a dot matrix printer with tractor feed paper…

Acworth, Georgia is another one of Cobb County's quaint historic towns perfect for those that desire small town living while having the ease of access to a large city. Convenient to both Interstate 75 and US Highway 41, Acworth is just 30 miles Northwest of Atlanta and a neighbor to Kennesaw.  

Acworth was originally home to the Cherokee Nation until the early 1830s. The Western and Atlantic Railroad began running in 1845 in Atlanta, delivering advancement northward to Northcutt Station, the first northbound water stop on the new track. A railroad engineer by the name of Joseph Gregg renamed this stop after his hometown of Acworth, New Hampshire. Acworth blossomed and prospered as an active trade center and was incorporated as a city in December, 1860. Read Full Post

Just minutes from Midtown/Downtown Atlanta and a stone's throw from Interstate 75 and Georgia 400, is the upper-class neighborhood known as Tuxedo Park.

Bordered by Blackland Road to the North, West Paces Ferry to the South, Valley Road to the East and Northside Drive to the West; the tree-lined roadways and rolling hills of picturesque landscaping are the backdrop for some of the most magnificent estates in the city.

Teeming with history, Tuxedo Park was not only the camping ground of Federal Troops during the Civil War as they captured the city of Atlanta, but it was also the site for a "Gone With The Wind" Premiere photo shoot in 1939. Clark Gable and Carole Lombard posed for pictures in front of an Adam-style home on Blackland Road.

A rural…

Nestled between Piedmont Park and the famous Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta lies Ansley Park, the oldest and one of the most affluent communities in the city.

The statuesque homes of Ansley Park are truly architectural wonders, spanning the spectrum of styles with Colonial, Craftsmen bungalows, Federal, Georgian, English Country, Neo-Classical, Italian Renaissance, Prairie School, Queen Anne and Tudor. From one story cottages to several story mansions to large, sprawling apartment buildings, it's not often one gets to see such a display of diversity of style and scale in one community.

One of the first suburban neighborhoods in Atlanta designed for motorized vehicles, Ansley Park was the brainchild of several prominent businessmen in Atlanta in…

Smyrna Georgia is reveling in their success as a revitalized and thriving place to live, work and play. Situated about 10 miles northwest of metro-Atlanta and nearby to Interstates 75, 20 and 285, Smyrna has earned a reputation as the model for smart planning, implementation and growth.

Settlement in the Smyrna area began around 1832 by pioneers, and by the late 1830s received vacationers from all over Georgia because of a religious habitation called Smyrna Camp Ground.  After the Western and Atlantic Railroad was completed in 1842, the area began to develop.  Smyrna was known by several names up until 1872, and when it was incorporated as Smyrna. In the 1980s, the Cobb County city's distinction and characteristics began to slip away as metro-Atlanta…