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Head for the Hill5
A Special Real Estate Section
FRESH AIR AND EASY LIVING
Homeowners talk trading in the city life for the mountains
The interior of Kathy and Dave Brown’s big cabin in Morganton, GA.
Special
By Kathy Dean
It might seem that the reasons for moving to the
North Georgia mountains would be as varied as the
people moving there, but that’s not really the case. It can
all be distilled down to a few basic things that everyone
wants - natural beauty, a relaxed lifestyle and friendly
communities.
When it comes to the details, though, everybody has
their specific needs. For Kathy and Dave Brown, their
20-year dream of a log home finally came true in March.
It took perseverance and patience to find the perfect
cabin for vacations, and eventually retirement - a place
with plenty of land for their grandchildren to play.
“My husband and I are both retired law enforcement
and we look forward to this quieter way of life,” Kathy
said. “We come from the Tampa, Florida area where it’s
a rat race. In the mountains, no one is a stranger and
everyone is more than willing to help you.”
The Browns are ready to get back to basics and
enjoy the tranquility and slower-paced lifestyle. They’d
originally bought acreage in Sylva, NC but never built on
it; they realized they wanted something a little closer to
home.
“We’re just eight hours from our Florida house
and within a few hours of Atlanta, Chattanooga and
Cherokee,” Kathy added. “It’s the perfect vacation
area, and I love the clean mountain air and beautiful
landscapes of the mountains.”
The area also affords them a great place to enjoy
outdoor leisure activities and antiquing. Throughout the
years, the Browns had been collecting antiques for their
dream cabin. Some remodeling is already underway to
make it true to the early 1900s theme they’ve chosen.
“Their cabin is lovely, and so is their land,” noted
Donna M. O’Neal, Associate Broker, Coldwell Banker
High Country Realty, the realtor who helped them locate
their mountain cabin in Morganton, Georgia.
For mountain living, it’s hard to beat Big Canoe, a
beauty spot surrounded by even more natural beauty. Big
Canoe’s North gate is 10 miles from Amicalola Falls State
Park and Lodge, home of the tallest cascading waterfall
east of the Mississippi River. And just five minutes from
the gates of Big Canoe is Gibbs
Gardens, recognized as one of the
premier gardens in all of North
America.
A bit farther, but still
just minutes away, are the
750,000 protected acres of the
Chattahoochee National Forest,
which features more than 430
miles of trails and 2,200 miles
of rivers and streams - 1,370
are trout streams. Just over the
Tennessee border, there’s the
640,000-acre Cherokee National
Forest, and the 530,000-acre
Nantahala National Forest is
down the road in North Carolina.
But it’s what’s in Big Canoe
that brings people. Not only is
it the perfect setting for events,
especially weddings and retreats,
there’s a range of new and resale
homes, priced from $200,000 to
$3million+, that attract people
looking for retirement homes, vacation homes and
second homes. Hundreds of Atlanta families find their
weekend getaway homes there. For one of those families,
Bob and Carolyn Littell, it’s become their permanent
spot of paradise.
In the 1980s, Bob was living and working in
Dallas, Texas. He relocated to Atlanta in 1981 as Chief
Marketing Officer of an Atlanta-based insurance
company. Soon after arriving, he attended a corporate
retreat at Big Canoe that had already been planned
before he arrived. He can remember saying: “I thought
I’d found heaven!”
After returning home from the retreat, he told his
wife, Carolyn, about it and on regular intervals over
the years that followed, they returned for visits, renting
homes for the weekend to catch up on some reading and
hike the wonderful trails. What drew them back was
an area dubbed “the Enchanted Land” by the Indians, a
mountaintop retreat of more than 8,000 pristine acres of
woodlands and lakes.
Cousins Properties in Atlanta began developing
the area in the early 1970s. Bill Byrne of the Byrne
Corporation of Georgia acquired the development in
1987. In 1997, Greenwood Development Corporation
joined forces with Byrne to form the Big Canoe Co.,
LLC, which still manages Big Canoe today. While the
area is carefully developed, about 30 percent of the land
is set aside as usable green space.
Initially, the Littells had planned to downsize their
Buckhead home and just have a mountain weekend get
away in Big Canoe. But one day Carolyn called Bob and
told him, “The dogs and I are moving up to Big Canoe
permanently and you’re welcome to join us.” Today, Bob
works only a few days out of their condo in Buckhead
and then heads north to their mountain sanctuary.
“It is really an amazing place,” Bob said. “And
it attracts amazing people, including several retired
university presidents, senior executives, and other
successful professionals, working and retired.”
Real Estate In
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