|
|
There are many volunteer opportunities, from tutoring
students to assisting at the Athens-Clarke County Library to
helping out at the Lyndon House Arts Center. Anyone
wanting to volunteer is encouraged to dial, locally, 211
for a list of opportunities.
Shopping is plentiful; downtown is fun for antiquing and
finding gifts, but for more serious shopping, a regional
mall with a Macy's, Penney's and Sears is on the outskirts
of town, and booming Atlanta is just 75 miles to the
west.
|
|
The Athens Community Council on Aging
(706-549-4850) offers a number of services and programs for those
55 and older, including transportation services, home health care,
a foster grandparent program, a volunteer program and a
senior companion program. It also manages the
Athens-Clarke County Senior Center, which provides noonday meals,
education and recreation opportunities, as well as outreach,
visitation and telephone reassurance to homebound older adults. Residents
will find more than 200 churches and synagogues serving all
denominations, and the Athens Transit System provides bus service
to most of them, as well as to most other destinations throughout
the city. Health care in this area is
excellent as Athens is a regional health care center. The
Athens Regional Medical Center and St. Mary's Hospital have a
combined 500 beds and provide emergency care, cardiac care and all
other major medical services. For military retirees, the
Navy Corps Supply School has health care and dental facilities. This
area sees average low and high temperatures ranging from 35
degrees to 60 degrees in January, and 75 to 95 degrees in
July. Rainfall averages 50 inches per year, but
snowfall is rare. While summers are hot and humid (65%
humidity is average), the city has crisp fall days, cool winter
days and springs filled with dogwoods and azaleas blooming. The
sun shines roughly 30%-50% of the time. Crime
is slightly higher than the national average, but serious crimes
are rare. A drawback to retirement in Athens, aside
from the hot summers, might be the influx of football fans each
fall when football season begins. The UGA stadium holds more
than 80,000 people, and many come from as far away as Atlanta to
watch the Bulldogs play, so traffic this time of year can be a
headache, if only a temporary one. And for some older folks,
just the fact that Athens is a college town may be in and of
itself a drawback. Those who have retired here,
though, see the University and the youth it brings as an asset,
and they enjoy the low cost-of-living and affordable housing that
Athens provides. And as more retirees discover Athens, the
mix of ages will continue to even out. Return
to Page 1
|
