Douglasville

Located just south of Interstate 20, Bill Arp is an unincorporated community in Douglas County. It was named after Civil War columnist and humorist Bill Arp, the pen name for Charles Henry Smith. Today, the community offers residents multiple green spaces, easy access to interstates, and a place to call outside downtown Atlanta. “People like this area because it is rural, and you can get that country lifestyle,” says Tammy Bogle, who lives in Douglas County and is a Realtor with Southern Homes and Land Realty. “While it is rural, it is close to Douglasville and downtown Atlanta and provides a little more affordability than closer to the city.” Spanning 200 acres, Clinton Nature Preserve was gifted to Douglas County by Annie Mae Clinton. The park is home to the first ADA-accessible playground in the county and offers multiple walking trails. It is home to Carnes Cabin, which dates to the 1800s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Bill Arp Park does have a playground but is home to the Bill Arp Falcons youth football team and baseball and softball leagues, which offer teams from 4 to 14 years old. Bill Arp offers multiple subdivisions off winding roads in the rolling hills of Georgia. Its original subdivisions feature brick-front ranch and split-level homes, while one of the draws is new construction millennium mansions. Property lots have spacious yards lined with tall trees. Buyers can expect a three-bedroom, two-bathroom split-level to sell for about $400,000 and increase to around $620,000 for a five-bedroom, four-bathroom Millennium Mansion. “The market is a rollercoaster right now. It kind of shifts on how fast it moves from week to week,” Bogle says. Bill Arp is part of the Douglas County School System, which scores a B on Niche and serves 26,000 students across 35 schools. A potential school path is Dorsett Shoals Elementary, which scores as a B-minus, the B-rated Yeager Middle and Alexander High School. The high school scores a B-plus and is the district’s magnet school for Liberal Arts College Preparatory and AP Capstone Programs. Douglas County offers the Connect Douglas bus service, which has four routes that run throughout the county. Bill Arp is just south of Interstate 20, one of three cross-country interstates connecting in Atlanta, which is 30 miles away. Wellstar Douglas Medical Center is a 108-bed, Level II Trauma Center less than 10 miles away. Each Spring, the Douglas County Parks and Recreation Department hosts the Spring Fling at Clinton Nature Preserve. It features a Ferris Wheel, amusement park rides, food trucks, a petting zoo and much more. Closer to Interstate 20, residents have multiple options of chain grocery stores like Kroger, Food Depot and Publix and big box stores like Home Depot and Burlington Coat Factory. While there are numerous fast-food locations, including Chick-fil-A, Fin & Feathers has multiple locations throughout Georgia and is a nearby spot for something to eat. Twin Ponds Winery offers a collection of different wines and annually holds the Twin Ponds Wine and Food Festival on the first Saturday in June. For more of a local restaurant, Gumbeaux’s is a favorite that always has a wait in downtown Douglasville.

Situated 25 miles west of downtown Atlanta, the Douglasville community of Anneewakee blends contemporary suburban living with a serene, natural landscape. Much of the area is occupied by woodlands, lakefront and creek beds, but an ongoing wave of new residents has spurred the construction of modern homes. “That area is seeing a lot of growth in terms of housing. So many people are working remotely now, and they’re trying to get out of Atlanta,” says Cathye Dowda Cota, a Realtor with Keller Williams Cityside who used to live in Douglasville. “Tyler Perry is putting in a new movie studio in Douglasville called Lionsgate Studio. It’s already being built and it’s just it’s just a stone’s throw from this area. It’s 100 percent going to create a lot of job opportunities. It already has just with the construction.” Anneewakee is largely residential, but a mix of stores and restaurants line the community’s Chapel Hill Road. There’s Marco’s Pizza, Mr. PJ’s Buffalo Wings and Casa Jalisco for Mexican fare and margaritas. Publix and Dollar General are also along the road, so residents don’t have far to travel to pick up groceries and household staples. Locals can find more shopping and entertainment options within the city limits of Douglasville, about 5 miles north. Arbor Place mall has a movie theater and more than 100 stores, including Macy’s and Dillard’s. Anneewakee’s more mature residential areas contain ranch-style homes and split-level houses from the 1960s and ‘70s with roomy lots marked by mature pine trees. There are also plenty of more contemporary homes with two-car garages to choose from. “The newer homes have a different look. They’re brick veneer, when before they had vinyl siding,” says Dallas Manning, a Realtor with Goolsby Real Estate Group, who’s sold homes in the area for 14 years. “Many of the homes have covered porches now.” Newer subdivisions commonly have sidewalk-lined streets and are outfitted with pools, tennis courts or small gyms. Vintage homes typically cost between $200,000 and $300,000, while newer construction ranges from $400,000 to $500,000. According to the CAP Index Crime Score, Anneewakee's overall crime score is 3 out of 10, slightly lower than the national average of 4. Residents can access a bounty of outdoor opportunities. Off Anneewakee Road, anglers reel in bluegill and bass from Anneewakee Lake, while 15 miles of trails and the ruins of a Civil War-era textile mill wait to be explored at Sweetwater Creek State Park 5 miles northeast of the neighborhood. Boundary Waters Aquatic Center on Highway 92 offers year-round swimming in a heated indoor pool. Surrounding the center, the expansive Boundary Waters Park unfolds with two 18-hole disc golf courses, a playground and picnic areas. Anneewakee is served by the Douglas County School System. Holly Springs Elementary earns an A-minus and is ranked as the best public elementary school in Douglas County by Niche. Chapel Hill Middle is a B-plus-rated school and is ranked as the best public middle school in the county. Chapel Hill High scores a B and offers 27 Advanced Placement classes, more than any other high school in the county. Interstate 20 is just north of Anneewakee, making for an easy commute to Atlanta. It’s less than a 30-mile drive east to Georgia’s capital, which is home to a booming job market and the busiest air travel hub in the world: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Lionsgate Studio, also known as Great Point Studios, is 6 miles north on Fairburn Road. Wellstar Douglas Medical Center, a 112-bed hospital, is 5 miles north on Hospital Drive. Downtown is 6 miles north via Chapel Hill Road. Many scenes of the hit Netflix show Stranger Things were filmed in Douglasville. In November, the city holds a Stranger Things Block Party to celebrate its role in the series. Parts of downtown are transformed into Hawkins, Indiana, the setting of the program. There are also costume contests and food trucks serving Stranger Things-themed food.

Winston is a wooded neighborhood in northwest Douglas County with mixed-development properties, high-ranking schools and access to nearby retail in Douglasville. Going through Winston, you immediately notice it is rich in brick traditional and ranch-style homes buried in Georgia pines. You’ll drive down winding roads, with certain blocks being grid-patterned and some ending in cul-de-sacs. Candace Starnes, a Winston local and real estate agent with Duffey Realty, says, “It’s really on the outskirts of Douglas County, but people consider it part of Douglasville; you barely notice when you cross over from the retail areas." Single-family homes range from $225,000 to $900,000, depending on the house and lot size. Towards the lower end of the price range, you can get a cozy three-bedroom home sitting on an acre of land, and towards the top, you can get a five-bedroom estate resting on almost 5 acres. Starnes mentions, “It’s a rural area, but it's grown up a lot; over time, those large acre lots have been merged, and now a lot of them are still on the market.” Homebuyers can purchase one of several empty lots in Winston as well; pair that with the new construction homes already on the market, and you have a secluded neighborhood brimming with growth potential. Douglas County Schools serve the Winston area. Nearby options include Winston Elementary School, Mason Creek Middle School and Douglas County High School, all boasting a B-plus rating on Niche. Douglas County High is also unique for being the oldest school in the county, as it was originally constructed in 1880, with a massive renovation occurring in 1937. Nowadays, it’s also the only high school in Douglas County that features the lauded International Baccalaureate diploma program. Arbor Place Mall is 9 miles away with dining and home goods options, as well as department stores like Dillard’s and Macy’s. Regal Arbor Place is there, too, for when you want to catch a new movie on a rainy day. There’s also a Kroger, Publix, and Sam’s Club 7 miles away in Douglasville for groceries. Residents can browse various restaurants in Douglasville’s shopping districts. You have chain options such as Red Lobster or Popeye’s, but there are some local dives closer to home, like Evan’s Barbecue Company. They have served smoked barbecue egg rolls, Brunswick stew and jalapeno cornbread for over ten years. Clinton Nature Preserve is a 200-acre park where you can picnic under shady trees. Mountain bikers and hikers will find trails that suit them while cruising past dense greenery growing over Civil War ruins. Hunter Memorial Park features a recently expanded playground, pavilion, and a duck-filled pond where you can enjoy catch-and-release fishing. Interstate 20 borders the neighborhood on the southern side. Residents take the highway 28 miles east to downtown Atlanta. Considering the distance to nearby amenities, as well as the size of residential lots, driving is the best transportation option for Winston residents. With all the neighborhood has to offer in its expansive undeveloped land and the benefits of being neighbors with retail-rich Douglasville, Winston has diverse opportunities to offer potential homebuyers.