Cherokee County is a very attractive place to live!

An attractive quality of life is pulling metro-area residents to Cherokee County at a high rate, according to a new report. Cherokee ranked second in an Atlanta Regional Commission study of relocation patterns in the 20-county metro area for net residents moving in from other metro counties. The report used data from the Internal Revenue Service from 2000 to 2005, the most recent period for which data is available. According to the report, Cherokee saw 56,178 people move in to the county from other metro counties during that period and 32,378 people move out to other counties, a net of 23,800. Only Henry County saw a bigger net with about 30,000. Finishing behind Cherokee was Forsyth (23,785) and Paulding (20,564) counties. DeKalb County lost the most population to other counties during the period. DeKalb saw a net loss of 80,558 people. Other counties that shed a large amount of residents during the period are Fulton (66,204), Cobb (38,991) and Clayton (10,047). Cherokee's new residents mainly hailed from Cobb County. More than 27,000 people moved slightly north from Cobb to Cherokee during the period. Fulton County lost 13,257 people to Cherokee. In comparison, 14,115 people moved from Cherokee to Cobb and 5,092 people moved from Cherokee to Fulton. Local leaders said the lifestyle available in Cherokee is what is drawing people into the county. Wanda Roach of Canton, a Realtor with Century 21 Max Stancil Realty in Woodstock, said Cherokee has a list of positives going for it. "Cherokee is a very attractive place to live. We have the mountains, a major lake and good recreation. The schools are great, and the taxes are still good," she said. She said Cherokee also offers more room to people who are living in heavily populated areas.

By Ashley Fuller
Cherokee Tribune Staff Writer