Sure, the ground never freezes here! I spend many days outside even for just a little bit. Planting and transplanting is pretty much a year round option.

I live near Alpharetta/Roswell (Milton is a new city next to Alpharetta, btw). One thing to consider is that there are two counties that border Fulton County which have the potential for cheaper taxes/houses. Cherokee County to the Northwest of north Fulton and Forsyth County to the Northeast of north Fulton. Just something to consider.

hi aaaaaaa...

I'm originally from Toronto, zone 5a/b and moved here 11 years ago. I garden 12 months a year! Fall and winter are wonderful times to do hardscape and plant trees and shrubs. I also vegetable garden all year long.
It took me some time to get used to doing things sort of "backwards" but I've learned...

GGG

I live in Alpharetta (been here 5 years) and garden year round. Like GGG said, winter is a good time to do projects that it's too hot to do in the summer. The downside is that summer seems to last for-ever! And it DOES get hot. However, you learn to deal with it. Run errands early in the day or later in the evening, and spend the heat of the day inside (at work or lounging at home admiring your beautiful garden from the cool a/c). :-)

Well one thing is for certain, you will see some really hot and humid days in Georgia. If you are concerned about the weather, you may want to check out www.georgiaweather.net. It has historical weather data as well as current forecasts and more by county.

You didn't mention your field of work. That could make a difference in where you locate. Whatever your field, if at all possible buy a house close to your job site. Or get a job as close to your home as possible. That way you will have some time for gardening, rather than spending precious hours in our dreadful traffic.

One of my best friends moved to ATL from NYC. She loves it here. The first few summers were a little hard on her. She had to buy a new car with a good AC :~). After doing that, everything was OK.

opal52 brings up a superb point about traffic. i would rather live out in the country, but here's the thing: i live (~Grant Park) less than five miles from where i work (~Midtown). i work with people that bought outside the perimeter (I-285) just to get an extra 1/16th of an acre with a smaller house and pay about 10% less; however, if their commute - one way - can take upwards of 90-120 minutes during peak traffic times (~25 or 30 miles in 90-120 minutes), and 45 minutes during non-peak hours. this is an absurdity that is a reality. FTR, it takes me no more than 10 minutes to get to the office, unless lights are out everywhere. i save a lot of money on gas and could ride a bike if it were safe enough (it's not).

if you look at the temp stats/history for the area, make sure you look at the heat index or "feels like Xº" temps. it can be 90º here and feel like it's over 100º, similar to what NYC had a couple weeks back (95º w/heat index of 101º)

snow is also not unheard of, neither are ice storms and late spring freezes - many of us in Atlanta have been bitten in the ass by this nearly every year for the past 3-4!

You might miss your lilacs.

It definitely gets hot here, but I got used to it after a few years. I don't know what I'd do without air conditioning though. Shade trees, ceiling fans and iced sweet tea with a sprig of mint go a long way but a/c is essential July-early September.

Atlanta traffic is horrible but if you live in certain parts of the city you can walk or take public transportation most of the time. I said to heck with it and moved out to Athens :)