Woodstock, Georgia

Woodstock became a city in the late 1800s after it was added as a stop on the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad. A push to redevelop the historic downtown in the early 2000s has attracted a new wave of young families.

Today, the city’s 1912 rail depot houses Freight Kitchen & Tap, a decade-old restaurant that serves a pickle-tasting flight and mason jar cocktails. The grounds of a 19th-century rope factory have become Olde Rope Mill Park with 14 miles of mountain bike trails. And downtown, residents’ old photos have been turned into a 92-foot-long mural depicting town history. One features marchers in a small-town parade (Woodstock has one every July 4).

While century-old homes stil dot the historic downtown, newcomers also have a large selection of newly constructed options. At $268,000, the median home price is about the national norm, but with a 30-minute commute to Atlanta and low unemployment (even now), Woodstock’s median household income is 30% above Georgia’s. — Samantha Sharf

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