The Factoids

• Gainesville is rated as one of the 50 Best Places to Live in America, according to the April 2007 edition of Adventure Men’s Journal. Based on small-town atmosphere and proximity to Atlanta.
• Gainesville is recognized by Barron’s magazine as one of the Best Places to Retire in the United States.
• Gainesville is one of “America’s Best Low-Tax Retirement Towns,” according to Where to Retire (Jan/Feb 2008).
• Gainesville-Hall County was host to the rowing, canoeing and kayaking competition games of the 1996 Centennial Atlanta Olympics. Today, Lake Lanier Olympic Center continues to host national and international flat-water rowing and canoe/kayak events.
• Gainesville-Hall County’s forward-looking community knows where it’s going under a long-term strategic plan. Through VISION 2030, the community is working together to accomplish 15 Big Ideas by the year 2030. www.vision2030.org
• Lake Lanier, with over 38,000 acres of water and 7.5 million visitors a year, is one of the most visited U.S. Corps of Engineers-operated lakes in the country.
• Gainesville-Hall County received the title, “Hospitality Capital of the World,” during international television coverage of the 1996 Olympic Games.
• Gainesville-Hall County showcases more cultural opportunities than nearly any city its size. The community is home to its own symphony, two nationally recognized theater companies, a visual arts center, a history center, and a ballet company.
• Gainesville-Hall County is home to Smithgall Woodland Garden, a botanical garden currently under development that is poised to become one of the largest woodland gardens in the country.
• In the heart of Gainesville-Hall County is one of the largest nature preserves within any city in America, the 1,500-acre Chicopee Woods, which features the Elachee Nature Science Center and over 13 miles of hiking trails.
• Hall County is home to an NFL professional football team - the Atlanta Falcons - which holds its practices within a world-class training facility in Flowery Branch, a fast-growing community in the southern area of the county.
• The largest American Grand Prix road race in the United States (Petit Le Mans) is held every year in South Hall County at the world-class 2.5-mile Road Atlanta race track.
• Gainesville’s Lake Lanier houses the world’s largest inland marina and the largest marina in the United States.
• Gainesville-Hall County is well-connected. A “Central Hall Trail” is under construction to connect Downtown Gainesville to the southern end of the county via a walk-bike trail.
• Gainesville-Hall County is home to one of the country’s oldest women’s colleges - century-old Brenau University - located in the heart of downtown Gainesville.
• A true college town, Gainesville-Hall County is the site of Brenau University, Gainesville State College, and Lanier Technical College. Within an hour’s drive are the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and North Georgia College & State University.