Since I was already heading to Florida, I decided to fly into Atlanta and visit three of the sixteen cities that are on my list of possile retirement places. Rome is one as are nearby Athens and Chattanooga. They are middle tier choices of the sixteen but have to check them out anyway because one never knows. I studied the town ahead of time to determine what places I wanted to be sure to visit/see.

Rome is an impressive town. I expected it to be much smaller in feel. However, it is really spread out, geographically. And some streets, such as Shorter, have LOTS of traffic. While dining at a local restaurant, I struck up a conversation with a local family, to get their impressions of their home town. They said LOTS of traffic (with rolling eyes) and that summers are long and are very humid. There is much in town that is brand new. Did not look like a run down town at all. Several apartment complexes around town are very modern looking. And they have a concept call apartment homes.

Some of Rome's roads are boulevards and have evenly-spaced trees growing in between the two lanes. Very nice.

General Electric has a HUGE facility in Rome.