Georgia – The Peach State

Georgia, named after King George II of England, is a southeastern state in the United States located just north of Florida. From museums to historic districts and parks of all kinds, there is plenty of reason to want to live in or visit the Peach State.

Go see the “Chicken Capital of the World” in Gainesville where it is actually illegal to eat chicken with a fork or join in on the Annual Shoot the Bull BBQ Championship in Hawkinsville where the proceeds benefit the Civitan International Research Center and its work towards a cure for Down’s syndrome. You can visit Blackbeard Island where the pirate Edward “Blackbeard” Teach settled down.

Georgia is also home to the largest swamp in North America, the Okefenokee Swamp. The swamp covers over 400,000 acres of cypress trees, canals and lily pads providing homes for hundreds of different species, including several endangered species.

Atlanta

Atlanta is the capital of Georgia and the largest city in the state by population. The city was founded as the stopping point of a major state sponsored railroad, with its name deriving from the Western and Atlantic Railroad’s local depot which signified the town’s rapid growth as a transportation hub. Skip to the future, Atlanta is now a major international air transportation hub with the world’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

The largest aquarium in the world, the Georgia Aquarium, is at the top of the list for tourist attractions and local visitors as well. Opening in 2005, the aquarium is home to more than 100,000 animals within the 10 million US gallons of marine and salt water. A day at the aquarium will allow you to see 700 species of fish and sea creatures, including, but not limited to, whale sharks, beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, piranhas and more. Tickets start at $30 per person.

In May of 1886 a pharmacist from Atlanta by the name of Dr. John S. Pemberton created what was intended to be a patent medicine, Coca-Cola. Now stands a 20-acre complex in Atlanta showcasing the history of the Coca-Cola company, allowing visitors to taste 60 different flavors created from around the world. The Varsity, one of the city’s most famous restaurants, serves more Coca-Cola than anywhere else in the world.

In 1996 Atlanta was chosen to be host of the Summer Olympics. As part of the infrastructure improvements prior to the games the ACOG, Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, built Centennial Olympic Park. It is a 21-acre public park centered in downtown Atlanta that, during the games, was used for sponsor exhibits, medal presentations, pin trading, and lots of entertainment. Nowadays the park is filled with beautiful water features, engraved bricks from individuals who donated to the park, music events, and has become a catalyst for all kinds of new development since the Olympics.

With so much to see and explore, you’re bound to miss some of your favorite shows and television specials! Fortunately, Dish Network’s Hopper is an HD DVR program that enables you to pause, rewind, and record live TV Now you enjoy the nightlife of Cedar Falls without skipping out on the newest episode of Game of Thrones or Keeping Up with the Kardashians. What’s more, with 2,000 hours of recording space, there’s no need to argue about who gets the TV during primetime hours.

Savannah

The founder of Georgia, General James Edward Oglethorpe, landed in Savannah making it the oldest city in the US state. It is currently the third-largest city by population in Georgia. Savannah is the perfect spot for any history buff, nicknamed “Hostess City of the South” for its southern hospitality, the city is filled with cobblestone streets, numerous historic districts and notable historic buildings.

Downtown Savannah still largely follows the original plans set forth by the founder, James Oglethorpe. Included downtown are the Savannah Victorian Historic District, the Savannah Historic District within 22 park-like squares, which is one of the largest National Historic Landmark Districts in the United States.

The first four squares laid out by the founder in 1733 were Johnson Square, Wright Square, Ellis Square and Telfair Square. Johnson square remains the largest of the 24 today and was named after the founder’s friend and governor of South Carolina, Robert Johnson. Ellis Square, also known as Marketplace Square, was a center of commerce throughout the 1950s. Unfortunately, it was demolished in 1954 to construct a parking garage which helped spur the historic preservation movement in Savannah. Ellis Square was resurrected and rebuilt and officially reopened in January 2009.

Among the historic buildings of Savannah are the many parks. Originally built in the 1950s, Forsyth Park is a large 30-acre park home to the Garden of Fragrance. The park features fragrant flowers and plant placed around wells and an ornamental iron fence.

In Tricentennial Park is the Georgia State Railroad Museum with guided tours and train rides on your choice of steam or diesel locomotives. At the Historic Railroad Shops the oldest portable steam engine in the US is on display.

If you still haven’t had enough history the city includes three historic cemeteries, some with the final resting place of Confederate soldiers and African American slaves, churches dating back to 1733 with some continuing with an active congregation, and Civil War forts.

Or, just sit back and take your pick from more than 200 national HD channels and international channels, all of which are delivered with award winning HD DVR technology. If you’re brand new to the world of Dish Network, visit the main website and become a subscriber. There are always lots of incentive packages available to new customers, like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime free for 3 months for new customers. Why not check out all the great deals today?

Macon

Macon, about 85 miles south of Atlanta, lies almost geographically in the center of the state giving its nickname “The Heart of Georgia”. In 2012 voters approved the combination of Macon and Bibb County making it the state’s fourth largest city.

Georgia is the United States top producer in the three P’s – peaches, pecans and peanuts – which can be found at Macon’s State Farmers Market. Areas in and around Macon thrive on the agriculture in Middle Georgia.

If you are into music, Macon has an exciting music heritage. Greats such as Little Richard, Otis Redding, also known as the King of Soul, and the Allman Brothers Band all got their start in Macon. The “Big House” that was used by the Allman Brothers Band in the 70s is now a museum containing the bands history and artifacts.

Speaking of museums, Macon is home to the largest state hall of fame in the United States, The Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, covering 43,000 square feet. Close by is the Tubman Museum of African American Art, which is the largest African American museum in the southeastern United States. The culture, history and art are housed in an 8,500 square-foot building with a variety of exhibits.

To get outside and enjoy the sunshine, plan a day at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. This prehistoric American Indian site has 2000+ artifacts to learn the way the American Indian culture survived for thousands of years. The Ocmulgee National Monument is the largest archeological development east of the Mississippi River. Finish the day off by unwinding on the banks of the Ocmulgee River.

Columbus

Columbus is the states’ third largest city after combining with Muscogee County in 1970 and is located on the Chattahoochee River on the west central border. Named after Christopher Columbus, it is one of Georgia’s three Fall Line Cities, meaning this is where the Piedmont plateau meet the coastal plains making a varied landscape of flat plains to the south and rolling hills to the north.

The economy is centered around the main employer of the region, Fort Benning Military Reservation, a U.S. Army training facility. The city is rich in Civil War history having the nation’s only naval museum, The Port Columbus Civil War Naval Museum. In the 40,000 square-foot building are Civil War Naval- related flags, Admirals’ pennants, the uniform coat of Captain Catesby Jones, and the largest surviving Confederate warship, the CSS Jackson.

About 16 miles east lies Andersonville National Historic Site, formerly known as Camp Sumter. This Confederate prisoner-of-war camp, open for the last 12 months of the Civil War, was overcrowded and its terrible conditions were the cause of the high mortality rate of Union prisoners. Henry Wirz, the officer in charge of Camp Sumter, was eventually tried and executed for his crimes after the war.

More than just history, there are plenty of fun in the sun activities. Take a walk down the 15-mile Chattahoochee Riverwalk that connects from the north side of Fort Benning, to South Columbus, to Downtown.

Ranked the world’s best manmade course, go whitewater rafting or kayaking on the longest course in the world down the Chattahoochee River. After, ride the zip-line connecting you from the Georgia side of the river to the Alabama side where they have a ropes course at Blue Heron Adventure. No worries, they have a zip-line on the Alabama side to get you back!

Residents can relax at home and watch any number of sports programs on Dish Network’s wide array of offerings. Customers always have access to an affordable, convenient menu of benefits, channels and programs. For more information, and to start getting all that Dish Network has to offer, check out the website.

The Crime Rate

Unfortunately, everyone has their drawbacks and Georgia deals with a lot of crime. The city of Atlanta, the capital, is ranked 17^th out of the 50 biggest cities for most dangerous. With a crime rate of 61 per 1,000 residents, your chance of being a victim in Atlanta is one in 16.

In Augusta, the average crime rate is 102% higher than the national average. Here you have a 1 in 19 chance of being a victim in a crime. Augusta has been listed safer than only 6% of other cities in the United States.

On a positive note, the violent crime rate was lower then the national rate last year (2017), which included 703 non-negligent manslaughters and murders in the entire state. The murder rate for Georgia was a bit higher at 6.7 per 100,000 than the national average of 5.3 for last year. Being the 16^th consecutive year that crime has declined in the United States, it’s headed in the right direction.

Services in Georgia

Those living in Georgia can rest assured they will be taken care of with the following companies standing behind them.

Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest power supplier in the state, supplying electricity services to customers in 155 of the 159 state counties. Their use of coal, gas/oil, nuclear, hydro and solar plants help them to service over 2.5 million customers.

Atlanta Gas Light

Founded in 1856, AGL is the largest natural gas wholesaler in the southeastern Untied States. The company supplies more than 1.6 million customers in 243 communities throughout the state.

AGL offers furnace rebates for those looking to switch to natural gas and senior citizen discount programs to help lower your bill.

There are plenty of reasons to want to switch to natural gas. Natural gas dryers are two times as fast as electric ones, gas water heaters can deliver two times the amount of electric heaters in the same amount of time, and outdoor gas lights are beautiful to use and don’t attract those pesky bugs.

Dish Network

Staying in is always a favorite pastime and having Dish Network makes that even easier. If you are not a Dish customer they have tons of deals going on that are hard to pass up.

Signing up now will get you a free voice remote, smart HD DVR included and free same-day or next-day install. They also have regional sports networks available starting in their top 120+ package.

Going on vacation? No problem! On the road all the time? Dish Network can help, with their new technology, they offer antenna options for RV’s and semi-trucks that allows you to use pay as you go satellite TV programs.

Conclusion

Being the largest state east of the Mississippi River you are sure to find plenty to do here. Come watch the annual Masters Golf Tournament at Augusta National in April or visit the biggest single mass of exposed granite in the world at Stone Mountain just outside Atlanta.

If you’re hungry, head down to Vidalia, Georgia, the only place the sweetest onion in the world can be grown. Or catch the biggest poultry convention in the world, the International Poultry Trade Show.

Bask in the beauty that Georgia has to offer at Callaway Gardens, a family resort that is known for its beautiful azaleas. In Rome, Georgia stands the only natural forest within a city limit, Marshall Forest. For the adventurous, climb 4,784 feet to the highest point in Georgia a top Brasstown Bald Mountain.

Dish Network

Dish Network Corporation, commonly called “Dish Network,” is the premier provider of direct-broadcast satellite television. The corporation also owns Sling TV, an Internet-protocol TV service. Currently serving nearly 14 million customers with its television service and about 600,000 with its broadband offerings, Dish has more than 17 thousand employees and was founded in 1981.

Georgia residents can take advantage of special channel packages from Dish, including on-demand and movie options. There’s also the Dish Anywhere app and Dish Hopper services. The undisputed leader of the pay-TV market, Dish is proud of its industry-leading technology, equipment and unrivaled customer support.

Residents of Macon, Atlanta, Columbus, and Savannah can take their pick from a vast menu of special services offered by Dish Network, like never having to worry about long-term contracts, quick customer service response times, special offers for incredible savings throughout the year, and state-of-the-art, high-tech equipment that delivers what every Dish customer deserves: the best of the best. For the sake of variety, whether you love sports or any other kind of entertainment, the Dish Network On Demand library allows you to choose from over 20,000 TV shows and movies.