I have been living in Augusta for almost two years at Fort Gordon. The best thing I did for our car before our family came here was fix the air conditioner you are going to need it. If you have a child there are two places you can visit for some fun—Fort Discovery and Funsville. If you like shopping—there are three main places to shop—Augusta Mall, Deans Bridge Road/Washington Rd and Augusta Exchange—all the favorite big stores (Circuit City, Sams Club, Target, 2 Walmarts, JcPenney, Macy’s and Best Buy, etc). Fort Gordon is like living in the country I have seen foxes, coyotes, deer, squirrels and geese (geese groups stop by for a pit stop in fall and spring). Also lots of green spaces at Fort Gordon. The down side of living here—Atlanta and Columbia are three hours away so be sure you have a comfortable car for driving long distances. Also if you want to get anywhere you need to rent a car—do it in advance. Bus and taxi transportation is very unreliable here especially around the holidays. Also these last two years have been scary off post with in home robberies and robberies at businesses on Gordon hwy outside the Fort Gordon gate. Two hotels we stayed at when we first got here got robbed six months after we moved on post. Robberies seem to be at their highest from November to February. Also there were two kidnappings at two gas stations in this area. Otherwise, it is pretty laid back here. Easy to save money because there is little to do except occasional festivals held on by downtown Augusta, Lake Thurmond and Fort Gordon. Also if you are a foreigner the only place to work here is at fast food restaurants. I have a german friend that came here with job experience and not able to find a decent job except at a fast food place. The most beautiful place to visit here is J Strom Thurmond Lake it is so quiet.