I haven't heard anyone chime up for Atlanta, yet. I live in the upper NW area of what is considered Atlanta and there are 6 good quilt shops within an hour of me. Every area seems to have guild and we have the Sewing Expo twice a year. Also, AQS is coming to Chattanooga this year. That's about an hour north of me.
Weather...no way around it...the Summers are hot, especially July, August and Sept but when I lived in San Antonio years ago the TX Summers seemed much worse to me.
The winters are usually mild and if we have an ice storm, it will make national news. They don't come every year. I consider that a good time to stay in and read quilt articles or talk on the forum. I might even come away from the computer and actually make a quilt.
The cost of living is quite reasonable outside the main city and people are kind. It's all in what you really want to do and how much human exposure you want...