You're in GA. A heavy or medium wetsuit would be fine. Im not sure what the cost difference is between a drysuit and a wetsuit is though. The kind of paddling you do should play a part in your decision also. For instance, if you do off shore type of paddling, I would go with nothing less than a drysuit just because its likely you may be in the water longer than you may be if you flip it on a lake, and ocean water is likely colder than lake water. Drysuit or wetsuit, those are about your only choices. I guess you could consider just a wetsuit top or wetsuit bibs if you dont want the whole thing.
To answer the original question, I dont go out in the winter