When Will Columbus Overtake Augusta as Georgia's 2nd Largest City? (Atlanta: fit in, home)

[Southern Soul Bro]

Columbus homerism.

There's no way anyone can travel to all the 2nd tier cities of Georgia and come out with the conclusion that Columbus is a more vibrant, urban environment than Augusta or Savannah. IMO, you can throw Macon in there too.

There's no denying the corporate presence or growth in Columbus (more than here in Macon), but because of the lack of major interstate access and how spaced out everything in the city is, Columbus still gives me that feeling like I'm in a town much smaller than it's population. It just doesnt feel like you're in a city even close to having almost 200,000 people. Augusta does though. That can be good or bad, depending on what one likes.

I cant look at Columbus as the 2nd city of Georgia when Augusta and Savannah feel so much more urban. Columbus may be experiencing growth, but that growth hasnt translated into making the overall vibe of the city feel like a more urbanized area, atleast not yet.

The CSU Riverpark Campus area in Uptown Columbus is very nice though. I hung out down there last week.

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

JLA, you just name a bunch of buildings. Augusta beats Columbus in events. Take the Masters away from Augusta it still is a more vibrant city by leaps and bounds. I cant deny that Columbus is growing though.

Columbus has a lot of events each year. Columbus sees a good amount of concerts at both the Civic Center and RiverCenter. Augusta does not have facilities that nice....no way. Other than the Masters, Augusta doesn't have anything that exceeds what Columbus has on a yearly basis.

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by King_X

Columbus homerism.

There's no way anyone can travel to all the 2nd tier cities of Georgia and come out with the conclusion that Columbus is a more vibrant, urban environment than Augusta or Savannah. IMO, you can throw Macon in there too.

There's no denying the corporate presence or growth in Columbus (more than here in Macon), but because of the lack of major interstate access and how spaced out everything in the city is, Columbus still gives me that feeling like I'm in a town much smaller than it's population. It just doesnt feel like you're in a city even close to having almost 200,000 people. Augusta does though. That can be good or bad, depending on what one likes.

I cant look at Columbus as the 2nd city of Georgia when Augusta and Savannah feel so much more urban. Columbus may be experiencing growth, but that growth hasnt translated into making the overall vibe of the city feel like a more urbanized area, atleast not yet.

The CSU Riverpark Campus area in Uptown Columbus is very nice though. I hung out down there last week.

Augusta doesn't feel more urban at all. Only city that does is Savannah.

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

As an outsider, I tend to put cities with metros under 500K on a tier below cities with a metro over 500K, unless it's really close and we're talking about 485K and 515K in which case they'd be in the same tier. But I think the population difference between Columbus and Augusta is such that I'd put them in separate tiers. But that's just me.

There are 528,000 people withing 30 miles of downtown Columbus. The metro population of Columbus looks skewed because it is not representative of the region. Auburn/Opelika, 20-25 mins away, is a much larger area than Aiken. That is why A/O is its own metro even though the county is directly across the river from Columbus. People from Columbus look at the region, Columbus, LaGrange, and A/O. We share the same news channels, newspapers, radio, etc. It is all one big area.

[Hot_Mike]

I dont think you fully understand whats going on in Augusta. Columbus is hoping the incoming 30,000 troops and civilian deliver a boost for growth. Augusta is landing new small and larger business in the market. We have a diverse and educated population (MCG and Paine College). The activity Augusta is soo random and diverse these that it will amaze you. ESPN just held a high school football award show the other night at the downtown Marriot. Oh yeah a Hyatt is in the works right next to our new state of the art Trade Exibition Center under contruction.

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

I dont think you fully understand whats going on in Augusta. Columbus is hoping the incoming 30,000 troops and civilian deliver a boost for growth. Augusta is landing new small and larger business in the market. We have a diverse and educated population (MCG and Paine College). The activity Augusta is soo random and diverse these that it will amaze you. ESPN just held a high school football award show the other night at the downtown Marriot. Oh yeah a Hyatt is in the works right next to our new state of the art Trade Exibition Center under contruction.

I don't think you know the impact of the things that are going on here as well. New National Infantry Museum, new ice skating arena, whitewater rafting project, Fort Benning expansion, etc are just a few of the things going on here. Armor museum is in the works as well as a new $700 million army hospital, interstate expansion, etc. Augusta has a lot going on as well but so does Columbus. 30,000 people moving to an area is huge!

[Hot_Mike]

The only thing I can say is "Good luck to Columbus". Maybe you could join Augusta and Savannah as another up and coming midsize city in GA.

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

The only thing I can say is "Good luck to Columbus". Maybe you could join Augusta and Savannah as another up and coming midsize city in GA.

Thanks, but we are already there...at least with Augusta. Savannah is in its own league and will always be.

[Southern Soul Bro]

Originally Posted by Columbus1984

Augusta doesn't feel more urban at all. Only city that does is Savannah.

It feels like it to but we can agree to disagree.

[Yeahitsme]

Everytime I used to visit Columbus it had a small town feel to it. It compares to Rome even though it is much bigger than Rome.