Any cities that were different than you expected? Columbus, GA for me. (Needs replies from my younger crowd) (Atlanta: median income, living)

[DisgustaTruth]

I would say that Savannah has a more urban feel... but certainly not Disgusta and Macon. Columbus has a lot more going on in its downtown. Go to downtown Macon or Disgusta and it's like practically being in a ghost town.

[brentyoung12]

No, its just that I find all of this funny.

To the Columbus residents and promoters, this is why I say you guys are full of it. I hear so much about how great and wonderful Columbus is.
I hear about how down in the dumps Macon is, but yet the % of people living in poverty, population growth,
persons with Bachelors degrees, and unemployment rate is all within 1-4% of being identical in both Muscogee and Bibb County.

That tells me Columbus isn't all you're cracking it up to be, or Macon isn't as bad as you're making it out.

None of the downtowns in these cities outside of Savannah are that exciting, Macon and Augusta's downtown areas are no more DEAD than Columbus.


Muscogee County, Georgia - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder
Bibb County, Georgia - Fact Sheet - American FactFinder



Nah, just let me get this straight

The heavenly Muscogee County and its 22.8% of Bachelor's Degree owners
12.4% families below poverty level
and +1.3% population gain from 2000-2006

is just head and shoulders above

the dump Bibb County and its 23.4% of Bachelor's Degree owners
13.2% families below poverty level
and +0.7% poplation gain from 2000-2006.

LOL! That's like the Falcons trash talking the Dolphins about being a good for nothing football team.

[mrcolumbusga]

I am from Columbus but I go to Augusta State and I'll just say that neither downtown is a ghosttown, Disgusta. I can't speak a lot on Macon as it's been a couple of years since I've been there.

[DisgustaTruth]

As far as Disgusta's downtown.. you have about 15 blocks along the main street (Broad Street), of which only about 2 or 3 blocks have any significant (and that's stretching it) pedestrian actvity.. with a few bars and restaurants scattered about..but when you put it in the bigger perspective of the downtown area.. it is quite small. For every new bar or restaurant that has opened downtown in the last two years anequal number have closed up shop. Takea drive down Broad Street and you will still see far more boarded up windows than busy, thriving businesses. The Riverwalk, which is arguably Augusta's jewel, looks far worse now then it did when it opened back in the 1980s.. The city has allowed it to go to pot...and now it's mainly a hangout for vagrants.
Columbus on the other hand has expanded its Riverwalk and continues to keep it well maintained.. Add to that the loft apartments and condos that were opened years ago with new ones on the way, The River Center for the performing arts, New Civic Center, new museums, world headquarters of fortune 500 companies located in downtown Columbus.. and there is no comparison with places like Disgusta and Macon. The only time I have seen downtown Augusta close to being busy is when they have a ONCE A MONTH event called First Friday..but activity somehow can't be sustained for the 29 other nights out of the month.

[mrcolumbusga]

That's not true at all. There are a lot of restaurants and nice clubs down town. And since I have been here for almost two years not many places have closed. Maybe you're not that familiar with Augusta's downtown. You should go there more. And there are more than two blocks of places. As for Columbus yes our riverwalk is very nice. It's much longer than the one in Augusta. I love the new things that are coming to our downtown and that some attention is finally being paid to making it better. But the same is true for Augusta as well.

[DisgustaTruth]

Dtimms, Blue HOrse Tavern, The Mission, Hale Tiki, Mocha Delites, the Dessert Shop, The English Pub at The Riverwalk have all closed up within the last few years. I am quite familiar with Augusta's downtown as I lived there for over 20 years and visit about twice a month to visit family. Sure, there have been a few new businesses that have opened up in the last cpl of years..but when you consider the ones that have closed in the same time period, it's a zero sum gain. And many of those businesses that have closed recently were not open very long.. less than 3 years. Improvements in downtown Augusta can best be described in one word: "Glacial". There is much potential in downtown Augusta and much that can be achieved..but you have a dysfunctional government running things and too many entrenched cliques more concerned with maintaining their power and stranglehold on the city than gettiong things done and moving the city forward. Augusta has a perfectly good arena that sits empty because it is run by a circus of bafoons that constantly bicker over the most trivial of issues..so Augusta gets no big shows.. unless you count the icecapades for the umpteenth time. I noticed in the news that the coliseum board fired yet another manager.. after less than a week on the job. As usual it was politically and racially motivated. Now she plans to sue the city (hopefully she wins). I have friends who tried their best to be part of a revitalization effort in downtown augusta, only to be met with resistance and petty parochial interests that stifled anyone with innovative ideas to make Augusta better.

[DisgustaTruth]

Augusta could learn a lot from Columbus in how to get things done. While people in Augusta bicker over race and parochialism..people in Columbus pull together and make things happen.. all of the development in downtown Columbus over the last 10 years is a testament to that.

[JLA]

Originally Posted by DisgustaSucks

Augusta could learn a lot from Columbus in how to get things done. While people in Augusta bicker over race and parochialism..people in Columbus pull together and make things happen.. all of the development in downtown Columbus over the last 10 years is a testament to that.

They'll never learn. There are couple of things Augusta does well, they plan and fight. They come together to plan and plan and plan, then a big fight breaks out. Do like Columbus did back in the 80's and vote the back-wards jack asses out of office. It truly has a lot of potential, but no distinct leadership.

[JLA]

Originally Posted by brentyoung12

No, its just that I find all of this funny.

To the Columbus residents and promoters, this is why I say you guys are full of it. I hear so much about how great and wonderful Columbus is.
I hear about how down in the dumps Macon is, but yet the % of people living in poverty, population growth,
persons with Bachelors degrees, and unemployment rate is all within 1-4% of being identical in both Muscogee and Bibb County.

That tells me Columbus isn't all you're cracking it up to be, or Macon isn't as bad as you're making it out.

None of the downtowns in these cities outside of Savannah are that exciting, Macon and Augusta's downtown areas are no more DEAD than Columbus.

Nah, just let me get this straight

The heavenly Muscogee County and its 22.8% of Bachelor's Degree owners
12.4% families below poverty level
and +1.3% population gain from 2000-2006

is just head and shoulders above

the dump Bibb County and its 23.4% of Bachelor's Degree owners
13.2% families below poverty level
and +0.7% poplation gain from 2000-2006.

LOL! That's like the Falcons trash talking the Dolphins about being a good for nothing football team.

Thanks for the statistical web page. From the web page I get the following statistics.

Augusta: High School Graduate - 82.7%
Bachelor's Degree - 21.5%
Median Household Income - $34,404
Median Family Income - $43,118
Per Capita Income - $19,558
Families below poverty level - 16.5%
Individuals below poverty level - 19.4%

Columbus: High School Graduate - 83.4%
Bachelor's Degree - 22.8%
Median Household Income - $41,164
Median Family Income - $48,831
Per Capita Income - $22,566
Families below poverty level - 12.4%
Individuals below poverty level - 16.9%

Macon: High School Graduate - 74.1%
Bachelor's Degree - 17.9%
Median Household Income - $29,510
Median Family Income - $38,865
Per Capita Income - $16,298
Families below poverty level - 20.3%
Individuals below poverty level - 29.1%

Savannah: High School Graduate - 81.0%
Bachelor's Degree - 23.1%
Median Household Income - $29,883
Median Family Income - $37,166
Per Capita Income - $18,235
Families below poverty level - 17.2%
Individuals below poverty level - 23.8%

Please check to see if I made is mistakes in my typing. Strange, I really thought Savannah would come out on top. There is no need to LOL.

[DisgustaTruth]

Not really surprising.. I think the corporate presence in Columbus boosts its income index.
Macon has a lot of catching up to do.