Madison, Eatonton, Milledgeville & Lake Oconee Area (Atlanta, Washington: middle-class, fit in)

[Cool Dude]

Hey does anyone know much about the Madison, Eatonton, Lake Oconee area? I've been through there many times and have liked it, but I was wondering how people who have lived there or have visited many times think of it. Comments?

[flynurse33]

My father is a native of Eatonton; my mother a native of Greensboro. The drug problems have gotten increasingly bad in G'Boro. (my young cousin was a part of all of that) My grandmother still lives there! Eatonton has grown dramatically and isn't too bad. But my sister lives in Madison and has for about 18 years. LOVES IT! My oldest nephew graduated from Morgan Co. High and my youngest nephew will next year. My kids went to the schools there when we lived there a few years back. I have a couple of friends that I went to school with that actually live there now, also. They love it as well. I would definately choose Madison over the other two, unless you're looking to move close to the Reynolds area of Greensboro on the G'Boro Hwy. Then you need $$$$ to fit in!! Good luck to ya!

[deja-zebbie]

Cool Dude,

My husband and I have visited Madison hundreds of times. We love visiting there. Also the little towns around that area are lots of fun to us.

I guess whether Madison would be a good place for to settle depends on what your interests are and what you like to do.

It can take a long time to find out what's actually going on in a place. I think I'd suggest that you see if their newspaper is available on-line OR if you're seriously thinking of relocating, spring for a subscrption (this assuming they have a weekly or twice weekly paper).

Also, you could always call and chat with the people at the visitors center. I figure that since you call yourself, "Cool Dude" that you might be on the youngish side. Recently I noticed that there is a youngish guy working at the Visitors center who was pretty helpful.

You know it's really close to Athens and there is always a lot going on there.

Madison is a lot of fun for us...we like to go there for several days at a time (long weekend generally) also we tend to stop there for part of a day and then spend the night when we're on our way to other places that are farther away.

It is, I believe, (at least for us) rather on the expensive side for housing.

You could always start a new thread sort of like, "anyone from Madison on this list" and see what you get. I can't imagine that there aren't people from Madison here.

All the best,
zebbie

[phy]

I live in Milledgeville and love it. It's small but has nice restaurants and a pretty good shopping mall. We have a boat and go on Lake Sinclair alot. I love the islands in the middle where you can drop an anchor and sit in the shade or sun.
Although the homes on the lake are way over priced in my opinion. We built in a new Subdivision call The Oaks at Willow Lake(which is only a big pond) but everyone in the subdivision is able to fish in it. I caught a 7 lb. bass.

The people in here are very friendly and nice.

[irishvanguard]

the Greensboro downtown, though small, has loads of charm. Property outside of Greensboro very proximate to Lake Oconee would seem to be prohibitively expensive, with the Reynolds Plantation having the highest prices, I believe. Washington, GA is not too far from Greensboro and has the same tiny-town feel but probably much cheaper land prices.

Madison has the Greensboro charm but with more restaurants and bigger downtown. Antebellum homes abound. As a result, property intown would probably be pretty expensive. If you really like the the Madison-Athens combo (with Athens providing you the vibrant nightlife-music scene), you might choose to look at Farmington area and Watkinsville area, which would give you quick trips into both Athens and Madison and might offer even better property and rental prices.

Milledgeville is larger than any of the small towns mentioned, and is definitely part of lake country (with Lake Sinclair anchoring the higher property prices). Other than living within commuting distance of Athens, Milledgeville should give you more employment opportunities, and it has Georgia College & State University, the premiere liberal arts unit of the University System.

[Robbied]

Are there areas of Milledgville that are in direct flight paths to or from an airport? Any areas to keep away from ?

[jhsrichards]

definitely stay away from the southside of Milledgeville. I don't know what happened there, but it looks like it must be one of the worst parts of Georgia. There really aren't any incredibly "good areas" of Milledgeville, it's all just a bunch of old houses, college apartments, and the occasional middle-class home.

[MsCreole]

Thanks jhsrichards, I was just about to ask that question. My husband was recently offered a Government job in Milledgeville, and I was wondering where we would live, once we relocate there. I personally enjoy living in a cosmopolitan area, with "cookie cutter" homes in subdivisions. However, when we visited the city, I did not notice any affordable, new subdivisions there. Are there any?

Since there are a few penal institutions there, I was wondering if the crime rate was high in Milledgeville, because I know that many of the parolees must remain in the area, once they are released from prison. Am I right or wrong? Please advise me. Thanks!

[Trishgal]

I visit my sister Virginia, a magistrate judge, in Eatonton quite often. She has acquired many wonderful friends there and I see the Eatonton area as a nice place to live. The prices for homes and land are extremely reasonable and the living appears to be quite peaceful in comparison to the hectic Atlanta area.

I would love to be able to live in the Madison area. The wonderful older homes have such incredible charm and are so unique and are the epitome of the historically graceful southern architecture.

[phy]

Originally Posted by MsCreole

Thanks jhsrichards, I was just about to ask that question. My husband was recently offered a Government job in Milledgeville, and I was wondering where we would live, once we relocate there. I personally enjoy living in a cosmopolitan area, with "cookie cutter" homes in subdivisions. However, when we visited the city, I did not notice any affordable, new subdivisions there. Are there any?

Since there are a few penal institutions there, I was wondering if the crime rate was high in Milledgeville, because I know that many of the parolees must remain in the area, once they are released from prison. Am I right or wrong? Please advise me. Thanks!

What do you call affordable, new subdivisions but there are several new ones in Milledgeville that I felt was nice neighborhoods with beautiful homes, My favorite was the Oaks, not far from downtown Milledgeville but felt like living in the country, very wooded area, lots of dogwoods, subdivision has a lake for residents with low HOA dues.
I do not feel the crime rate was high at all especially compared to some state even with the penal institutions there.