Thinking about moving to Milledgeville GA...any advice?

[GAlakecountry]

I'm just adding a data point to this old thread, because I remember running into it when I was deciding whether to move to Milledgeville a year ago, and noted the lack of more current info.

We moved from the upper Midwest and I took a job at GCSU. We absolutely love it here. I enjoy living in a more diverse place (not just an enclave of closed minded academics), find the people largely genuine and friendly, and can (despite the city's small size) generally find at least one of whatever we need, in terms of restaurants and services. There are more businesses here than other places this size that we've lived/visited. Yeah, I wish I were maybe 30 minutes closer to a major metro, but it's tolerable. I prefer the feeling of a 5 month long summer season to my last post, where winter was a 5 month affair...

Looking back at the recent history of the area and keeping tabs on local news, I think the town is on an upward trajectory after a rough spell with the mental health facility closing and the loss of manufacturing jobs, between 2000 and the economic collapse of '08. Cost of living/housing is low for a college town, so you can have a much more high-end lifestyle here on a middle class income than you can in other places. You definitely want to check about public school districts/private school options if you're moving with kids. The crime on the south side continues to bruise the reputation of an otherwise really cute place (I find the downtown and college area to be cute, anyway).

If you have any interest being on/in/near the water, it's a HUGE bonus to living here. Lake Sinclair is spectacular and comparatively undiscovered/uncrowded compared with other lakes of its size and quality. Living right on the lake requires you do some homework as a shopper - learn about the different lot types, GA Power regulations for homeowners, finding a realtor that really knows the lake, understanding differences of living in the 3 counties that touch the lake, and realistic commute times to work.

Hope this is useful.