Uncle Sam is sending me to Robins AFB!

[johncobb]

Houston County schools are very popular and have a good reputation. I think the main advantage of Houston County schools is when the children get in High School there are more opportunities for extra curricular activities. Poplular elementary schools in Houston County are Lake Joy and Perdue. Popular Middle Schools are Feagin Mill, Bonaire, and Mossy Creek. One good area to look at is White Rd in Byron because it is convenient to Warner Robins, shopping, mall, restaurants, and the base. Specifically - Manchester Estate and Carrington Estates.

[PotterGeek]

Specifically - Manchester Estate and Carrington Estates.

Those are great subdivisions....if you want to sit right on top of your neighbor The lots are too small...


Personally, if I were shopping for a home, and I hope I will be soon...I would look for slightly older, established neighborhoods, especially in this market. I would stay away from ANYTHING built in the last four years. With the uncertainty of the market, that would be a buyer's best bet. This is why: It is a fact that alot of people bought outside their means in the past few years. With that said, when they can't afford their homes any more (like those folks that took out those crazy ARM loans), you are going to see alot more turnover in the newer subdivisions. Foreclosures, short sells, you name it and guess what? It WILL drive your property value down.

With that being said, if I were a home buyer looking in Warner Robins, here is one subdivision I would suggest, and of course, this depends on one's price range and affordability....

Oxton Plantation (well established, easy access to both North and South end of Warner Robins), and maybe some of the subdivisions near where Russell Parkway extension has been cut across. Some of the slightly older (again established) neighborhoods would be Carterwoods, there are also alot of good neighborhoods off SMithville Church Rd. area...

I would steer clear of anything of Hwy 96 and South Houston Lake Rd. Traffic is horrible, horrible during the week AND weekends. It takes me less time from south Byron to get to town than anyone living out in that area. (Well, because I have no redlights or traffic to contend with).

If you were looking in Byron...I'd say the best, and well established subs are Olde English Plantation (this is where I live, and love it, love it), Harrington, and maybe The Orchard. I'm not crazy about the Orchard, but it is about the same age as my subdivision and well established.

[sherry9300]

and so do my two kids. I have a 14 year old and a 7 year old. There are some schools better than others. My son spent his elementary years at Bonaire and my daughter has been at Linwood, formerly a DoD school now mainly utilized by GIs living in privatized off base housing. I got here in 2000 and the area has built up tremendously since then. The only problem is that the city doesn't seem to have planned for it and it can take as long to get across this little town as it does to do the same thing in my hometown of San Antonio. They are working on this, though.

Wonderful sports programs for kids off base and on. About the zoning...I don't know if it's every four years, but when they build a new school due to the tremendous growth, they rezone. My son has basically has the same friends at school since he was in first grade here. There has been no "starting over". When he was split from some of his elementary buddies when Huntington Middle School opened, plenty of his elementary friends were with him. It's actually better because he has kept in touch with a lot of those kids.

The city is growing south, so Bonaire and Kathleen are popular choices. I would not live in Macon, particularly if you want to put your kids in public school system. As long as you're in Houston County, public schools are the way to go. We came here from Texas and where told how awful the schools were here. I don't know what they were talking about....we definitely took a step up when we got here.

The only downside here is that there's not a lot to do for free and getting to Atlanta isn't as easy as it sounds.

Anyway, good luck! I was hoping to retire here, but looks like Uncle Sam is moving me to Mississippi.

[Limaro]

We recently made a short pilgrimage to the area to prepare for the upcoming move. In the few short days that we were there I was able to begin to develop a general impression of the area. I was definitely a little jaded by what I learned on this website, however I was pleasantly surprised on some things, and not so pleasantly surprised on others. For other newcomers like myself, I thought I would share an outsiders perspective on the area.

1. Macon is not that bad! I guess some of the posts on this site made me believe that I wouldn't be able to safely navigate through macon without fearing for my life. I did not find this to be the case, specifically in north macon. I went to all of the malls, several restaurants, the historical district, 2 private schools, the board of education, and to many neighborhoods to list. The only time I felt a bit unsafe was when some crazy religious zealot started screaming at me about heaven and hell in the mall. Other than that, I met very nice people of all backgrounds and found that overall macon is a decent city. There is a beautiful downtown area and great shopping. That's just my opinion and I definitely realize that I have a very limited experience to back it up. We will be considering North Macon if we choose to send the kids to a private school. Any Neighborhood preferences?

2. Like I expected, save for some very nice private schools, Houston County is the only place I would consider sending my kids to. The numbers speak for themselves on this one. In addition, Houston county was much more accessible and helpful in the fact finding process.

3. In Houston County, Warner Robins would best suit my needs. I really liked the commercial area off of Watson Blvd for shopping. Any feed back on neighborhoods in that general vicinity would be greatly appreciated.

4. Perry was a great area, and we would consider it if we found a good house with some property there. The people in Perry were particularly friendly and helpful. It has a good small town vibe.

5. Kathleen and Bonaire left a lot to be desired, I had much higher expectations for those areas.

6. What is up with the YMCA!! I am currently a member in OK, and both my kids play sports through their program. The Y in Houston county was very disappointing!

That's it for my overall impressions. I narrowed it down to North Macon (only with a private school), Perry, or Warner Robins.

[Limaro]

I almost forgot, I met with several people at the Houston County Board of Education and there is no scheduled redistricting policy. They redistrict if and when a new school is built, but there is no 4 year rotation.

[BuckeyeGal]

Antebellum North subdivision is a nice quiet neighborhood. The children attend Northside Elementary, Northside Middle and Northside High. The neighborhood is approximately 15 years old; nice established homes with country style living. All of the homes are on at least 3/4 acre. It's close proximity to Macon and Warner Robins make it ideal and no city tax!

Yeah, the YMCA is not what we were accustomed to when we were at Wright-Patt.

[eaglesax]

I disagree that there are changes in the districts for "poor children". It's because the county is growing so fast, people moving there for the schools, new schools are built almost yearly. I don't know that every 4 years is accurate. The newest high school is to open this fall. Most people will tell you to live in south Warner Robins. I live in the North/Centerville area, love it. Close to the Base (husband works there) and not a bad drive to Macon (I work there).

I grew up in Macon, we moved to Houston County for the schools. Our Children are grown but attended 13 years of public school there, Had great SAT scores and did well in college.

It's a very Active community (family oriented), especially sports which is offered year round by the Rech department and of course WR is home of the World Series Champions in Little League. If you love Friday Night Football, you've come to the right town! No better place to be on any given Friday night, long term supporters for all the schools. Home of Back to Back State Champions (30-0) Northside Eagles!

All the schools are packed full of activities/clubs for the students to get involved in, the base has lots of programs for military kids too.

[Limaro]

Well, We are finally here, and getting settled. After much consideration, we decided to live in Macon. I was expecting a crime ridden dump based on what I read here, but what I have found is a city filled with culture and history. I did decide to go private for my children, I just couldn't risk public based on test results. We bought a home in North Macon in the Zebulon Road area, and are very happy with our decision so far. Thanks to all of you who provided me with Information and advice.