Panama City, FL to the Peach State (Atlanta, Columbus: low crime, houses) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

PC_2_GA · 12-12-2009, 08:33 AM

Hello, I was just wondering if you could give me your input on the three cities I have recieved job opportunities for, Valdosta, Macon, and Columbus. I want a low crime rate, good schools, and great entertainment. Also my daughter plays soccer, and my son wrestles. Please help!!!! Me and my wife would appriciate it!

southgeorgia · 12-12-2009, 10:16 AM

I think you can find what you're looking for in all three areas honestly. Columbus would be the largest, and Valdosta the smallest of the areas.

If you choose Valdosta, move into an area that puts your children in the county school system. If you prefer to live within the city, there are private school options.

Valdosta has Wild Adventures for entertainment. They have a lot of concerts featuring various types of music (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Chicago, Backstreet Boys, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Third Day, etc. . . .are playing this year). There is a local drama theater as well, and symphony orchestra.

They have youth soccer and wrestling, as well as teams at the high schools.

Plenty to do.

And its still close to FL and the beaches; two hours to JAX, little over an hour to tallahassee.

Macon is close to ATL.

Columbus is close to Alabama.

midgeorgiaman · 12-12-2009, 11:44 AM

I pretty much agree with south ga. Basically, Macon and Columbus are the same size and offer similar things in terms of entertainment, etc. Valdosta is a bit smaller and does not have the proximity to Atlanta that the other 2 have (if major sports, professional events, etc. are important to you). Schools in Macon and Columbus will require great planning as both areas have great districts and pitiful ones along with great and not so great schools within each district. You can find what you are looking for however without commuting too far in either place. I am not familiar with schools around Valdosta.

Crime goes along with schools, generally. All 3 cities have great areas and not so great ones. Columbus and Macon are larger so they have more crime-ridden areas, but those are easily avoided. As far as sports for the kids, I know it would not be an issue in Macon as soccer clubs and school wrestling programs are plentiful. I would assume Columbus would be similar especially being a military town. SouthGA says that Valdosta does too.

Weather: Macon and Columbus are both somewhat cooler than Valdosta in the winter by about 5-10 degrees if that matters to you. ( summers are about the same)

History: personally, I think Macon is the winner here, but I am biased. :-)

All 3 cities can meet your criteria so just take the family on a road trip across GA one weekend and see which one feels right to you.

If you have any specific questions on Macon, I would be happy to try to answer them.

PC_2_GA · 12-12-2009, 06:42 PM

I have a question on Macon, we are looking at houses in Warner Robins, how far is that of a commute to downtown Macon.

mikepayne · 12-13-2009, 06:55 AM

1/2 hour or less.

PC_2_GA · 12-13-2009, 10:28 AM

Thanx. If you could rank on crime, airports, and cost of living in your opinion, it would be appriciated.

Mountaineer_195 · 12-13-2009, 10:33 AM

Crime: 1. Macon(Worst) 2. Columbus(Still high) 3. Valdosta(Safest, but still ICREDIBLY high)
Airports: 1. Columbus(Best hands down) 2. Valdosta(acceptable commercial service) 2. Macon(down-right rediculous, poor commercial service)
$Cost$ of livng: 1. Columbus 2. Macon 3. Valdosta

Hope that helps

southgeorgia · 12-13-2009, 11:45 AM

I think valdosta may be the winner on airports, not because of its own, but because of its proximity to jacksonville. even though its a two hour drive, its still faster to get in and out of, and cheaper to fly out of, than driving from macon or columbus to atlanta and flying out of hartsfield. valdosta's flights only go to atlanta, and depending on what flight you connect to it can add considerable time to your trip. there is a daily shuttle from valdosta to JAX airport. Tallahassee airport is only an hour away and along with flights to the major florida cities, they go to memphis, charlotte, dallas-ft. worth, and atlanta. Its a small regional airport and easy to get in and out.

midgeorgiaman · 12-13-2009, 12:05 PM

Everybody has their own opinion, but it depends on what you are looking for. Warner Robins is a great family town and is consistently rated as one of the best in Georgia and the nation for raising a family. It is 30 minutes or less to downtown Macon and has great schools, low crime, and low taxes.

The cost of living between the 3 cities is basically the same.

Crime depends on where you live, the surburban areas of all 3 are very safe.

The airport is what depends on your situation. Valdosta is closest to Jacksonville which has Southwest which has (arguably) the cheapest fares to many US locations. None of the 3 cities have their own airports that go anywhere other than Atlanta on a regular basis. Atlanta, however, has a non-stop flight to almost anyplace with an airport. I hate connections and love Atlanta even though I miss out on Southwest's uber-low fares. If bare-bottom pricing is more important than convenience of flights and not having connections, then Jacksonville is the winner. If choices of flight times and non-stop flights are important then no airport in the Southeast can compare to Atlanta. I can leave my home in Macon, park and be in the terminal at Hartsfield in under 90 minutes. It depends on your flight needs.

johnatl · 12-13-2009, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by midgeorgiaman

Everybody has their own opinion, but it depends on what you are looking for. Warner Robins is a great family town and is consistently rated as one of the best in Georgia and the nation for raising a family. It is 30 minutes or less to downtown Macon and has great schools, low crime, and low taxes.

The cost of living between the 3 cities is basically the same.

Crime depends on where you live, the surburban areas of all 3 are very safe.

The airport is what depends on your situation. Valdosta is closest to Jacksonville which has Southwest which has (arguably) the cheapest fares to many US locations. None of the 3 cities have their own airports that go anywhere other than Atlanta on a regular basis. Atlanta, however, has a non-stop flight to almost anyplace with an airport. I hate connections and love Atlanta even though I miss out on Southwest's uber-low fares. If bare-bottom pricing is more important than convenience of flights and not having connections, then Jacksonville is the winner. If choices of flight times and non-stop flights are important then no airport in the Southeast can compare to Atlanta. I can leave my home in Macon, park and be in the terminal at Hartsfield in under 90 minutes. It depends on your flight needs.

I really like Southwest, but they are extremely over-rated as far as price goes. Their last minute walk up fares can be just as high or higher than the legacy carriers.

And Atlanta really doesn't need them, since we have AirTrans huge hub here. Low fares AND business class, wifi and XM radio on each flight. Not to mention nonstops to almost every business center in the country, and something Southwest doesn't have - nonstops to Cancun, Montego Bay, Aruba and San Juan!