Dallas to Macon (Savannah, Warner Robins: high crime, neighborhoods, public schools)

[BPWilliams]

My wife and I (both 25, without kids) are living in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas, Texas and want out! I grew up in Dallas, and after going to college in a smaller town in Texas and living in Shreveport, LA I'm having a hard time readjusting to a big city and everything that comes with that, I'm missing the small cities and towns I've lived in over the last few years. My wife is from Shreveport, Louisiana and she has never adjusted to this place and the 1 hour commute is driving her crazy. We love the South, and feel that the bigger that Dallas gets the more it loses its Southern and Texan feel, and that breaks our hearts. To put it simply, we want to be back in a place that just oozes Southern.

I've lost my job in the last few months, my degree is in public relations and my last job was in marketing, but I'm not particular. My wife has her degrees in archaelogy and political science and a master's in Art History from UNC. She wants to start a career in historical preservation, but hasn't had any luck so far.

We know we want to move to the Southeast (we haven't exactly settled on which city so I'm trying to find out what I can about the ones we like) so I have been sending resumes out that way for a while now, but I know its going to be hard to land a job without actually be there. We're thinking that if we want to be out there so bad, we might as well just move in the next few months and take the risk and land a job when we get there. We have plenty of savings to get along for the better part of a year. So, any advice, tips or knowledge from moves without having a job lined up and about Macon itself would be appreciated!

Please let me know if I could provide any more information that would be helpful. Thanks in advance!

[King_X]

Hey, you said your wife is from Shreveport, well I would say in alot of ways Macon is like a slightly smaller Shreveport. Similar demographics, both mid sized cities, crime pretty high in the inner city, with nice neighborhoods scattered throughout and nice suburbs.

I'm one of those people who likes to stray away from generalizations, and in reality there are several parts of Macon where you can live in a nice, safe, beautiful neighborhood.

We have a charming historic distric, museums, shopping, dining, etc.

The county public schools rating are not high at all, but neither is the entire state of georgia, and just using common sense, the better the neighborhood you live in, the more likely the schools in the area will be decent/nice.

Come check out Macon yourself, in particular North Macon, Southern Bibb, and FAR East Macon (around and just across into jones county)...nice areas.


If you guys liked Shreveport, you'd probably like Macon.

[ATLCOL1]

Wow, get ready for a culture shock.

[yerocal]

Originally Posted by King_X

Hey, you said your wife is from Shreveport, well I would say in alot of ways Macon is like a slightly smaller Shreveport. Similar demographics, both mid sized cities, crime pretty high in the inner city, with nice neighborhoods scattered throughout and nice suburbs.

I'm one of those people who likes to stray away from generalizations, and in reality there are several parts of Macon where you can live in a nice, safe, beautiful neighborhood.

We have a charming historic distric, museums, shopping, dining, etc.

The county public schools rating are not high at all, but neither is the entire state of georgia, and just using common sense, the better the neighborhood you live in, the more likely the schools in the area will be decent/nice.

Come check out Macon yourself, in particular North Macon, Southern Bibb, and FAR East Macon (around and just across into jones county)...nice areas.


If you guys liked Shreveport, you'd probably like Macon.

I agree................

[MoreCowbell]

Have you guys ever been to Macon? I noticed you have a posting on the Savannah thread and all I can say is that In my opinion Savannah is a billion times better than Macon, AND has more of what you're looking for. I also think you both would have better job opportunities in Savannah for your specific careers.

[King_X]

Originally Posted by ATLCOL1

Wow, get ready for a culture shock.

lol, what kind of culture shock? This person says he has lived in Dallas metro, Shreveport, and small towns. They've saw everything they will encounter in Macon or anywhere in GA.

[borninSAstuckinGA]

if u move into Macon area, be prepared to go back 10-15 years in time. Been in Warner Robins since '01, after moving from San Antonio, via Lakewood, CO. People here are generally good people, although a lot of folks here are just behind the times. Nice areas here though.

[Chadro77]

If your honestly wanting a place that screams Southern everywhere you go, move to Alabama. Honestly.

[Abbasway]

I agree wholeheartedly with the previous post, Morecowbell. Savannah sounds as though it is the city for you, dripping with beautiful architecture, a wonderful school of the arts,, fun, quaint, beaches,..
Macon struggles heavily with crime and the city is lacking funds for our police to be paid well. We are losing Officers by the day, and unfortunately our judges do not enforce sentences that would detour our villains from crime.
Were it not for that, I would recommend it heartily. It has it's recompenses. You can get from one side of town to the other in just a few moments, we have many cultural venues, and some lovely architecture ourselves.

[King_X]

I can agree with Abbasway 90%, but I see no reason for him/her to mention the crime. Savannah struggles with high crime themselves. As far as crime goes there's nothing you'll see in Macon that you won't see in Savannah. Gangs, Drugs, Shootings, etc. You wont really have to worry about in either city much if you stay in the righ areas anyway.

This person also said they stayed in Shreveport, which is pretty "wild" on the crime side itself, heck, dallas is too.