Macon, GA?!?!?! (Warner Robins: real estate, construction, living)

[DisgustaTruth]

I would not recommend Macon as a place to live. IT's one of those places you can visit and not come away with a good first impression. Sure Macon does have its good points and good parts but all in all the negatives outweigh the positives. I can understand one having an affinity for Macon if it is their hometown and where their family is located.. but for someone with no ties to Macon, it's just isn't a great place. Macon is not as bad as Augusta.. but only slightly. Maybe Macon and Augusta will eventually get their acts together and turn the tide and become great places to live.. but they are not there yet.

[2007AFRetiree]

Originally Posted by midgeorgiaman

Hello, I have lived in Middle GA for 4 years (2 in Warner Robins and 2 in Macon) and I grew up in Portsmouth, VA. Welcome to GA!!! I think you will like it here, especially the amount of house you can get here for the price compared to VA Beach.

Here is the take from my perspective: Warner Robins is the VA Beach of the area, better schools overall, slightly lower property taxes (compared to VA, all property taxes here are low), lower crime rate, but cookie-cutter tract housing and strip malls as far as the eye can see.

Macon is more like a smaller Norfolk, cultural center of the area, wonderful history and architecture, worse schools and crime overall (i will discuss later), but better traffic (because Warner Robins just builds with reckless abandon and without planning like va beach and chesapeake), more non-chain restaurants in Macon, unique shopping, better proximity to Atlanta for travelling by air or for big city entertainment, etc.

As far as crime goes, I have lived downtown and currently live very close to downtown and have never been a victim of any crime. True, Macon has more, but if you aren't hanging out in the projects or dealing drugs, there is no need to go to high crime areas. The schools are similar to those in Norfolk. The district gets low marks overall because of the high number of housing projects with low achieving students. There are pockets of excellence in the schools, however, such as districts that feed to Westside, Rutland, and the new North Macon high school (Howard Middle district). Also, Central High's International Baccalaurate program is top notch.

The weather is similar to Hampton Roads, just longer relentless summers and not as cold in the winter. Summer runs June to September(highs in the 90s, occasional 100, we don't get the breaks from the heat like VA though, once it hits the 90s it is that way for weeks on end!) Fall is Oct-Nov (highs in 60s and 70s, some 80s), Spring is late Feb to May(60s to 80s), and winter is Dec to Mid Feb (avg highs in mid to upper 50s with some days in the 40s and some in the 70s, snow is VERY rare, ice every few years or so). No hurricanes though!!!!

As far as neighborhoods go in Macon, use the school zones to search for homes if schools are a priority or there are several very good private schools if you want to go that route. There are many new neighborhoods in the northern and western parts of the county if you prefer newer homes. Go to Realtor dot com and search zip codes 31210, 31220, 31052, 31216 for the areas with the better schools to get an idea of home prices and offerings.

My personal opinion is this: If you lived in VA beach and never left it or Chesapeake for activities and want a town more focused on family life and t-ball, etc, and don't mind an ultra-surburban life with a heavy military presence, then Warner Robins is a great place to live. If you found yourself going to Norfolk for entertainment, shopping, dining, etc, and want more history and a more urban feel and parks, etc (or at least a <15 minute drive to urban, then Macon is the place for you.

Good luck with your move. I think you will enjoy it here. Let me know if you have any other questions.

I agree 1,000%. I was stationed in Hampton for 5 1/2 years, and I am now in Warner Robins.

[detoni]

I take back my previous comment about Macon. About one a month my car is broken into and several of my nieghbors cars are stolen!! My insurance agent told me my premiums will go up if I live in Macon!! So, I quit my job and moved to Vermont. Columbus is the only halfway safe city in Georgia. If I had to like in Georgia I would live in LaGrange.

[Peelo]

You must not know much about Georgia if you think Columbus is even a remotely safe city. Sure, Macon is a dump, I agree wholeheartedly there. But there is Forsyth, Byron, Warner Robins....all great places to live with relatively low crime.

[MayorOfMacon2019]

Hey detoni was your insurance company based out of a garage because ive never in my entire life living in Macon heard such a thing, but yea good luck with dat.

[ATLCOL1]

Originally Posted by Peelo

You must not know much about Georgia if you think Columbus is even a remotely safe city. Sure, Macon is a dump, I agree wholeheartedly there. But there is Forsyth, Byron, Warner Robins....all great places to live with relatively low crime.

Columbus is a lot safer than Macon. It is just a better city overall to me than Macon.

[Ga.Peach]

Originally Posted by missing macon

I lived in Macon for the first 18 years of my life, so I know the place like the back of my hand. I lived in the north-west area near Monroe, and loved it. I left in 2000 and joined the Marine Corps, so I havnt "lived" there since then, but I reguarly visit, and still want to go back. I live in Norther VA for the time being, and f-ing hate this place. You cant even get a condo for under $300,000 these days. New single family homes in my area are going for over $1m, REDICULUS!

Now, it does get quite hot and humid in Macon, but you get used to it. The one problem I see Macon facing in the near future is the Olkmulgee river drying up. I havnt seen it in a few years, but my parents tell me that it has been very low recently.

I started out at a private school called Tattnall, then to another private school called Stratford until 8th grade. Those are great schools, but be prepared to pay out your tail end every year. I think Stratford tuition is around $5450–$10,035 /yr. I moved to Central High School for 9th - 12th to get a different flavor of friends, and graduated from there with Honors and a Fine Arts Seal. School, no matter where you are, is what you make it to be.
Central was surrounded by some projects, and some historicaly beautiful sites and million dollar houses.

Crime? Most of these people here are refering to places like pleasant hills and areas near the mall. The other 85% of the city is a great place to live. I have family all over Macon and surrounding counties as well, and all of them love where they are.

Apparently the current mayor went on a trip to Africa, converted to Islam overnight and changed his name to Hakim Mansour Ellis. No comment about that.

Also talk of a lot of Macon residents having no problem with sharia law . I'm sure now that the mayor is islamic, this is a very good possibility .

[MayorOfMacon2019]

The Islamic Mayor left a week before Christmas. So now he's just an Islamic citizen of Macon.

[MayorOfMacon2019]

Also, according to several sources including the New Georgia Encyclopedia the City of Macon once own the major source of growth in Houston County, The Robins Air Force base. But with the help of Congressman Carl Vinson the Maconites sold the 3,108 acres of land to the Federal Government so they can build what today is Robins Air Force Base. So YOUR WELCOME Houston County, and the citizens of it.

[Peelo]

OH please...LOL....