Wanting Info on living in Milledgeville (Atlanta, Macon: crime, college, quality of life)

[Bythewayof]

*Cross posted in Macon forum as I wasn't for certain where to post

Hi everyone! I'm looking for updated info on living in the Milledgeville area. I've search the threads and the majority of the posts are at least 5+ years old. I know a lot has changed and was hoping for more current insight.
Here's my background info: My family (spouse, 2 children under age 3) are looking to relocate back to GA to be closer to family. Our family lives near Walton County, but we really don't want to live too close to them and ideally would like to be no more than 1.5-2hr drive away. While I love Atlanta, I don't desire to deal with the traffic and congestion that it brings, so a smaller, self-sufficient, town is ideal. Plus it seems that with a decent job, things, like housing, are more financially obtainable. We both work in the education fields (K-12 and Higher ed) and really would prefer to work were we live and minimize the commute. I know the measure of a good quality of life varies by person but for us, we want a community, local things to do, a good library and parks, churches, diversity racially and economically (this website has 50/50 white/black, but also 50% poverty- but i know there can be context behind the stats, like a lot of college students are broke, and if they are included then that would increase the poverty rate) Another website said the crime is bad and that it is only safer than 4% of other cities! That seems extreme.

Please share your thoughts on the area and if there are any other areas we should consider.