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Elitism or pity? Or perhaps a combination of both? Full disclosure that I have never been to any of those cities but have not heard anything positive about Jackson or Montgomery. I don't know anything really about Shreveport except that the mayor ran for the senate seat in the recent election. Honestly, the first thing that crosses my mind when I hear Montgomery is racism. I voted Macon. I follow a few people from Macon on social media and it doesn't seem to bad. Macon's proximity to Atlanta and Atlanta's amenities (i.e. airport, shopping, NBA/NFL/MLB, concerts) is a plus.
I'm not surprised by what you say about Montgomery. It's a city whose identity largely rests on its historic status as the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement and as a nation, that era of history is embarrassing and awkward for us to talk about. However, Montgomery is fully embracing that status in all of its authenticity by preserving and promoting the historic sites associated with the movement (and to a lesser extent, its short-lived status as the first capital of the Confederacy) as well as highlighting the broader struggle for civil rights from slavery to the present day with the National Memorial for Peace and Justice (aka National Lynching Memorial) and the Legacy Museum, which I mentioned earlier. But it should be noted that this exists within the larger context of a revitalized downtown with an increasing array of amenities and things to do. I was impressed with projects such as the Alley and development along its riverfront when I first learned about them several years ago. Even more impressive is the whitewater park being built on the edge of downtown Montgomery. In an earlier post, I mentioned a NY Times story from last year about how the new memorial and museum sparked a new wave of development downtown and in 2018, the Times not only covered the grand opening of the memorial/museum complex itself, but it also spotlighted Montgomery in its "36 Hours" feature and the city also made that year's Times list of 52 places throughout the world to visit which included an accompanying article. That's a lot of positive coverage within recent years by the nation's most prominent newspaper for a city that has supposedly devolved into a third world hellhole over the past half-century according to some.
Like others, none of these cities are on my move-to list. But I’m going with Montgomery.
It has a more interesting geographic setting than Jackson/Macon, sitting on the river in a valley within the black belt. It also has a lot of interesting civil rights and civil war history. The economy isn’t booming but it has some diversity—military, manufacturing, and state government (and the business that comes with it). Downtown is surprisingly nice, although quiet. Finally, it’s close to Birmingham (little over an hour), Atlanta (couple hours), and some of the best beaches in the country (couple hours).
The Eastside of Montgomery is nice but the rest of the city looks like it was kinda forgotten and hadn’t updated in a long while. I still chose Montgomery though.
Like others, none of these cities are on my move-to list. But I’m going with Montgomery.
It has a more interesting geographic setting than Jackson/Macon, sitting on the river in a valley within the black belt. It also has a lot of interesting civil rights and civil war history. The economy isn’t booming but it has some diversity—military, manufacturing, and state government (and the business that comes with it). Downtown is surprisingly nice, although quiet. Finally, it’s close to Birmingham (little over an hour), Atlanta (couple hours), and some of the best beaches in the country (couple hours).
Jackson have similar setting minus the valley featute.
While Macon and Warner Robins aren't technically the same metro, they basically function as if they are. Warner Robins is a giant suburb with an Air Base and Macon is the anchor city of the Middle Georgia region. Macon and Warner Robins share a transit system also. Combining both really elevates it to the level of Jackson and Montgomery in a way where it otherwise wouldn't compete as much. Considering its proximity to Atlanta's airport and southern suburbs I personally believe it come out on top overall. Plus I believe Macon has the most potential out of all the cities especially as Georgia becomes a purple state. If Georgia finally starts funding transit and opens a line between Atlanta and Macon (which studies have already been completed for), Macon will start to really boom.
If we are strictly talking city vs city, of this group, I think Jackson wins. However all things considered (proximity to other places etc.) Montgomery has the edge IMO.
Montgomery is definitely better than Macon but marginally below Jackson with regard to retail offerings and amenities. Jackson was more fun than the others when I was younger, going out etc. Sketchy places are always a good time.
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