ANYTHING desirable about Macon?? (Atlanta, Columbus: crime rate, quality of life, living)

[Bulldawgfan]

King_9.5,

You defend/promote Macon relentlessly, yet you openly admit Macon lags behind other like-sized cities. And I am accused of having an agenda? What is yours?

Originally Posted by King_X

Compared to Augusta, Savannah, Chattanooga, Columbia, Charleston, Mobile, and a few other mid-sized southern metros, yes, Macon is lacking

[Southern Soul Bro]

Originally Posted by Bulldawgfan

King_9.5,

You defend/promote Macon relentlessly, yet you openly admit Macon lags behind other like-sized cities. And I am accused of having an agenda? What is yours?

1. I just believe in giving the full story about places, and not picking/choosing things to make a place look better or worse than it is. I dont "promote." I'll tell anyone what's good and bad about Macon. Everything I mentioned to the OP about Macon is true, so what's your problem? That it wasn't a negative post???

2. Yeah, I do believe Macon lags behinds most of the other mid-sized cities in surrounding states and our own. However, most of them are larger, with CSAs and Metros double or more the size of ours. So, it's expected they have more. I just dont view Columbus as one of those cities. Outside of having more "headquarters" there than Macon, I dont see a big difference, besides the city seeming more "sleepy" IN MY OPINION.

3. Macon is a metropolitan city, that happens to be poor at its core. So, yes there is poverty (in the inner city). However, unincorporated Macon/Bibb County still offers a higher quality of life (better shopping, dining, neighborhoods, nightlife, etc.) than anywhere else in Central GA. So, considering that it says you are from Central GA, yet obviously not Macon/Bibb, I dont see why your nose is so turned up in the air.

[Spirit of Philadelphia]

I've been in Savannah for about 4 months now. I've gone through Macon a few times en route to Atlanta.

Every city in Georgia is pretty much the same. Ghetto, strip mall, ghetto, strip mall, ghetto strip mall over and over again on every road. I'm not impressed at all. Please reconsider before moving to this state.

[midgeorgiaman]

...because there aren't ghettos and strip malls in Philly??? I have spent a great amount of time in Philly, but I really don't see casting stones from there. There is plenty of ghetto in Philly, moreso than any other East Coast city except maybe Baltimore. There are huge areas that remind me of third world countries there. Just saying... there are many things that Philly does better than any city in GA (arts, theater, etc), but a lack of ghetto isn't one of them!

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Spirit of Philadelphia

I've been in Savannah for about 4 months now. I've gone through Macon a few times en route to Atlanta.

Every city in Georgia is pretty much the same. Ghetto, strip mall, ghetto, strip mall, ghetto strip mall over and over again on every road. I'm not impressed at all. Please reconsider before moving to this state.

You are from Philly?
Let me get this.Now before I say this I should say that Philly is like my second home.It is very dear to me.I often defend ity when necessary or when it is unfairly categorized.

PHILLY IS GHETTO FABULOUSO!!!Its got great parts and bones but for someone to talk about a place,you should be more open minded before you speak about somewhere else

[afonega1]

I grew up in Warner Robins.Great place to this day about 15 minutes from Macon.Moved to the burbs of Atlanta wiuth my parents my Senior year of High school.After being away in the Air Force.I now have a 5 year old house 1-2 miles from Downtown ATlanta.

I have lived in Delaware,Philly,New Jersey,New Mexico,Arizona,New York,Texas,Wisconsin,and some other places in other countries.

I often thought about where else in the state of Georgia would I consider moving for business opportunities of my own.Wherever it is it would have to offer a downtown that is reasonable and have some semblance of urbanity.
Savannah is of course number one.Crazy but I worry about flooding and Hurricanes.Not to mention there is probably NO WAY I could afford to live downtown in a nice square.
Then I have thoght about Augusta lately.My moms side is from there and there is a lot going on.So much promise and opportunity.I like its Riverwalk.Jury is still out about Downtown becoming more viable.I am happy with the changes though.

Next come Macon.Macon has always been on my mind because its so close to Atlanta.I love downtown Macon.Its very nice and cohesive.I think if they get rid of the bad images and percieved notions(real or imagined),Macon can easily turn the tide.A lot of money and dedication has really been focused on reviving downtown and its evident.
Like this Boulevard(Poplar Street) designed by Walter Hood and pick by the Smithsonian's Annual National Design Awards.
M a c o n (http://www.wjhooddesign.com/macon.html - broken link)


Then comes Columbus.Columbus seems a lot like Augusta but without a cohesive downtown area.Columbus is so DEAD to me,Now the outkirts are teaming with activity.I really enjoy Peachtree Mall.Columbus just seems SO BORING!!I am trying to be fair and balanced bu I go at least twice a year to see family and go to the Fountain City Football Classic.

Columbus seems to have better facilities if you live there.But if you are a visitor not much to do.


Macon area(whether financially solvent or not) has :
Georgia Football H.O.F.
Music H.O.F.
The Johnston-Felton-Hay House, often abbreviated the Hay House, is a historic residence in Macon, Georgia. Built between 1855 and 1859 by William Butler Johnston and his wife Anne Tracy Johnston in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, the house has been called the "Palace of the South." The mansion sits atop Coleman Hill on Georgia Avenue in downtown Macon, near the Walter F. George School of Law, part of Mercer University.
The 18,000-square-foot, 24-room home designed by the New York architect T. Thomas and Son has four levels and is crowned by a three-story cupola. Commissioned by imaginative owners and constructed by the most skillful workers of the time, its technological amenities were unsurpassed in the mid-nineteenth century: hot and cold running water, central heat, a speaker-tube system connecting 15 rooms, a French lift equivalent to today's elevator, in-house kitchen, and an elaborate ventilation system.


Museum of Aviation in Warner Robins

The Museum of Aviation is the second-largest aerospace museum of the United States Air Force.

Lake Tobesofkee
Cherry Blossum Festival:
http://celeb-city.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/cherry-blossom-festival-056.jpg (broken link)
Robins Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base located in Houston County, Georgia, United States. The base is located just east of and adjacent to the city of Warner Robins, Georgia, 18 mi (29 km) SSE of Macon, Georgia. It is one of three Air Force Air Logistic Centers, the others being Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center (OC-ALC) at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma and Ogden Air Logistics Center (OO-ALC) at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.The base is in the Macon metropolitan area, and is the single largest industrial complex in Georgia, employing a work force of over 25,584 civilian, contractor, and military members

Also Worldwide Headquarters of the Air Force Reserves
The Tubman African American Museum
The largest African American museum in Georgia,The Tubman African American Museum is an internationally recognized institution and an important cultural and educational resource for the area.
The museum is also in the process of building a new 49,000 square-foot museum, which will also be located in Macon, Georgia

The Douglas Theater

The Douglass Theatre was the premier movie theatre and vaudeville hall open to African-American citizens in the city. The facility hosted early jazz and blues greats such as Ida Cox, Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey and comedy stars such as Butterbeans and Susie while at the same time running feature-length films and serials popular in theatres throughout the country. During the 1920's, the theatre was an important venue for early African-American films written and produced by blacks for black audiences as well. Musical stars such as Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington filled The Douglass before moving on to the city auditorium in the 1940's.

Ocmulgee National Monument preserves traces of over ten millennia of Southeastern Native American culture, including major earthworks built more than 1,000 years ago by Mississippian culture peoples: the Great Temple and other ceremonial mounds, a burial mound, and defensive trenches


Mercer University

Mercer is the only university of its size in the United States that offers programs in eleven diversified fields of study: liberal arts, business, education, music, engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, law, theology, and continuing and professional studies. Mercer enrolls approximately 8,000 students in its eleven colleges and schools. Students come from approximately 45 states and 65 countries; more than 80% are Georgia residents.
The Walter F. George School of Law, founded in 1873, is one of the oldest law schools in the United States. The school is named for a Mercer alumnus, former United States Senator Walter F. George. Additional information is available on the school's Wikipedia entry.

Wesleyan College - First Chartered Women's College in the world.

Macon Mall is a two level, 1.4 million square foot super-regional mall located in Macon, Georgia. The mall features Macy's, Belk, JC Penney and Sears as its anchor stores. It was once the largest mall in Georgia, until the opening of the Mall of Georgia in Gwinnett County. Currently it is still one of the largest in the state of Georgia.

Plus Macon actually has the best skyline out of all the cities in Georgia after Atlanta.Maybe a tie with Augusta.

[Hot_Mike]

So you say,Columbus is boring and Augusta is Columbus with a downtown. The jurry is still out on Augusta downtown? Is Macon downtown more vibrant than Augusta downtown? How are Columbus and Augusta so similar?

[afonega1]

Originally Posted by Hot_Mike

So you say,Columbus is boring and Augusta is Columbus with a downtown. The jurry is still out on Augusta downtown? Is Macon downtown more vibrant than Augusta downtown? How are Columbus and Augusta so similar?

None are what I would cal "vibrant".But Macon has the most "urban" feel to it.Augusta out of them all has the most potential if more effort to actually get things done happens.

Augusta is like Columbus because there metro areas are bigger than there downtowns,the retail environment is similar,they both have bright futures in the Public and private sectors.

Augusta has a lot planned and happenings,but there are not many developments(in my limited knowledge admittedly) where people are actually moving into.

Columbus is ok for a daytrip ,but living there if you like city life is just not the place to be.
Macon has done more on its Downtown than ANY of the other cities over the last 20 years.If a commuter train comes,trust me.Whatever city gets it first will explode.

[Southern Soul Bro]

I knew I couldnt have been the only one. Driving along the main roads of Columbus, you would never be able to tell you were in a city of 185,000-190,000. I get attacked for saying this, but the city definitely has a more laid back feel to it. Unless the Columbus posters have never left their areas, then I just dont see how they havent noticed this.

afonega1, since you seem to atleast be somewhat on the same page as me, what do you believe the reason is for Columbus feeling that way? Is it only because of lack of interstate access and location???

Macon is centralized within the state and has the heavily traveled I-75 running through the heart of the city...connecting into I-16.

Augusta has I-20 and, IMO, is located in an area where basically 3 metros almost connect in a line together (Metro Augusta-Metro Columbia-Metro Charlotte)

Savannah has I-95 and well, It's Savannah.

Columbus kind of sits off to itself, and I just dont get the same feeling out of it as being a truly urbanized area as much as even in Macon.

These guys can toss around headquarter names, expected growth, and population stats for Columbus but I've lived both there and Macon....and It just feels slow for a reason. Seems you know where I'm coming from?

[nighthouse66]

macon has a really rich musical history. if you like soul music, which i do......you can go across the otis redding bridge, which ain't much, but .....
one thing, i have never seen more fat metal-flake painted seventies cars, more churches, or more prostitutes in one city in my entire life. i don't know why- but i swear, i would look down every street it seemed and i would see some pimped out auto, a church spire, and some working girls. maybe i am overexaggerating, but i remember reading in "garden of good and evil" that when you are from savannah, they ask you who your family are, and if you are from macon, they ask what church you belong to. i dig macon, personally. its funky, in a small town way, and like i said, loads of musical history- little richard, allmann brothers, capricorn records, and lets not forget Otis. Never forget Otis!!!!!!
(this is probably not setting your mind at ease, LOL, but i am just giving you my impression of the place based on countless wanderings and visiting on the weekend)