Tell me about Macon, GA

16 years ago

Well yesterday I caught the Oprah show, where she was in Macon giving a bunch of her favorite things to a bunch of people, and being a real estate junkie, I had to go to realtor.com and look up houses there. I do this every time a name of a town is mentioned that I don't know the market for. It's an obsession.

Anyway, houses there are really, really affordable. I'm not moving, especially to the coasts because hubby hates them (both east and west, LOL! Loves West Texas. Go figure) But it's always been my dream, even as a little girl, to live in Georgia and grow big giant peaches. I always figured real estate would be high in GA, and was really surprised to see that that was not the case. So please, humor me. Enable me in my fantasy move. Tell me about Macon, GA. Why is real estate so cheap? Are there many jobs available there? Are most of the houses rundown shacks that only look good in pictures?

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Comments (16)

monzamess
16 years ago
Macon is considered to be a crime-ridden dump by a lot of people around here, but many of them haven't spent a lot of time in big cities that truly are crime-ridden dumps. Macon definitely had its bad parts, but it has some nice areas and a few attractions (museums, Music Hall of Fame, Little Theatre, etc). A nice house in a good part of town will start around $250K. You can get a ghetto shack for $20K. You can move out into the sticks (you don't have to go far) and get more for your money if you like that lifestyle.

A lot of people who move to this area, who have kids, settle in Houston (house-ton) County, home of Warner Robins and Robins AFB. The west end of town is convenient to I-75 and Macon. The school system is very highly-rated, whereas Bibb county (Macon) is pretty bad. On the other hand, single young people avoid WR since it's basically a giant suburb with not much for singles to do.

The Macon "metro" is around 200K people and WR is about 50K. Big enough for some amenities and shopping but you'll miss big-city activites and skyscrapers if you're into that.

For jobs, check out Monster or something similar. Wages seem generally low. In my line of work, pay is about 60-75% of that in the northeast, and about 70-80% of that in Atlanta.

You'll find a lot of info in the Georgia section of the city-data.com forums.
monzamess
16 years ago
Edit: Above I wrote "people around here" meaning people physically located in middle Georgia, not necessarily people on this forum.
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Rudebekia
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Funny, I just returned from my first trip to Macon. I attended a conference at Mercer University. We were charmed at the lovely homes in the old part of the town -- it seemed very gracious. But I'm a complete outsider (from Minneosta) and we only saw the area around Mercer (which itself has a beautiful campus). As most northerners tend to remark, people seemed so friendly!
addictedtoroses
Original Author
16 years ago
::sigh::
I guess you can't tell anything about a place from pictures. One of the places I fell in love with is linked below. I guess it's a ghetto shack, LOL!
Being a native Chicagoan, I do know cities and crime rates, but thankfully have been fortunate to raise my children in a small Texas town. We bought our 1300 sq ft, 3/1/2 in a decent school district (second best, but this is a small town-17,000 people) for $35,000, so when I look at real estate listings for prices similar in other areas, I wonder....I guess my fantasies of Georgia are more of the 'Old South' variety anyway---sitting on the front porch sipping sweet tea while waiting for the children to come home from school, picking big giant peaches from a tree in my decent-sized backyard, having good relationships with the neighbors. Oh well....

Here is a link that might be useful: Nice brick 4/3 ghetto shack in Macon, LOL!
monzamess
16 years ago
Fire up Internet Explorer if you're not already using it and click the link below to get a good look at that neighborhood. Maybe it's not a ghetto, then again that house is more than twice the $20K estimate I threw out. Co-workers who grew up in that area (around Pio Nono) have no desire to go back. The same house, if a couple of miles northwest, would be over $200K. I'm sure that neighborhood is no Cabrini Green, but there are reasons the house is so inexpensive, either because of the condition of the house itself, or the location.

You might find what you're looking for in Hawkinsville or other small (but not tiny) towns around middle/southern Georgia. Even there, a nice historic house won't be $50K unless it's a major project.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bird's eye view of that house
blue_velvet_elvis
16 years ago
What a great house! Macon is on my list of places to possible move to after DD is out of high school. My company has a large office there and I could transfer. DH loves Iowa though.
southmomx2
16 years ago
We are about 130 miles south of Macon in Thomasville, Ga. You might want to check out Thomasville if you are connsidering moving. We are 30 miles from Tallahaassee & I-10 45 miles from Valdosta & I-75 and 2 hrs from Jacksonville, Fl & I-90. Very centrally located for travel while still keeping the small town feel. Our nickname is "The City of Roses" and I am sure that would appeal to you! We have a thriving downtown business district on an old brick street, lots of unique shops and restaurants, condos & lofts available built over the old store fronts, a respect for historical architecture and much more! (WOW! I'm glad I already live here!) Check it out. Also, we are the founding home of the Flowers Bakery Corp. and have a factory here so our downtown smells like fresh baked bread & cinnamon rolls.(added bonus! much better than a sewage treatment plant!) Closest ocean breeze is about 70 miles south. Also, tons of community events and low crime rate. Check it out!
User
16 years ago
Macon was the setting for "To Kill A Mockingbird", and a lot of things portrayed in that have NOT improved over the years. You want a taste of the "Old South", you'd probably get one. But not the fictionalized happy fantasy one.
disneyrsh
16 years ago
live wire oak, do you live in GA? If not, then shut up. We have enough people like you spouting stupid stuff like that. I'm betting you're from New Jersey and earned yourself a hefty speeding ticket the last time you roared down 75 south of Atlanta. I'm a happily transplanted yankee who's been here for 20 years and has roots in the south, and IMO racism's a lot worse up north.

And FYI, TKAM was FICTION, honey. And the book was set more than 5 decades ago. Let's move on. Most of us who live down here have no interest in being anything other than decent people and good neighbors. And friendly, unless you make us mad. The nicer southerners will say "bless your heart." I've still got enough Yankee in me to say "shut up."
User
16 years ago
I'm a born and bred Southerner and have relatives all over the South, including Macon. I DO know what I'm talking about. Yup.
disneyrsh
16 years ago
Wow.

Guess you're "old south" and I'm "new south", then.

I like the new south way better. It was why we voted out the georgia flag...
finz2left
16 years ago
I'm an Alabamian. I LOVE Georgia and most things about it. Macon, eh....I can do without it. I seems very run down, and I was scared driving through a few parts. And, I am quite comfortable in most of Birmingham crime areas, and Montgomery and Mobile. There are some charming parts, but overall, I'd pass. And, I'm "new south," not Old South.
disneyrsh
16 years ago
yeah, I agree with your assessment of macon, finz2left, but I think the problems there are not unique or indicative of the south, just of a city with some issues. We drive through it several times a year on our way to Disney, and we've seen some nice parts and some parts where I made my husband get back on the highway and find a different gas station.

I like Mobile and the beaches a LOT! OP, maybe move there, it's got some of the best of both worlds, the southern charm and insanely beautiful beaches!

I soooooo wish Atlanta wasn't landlocked...
dreamgarden
16 years ago
* disneyrsh-live wire oak, do you live in GA? If not, then shut up. We have enough people like you spouting stupid stuff like that. Guess you're "old south" and I'm "new south", then. I like the new south way better. It was why we voted out the georgia flag...

Spoken like a true Northerner. So much for the "new south way".

live_wire_oak wrote: I'm a born and bred Southerner and have relatives all over the South, including Macon. I DO know what I'm talking about. Yup.

live_wire_oak-I believe you do know what your talking about too. One shouldn't have to LIVE in Georgia in order to be able to state an opinion about it. Thanks for reminding me of a story that exemplifies typical southern (born) behavior.

"Southerners are known far and wide for their hospitality. A good citizen of the South would never insult a visitor, but we wise ones also know how to say the very worst things in a most civilized way. Here's a story, for example, about former U. S. President Jimmy Carter's wonderful mother, Lillian.

According to author Gail Gilchriest in her book Bubbas and Beaus, Miz Lillian was suffering a fool gladly in her Georgia home when the following exchange took place:
Yankee reporter: "Yes, Mrs. Carter, is it true your son has never told a lie?"
Miz Lillian: "Well, that depends whether you mean a real lie or just a little old white lie."
Yankee reporter: "Oh? What exactly is a white lie?"
Miz Lillian: "Well, Sir, remember when you got here? Remember when I said I was happy to see you?"
monzamess
16 years ago
My thoughts in a nutshell: Middle Georgia is a wonderful place to live. As the biggest city in the region, Macon has good parts and bad parts. Avoid the bad parts (like where $50K buys a 4/3 house).

There are also lots of other nice towns in the Deep South, and nothing particularly special about Macon, so look around; the South has lots to offer.
disneyrsh
16 years ago
"One shouldn't have to LIVE in Georgia in order to be able to state an opinion about it."

Ah, and we all know about opinions and, um, elbows, now, don't we!

Have a Merry Christmas, y'all!

Tell me about Macon, GA

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monzamess

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