Tell me about Macon, Ga

rdhdstpchild · #1 09/08/14, 09:41 PM

Hey, everyone. I'm coming to you for some advise. An opportunity has landed in my lap in an area I'm not familiar with - Macon, Ga. Though we've traveled and vacationed in Georgia before, never in this area. The job is so far a dream, but I'm curious about the area itself. Is it safe? Is there amble opportunity for homesteading real estate? Etc. You know the drill... what can y'all tell me? TIA

halfpint · #2 09/09/14, 05:52 PM

I hope someone closer to that area will answer you. I spent the night there on the way to pick up my daughter in Florida in August, and have occasionally been there with my husband on business trips, and on my own business trips many years ago. For homesteading, it should be pretty easy to do out in the country - but usually not going to be doable in a subdivision. Not as big as Atlanta where to get to the 'country' is usually more than an hour or two from the center of town. I don't know about the 'safe' part - probably depends upon certain areas of town.

My nephew Chris began "Crack in the sidewalk farmlet" in the city of Atlanta, so sometimes homesteading is doable in the city.
http://georgiaorganics.org/news-cent...n-the-sidewalk

Dawn

vjlobel · #3 09/09/14, 06:03 PM

I haven't been there in years, but I had family that taught at Mercer University and my brother went there for a year or so. Parts of the town were pretty sketchy, but as I recall it was growing a ring of suburbia that was pretty safe. There is plenty of land within driving distance of the city, but don't know about if parcels are available or if it is all big timber farms?

two_barking_dogs · #4 09/09/14, 06:52 PM

Not really my AO but there are areas of Macon you do not want to go to.

I'd suggest you go to the georgia hometown forum at ar15.com and ask there. You'll get someone local to tell you which parts to consider and which parts to stay away from.

.

4crumleys · #5 09/09/14, 06:57 PM

I have lived in Ga my entire life, from the southern part in Statesboro and Macintosh county, to the Northern end of Rabun County. Macon is a good city as long as you don't live in the "city". Outside of it you will find that people operate from the mindset that was in place about 25 years ago. Nothing wrong with that at all, just know that when you go into a store, or meet someone on the street you should be prepared to stop and talk a while, otherwise you are rude.
Ga has one of the best concealed carry rules around, so usually everyone is armed.
Farming is still king in the southern part of the state. If you want to be familiar with it, I recommend a subscription to our statewide farm bulletin.

http://agr.georgia.gov/market-bulletin.aspx

Hope this helps. By the way, if you live in Macon, you live below the official "nat" line, so be prepared to swat a few.

po boy · #6 09/09/14, 07:26 PM

City Data

Like Atlanta and a lot of metro areas. Live outside the city. If it were em, I'd live 15 or 20 miles east or west of the city.......

trebello · #7 09/09/14, 07:47 PM

We live about 45 minutes north of Macon, and much prefer heading that direction than north to ATL. I agree with others that living in the city limits, you would need to be careful of the area, but outside of Macon is quite beautiful, and there are some great deals on land/homes. Macon is pretty much on the Fall Line, so you can choose the type of land you prefer by going a little north or south. North is the Piedmont, south is more coastal plains.
There are some really great restaurants, and cultural opportunities, available as well.

bellcow · #8 09/09/14, 08:34 PM

I like macon. Got a lot of friends that live around macon. Living about 10 or 15 mile out of macon would be okay. You may need to key in on Bibb co. school system if public schools is an important issue. That area of the state would be nice area to live.

Bellcow

charged · #9 09/10/14, 05:35 PM

I live between Atlanta and Macon. As others have said there are parts of town in Macon that are sketchy and you want to be careful. There was so much crime at one of the malls that they ended up moving the police station into the mall to try to prevent some of it.

If you take that job, your Tennessee gun permit may be valid here until you can get your Georgia replacement. Gun laws have changed recently and you can carry your gun just about anywhere.

I would look for a place outside the city of Macon. Far enough away from the hood, close enough so that you don't have a long commute to work.

ArmyDoc · #10 09/11/14, 04:05 PM

I live in Augusta. Macon is one of the three fall line cities - the middle one between Augusta and Columbus. It lies between the coastal plain and the piedmont regions. So you get a transition in climate and geography. Soil will be sandy in most areas. Growing seasons is about 200 days, rainfall is about 45 inches a year. 4 seasons, but rare snow.

Atlanta is the big city in Georgia (450k?), Augusta and Columbus fight it out for second place (back and forth) (~190k) Savannah is next at about 140, and then there are a few smaller towns the size of Macon (~90k). I don't know where you are from, but these are good sized towns, not what I would call "cities".

You should be able to find land within an easy commute. Georgia is a nice place to live with a very reasonable cost of living.

Ramblin Wreck · #11 09/11/14, 06:41 PM

Lots of good advice above, and I'll second po boy's suggestion to look east and west of the city/town if your primary concern is finding rural land. Going south you get into the Perry/Warner Robins area quickly. Going north, the traffic can get very bad, very quickly. Basically, traffic is bad about an hour or so in any direction from Atlanta...and Macon is a little over an hour south of Atlanta. Not sure about the schools in any of the local counties, and that may be an important consideration for you. Good luck.