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Have you lived in downtown Macon? Any thoughts? I'm young, single, and need to relocate to the Macon area. Any suggestions on where to live? Looking for cafes, restaurants, and some fun neighbors.
I have worked in downtown Macon for 15+ yrs. Don't know much about what the 20-30 something crowd do for entertainment and where they "hang out". Macon is a neat town that has lots of scenery and historical worth. There are some really rotten places in town -- just like any area -- and those give Macon a bad name. I've always heard that if you're living down town you have to deal w/ lots of break-ins w/ your car and vandalism. I am still amazed how a town can be so incredibly busy and hopping during the week and if you go downtown on a Sat. or Sun. there's no one anywhere unless the Grand Opera House or Cherry Street has something going on. Parking is horrendous in the actual business portion of downtown. The schools have a terrible reputation and most anyone that has the opportunity or is willing, scrapes the money together to send their child to a private school. This is unfortunate b/c the schools will never turn around until people w/ some influence, drive and a bit of cash decide to make the system better. If you're young and not dealing w/ the family scene yet, it'd be a fine place to live. Ingleside Pizza is the best!!
I lived in downtown Macon on Cherry St for a year when I was single (and 25, 3 years ago) I loved it. Downtown is in the revitalization phase and it is not complete so there are still some shady areas, but I used to walk to my apt at 2am from the bars and never had a problem. I think it is by far the best place to live for a single young person in Macon. I could walk to unique restaurants, art shows, the river for jogging, had the best spot in town during The Cherry Blossom Festival, and enjoyed every minute of it. Middle GA is very family oriented and downtown is about the only place to be where kids are not the priority. (I love kids, but a single young person needs to be able to have adult fun and most of all not have to worry about driving afterward) There are many lofts and apartments downtown as well as split up old historic homes. Some places that come to mind are Katherine Court, Terrace apts, Cherry Place Apts, Ashley Towers. Most of the other places are small (2-10 apts) and therefore visiting downtown and looking for available signs is about the only way to find them. Lots of Mercer students vacate their apts in May so now through May is an ideal time to look downtown. Good Luck.
For the record, I was never a victim of any crime during my days downtown. One of my neighbors did have her car broken into but she left a computer in plain sight. Pretty stupid on her part, but like any downtown area a little common sense and preparation (dont park in dark areas, lock your car, hide valuables, and don't take shortcuts through dark alleys) go a long ways.
We live in North Highlands just across the river. My son takes the Riverwalk downtown with a family friend quite often. They feel quite safe and never any talk of danger. We've never felt unsafe in Macon and hope we never have to. We use common sense and good judgement. Bottom line.....we love it here.
As far as the school system goes....I would not put my children in public school. Our children are homeschooled. If we lived in Houston or Monroe County, public school would be an option.
Downtown Macon now has almost 2,000,000 square feet of unused office space. That should say enough.
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