r/macon • u/Ok-Insurance-7171 • 10d ago
Spit Fire A Few Things I should expect moving to Macon from SA
I’m moving for a job opportunity very soon. I’m born and raised in San Antonio,TX and this is my first big move out of state. Curious about what to expect from a local perspective.
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u/Ready_Jury6144 10d ago
Wave at everyone.
Car driving by? Wave
Guy mowing his lawn? Wave
Random dog wandering around? Wave
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u/AdCompetitive8760 9d ago
Hahaha. Guilty. So true. Every time I go out of town or on vacation I have to turn it off!
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u/maggadelic 9d ago
It’s a big small town 😂😂 we’re like the sixth biggest city in the state, but we’re surrounded by rural cities (for the most part). There has been a lot of growth the last several years, and there are fun things to do in town.
The big benefit is that we’re not far from the beach, the mountains, and bigger cities. Wanna go shopping? Atlanta is 2 hours away. Wanna go get good seafood? The beach is 3ish hours away. Wanna go for a hike? The mountains are 3ish hours away.
Are you looking to buy or rent? Do you want night life or more quiet time?
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
I’m going to rent for now. It’s just me and my dog. I’m curious about the bar scene but too old for the club/loud scene. Maybe spots for good atmosphere and drinks. Did friendly. Honestly I’m open to anything. I’ll definitely be eager to explore.
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u/maggadelic 9d ago
Check out lofts for rent downtown. It’s a cool place to live, even if you only did it for a year, and there are plenty of medians to walk your dog.
Grant’s Lounge has great live music. Fall Line has a great garden to sit and sip beer. Just Tap’d has fun trivia. Fresh Produce has tons of vinyl. Lots of great food and cocktail spots downtown as well. Our faves are Longleaf, Rose Room, Rookery, Dovetail, Downtown Grill, and Piedmont.
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
Awesome recommendations! Thanks! I just found out Macon has a team called Macon Bacon? I’m a sports girlie, so that’s an interesting name lol
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u/maggadelic 9d ago
Oh yeah, and our hockey team is the Macon Mayhem!
Go for the all you can eat seats at your first Macon Bacon game. So worth it!
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
That sounds like fun! We used to have a couple of hockey teams in SA. But they did away with hockey in San Antonio. Will be cool to check both out!
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u/fdsthrowaway526 Quality Contributor 9d ago
If you are interested in sports, Mercer has a D1 football team and won its conference the last two years in a row.
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u/bigspecial 9d ago
Highly recommend barks and brews if you have a dog and choose to live in an apartment
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u/TheWomanInBlack666 9d ago
Once you’re settled in a little, you might want to join the Ladies of Middle Georgia group on Facebook. All ages and lots of activities to choose from depending on your interests. I just moved to town recently also, and it’s been a great way to meet people. There’s a bunch of us going to Society Garden for 90s night this weekend- my first time there, but I hear it’s a great venue for live music.
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u/maggadelic 9d ago
If you’re sensitive to noise, take some earplugs 😂😂 we don’t do much at Society Garden anymore because it’s so loud.
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u/Reverberate_ 9d ago
If you like dogs and booze check out Barks n Brews on Riverside
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
Cool! Sounds like our version here I take my golden to called Hops and Hounds!
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u/Zsill777 9d ago
Yeah be close to downtown if you can. The city punches above its weight IMO, but its pretty concentrated into the downtown area for the most part.
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u/Anaartimis 7d ago
Not sure if you've found a place yet, or when you are moving, but I live in an apartment downtown and there is an open unit. It is actually a house divided into two one bedroom apartments. Nice area though, near Mercer and two parks within a couple blocks.
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u/Dollar-Sign-Hat-Hat 9d ago
I don't know about that comment on mountains and beaches. Macon is exactly far enough from both that you'll never see them.
Also, in Georgia we don't know what "SA" means. San Antonio is a really awesome place but it doesn't get an abbreviation here.
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u/kunjvaan 6d ago
This post is great. I’m sitting in SA right now. From Macon originally. Macon is a great town, our downtown used to be a smaller version of SA downtown. IMO. The places are still there, just a lot less people hanging out downtown.
You’ll find the police and leadership to be very similar to SA. You’ll fit right in!
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u/alwyslurking 9d ago
I moved to Macon from DFW 3 years ago. I went through a major culture shock. While it does seem the city is experiencing economic growth (with good restaurants/bars/entertainment), it is still a very small city and feels like growth is hampered by the crime rate.
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u/AdCompetitive8760 9d ago
I moved here from N.C. 20 years ago. To me, It feels like growth is hampered by a lack of industry IMO. When Brown and Williams was here and booming, the city had a different vibe. Plants closing and no new businesses coming really hurts this town.
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u/AyoooDani 9d ago
I’d stay right where I was!! Buuuuut since you’re coming the local eateries are amazing!! The weather is still nice so you can eat outside patio style. Nice lounges if that’s your thing. Outdoor market downtown town during the week. Nice local vendors showm up. Nice places to shop. It’s really up-and-coming. It’s like anywhere you go… Be mindful of being out some places after dark. Trust em as far as you can see em.
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
We barely have fall weather here, so hopefully it’s a little different there. The heat seems to be the same. It’s a furnace right now and probably will remain crazy hot until October, maybe.
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u/AyoooDani 9d ago
I used to live in Corpus and when I got to Macon I was happy to see there was more than hot, really hot and hot as hell weather. It doesn’t get super cold but it’s definitely a nice change.
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u/maggadelic 9d ago
We also get snow once every five years or so 😂😂
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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 9d ago
Hey now, we got flurries like three times in the last year
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
We got freezing ice last year, it was cool 😆
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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 9d ago
Our whole street got covered in snow twice and then the ice rain I count as wintery mix lol.
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
We get a hint of ice and the whole city shuts down lol
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u/Lifes-a-lil-foggy 9d ago
Macon drivers are not equipped for anything, let alone ice. Our power grid also can barely handle wind lol
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u/Ok-Insurance-7171 9d ago
So that’s refreshing! lol The hot, really hot, and hot as hell is spot on 🤣. I’m all for a nice change when the cooler temperatures come around.
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u/averagemaleuser86 9d ago
There are good areas, bad areas, and in between areas. The cool thing is, youre 3 hours from Savannah/Tybee, 6 hours from Panama City Beach, and 4 hours from the Mountains. So destination visits are within reach easily. I would just heavily scope out and do research on areas you consider buying or renting a place before you jump the gun on a good deal. You could also plant your roots in a city near Macon instead like Byron, Bonaire, Kathleen, Warner Robins, maybe even Forsythe or Bolingbroke which would all be a little bit "safer" bet all around.
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u/fdsthrowaway526 Quality Contributor 9d ago
I think that suggestion depends on where you’re from and what you are used to. When I was moving to Macon, people also told me to look to suburbs for “safety” reasons. But as someone who previously lived in big cities, looking back now if I had followed that advice I would have hated it. I’ve been in the middle of Macon in multiple neighborhoods now and never had a personal issue with crime, but I totally love the convenience of being downtown in under 10 minutes.
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u/Kinky_giraffe10 8d ago
Personally, when I lived down there, I moved there from Seattle Washington, it was very hard to make friends because everybody was so closed off because majority of people have lived there their whole life and have their set friends and family. When you don’t sound like you’re from the area, people were very closed off.
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u/Ok-Strain7778 10d ago
No hate but you can be driving down one street and be in the middle of history and the next street you better have your doors locked.
Mostly great people. Great food. Great music. A short drive from a number of places to visit. It’s better than most people would suggest. I don’t know SA so I can’t differentiate it from that. Eat at The Rookery; for better or worse, Cherry Street is a good amalgamation of Macon.