Augusta

Let me honest when I was in school I HATED AUGUSTA. I’ve lived there since I was 2, and I’m turning 23 in Feb. I couldn’t wait to leave for college… unfortunately I went to Ga. Southern. in Statesboro which is like Hephzibah with a walmart

Where I then went to visit Savannah quite often, which is like downtown Augusta…everywhere. I still don’t get the whole Savannah thing in comparison to Augusta.

I’ve gone to Atlanta a few times, and honestly for a large city they’ve really got a lot of urban planning to do. I prefer NYC and Charlotte, not neccesarily b/c of things to do… there’s more in Atl. than Charlotte but b/c the public transportation actually goes to the outskirts of the metropolitan.

...and now I live in Macon. And let me tell you, it’s true I want to leave Georgia but until I do. I AM RUNNING, not walking back to Augusta. I miss the Asian markets (the closest one here is in warner robins about 30min away and there’s only 2, come on!), the ballet, opera, the hangouts, the golf courses, the flea market, downtown, even the mall, heh even the people.

But hey that’s just my opinion, I’m sure some people are thinking I’m insane for dissing atlanta the way I do.

this hasn’t been the most awesome place i’ve been, but it’s still someplace different from where i was last week…

after being here for a week, i’ve started to find some stuff to do. broad street offers a couple of interesting boutiques (particularly the vintage clothes store, even though it’s way over priced). quite a few antique stores that made for a fun afternoon of poking around.

the riverwalk is fun to walk down. we checked out the phinizy swamp too, which was very well kept and pretty cool.

i haven’t seen anything yet that is extraordinarily special, but if you’re not from the deep south (i’m from oklahoma which is contrary to popular belief, not southern), it is interesting to watch the slightly different culture off the locals.

i’ve found the people to be half and half on the friendly/non friendly scale, although when you meet someone friendly, they’re really friendly and will sit and chat with you for some time.
i guess this is fairly normal for everywhere. oklahoma is kind of an exception to that, where pretty much everyone waves, says hi, or given a chance will talk your ear off about anything.

anyhow, off topic.

as far as the base goes (Ft. Gordon, i’m here with my husband for a while who’s in training there), it’s one of the nicer bases i’ve been to, with plenty of foliage, a lake, and is spread out. they also have horse stables, which i plan on hitting up next week.

since i’m a big eater/purveyor of restaurants, i plan on coming back to this entry to recommend some places. i can recommend right now:

shangri la chinese restaurant – delicious, non-buffet, very nice atmosphere, yet still casual, friendly wait staff

the pizza joint – pretty good food, but we were there for the beer selection, very good! we brought a backgammon board and sat outside for 2 hrs. at least just drinking beers and playing before ordering a pizza.

I’ve heard it’s one of the only places in Georgia that was not burned during the civil war – The historical neighborhoods are beautiful and some of the oldest standing buildings in the south! amazing.

With no offense meant to those friends, I wouldn’t have had any other reason to go. Of course, all I did is visit them, so maybe there are great things to see and I just missed it.

I have lived here for 30 yrs and I should have moved when I got out of highschool, but I did’nt. I got married and had kids now we’re waiting for our youngest to graduate and we are out of here. Augusta is to racially divided. There is alot of potential with Augusta. But in the 30 yrs I’ve been here its really not changed except there is more places to shop and more places to eat and more places to buy cars. they really don’t have much to actually do. It might be good for a stop overnight on your way to somewhere else. But once I move I will never come back…

I have been living in Augusta for almost two years at Fort Gordon. The best thing I did for our car before our family came here was fix the air conditioner you are going to need it. If you have a child there are two places you can visit for some fun-Fort Discovery and Funsville. If you like shopping-there are three main places to shop-Augusta Mall, Deans Bridge Road/Washington Rd and Augusta Exchange-all the favorite big stores (Circuit City, Sams Club, Target, 2 Walmarts, JcPenney, Macy’s and Best Buy, etc). Fort Gordon is like living in the country I have seen foxes, coyotes, deer, squirrels and geese (geese groups stop by for a pit stop in fall and spring). Also lots of green spaces at Fort Gordon. The down side of living here-Atlanta and Columbia are three hours away so be sure you have a comfortable car for driving long distances. Also if you want to get anywhere you need to rent a car-do it in advance. Bus and taxi transportation is very unreliable here especially around the holidays. Also these last two years have been scary off post with in home robberies and robberies at businesses on Gordon hwy outside the Fort Gordon gate. Two hotels we stayed at when we first got here got robbed six months after we moved on post. Robberies seem to be at their highest from November to February. Also there were two kidnappings at two gas stations in this area. Otherwise, it is pretty laid back here. Easy to save money because there is little to do except occasional festivals held on by downtown Augusta, Lake Thurmond and Fort Gordon. Also if you are a foreigner the only place to work here is at fast food restaurants. I have a german friend that came here with job experience and not able to find a decent job except at a fast food place. The most beautiful place to visit here is J Strom Thurmond Lake it is so quiet.

Use to live here, not a bad place at all compared to other towns in Georgia.

I lived here.

My boyfriend lives here. Who wants to guess why I want to visit?

Gorgeous skies.