Not unlike most midsize cities in the South
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1/7/2014
Columbus is an interesting place in that it has some very unique qualities, but on the whole is your typical midsize Southern city in it's size range. This ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, so I apologize for the length. I also didn't really proofread it so it may not make sense. Please comment if you have any questions or suggestions.
Business
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One of the big unique qualities is that there are a few large public companies founded and headquartered in Columbus, the most recognizable being Aflac (stock ticker AFL). Also Total Systems Services or TSYS (TSS), and Synovus Financial (SNV) were all founded in Columbus and employ a sizable portion of the middle to upper class. Carmike Cinemas (CKEC) is also headquartered there. Also, the original Coca-Cola was invented in Columbus by Dr. John Pemberton, and the W.C. Bradley Company and it's related families as well as the Woodruff family made boatloads of money after leading the group that purchased it from Asa Candler in 1919. The W.C. Bradley Company is a large private company that is involved in both real estate as well as owning and operating Char Broil Grills, Lamplight Farms (they make Tiki torches), and Zebco Fishing.
Demographics + City Areas
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Columbus has a large military faction with Fort Benning being just to the south. Because the Infantry School is based there (among other things), tons of army personnel pass through there. When I meet people and say I'm from Columbus, it seems like 90% of the time someone knows someone from Columbus or someone who went through Ft. Benning. As for the soldiers, I get the impression that most of them don't like Columbus, however, because it can be tough if you're a single guy trying to be entertained here, but that is another story.
According to Wikipedia, Columbus is 46.3% White, 45.5% African American, 2.2% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.14% Pacific Islander, and 1.90% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.4% of the population. The city is divided into multiple areas - and these are just generalizations of course. To the far south you have Fort Benning. Otherwise, the south part of Columbus is highly concentrated with African Americans and has a lot of crime (many call Macon Rd the Macon-Dixon line). The eastern part of the city is mostly middle to middle upper class. Midtown is mostly middle upper to upper class. Downtown is predominately commercial not residential, but I think a decent amount of Columbus State college students live in apartments in the area, and there are also some very nice, new, and expensive lofts (Eagle + Phenix) that I'm not sure of the demographic there from an age standpoint - obviously wealthier though. The north side of town is divided roughly by River Road - east of which is mostly middle to upper middle class. The north side west of River Rd. is mostly the Green Island neighborhood, which is considered the nicest in the city and is of course filled with the upper class.
The surrounding area includes Phenix City, Alabama (across the Chattahoochee River), and Harris County, Ga to the north.
As far as the people themselves go, if I were to put it in one sentence - there are lots of poor blacks and lots of rednecks in Columbus, and no one seems to know how to drive, but you can make a good living there with hard work and a smile.
Entertainment and Food
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As far as entertainment goes, Columbus historically has been fairly sparse. However, the opening of the Urban Whitewater course has brought a fresh kick life to downtown. It was a project 15 or 20 years in the making but finally opened in 2013 and seemingly has been a huge success. Downtown Columbus was a wasteland for the longest time, but once Columbus State moved it's music school (a good one at that - Schwob School of Music) downtown and other investments were made, things began to perk up. There is the Georgia State Theater in the Springer Opera House, and a very nice performing arts center called the River Center. The whitewater part seems to be the next in the line of things making downtown worth going to now. There is still a ways to go overall with entertainment, but there are plenty of good local restaurants with more to come including Below the Loft, The Cannon Brew Pub, and most recently, the very upscale EPIC. There are plenty of bars, some good, some bad, but nothing to write home about.
Chains galore. TGIF's has a line out the door at 6:30 on a Tuesday night. As does seemingly every other chain in town of that ilk - Chili's, Applebee's, Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, etc. I don't think the majority of the city understands what a kitchen is for because not many people seem to cook.
There are many local establishments too, including the previously mentioned Cannon, Loft, and EPIC. Mark's City Grill, Meritage, Speakeasy, Philly-osophy, Bitter Brick, Black Cow, and B Merrel's are some of the local favorites. Country's BBQ has 3 locations in Columbus and is generally the most busy, but there is plenty of decent BBQ in Columbus - too many to name though and everyone has their favorite. I prefer the BBQ in Pine Mountain personally (at 3 Lil Pigs, others like Whistling Pig up there), but in Columbus some that come to mind are Clearview (also the cheapest, actually kind of crazy how cheap it is), Smokey Pig, 13th Street, Macon Road, Pepper's, and a long list of others.
There are some local coffee shops in Iron Bank and Fountain City Coffee (both downtown).
Also, there is a place called Hunter's Pub up I-185 in Harris County who's steaks people rave about - it also usually has a 1-2 hour wait so get there early and bring a cooler of beer to drink while you're waiting. It's probably blasphemy but I've only eaten there once and I can't really give an opinion on it because I was probably 10 years old - but people love it. And the guy who does Hunter's Pub also does Mark's City Grill, Black Cow, and I think maybe his son or something does Philly-osophy. Another place is Dingelwood - it's a diner inside a pharmacy and a favorite of the locals (mainly of the midtown locals) and has decent food, but people absolutely love that place too. It is good don't get me wrong, but if you hear people talking it up and you go, you probably won't be that impressed. It seems to be more of a social and cultural thing that has been passed down than it is really a good restaurant - but needless to say, I still eat there a few times a year and do enjoy it.
There are three country clubs in town, Green Island Country Club (private), Country Club of Columbus (private), and Maple Ridge (which is semi-private). There is Callaway Gardens up in Pine Mountain but a bit of a drive if you live in town. There is also a very exclusive dining club called The Big Eddy which is in the Green Island area.
Columbus is roughly 1:45 from Atlanta, so that's an easy drive to do things up there for a weekend, and also Auburn University is about 40 minutes away if you are looking to watch a college football game or any other college experience. On that note, and this is obviously a guess, but I would say the college football fandom would break out something like this: 40% UGA, 30% Auburn, 15% Alabama, 5% Georgia Tech, and 10% whoever is winning at the time. The Auburn-UGA rivalry is very big in Columbus, especially among the older families here (way bigger than Auburn/Alabama or UGA/Georgia Tech) and probably has a lot to do with how the Auburn/UGA game used to be played in Columbus, as well as the proximity of Auburn and the large percentage of fans of both teams.
Schools
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Hmm...where to begin. Schools are not so great on the whole. However, Columbus High School is consistently rated as one of the best if not the best in the state. Northside and Hardaway probably fall in second and third (not sure which would be better and could be wrong on that in general) and the rest are overcrowded and do not seem to have great teachers or administration overall. Britt David Elementary is a magnet and a very good school too, but I've been told if you're white you've got almost no chance to get in. Clubview Elementary is also a good elementary school.
Brookstone, Pacelli, and Calvary Christian are the 3 main (if not all of them) private schools, with Brookstone being the most expensive (~15k /year for high school), Pacelli and Calvary Christian are cheaper (~7k/year).
General
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Overall, Columbus is a town in which if you are from there, especially in one of the middle (or higher) class families, you have a great chance to move back and run a family business or work at Aflac or TSYS or Synovus and make a nice living for yourself. The crime is fairly high though, especially on the south side of town, and can be very dangerous. Unfortunately, (and not to sound too negative) with most of the schools as they are, the majority of the kids don't get a good education and can do little to improve their situation unless they are blessed with families who push them or have their own drive to really try hard in school - and there are those in Columbus, but not enough.
I enjoy Columbus and have lived here my whole life outside of college. Luckily I was blessed with a good family and I have a bunch of friends who live here and I enjoy it. It is a fairly laid back city in that there is not too much going on (which can be a blessing and a curse), but it is close to Atlanta when you want that sort of thing. I would recommend Columbus to many people, but it definitely would not fit everyone and if you know people who live here it is a huge plus.
Robert | Columbus, GA