Pediatrics Residency Program

Macon is a great place to live&work! With metro area of 230,000, we experience the best of both small town life&city conveniences. Housing costs are well below the national average and our residents choose to live in a variety of great spaces, from hip Lofts downtown, historic apartment living&houses for rent in the neighborhoods surrounding the hospital, to suburban home owners.

We're a laid-back town proud of our history, we love music&festivals, and our climate lets us enjoy sports and get outdoors throughout the year. Follow the links to explore more about Macon people&events.

A Rich History

Macon is a place where genius can develop its full potential-we're the hometown of Otis Redding, The Allman Brothers, Duane Allman of Derek&the Dominoes, Little Richard,&half of REM. Carson McCullers, Oscar Wilde, and Truman Capote were frequent visitors to friends&family in Macon. Tennessee Williams wrote "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" staying just 2 blocks away from present-day BKO Children's hospital, and based the character "Big Daddy" on the owner of the house.

Our historic districts are among the best preserved in the country, and walking tours are available through Historic Macon Foundation, the Visit Macon's downtown visitor center, or Rock Candy Tours. If you'd rather read than walk, pick up one of these true accounts set in Macon: Whisper to the Black Candle, a Peculiar Tribe of People, The War Outside My Window (Civil War diary by a teen with Pott's Disease), Macon Black&White, The Brothers of Bragg Jam.

(Otis Redding Sittin'; on the Dock of the Bay: Photo by Jud McCranie; Statue by Linda Cooley), statue in Gateway Park by Bradley Cooley and Bradley Cooley, Jr of Bronze By Cooley, 2003

Small Town Fun

No matter what season it is, there's always something fun to do. On "First Fridays" of each month, downtown businesses stay open late, with gallery showings, sidewalk performances and special deals at restaurants&bars.

Every Spring since 1982, Macon hosts its International Cherry Blossom Festival as 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees burst into bloom.  The Cherry Blossom Festival promotes the principles of "love, beauty and international friendship," with parades, food, live music events and a fair with Midway rides.

The Bragg Jam music festival is a highlight of midsummer, and we love to watch fireworks over the lakes on 4th of July.

August features the annual independent film festival and Macon Beer Fest.

October offers Jazz on Riverdale Music&Art Fair as well as spooky Rose Hill Cemetery Tours that highlight Macon's historic figures.

At Christmas-time, the whole city lights up&the Macon Pops give a free concert to kick-off The Main Street Christmas Light Show Extravaganza.

Arts&Culture

The Museum of Arts and Sciences has a planetarium and the Tubman African American Museum hosts both "All That Jazz" in January&a Pan-African Festival in April. House museums include "The Big House" of the Allman brothers, Hay House, and the "Cannonball" House year-round, with special event home tours at Christmas&the annual Garden Tour in May.

Our historic City Auditorium, Grand Opera House, Coliseum, Wesleyan College and Mercer University offer continuous opportunities to enjoy concerts, plays, shows and exhibits.

Hometown artist Jason Aldean featured Macon in his video for "Gonna Know We Were Here." Hollywood loves Macon and you might see familiar places if you watch "The Walking Dead," "The Watchmen," or "Hillbilly Elegy." Several Marvel comic book artists (The Amazing Spiderman, etc) live in town&will do commissions on request if you catch them downtown for events.

Sports&Outdoors

We love the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, high school games&Mercer University Sports, and then the crazy food&special events at Macon Bacon Games are as much fun as the baseball. Four area lakes (Tobesofkee, Juliette, Sinclair and Oconee), plus rivers and wooded areas make it easy to enjoy all types of outdoor activities. For famous "golden" residency weekends, Savannah and Georgia';s Golden Coast are three hours to the east. North Georgia mountain ranges, with winter skiing or cooler weather getaways in the Summer, are also within a 3 hours drive.

When you need to stay closer to home, Macon has several great parks that allow leashed pets&a large fenced "leash free" dog park too. Cyclists can cover more than 16 miles of protected trails without leaving city limits, and the local state parks have biking&hiking trails as well. Ocmulgee Mounds is our local National Monument.

(Photo by Judson McCranie; creative commons license.)

World Travelers&Foodies

We're only about 75 miles south of Hartsfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta, but don't think you have to leave town to experience something new. Prepare to be surprised by the food scene Macon offers. "Atlanta Eats On The Road" featured some of our restaurants with regional cuisine, but Macon is also home to a variety of family-owned restaurants serving up traditional foods from Mexico, Cuba, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Japan, Italy, Greece, England, Jamaica, and the list goes on. Locals love our farmer's markets&food co-op services, as well as nearby "Pick Your Own" Peach&Berry farms. Macon's city water source has been voted 2 nd best-tasting in the country, which makes us a natural home to multiple craft breweries.