Why Retire to Milledgeville

Milledgeville Cost of Living

According to Sperling's Best Places, compared to the rest of the country, Baldwin County's cost of living is 17.02% lower than the U.S. average. Food, utilities, and miscellaneous are equivalent to the national average; health and transportation are 93% of the national average, and housing is 53% of the national average (i.e. 47% lower than the national average!).

What is the overall "tax impact" for "seniors"? Include personal property, sales, schools, etc. if applicable? These taxes are equivalent.

There are local tax exemptions for seniors. There is a $10K exemption on state taxes, and an $8K exemption on local government taxes. There is also an exemption for senior homes with a total household income of less than $16K per year. Anyone who is 65 years of age or older for the entire year of taxes are eligible for homestead exemption from Baldwin County ad valorem taxes for county purposes in an amount equal to the amount by which the current year assessed value of a homestead exceeds the base year assessed value of such homestead for residents of that county.
Healthcare Infrastructure

Healthcare for Seniors

A number of services offered by Oconee Regional Medical Center (ORMC) are especially important to senior citizens. Among these are the many diagnostic services that are offered; Non-Emergency transportation, for those that need to reach doctor appointments; rehabilitation services (physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy) ; an accredited Sleep Evaluation Center; and an Emergency Treatment Center which gives access to care on a 24-hour basis. The Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Department helps those who have had a heart attack return to normal activity. The Cancer Treatment Center allows cancer patients to receive their treatments without leaving Milledgeville, since both radiation and chemotherapy treatments are available.

The hospital has an active diabetes support group and has recently begun a monthly series on various health related topics, which is called "To Your Health". There is also a large senior volunteer base at the hospital. These volunteers work in the gift shop, front desk, or other designated departments.

Are any of these facilities state or nationally recognized? If so, which facilities and what are their recognitions? In 2003, ORMC was named one of the top hospitals in the nation for pulmonary care. In addition, ORMC recently received five-star ratings for clinical excellence in the following categories:
· Respiratory Failure
· Partial Hip Replacement
· Sepsis (a potentially life-threatening type of inflammatory syndrome caused from an infection). These ratings were released by, HealthGrades, following a comprehensive study of in-hospital mortality (survival) data from 2003-2005.

There are 235 physicians per capita in Baldwin County, GA.

Milledgeville Housing

The Cottages at Woodland Terrace is a retirement community that offers 1 & 2 bedroom cottages. It is a gated community with most utilities, maintenance, and washer/dryer included. Tenants can order meals and pets are allowed. Dogwood Retirement and Pecan Hills are two other senior housing communities where rent is income-based.

There are many homes available in Baldwin County and around Lake Sinclair that would suit the 50+ market. The cost of these homes starts around $150K.

There are no resort-type developments, but there are many second home options targeted to this particular age market on Lake Sinclair. Quay Fuller of RE/MAX and Vincent Maiello of Caldwell Banker are the two SRES real estate agents in Baldwin County.