MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Susan Kell first came to Milledgeville as a student at Georgia College and State University in the 80s. She says once she graduated, she decided to move here for good.
"The downtown area has really changed a lot. It's a great college town. The kids -- it's got everything here for them," Kell said.
Kell lives on Lake Sinclair, and she says she loves it. But Georgia College and Lake Sinclair are just two of the things Budget Travel says makes Milledgeville 'cool.'
The website put out a list last month of the 10 coolest small towns in America. Milledgeville comes in fifth.
Budget Travel says another attraction is the downtown area, which Milledgeville native Willie Lamar says has grown over the last decade.
"You've got the college, and it's grown over the years, businesses, you've got a lot of businesses that come and grow," Lamar said.
Hancock Street is lined with a number of restaurants, like The Brick, and clothing boutiques. Lamar says he especially loves the food options.
"You've got Buffington's, that's across the street, you got all this downtown, it pulls people here," he said.
One of the popular places to eat is Local Yolkal Cafe, where you can find Kelsey Wright, a Georgia College student who loves the history of Milledgeville.
"It's a unique area. There's so much history here with it being Georgia's old capital," Wright said.
Besides the Old Governor's Mansion, which is a popular tourist attraction, there's also the Lockerly Arboretum, which is Wright's favorite.
"It's an old house, and this beautiful greenhouse, and they have a bunch of nature trails to walk down, and it's actually free to go and walk around the trails and just look at the plants," she said.
Whether you're just a tourist for a day or decide to live here for college and possibly beyond that, the consensus is Milledgeville is a cool town.
Some small towns ranked higher than Milledgeville, according to Budget Travel, are Provincetown, Massachusetts and Pacific Grove, California. To see the full list, click here.
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