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Hi,
My family and I are looking to relocate South sometime in the next year. My dh is a teacher unable to get a full-time job here in PA; I work in the legal field and have made some positive connections in both cities.
What are the pros and cons of both cities? We have two kids so we'd want to have decent schools where we live. I would love to work downton, but we're pretty suburban so we'd live outside of the city (where I assume the schools are better). DO both cities need male elementary school teachers?
What does everyone like/dislike about the two areas? What are the similarities/big differences? We love the idea of smaller, coastal cities not too far from the shore. Feel free to give the good, bad, and ugly of both.
Both cities do need male teachers. I don't know much about the schools in Savannah but am sure that they have some good ones. There are a lot of good schools in Charleston very close to downtown.
There are some similarities between the two cities. They've both done a nice job of preserving the "southern charm." I enjoy both cities. I find that Charleston has more to offer. I think there's more in terms of restaurants and things to do etc.. I guess the choice really depends on what you like. I will admit to being somewhat biased towards Charleston, although I do like Savannah.
I don't have too much time to answer this question in detail, but I'll start off by saying this: Charleston is quite a bit bigger than Savannah, and it is looking to become significantly larger in the next 5-10 years. While Savannah is a growing city, there is a stronger draw to Chas. I'll talk more about this later. Got to go!
Thanks for your input! Love to hear more details. We're heading down that way in the fall and would like to check both areas out. Is that a do-able drive for an afternoon? We'll have our kids with us, so if anyone has any suggestions about what to see in the area I'd love to hear it.
Both are great cities, andas the person stated in the Georgia thread, there kind of like cousins, both are growing at the same pace really, I know both cities pretty well, and they both are in the same position as far as education. Savannah however is a more beautiful city, many neighborhoods in Charleston and Savannah are seeing urban decay, but I do believe Savannah is handling the situation better. This is a really hard choci to choos from, but I would have to go with Savannah over Charleston, and im not leaning toward Savannah because its in Georgia, right along with Macon. But the economy in Savannah is much larger, and I do believe Savannah has more oppurtunity. I wont be suprised to see both citiy limits become closer. Cities between the two are growing rapidly, cities like Hardeville, Hilton Head, and Port Wentworth.
Both are great cities, andas the person stated in the Georgia thread, there kind of like cousins, both are growing at the same pace really, I know both cities pretty well, and they both are in the same position as far as education. Savannah however is a more beautiful city, many neighborhoods in Charleston and Savannah are seeing urban decay, but I do believe Savannah is handling the situation better. This is a really hard choci to choos from, but I would have to go with Savannah over Charleston, and im not leaning toward Savannah because its in Georgia, right along with Macon. But the economy in Savannah is much larger, and I do believe Savannah has more oppurtunity. I wont be suprised to see both citiy limits become closer. Cities between the two are growing rapidly, cities like Hardeville, Hilton Head, and Port Wentworth.
Which city is more beautiful is a matter of opinion, but just about everything else you said is unsubstantiated, especially Savannah's economy being "much larger." In 2005 (the latest figures I could find), Charleston's gross metropolitan product (GMP) was $20.6 billion, whereas Savannah's was $13.02 billion (source). Also, Charleston outranked Savannah in Forbes latest "Best Places for Businesses and Careers" list and income growth (http://www.bizjournals.com/specials/pages/92.html - broken link) is much stronger in Charleston than it is in Savannah. To its credit, Savannah's economy appears to be growing faster than Charleston's, partly because Savannah's metro area is smaller than Charleston's.
As others have said, there are many similarities in the 2 cities and both have their own special qualities. I think you will find more suitable public schools in Charleston than in Savannah as all the people that I know in Savannah have their children in private/parochial schools. In Charleston, there are wonderful public schools on James Island and in Mt. Pleasant, as well as some in West Ashley.
I think that the Chareston area is a bit more family-oriented (especially James Island and Mt. Pleasant) than Savannah as we have many parks and recreation centers, many soccer and tennis clubs, Charleston Children's Museum, one of the country's largest aqauriums, the I-Max, 3 waterparks, family beaches w/water sport rentals, Frankie's Fun Park, Pirate's Cove, and many museums and plantations and farms to visit.
The historical downtown section of both cities is equally charming and interesting with the same types of restaurants, carriage rides, gift shops, house tours, etc. But there are many more family-oriented residential areas to live in here in Charleston.
You can definitely visit both cities in one trip. You really need at least 3 days to do Charleston justice, but can really get the feel for Savannah in a day or two. The 2 cities are 1 1/2 - 2 hours apart depending on the route you take, the traffic, and your speed.
Oh, and Savannah is known for its wild St. Patrick's Day street party which many Charlestonians drive/take their boats down to.....some years ago, Charleston quit having ours to maintain our family image. (That might give you some idea as to the difference in the two).
Thank you so much for all the details. Charleston sounds wonderful and I'm really excited to see it in real life. Now, if everything else falls into place (i.e. solid job offers for both my husband and me, our house here selling in a matter of minutes to the perfect buyer, wonderful, caring movers who will move our stuff for a very small charge , we'll be just where I want us to be!
I've checked out the schools report cards online, and it looks like there are some schools in Berkely County that have similar scores to my kids' schools here. Anyone have any firsthand knowledge about the schools over there? Also, I've learned from the boards that N Charleston is to be avoided and I will certainly take that into account.
Again, you've all been so informative and I really appreciate it.
You're welcome and good luck! (Sorry, but even though I'm a teacher, I'm not familiar with Berkley County schools. I'll let someone else address that one).
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