SE Georgia or north of Jacksonville, FL- good place to live? (Atlanta: real estate, rent)

[mytimenow]

My "family caretaker duties" are almost at an end and am trying to plan a future to please myself, my cat and my dog . My new 5 yr. plan includes a relocation from SW Florida. (No, I don't hate Naples, just like the Atlantic Ocean better) Looking for east coast community, housing not too expensive, not more than 20-30 minutes from ocean. Mid-fifties professional, will still need employment. I am single, female, college educated, adaptable and not readily bored. Like small town life with cultural pursuits (arts, music, museums) nearby, catholic community important to me. Any suggestions?

[GaBoy-n-Iraq]

[SIZE=4]Savannah, Ga [/SIZE]

[irishvanguard]

"Small town life"----population under 50,000----would include Brunswick and Kingsland/St. Mary's area in SE Georgia. Perhaps Waycross also. All of these would have some cultural activities, but not as many activities as larger Savannah.

[mytimenow]

Thanks for the input.

Been to Savannah, nice to visit, but would still like smaller community to live in. How about a suburb of Savannah? I would guess employment options would be greater there...Any recommendations? I have visited the St. Mary's area, which I loved, haven't been to Brunswick yet, how are the job markets there? Is it just hospitality/medical?

[pinkmartini]

Brunswick has quite a Catholic community - Catholic school and 2 churches (one on the mainland and one on St. Simons).

Regarding the job market, what field are you looking for?

[Padgett2]

Both Tybee (on the ocean) and Thunderbolt (on the Intercoastal Waterway) are in the Savannah metropolitan area and are small towns with large catholic population. Their own mayors, police departments, everything! Both have their own catholic church and you would be only a few minutes away from Savannah and it's employment and other opportunities. Tybee even has it's own parochial school.

As far as jobs, well, you know how it works.....it depends on what you do. Savannah would probably have more available than the smaller areas.

Good luck on what ever you decide. It's hard to make a big change like that, isn't it!!!

[equestrian_mom]

Savannah! :d

[bgnzsavnh]

Originally Posted by mytimenow

Thanks for the input.

Been to Savannah, nice to visit, but would still like smaller community to live in. How about a suburb of Savannah? I would guess employment options would be greater there...Any recommendations?

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[bleighorr]

haha you'll have to live near Atlanta to get a decent job, not here unless you have a government job. Here's my take on Southeast GA. I relocated here last August and I'm dying here. Moved from Raleigh, NC, to GA.

I'm living in Camden County near FL border, where a great job is $12.00 an hour but the cost of living is crazy high here. In Atlanta, the commute to great jobs is a total nightmare from what i've heard but at least you can probably do decently.

It is truly a life's quest to find a great job, a nice area, and affordable daycare as you age. What is acceptable at 25 is not acceptable at 35, so be careful where you plant roots....(ie. buy a house, have kids). It's hard to sell homes now, start over again, and find great daycares.

But i will say THIS about where I am now (35 miles outside of Jacksonville, FL): The commute to a real job in Jacksonville is HELL (2 lanes on I 95 into Jacksonville, road construction won't be complete for another 10 years....), the crime rate is shocking in Jacksonville, at least one murder every day, sometimes four or five, which pushes people out to Camden County, GA.

Great school systems here in SE Georgia, homes in $200K+ range are about 1,600-1,700 sq ft. 1/4 acre. IF you can take the commute to Jacksonville to make the money to pay for one of these homes, or IF you are retired military, get a decent pension, and work another job....then you can make it in Southeast GA. This is NOT a place for singles and is an absolute NIGHTMARE for single parents and people without support systems. the daycare situation here is the worst i've ever seen. I don't even think anyone regulates anything down here.

I work for a domestic violence shelter here and work closely with single parents every day. I also work with the social services system here, and they are an absolute nightmare. This is a totally political town, small town USA, who you know, not what you know. I have several friends with master's degrees who are making $12.00 an hour here.

There is also nOthing in the budget here for subsidized homes, subsidized daycare is a joke. The healthcare seriously lacking here (everyone is sent down to Jacksonville for healthcare if it's more than an ear infection). I would never have a baby in a hospital here, nor would i ever have any type of surgery here. I would also never live in Jacksonville unless I was filthy rich and could afford one of the $600K homes that would place you in a "better" neighborhood.

Downtown Jacksonville is very pretty, but that's where it ends. Orange Park, FL, a suburb of Jacksonville, is an overcrowded mess, and it can take you an hour to travel 9 stoplights on the main drag on a Saturday. The yards are about .152 of an acre, and the school systems suck. That's why little places like Camden County are growing, b/c people want out of the metro Jacksonville area with the overpriced real estate, high property taxes, and expensive cost of living.

Racial climate is ok b/c this is a military town (nuclear sub base here and people who are stationed in Mayport, Jax, FL live here), so there are no racial tensions. My kids are multiracial and they have not had any problems....although there are rednecks who live here, they keep it pretty much to themselves because without the military, this town would go to hell.

The high school is big 5AAAAA, close to 4,000 students here, and the main focus is football, although academically and behaviorally, it is decent. They allow a lot of Christian activities (Athletes in Action, etc.), which is something I believe benefits the kids. There have been 2 bomb threats (someone calling into the school and saying: ihave a bomb) and a few fights, but nothing like you'd see in a school in Jacksonville, where SWAT teams are regulars on high school campuses.

In order to really shop, you have to go to Brunswick (Glynn County) or Jacksonville. The hot spot hangout is the Super WalMart here. Brunswick is another smaller town about 45 minutes down from Savannah and before you hit where i'm at, but i hear the school systems there totally suck. I would never live there....lots of drugs, etc., and it's building up and looking very "strippy" with all the businesses sprouting up on every square inch of lot off exits 36 and 38.

If you're 50+, good luck on the social scene here. it's a joke. And if you have any healthcare problems, you do not need to live here....if you're diagnosed with cancer, experience a trauma, need surgery.... they'll just send you to Jacksonville for every treatment. If you're very financially secure, may I suggest Fernadina Beach, FL (part of Amelia Island), which is about 20 minutes from Georgia and is just over the border of FL. The job market pretty much sucks there too, but it's a very pretty town that is more developed than St. Mary's, has major stores, but is pretty, has a little better hospital than Kingsland, etc. You could always get a part time job on Amelia Island, which is one of the top resorts in the country. I interviewed there....but didn't want the commute from Kingsland. If you get a job there, they let you rent hotel room at the resort for really cheap and give you free golf, etc. May be perfect for where you're at in life.

Just to give you a preview of life in Southeast Ga: Go across the FLA border to Fernadina Beach, FL. The only thing i'll miss when i leave here (and i'm trying to get a job back in Raleigh or Charleston, SC) is the school system. That's IT.

Hope this helps you as far as information in the Southeast GA area. And i'm 44 by the way.....

[mytimenow]

Wow, lots of information in such a small space! Lots more investigation to do, so I guess I'll be taking a few extended "mini-vacations" in the next year or so, so I can check out Tybee and Thunderbolt. The comments about healthcare, not a concern yet, have me thinking too.

RE: Job Market question -- I'm pretty flexible, most experienced in environmental regulation/compliance (federal & military), real property law, competitor intelligence/market intelligence. I've already done the mover and shaker thing, don't need to repeat that. Just trying to see what the options are and would I need to do any retraining to find a spot?

RE: Salary requirements -- I think this issue comes into play anytime you live in a prized locale. Originally from Cape Cod -- now, if you want to talk about highly educated people working for peanuts.. Just looking for fair compensation and decent benefits. Here in SW FL you have to work for a national corporation to get the best benefits selections. How is it in SE GA?

I'm mostly concerned about being 50+ and able to find stable employment with reasonable benefits and adequate compensation. I know when I moved to SW FL I was already 40+ and I heard the same comments about wages, jobs and housing costs. Luckily, I purchased a modest home before costs went insane here, and work for an employer with fair wages, good benefits. (problem is, in the real estate arena....very unstable at this time in this market and would like to be prepared to make a move asap if I need to)

I have been fortunate to create a stable support network here, have some wonderful neighbors (and some awful, too, like anywhere) and made some wonderful friends, and would hope to be able to do the same in a new community. How are social opportunities in Brunswick, St. Marys, Savannah areas? I'm the type of person who says hello to people I pass on the sidewalk. (Sometimes I regret that I do that .... but not often!) Church, shared interests and hobbies have always made up my social life. Not a night life person, or shopper so anyplace that has safe parks, beaches nearby, safe places to walk with a camera and a dog are best for me.