St Marys (Savannah, Brunswick, St. Marys: low income, appointed, real estate)

[Alex]

Greetings all I am living with my new husband in Illinois and we wish to move (soon) to Saint Marys. Though we've yet to visit Georgia we are captured by what we've researched thus far. Does anyone live in or around Saint Marys? Tell me about the place and people, please.
Thank you.

[gypsygirl]

Hi Alex! I could have written this message myself - I'm so disappointed that you didn't receive any replies yet. I too am considering relocating to St Marys (from Idaho). I plan to visit next week - I hope I can think of all the right questions to ask and check out all the important issues on that visit - because if you and I are both thinking the same thing...it won't be long until those affordable home prices start creeping up faster!

[fast64]

st. marys is awesome. I love it there, I visit there to take the ferry to cumberland island to go camping.

[TheMcNasty]

I grew up in St. Marys. You didn't mention kids but if schools are an issue, they are excellent. The highschool is second to none for sports, vocational classes (I learned to weld and a lot of automotive stuff and drafting), and college prep line of study (I just graduated *** laude from Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech).

My parents say the housing prices are rising and quick so don't delay too much. My friend's parents are realtors, Pam and Scott Alexander (tell them Isaac sent you, probably won't get a discount but it will spark interesting conversation, I'm sure). I suggest downtown, there aren't really any "bad" areas at all, even if the government housing was a block away it wouldn't mean you need to worry about crime. The apartments however (like the pines) are normally horrible places because for drug related crime.

Seems right now people are buying up the old smaller homes, ripping them down and putting up larger ones. If you would like a golf course style community, Osprey if you can get in or Laurel Island (large homes at both). Any other neighborhood will have a range of home sizes, look at shadow lawn or point peter.

Downtown is beautiful and the small shops and eateries are great. Saint Marys is also a good place to base your boat for sailing the around the golden isles. Basically I would look at Saint Marys as a suburb of Jacksonville. You can also watch the TV show "My Name is Earl" and get that "hey, I live there" feeling. Though I must say none of the places depicted in that show even come close to representing anywhere in camden county.

Insider info:
The deep water access is all on the western side on the river, on the east side you'll only get marsh for a mile then the intercoastal.
You can boat to cumberland yourself and not wait/pay for the ferry, but you must anchor off shore (you were planning on swimming right?). Also, the horses that aren't scared of you should scare you.
Fernandina dredges shells up onto the beach to fight errosion. Ouch. But shark tooth hunting is easy as pie.
There is a giant bridge in Brunswick right at the entrance to the islands there. It is a nice detour that affords a view of the ocean if going down I-95 (look for an exit that says hwy 24/brunswick if going south or the brunswick/17 exit if going north and take that east and drive along the water) You will loop down to the water and back to the interstate up/down one exit from where you took the detour.
Seagul's bar is the after hours spot of choice for local politics, the younger crowd normally go to Jacksonville.
The cops are funded by drug busts and speeding tickets and actively seek funding from both at all times.

[Hyun-Soo]

ST. MARY'S IS SIMPLY EXTRAORDINARY. It's damn beautiful! Jekyll Island, Brunswick, and Savannah are conveniently at your fingertips.

The marshes, 1910 Mansions, oceanfront, beaches, and culture are just amazing there.

I have visited many times.

I love it.

The marine life is amazing with all of the crabs, fish, etc.!

[Kila14]

What about jobs in the area. I was also considering St. Marys and tring to get information on housing. I dont have kids so schools arent an issue. Thanks for any information. What you provided was great. thanks.

[JBrown]

I just came back from down there..... not much of a job market... expect to have to commute to Brunswick or Jacksonville

[pickleswanson]

Sorry it took so long to find your thread and honestly I'm surprised to see that so many are finding GA's secret already. You have diffenately found an up and coming place to call home. The big rush hasn't hit yet but with many moving up from FL and this area is the talk of the town here in LA and Beverly Hills. A couple of stars like Sandra Bullock have already built in the area and you can expect many more mansions to be built here soon. A huge development has been in progress there for about 10 years now that consisted about 3600 acres on 6 different mini islands that are simi connected making it really only island. The super exclusive resort golf community had prices of nearly a million an acre back in 1998. I can't remember the name right now but I'll be going back to Beverly Hills in about 6 weeks. One of the shops there on Rodeo have it posted and if I remember I send it on to you guys. Just a personal suggestion from buying, selling, trading and developing real estate myself; cross 95 and buy as much as you can while prices are still starting at 2000 an acre and sometimes lower for large tracts. You will have to hold on to it for about 15 years but timber grows fast. You can harvest and sell out all about the same time like you never paid a dime and only got filthy stinking rich; well for the area anyway. I was always able to triple or quadruple my money doing this all across SoGA.

[ellie]

This is a personal bias, and one that may only be shared by locals who have nothing to gain from increased development. People are doing a disservice to any beautiful undeveloped area by recommending it to others on this site. That's the quickest way to destroy it.

Now this is entirely my personal opinion, and I'd say the same thing to someone who wanted to move to Montana or Idaho. It's close to unethical to assume that you have the right, just because it's a free country, that you can come in and plop down your McMansion in an otherwise pastoral landscape at the expense of other's traditional quality of life.

Now I know some people are trying to show off their love of nature and inside knowledge of great places, but it is also highly irresponsible.

And those of you who claim "well everybody's doing it," obviously didn't listen to your mothers back in grade school.

You might as well take a gun and a bulldozer and get to work.

That's my piece for the day. Love you all.

[INTERNETTE]

where oh where is there left live where simplicity and beauty remain?
Ellie well said. I am from Naples, what was once called Paradise. Once it was quiet and peaceful, never a fear or a need to lock your doors. Now the town has been overrun and the so called "Investors" have torn up ever spare piece of woods, the home of the native animals etc, they over built and bulldozed and made their fortune, now we have homes everywhere, traffic we cant keep up with. Forget new roads, isnt any place to put new ones, they simply keep digging up the same roads over and over and widen them two, three times in last 5 years. Everything I loved is gone, and the investors have moved onto other beautiful areas to destroy and rape and pillage again. There isnt a glimmer of the beauty there once was for everyone, Now unless your living in your super mansion and afforded a view and the beauty of greenery and paradise, it doesnt exist for everyone. The super rich dont do anything for themselves so this creates tons of service jobs, bringing in tons of low income people requiring housing that is virtually impossible to find. This creates hovels out of old neighborhoods and places that now look like it should be condemned. The middle class dont stand much of a chance, but then we dont seem to matter, we just pay out on taxes and struggle to find the small town friendliness we loved and now miss so dearly.
I been reading about areas of Georgia like St. Mary, Brunswick, etc hoping to find the place where you can wave to your neighbors and take a cake to someone just because you were thinking of them. The kind of place you can take the personal pleasure of a sunday on the porch just relaxing and being grateful for the beauty around you and living as if you value your home and land and work hard to keep it a place of pride and appreciation. Now I worry Georgia is next on the list of the Super destroyers of small town beauty and a simple way of life. It makes my heart hurt thinking what could happen in a few short years to this area as well.