Looking to Relo to GA, but hate snakes! (Atlanta, Savannah: for rent, low crime)

[MovingSouthGal]

We're from PA and other than in captivity, have seen a snake only once (in a creek). I would like to know where in GA snakes are seen and where they are not seen. Hopefully we won't have to go to an inland area like Marietta Smyrna, Decatur, Peachtree City, etc. to avoid them. (As though we could really afford any of THOSE areas. LOL) We need to get away from the cold winters and into a "Mayberry" town, not far from the ocean. Hopefully someone can help me find an area. We need low crime, low cost of living and we prefer a little acreage for growing our own produce as well as open zoning for renting our apts/rooms and an on-site business of some kind. We are a family of 3 partially disabled adults, age 56, 56 and 77. To help us along in life, we will be starting a boardinghouse with 2-4+ tenants. It need not be the traditional victorian style home. It can't be in the middle of nowhere -- we need at least a pharmacy, full sized grocery store and a good hospital within 15 minutes driving. Last but not least, the people have to be very friendly and the drivers basically polite and law-abiding.

To help any kind poster who will answer, I'll recap the issues here:

snakes
low crime
low cost of living
convenient to pharmacy, grocery store and hospital
1-2+ acres
open zoning
beach town or close to one
friendly, law-abiding people

Thank you

[TakeAhike]

Originally Posted by MovingSouthGal

We're from PA and other than in captivity, have seen a snake only once (in a creek). I would like to know where in GA snakes are seen and where they are not seen. Hopefully we won't have to go to an inland area like Marietta Smyrna, Decatur, Peachtree City, etc. to avoid them. (As though we could really afford any of THOSE areas. LOL) We need to get away from the cold winters and into a "Mayberry" town, not far from the ocean. Hopefully someone can help me find an area. We need low crime, low cost of living and we prefer a little acreage for growing our own produce as well as open zoning for renting our apts/rooms and an on-site business of some kind.
To help any kind poster who will answer, I'll recap the issues here:

snakes
low crime
low cost of living
convenient to pharmacy, grocery store and hospital
1-2+ acres
open zoning
beach town or close to one
friendly, law-abiding people

Thank you

Madison, GA would be an option--it is not close to the beach but there is a lake in the area.

Pooler and Richmond Hill, Rincon are close to Savannah and the beach.

As for snakes, there are snakes in GA and they live near water. Those that have dealt with this can respond more specifically. It doesn't seem to be a huge problem.

[atlantagreg30127]

Snakes aren't THAT bad here. There aren't too many poisonous ones. From time to time you might have one that waits for you at the door, but they just want a treat - toss them a hamster or something and they're happy...




Low crime and cost of living knock metro Atlanta out of the ballpark. Savannah is cheaper, but not low crime. Brunswick and St Marys might be options to look into. Beaufort, SC is just outside the GA line into SC, but it's a nice town. Low crime though I'm not sure how "affordable" it is by your definition. It's in-between Savannah and Charleston SC though so you'll have tons of places to go on weekends to sight see, etc.

[johnatl]

^I would absolutely need therapy if I ever saw that at MY front door. Yikes!

[juliehaley]

It has everything you mentioned except the beach - but we have a 56,000 acre, 135 foot deep, pristine, man-made lake to supplement.

The crime rate is low - because everyone knows everyone!
The cost of living is low.
CVS Pharmacy takes up an entire city block downtown.
The new Super Ingles, is about 1/4 mile from the new Home Depot, right downtown. Plus, there are another 3 or 4 grocery stores, and of course the obligatory WalMart SuperCenter with a grocery section.
The hospital is less than 1 mile from downtown.
Drivers are almost TOO polite and law abiding . . . you should see the text book spacing betweeen cars; and our record seat belt useage is 99% with a 97% all-time low!
I even know the perfect house for you to run as a B&B in town - you could walk to everything you want; just put the car in the garage!

All that being said, you will from time to time see a snake at the lake; I have not seen a bunch of them, but definitely 3 or 4 over the past 20 years of hanging around Lake Hartwell. I dare say ANYWHERE close to water that isn't in freezing weather is going to have a snake or two in the shrubbery. Not a lot we can do about that. Even Georgia's ocean front locations will have a snake or two (plus a few alligators, sharks, sting-rays, etc)!

[keeshonder]

Try Oglethorpe County or Oconee County. Close to shopping and night life but certainly better crime rates. Not close to the ocean beach but there are lakes near by. However, be advised, almost anywhere in Georgia (and almost anywhere) where you have a little acreage you run the chance of running into snakes, but, they will be generally garden variety. It has been years since I have seen any poisonous snake in Georgia, and that was in the swamps around Albany. I have about 3/4 acre surrounded by a lot of trees and open space, seen plenty of deer, squirrel, fox, etc, but no snakes in the almost 2 years I have been here at this house.

[mccarley]

You are much more likely to get bitten by a dog than a snake. If you leave the snakes alone, they will leave you alone. Your neighbors pit bull is another subject.

[Ollie1946]

my neighbor had a copperhead in his bathroom a year or so back. i just saw, almost stepped on a small black snake yesterday in my yard and had a corn snake crawling up the brick work of my house looking in my window. in south georgia they have rattlesnake roundups and festivals. if you are around sluggish creeks and streams, ponds you will come across Moccasins and water snakes. the point is not to freak you out, but to let you know that if you have a phobia about snakes, then you need to move further north. you want to have a large garden, well the snakes will be there too.

but, in real terms, you are more likely to be struck by lightning, killed by a drunk driver or bored to death in our slow moving southern towns and villes.

oh, then there are the fire ants. hopefully, none of you will be allergic to those bites and it isn't just a single bite, they swarm onto you and seem to bite at once. i had a friend who almost did die from those and he was over 230 pounds worth of man.

moccasins and rattlesnakes can really hurt you. you do need to be careful when you go outside but no matter what, when you are in nature, you are in the food chain. just be careful. watch where you put your foot and hands. survey the area.

[MovingSouthGal]

TakeA....I noted the towns you gave. I will research them. Thanks.

[MovingSouthGal]

Atlanta.... I cracked up when I saw the pic --- good example of what I want to avoid...hope I can learn to instantly know what kind of snake I'm dealing with -- at least if I can avoid the dangerous ones.... Usually I don't have any kind of meat product on me, let alone a hamster.