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My wife and I have heard many good things about St Simons Island and are taking a vacation there during the 1st week of Oct 15 to check it out as a retirement destination. My one concern is the flood insurance which can be prohibitive. If we decide we really like it we might rent 1st and then buy later. Any advice or recommended people to speak to would be greatly appreciated.
The island itself is picturesque and relatively easy to access from downtown Brunswick Georgia. It is expensive, hot and humid in the summer and hurricane prone. It has a small airport.
If you have the Bucks it wouldn't be bad to retire there. Jobs are scarce and relatively low paying. Georgia taxes aren't too bad either.
Actually, the hurricane risk is not that bad. When they come across the Atlantic, they tend to either keep going and slam southern FL and/or the Gulf beaches or make a hard right and hit the Carolinas.
There are no guarantees, of course. The greatest likelihood of hurricane landfall per mile of coastline (or likelihood your beach house would be hit) is in NC. FL gets the most total storms because they have about 5 times as much coastline as NC. GA gets almost none.
I have always wanted to go there for a vacation, not to live though. It's very expensive, isn't it?
I am in Saint Simon's every month or two.
Saint Simon's Island is a wonderful place but if you check Zillow prices did collapse in 2009 but it appears they have rebounded nicely.
It's starting once again to get a little pricey and it appears to have about doubled from four years ago so it was a good investment for those who purchased back then. I cry a little wishing I had bought there four years ago.
The good thing is there's not any "bad areas" on Saint Simon's... it's all good in my mind.
Jog222,
St. Simons is a nice island atmosphere, and the real estate has come back pretty fast. One thing to prepare yourself for is that you won't get much house for your money. All of the deals were snapped up by investors between 2010 and 2015. If you want to avoid flood insurance you need to look for something in the X flood zone, which won't require flood insurance. The traffic can also be bad during certain times of the day on your main thoroughfares ( Demere, Frederica, causeway, etc.). There are only a limited number of areas on the island that are in the X flood zone, around the East side of the airport and several areas off of Frederica Road.
A lot of pre-civil war history on this island. Plantations, old churches, cemeteries. I don't know how it is these days, I'm told some of it still exists. Lots of books, historical history. Always wanted to go see it since I've read many of the books. I know it's a lot different now.
Be sure to visit during the summer. That area gets hot and steamy. I hear that some like that, however.
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