Potential move to Savannah GA (Pooler, Guyton: schools, living, beach)

[iruvrice11]

Originally Posted by ellie

The weather is about the same as Arkansas except hotter and more humid for much longer and less cold in the winter.

Hotter and humid, eh? That's fine with me. I grew up in a country(Philippines) where hot and humid is the norm. How about the traffic? I heard about the new outlet. And the drivers? Drivers here in Arkansas are bad. And you know it's really bad when an Asian made a comment about their driving skills.

[ajc100890]

Originally Posted by iruvrice11

Hotter and humid, eh? That's fine with me. I grew up in a country(Philippines) where hot and humid is the norm. How about the traffic? I heard about the new outlet. And the drivers? Drivers here in Arkansas are bad. And you know it's really bad when an Asian made a comment about their driving skills.

It depends on what your perception of "bad" is. I drive mostly in Atlanta, and I have driven quite a bit in Dallas, South Florida, and LA for work. As such, I think Savannah traffic is a piece of cake. But, people who live in Savannah permanently think it's bad.

I will say Savannah traffic is heavier now than it was when I moved away in 2009.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by iruvrice11

Hotter and humid, eh? That's fine with me. I grew up in a country(Philippines) where hot and humid is the norm. How about the traffic? I heard about the new outlet. And the drivers? Drivers here in Arkansas are bad. And you know it's really bad when an Asian made a comment about their driving skills.

The problem with savannah traffic is not the drivers, but the road network. There are very limited ways to get from one side or end of town to the other, N-S and E-W. A lot of that has to do with geography (lots of water and swampy / marshy areas) but roads that haven't kept up with population growth are just as much to blame.

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by iruvrice11

Hotter and humid, eh? That's fine with me. I grew up in a country(Philippines) where hot and humid is the norm. How about the traffic? I heard about the new outlet. And the drivers? Drivers here in Arkansas are bad. And you know it's really bad when an Asian made a comment about their driving skills.

The traffic bottlenecks only happen in a few places in Savannah. It would be a grind to encounter them on a daily commute, but once in awhile is no big deal. Now that Pooler has almost everything anyone would need on a day to day basis, we can avoid the trouble spots in Savannah most of the time.

[iruvrice11]

Originally Posted by ajc100890

It depends on what your perception of "bad" is. I drive mostly in Atlanta, and I have driven quite a bit in Dallas, South Florida, and LA for work. As such, I think Savannah traffic is a piece of cake. But, people who live in Savannah permanently think it's bad.

I will say Savannah traffic is heavier now than it was when I moved away in 2009.

I've been to Savannah once. I think it was around 2008-09.

[iruvrice11]

Thank you all so much for your input. I appreciate it a lot. Pooler seems like a nice area to live. Still open for any suggestions and input.

[ellie]

Originally Posted by iruvrice11

Thank you all so much for your input. I appreciate it a lot. Pooler seems like a nice area to live. Still open for any suggestions and input.

I encourage you to explore as much of Savannah as you can. Pooler is a new and expanding suburb that has little or no character.

Check out areas like Ardsley Park, Whitemarsh and nearby islands, isle of Hope, Kensington, Habersham Woods, Magnolia Park, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island, Coffee Bluff, the Southside and downtown Savannah itself before settling on Pooler. I don't reccommend Georgetown,or anything out Abercorn extension due to the hours of gridlock from poor road design and years of road construction ahead for those unfortunate residents.

You may not want to live in all of those areas, but you owe it to yourself to make an informed decision on where you might choose to live and what various neighborhoods have to offer.

I'm youngish/middle aged and a long time resident and native of the city. Most of my friends live in these areas. Pooler was developed to house white-flighters and new employees of Gulfstream. It is not the only viable option in the area.

[iruvrice11]

Originally Posted by ellie

I encourage you to explore as much of Savannah as you can. Pooler is a new and expanding suburb that has little or no character.

Check out areas like Ardsley Park, Whitemarsh and nearby islands, isle of Hope, Kensington, Habersham Woods, Magnolia Park, Thunderbolt, Tybee Island, Coffee Bluff, the Southside and downtown Savannah itself before settling on Pooler. I don't reccommend Georgetown,or anything out Abercorn extension due to the hours of gridlock from poor road design and years of road construction ahead for those unfortunate residents.

You may not want to live in all of those areas, but you owe it to yourself to make an informed decision on where you might choose to live and what various neighborhoods have to offer.

I'm youngish/middle aged and a long time resident and native of the city. Most of my friends live in these areas. Pooler was developed to house white-flighters and new employees of Gulfstream. It is not the only viable option in the area.

Thank you! I will definitely do some research. Although we still have a few months in Arkansas, those few months will creep up on us. We have 2 60-pound dogs that loves big yards so Downtown is out of the question.

This may sound stupid but, what do you mean by white-flighters? Never heard of that term before.

[ellie]

Essentially it's when white folks move to the burbs to escape the black folks and other minorities who "made" their old neighborhoods and schools less desirable. It's as much a socioeconomic migration as it is racial, particularly in the south.

If you're Asian you'll be okay, since you'll be lumped in with the "smart" folks.

Others will tell you that there are plenty of black families living in Pooler. That's probably true, but just watch what happens if too many of the wrong kind of child starts hanging around private community basketball courts. All of a sudden the courts will be removed.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_flight

[iruvrice11]

Oh, okay. Thanks for explaining that to me. This is the first time I've heard of the term. Even my husband have never heard of it.