What is Savannah really like? (crime, neighborhood, public schools)

[ctrumbo80]

I am a 28 year-old educated, African American woman who is considering moving to Savannah, GA. I am a special education teacher in KY and am simply ready for something different in my life. I am single with no children so it would be easy for me to pick up everything and just go.

I have family members who live in Savannah so I have visited a few times and very much enjoyed it. I had pretty much made up my mind that I was going to move there, but as I have done more research about Savannah on the Internet- I am having second thoughts. The things about Savannah that have me a little uneasy are the crime and the school systems. I have asked my family about these things, but they keep telling me it's not as bad as it seems. I feel their point of view is biased because they just want me to move down there.

I wish that someone could give me some honest insight about the crime and teaching in Savannah schools. Would it be difficult for me to get a job there? Any comments would be helpful

[Padgett2]

So much will depend on where you live and which schools you are assigned to. There are sections of town that have big problems with the criminal mind-set type and sections of town where there is no problem at all. Ask your family about the crime situation in THEIR neighborhood. And then ask them if they would move to another if they could.


The next time you visit, check with the BOE and see where the Special Ed. classes are. Not all schools have them. You may find exactly what you are looking for.

Good Luck!

[ellie]

I have a friend who teaches special ed in public schools here. She teaches in one of the inner city schools and has for a number of years. She loves her kids and seems to committed to her career.

To hear her talk about it, the worst of her problems come from having to make sure her kids pass all of those standardized tests the government requires. She's never mentioned danger or being unhappy teaching.

[bboy200]

well what your family tells you may be true, the crime is not bad at all, Im a single father of a 8 year old girl and the school system down here is great, they separated the bad apples from the good ones. what im saying this is a place for you to really grow in

[dusti]

As long as you stay away from where the majority of where the crime happens (and you'll quickly learn!) you'll be fine!

As far as teaching in the Chatham County school system....it could be challenging. I have a very good friend who is a counselor in the system and is very involved and knows a lot about how it works. I'd be more than happy to message you her name and email if you are still interested in getting a job here. She can be very candid about the school system.

[phantoms]

You've heard the saying "it's not the heat, it's the humidity", well in Savannah it's both. I think the hardest part people moving to Savannah have is dealing with the hot-humid summers. Crime is not bad and most areas of Savannah are as good or better than other similar sized cities in the south. Education is as good as many other as well. Sure there are bad areas of town, but it's the same in any similar sized city and even our bad areas don't seem as bad as other cities bad areas.