Is Savannah Really that Bad? (Atlanta, Kennesaw: crime rates, house, job market)

[INeedAChange]

Yes, there seem to be a lot of extremely negative posts on City Data, no matter where it is--Just look at the Florida forums.

Unless of course it's North Carolina, because everyone knows that's the promised land

Originally Posted by ellie

You know I'm not sure what's up with the extremely negative posts about Savannah. I imagine it's a way for unhappy people to get attention. .

[Marathon07]

Savannah is a great city; great city to walk and enjoy the River with Cargo Ships. Daytime downtown is no problem whatsoever; nightime is getting better due to increased Police presence. It really depends on what amenities you're looking for; maybe Atlanta could be a better choice.
Marathon07

[mollyjoy]

Originally Posted by laurenlolasmom32

My husband and I are in the process of relocating to Savannah from Webster Groves Missouri, a subburb of St. Louis and I am having some difficulty getting accurate info. I recently requested an apartment guide and upon reviewing it, we liked 2 apartments, Georgetown Grove and the Oaks at Wilmington Island. However, I read some pretty bad reviews about Georgetown and now I'm a little frustrated. We are trying to find a place to rent for a year so I can get familiar with the area and then we will buy something. We would like to live in a community similar to where we live now. We own a home in a beautiful subburb on St. Louis, they call it "The Queen of the Subburbs", it's not new money, all homes are 100+ years old, kids are riding their bikes down the street at any given time of day, we have block parties and it's just a wonderful community. The area is 93% white (i'm not racist, just giving the stats), over 90% of the people that live here hold a degree. To sum it up, we live in a white collar community where most husbands work as either a DR. or Lawyer or a executive level in large corporation, most moms drive their Volvo or Mercedes station wagon and have nannies, infact I am the only girl on our street that does not have a live in nanny! (I was a nanny in college and I can't justify paying for help while I can stay at home w/ our girls). Please advise, we have to move in August and due to the sale of our house, my husband's travels Mon-Fri, I just don't know if I can fit in a trip down to view some places, therefore I think we will have to rent something via internet and/or by mail. Where does one go to get the equilivant of our current situation.:

I don't live in savannah but I have visited and I desperatly want to move there. It seems to me that the kind of place you are thinking of will be more on the outskirts. I don't mean in the middle of nowhere but maybe in brunswick. From what I have heard about georgetown it's not georgetown it's parts of georgetown that are dangerous... but I wish you good luck and if you need a room mate... look me up... LOL

[janimarie]

On Georgetown: I have lived in Georgetown for close to three years now. The housing ranges from $450 Loft Apartments to $350,000+ homes. Totally mixed as far as race, very diverse. Residents from all over the country as well as locals. The only crime I have heard of is typically in the area of the two main crossroads, Abercorn (SR 204) and King George Blvd. There are a couple of gas stations there, both have been robbed at gunpoint repeatedly in the last 6 months. There is a Dollar General there too that has been robbed twice (once at 5pm!) about a week apart maybe a month or so ago. They actually closed for awhile because of it. Once you get into the subdivisions they are pretty nice, just the typical groups of teenagers that may walk the streets late now that school is out. I totally agree with the person on the work commute. I find it worse coming home, traffic backs up for 2 miles.

On crime: I am originally from a very nice, white collar Chicago suburb, worst crime was someone shoplifting at the mall and they were usually from another city. On the other hand, here my husband and I were chased for 6 blocks in downtown Savannah late one night when walking back to our car (parked off one of the squares). Scared us to death, even though it was a 'nice' area, it was very poorly lit. We still go downtown but usually only during the day, or if at night are very careful where we park. The same as if we were to go downtown Chicago. My husband is from here, he will be the first one to tell you to be careful when you go out.

On schools: My husband would also tell you, do NOT put your kids in public schools here. We came close to having our granddaughter llive with us and the first thing he worried about was the school system. We would either have to move to Effingham County or she would go to private schools.

I would not move here without a job lined up, even if you just take something temporary. I work in Human Resources at a large, prominent area company and I can tell you we see hundreds of resumes for every one person hired. And it is a hospitality-based company.

We both love Savannah because of her character and her history. I love driving through the marshes and the oak-lined streets on my way to work. There is a lot to love here, you just have to take the bad with the good.

And I will repeat what someone else mentioned....do NOT say "this is how we did it......."

[DeLaSalle]

Originally Posted by blueoktober

Hi all....


Not wanting to stir things up again, but I wanted to comment on my experiences in Savannah.

In February of 2006 a group of friends and myself went on a mini vacation there. We walked out late at night with no issues, and would have never thought there was a crime problem there. People were the most friendly I had EVER met in my life, and the city is arguably the prettiest in the entire USA.

At the time I was living in Orlando and as I am sure you've heard, Orlando is having some serious issues. So I decided to do some research and move to Savannah. We started going up to Savannah every single weekend to look at the beatiful houses for sale. We quickly learned that anything in the Historic District or Victorian District was way out of price range. Houses were selling for 500k and above, and while beautiful I just couldnt do it. So we started looking in Ardsley Park. Anyone driving through Ardsley park would have to concur that it is absolutely amazing. Just breathtakingly beautiful for a city neighborhood. So we started doing research there. And that's where the crime came in. We witnessed first hand some events that really scared us. The very first day we were at Krystals (fast food) and witnessed some things I never want to go through again. I cannot go into more detail because it will scream of racsim, but I feared for my life. I didnt know what to do because I seriously thought we were all about to get shot.

We continued to visit and see more and more how bad crime really is. The last day we were there we had decided on a house in Ardsley. We were on our way out of Ardsley and I had gone about 2 blocks east too far (who knew it got so bad so fast?). Granted we were in a nicer sports car, so it caused us to stand out. We were at a stop sign turning to head back when 2 teenages on each side of the car pointed guns to our windows. Another older man was walking towards us and all I remember before I floored it was that he had lifted up his shirt and put his hands in his pants. Needless to say I was going about 70 in a 30 mph neighborhood.

So just 2 blocks from a house that was 400k for 3/2 I was almost robbed at gun point. A nice realtor finally told us the real deal about Savannahs poor black population that surrounds the inner city and how Ardsley Park seems to get the brunt of the crime. I started looking at Savannah Morning News (the publish a weekly crime stats page) and there were literally hundreds of acts of violence each week. Daily it seems cars were stolen from a 5 block area known to be very nice.

So eventually I gave up my dream and turned down a good job (making over 60k, so yes, there are some jobs there) and decided not to move there.

So this is coming from someone who drove into Savannah with awe and wonder and left with sadness. It truly is one of the most unique and beautiful places in the US. I still to this day hope some city surprises me as much as Savannah did, but without all the crime.

In 1998 I visited for the historic beauty I noticed in the Clint Eastwood movie--The Garden of Good and Evil?

We stayed at one of Savannahs nicest hotels, and soon realized that we were surrounded by poor inner city people. We left early and went to Hilton Head.

[stefdillon]

I honestly think that you will be fine. I am a native Georgian. We love Savannah and lived there for a while. Your life is what you make it. If you choose to live a discreet life and not promote your sexuality unless in a group of people who understand, you will be fine. We are all human and you are no exception. I say go for it!!!!
Sincerely...

[bgnzsavnh]

Savannah Cams

[Shnikee]

Originally Posted by INeedAChange

Yes, there seem to be a lot of extremely negative posts on City Data, no matter where it is--Just look at the Florida forums.

Unless of course it's North Carolina, because everyone knows that's the promised land

I've been looking at the posts for Tampa (Clearwater/St. Pete) and so far haven't seen anything NEAR what I've seen for Savannah. I haven't seen "Just don't walk around after dark". Everywhere has crime, I know. But what I've seen about Savannah is somethin else.

[bgnzsavnh]

Originally Posted by DeLaSalle

we were surrounded by poor inner city people. We left early and went to Hilton Head.

It is much better to be surrounded by rich inner city people.

[pirate_lafitte]

From my own experience Savannah wasn't bad at all. However, I have heard reports about crime in Savannah. Then again, I didn't live in downtown Savannah.