Savannah Vs. Anywhere (lease, condo, crime)

[wmorando]

Hello all.

I made a post similar to this in some of the areas I am cinsidering moving and got some really good tips from it. I am currently living in Queens, NYC. I am engaged and due to be married in September. My lease on my apt. is up in December (1350/month for small one bedroom). I work on ships and can live anywhere in the USA I would like. My fiance has been born and raised in NYC. I grew up on Long Island (suburb of NYC) but really consider myself a country boy. I grew up with property and tractors, etc. I alos have grown up around boats and so love the water. I want to move out of NYC as the entire Northeast has jsut gotten too expensive to live.

I canot jsut move to the country as it would be a culture shock for my fiance and I cannot stay in a city (like downtown area).

My concern is that I would be leaving my fiance (for the time being, or until a better paying job comes along) for a period of about 8 weeks at a time. I want a safe place, a place where a friendly person (my fiance) shouldn't have a hard time meeting people. I am NOT trying to find a job, as I already have one. Maybe a part-time job for my fiance (help fight the boredom and help meet people).

Really, I am trying to get some peoples initial opinions on the area. What areas are good/bad. What kind of house can I find in the area for around 200K. What is the overall cost of living like in the area (taxes, asset taxes? property taxes? state income taxes?) Would I be able to find a nice two bedroom place ina nice area for under 1000/month? I have cisited savannah for a quick over night (got of a tug boat there and spent the night downtown).

Just so you know...I am looking at several other places to live as well. Although they are all different, they all sem to have some aspect of what I am looking for: Austin, TX area; Raleigh/Chapel Hill, NC area; Charlottesville, VA area; St. Augustine, FL area.

If anyone has any kind of comparisons, or opinions on any of these places I would appreciate it. Again, I know they are all different types of places. I am just trying to narrow down my search.

Thanks for any and all advice.

[Pamela_S]

I had it narrowed down to Austin and Savannah and chose Savannah for a variety of reasons. Lots of answers to your questions in previous posts if you spend sometime reading. Don't get put off by the posts by people freaking out about the crime here though. I lived my entire life in the NE (including NYC and all the other major cities in the NE) until I came here. The crime here is all relative and I feel totally safe. I've been here 19 months now and have no regrets about leaving the megalopolis.

[wmorando]

Originally Posted by Pamela_S

I had it narrowed down to Austin and Savannah and chose Savannah for a variety of reasons. Lots of answers to your questions in previous posts if you spend sometime reading. Don't get put off by the posts by people freaking out about the crime here though. I lived my entire life in the NE (including NYC and all the other major cities in the NE) until I came here. The crime here is all relative and I feel totally safe. I've been here 19 months now and have no regrets about leaving the megalopolis.

If you don't mind my asking...Why did you choose Savannah over Austin?

[Pamela_S]

Originally Posted by wmorando

If you don't mind my asking...Why did you choose Savannah over Austin?

We own dot com businesses and could have moved anywhere as well. Honestly, the decision came down to $$$. A comparable house in Austin would have easily cost $100 -150k more. Property taxes were also outlandishly high in some of the areas in Austin where we were looking.

My husband also likes the water and fishing. Austin has a lot of lakes but it's not the same as the ocean. The water was a secondary consideration though.

[wmorando]

I realize that Austin and Texas as a whole has pretty high property taxes. There are going to be taxes regardless. What is the flipside of the tax equation in the Savannah Area? I am loking at around 200K for a home. Can this get me a pretty nice home, maybe a nice little subdivision in a nice area?

Thanks for the tips!

[Padgett2]

200K should easily get you a nice house in a nice subdivision, even near the beach or rivers.

Your best bet is to rent for a while, while she decides on where she wants to live. You can find any kind of house, old, new, condo, one story, two story, near shopping centers, near schools, colleges, just about anywhere.

.

[ellie]

I think it will depend on what you and your fiance like to do in your free time - and what kind of work she is qualified for or would like to do. It seems like this will be particularly important to her since she will be the one left for long periods of time to fend for herself.

I can't recommend Savannah over any of the other places you've mentioned. There are several on that list I haven't visited more than just passing through. I also don't think that Savannah is an easy city in which to make new friends quickly unless you have a job or a position which will allow you to. Even in the best of situations, moving to a new city is both stressful and lonesome. Are you sure you want to put her through this so quickly?

My advice: stay where you are for at least a year, then make a decision together.