Relocation--already read the sticky =) (Savannah, Forsyth: low income, coupons, to rent) - Georgia (GA) - City-Data Forum

pixesmall · 08-10-2011, 09:25 AM

Hi everyone!!

We're thinking of possibly relocating to Savannah, GA -- mostly due to work.
We've heard that Savannah's great, but in reading the relocation sticky and trying to figure out what neighbohoods are what....it's all gotten kind of confusing and a little overwhelming.

I've never been to Savannah, and neither has my fiance, but we're both open to the idea of living there. We're young professionals, and currently live in Boston. So we're a little sad about this new NEED for a car, and would like to keep our daily lives as walkable (and safe!) as possible. From what I've been told, this may not be a possibility (not the safe part..just the walkable part), but hey -- it's worth asking!!
I'm going to be commuting to outside savannah about 30 mins away for work, but outside of work, I'd love to be able to not use my car as much as possible.

Where should we be looking for (We're looking to rent) places if we'd like to keep things walkable? Downtown seems like a default answer...but uhhh where IS downtown? What cross streets should we be looking at in terms of looking for a place? Where should we NOT be looking for?

Also! Are there farmer markets over there? We're planning on a recon trip near the beginning of next month and the actual relocation (if it DOES happen) would be near the end of Oct, early Nov -- any advise for us??

Thanks everyone!

gentlearts · 08-10-2011, 09:52 AM

Two suggestions...
Go to For 91 Days in Bolivia – Travel Blog for a great overview of Savannah. (They're in Bolivia now, but go to the Savannah section).
I'll PM you with some good property management companies. Get hold of someone from one of them, and they will steer you to just what you want.

pixesmall · 08-10-2011, 12:52 PM

Thanks so much!! The travel blog is GREAT!! They're really good at making you feel as if you're there!

Thanks for the PM also =)

Padgett2 · 08-10-2011, 01:21 PM

Ask yourself few questions.

Do you want to buy groceries once a week?
Do you want to be close to stores like Sears, Penney, Walmart?
Do you need to be near large pharmacies like CVS?

If you answered any of these "yes" you will need a car. Savannah is spread out over 70sq miles. Very little of it is in the downtown Historic District. "Downtown" is the Historic District, The Victorian District, low income housing, and slum-type housing. Yes, it's walkable, but shopping for the daily things of life is not plentiful.

Midtown, is the housing, shopping etc.between downtown and the southside. The Islands are across the Intercoastal Waterway. The Largest malls, hospitals, shopping etc. are located in a area that's more or less called Southside. None of these are what most people would consider to be walkable.

You really need to come and see the ENTIRE area before you make a decision.

And you need to understand that it's HOT here. It's not unusual to be over 100 degrees . Add 90-100% humidity to that, and walking about is not a smart idea. Your car needs to be air conditioned.

bellhead · 08-10-2011, 04:09 PM

All you really need is one car....

You can bike all year round here, or buy a vespa and one car. Having lived in Europe and experienced life without a car walking everywhere for over 2 years, and I wouldn't do it again without a car. One of the biggest reasons you are limited geographically on what you can do. Yes it's nice not having to drive anywhere and the expense of a car sucks. One of the biggest things I like about having a car is going to the supermarket allows me to buy large quantities of items and use coupons to the max. This saves quite a bit a cash.

But the real reasons here are..

1.) Savannah is extremely spread out.
2.) The beach is a long walk out there also if you like hiking, camping etc.
3.) The MTBA > CAT....you can't even compare it.

WanderingImport · 08-10-2011, 05:16 PM

Actually, for someone who will be living downtown (as I once did), you have options for grocers that don't require a car to get to. I always frequented Kroger (on Gwinnett Street a few blocks from Forsyth Park..sort of like our own little Boston Common except smaller...sort of) and now there is a Food Lion on the opposite side of the Historic District on MLK Blvd.

As for a CVS/Walgreens or Wal-Mart/Target, you could always utilize public transportation aka Chatham Area Transit (CAT). I know SCAD students who take this if they want to shop at Target and don't have a vehicle to do so. It's not just for students or low income families, anyone can use it contrary to local anti-transit beliefs.

Our public transportation may not be as refined as Boston's, but remember this is a much smaller city and in a region that hasn't caught up or caught on to the more efficient ways of life areas of the northeast & New England. Maybe one day..

WanderingImport · 08-10-2011, 05:22 PM

The only other reason you'd need a car besides commuting to work would be if you wanted to go to the beach. Unfortunately CAT does not go this far out (due to the negative untrue belief that public transit brings crime, etc).

Besides this, unless you're traveling outside of town on vacation, transit will take you anywhere in the city including the airport. Just keep track of scheduling.

Melissa82 · 08-14-2011, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bellhead

All you really need is one car....

You can bike all year round here, or buy a vespa and one car. Having lived in Europe and experienced life without a car walking everywhere for over 2 years, and I wouldn't do it again without a car. One of the biggest reasons you are limited geographically on what you can do. Yes it's nice not having to drive anywhere and the expense of a car sucks. One of the biggest things I like about having a car is going to the supermarket allows me to buy large quantities of items and use coupons to the max. This saves quite a bit a cash.

But the real reasons here are..

1.) Savannah is extremely spread out.
2.) The beach is a long walk out there also if you like hiking, camping etc.
3.) The MTBA > CAT....you can't even compare it.

Seriously? I work out off of the highway and my husband works on post. We live in the South end. You need two cars unless you both live and work in the same area. With the job market here, that sounds very unrealistic... that's if they can even find jobs that pay the bills.

bellhead · 08-14-2011, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Melissa82

Seriously? I work out off of the highway and my husband works on post. We live in the South end. You need two cars unless you both live and work in the same area. With the job market here, that sounds very unrealistic... that's if they can even find jobs that pay the bills.

Yea, when both spouses work at different ends of the world then you will need two cars no getting around it....

For neighborhoods you might want to look at Ardsley park.

Padgett2 · 08-14-2011, 10:51 AM

A lot depends on what you consider as "walkable." And how often you want to get that loaf of bread or quart of milk. I'm the lazy type. While I might walk one mile to get something, I wouldn't want to lug a couple of bags of groceries back to the house. If walking a couple of miles wouldn't bother you, then there are a lot of places that would suit.

You state that you would be commuting about 30 minutes away for work, then you will have a least one car. That opens up a lot of places to live. There is much more to Savannah than the downtown historic district.