I want the truth about living in Savannah (Atlanta, Rome: transplants, apartment complex)

[WNCbadwolf]

I am a native to the Asheville area of NC. I have been thinking about moving to Savannah for MANY years now, I have been to Savannah MANY MANY times, I try to go there as often as possible, anything to get out of these mtns.

Just curious about the medical field in the city. I am currently a CNA & would be wanting to find work as a CNA in what ever medical facility I could find. As for the Hospitals, how hard is it to get on to one of them as a CNA, which hospital is better, what kind of pay could a CNA expect to earn. Here in Asheville the hospital will not hire a CNA without having at least 5 years experience, they also are the highest paying in all of Western NC, a CNA there can expect to start at $9 an hour. Nursing homes typically start their pay around $8 an hour.

Last month money magazine put out a list of the top 10 worse places to get a job, Asheville & all of WNC was tied at #4 on that list. On average every job opening in WNC has 350 applicants, all of which are just as qualified as anyone else if not more so.

What about housing. What is the typical rent for a 1 or 2 bedroom apartment, duplex, carriage house, etc...I prefer an older place & not a new condo, town house or apartment complex. History & architecture are 2 of the main things that attract me to the city. In Asheville & WNC the typical rent for a 1 bedroom apartment (600 sq ft or less) is $800, for a 2 bedroom (over 600 sq ft) is typically $900 to $1100. A house can be as low as $800 but those houses are usually in bad areas or in need of some major repairs, rent for a house can go as high as $5000 a month.

One of the other main reasons I am so drawn to Savannah is that at it's roots it is still & will always be traditionally southern. Asheville may be in the south but it is far from southern any more. When I visit Savannah I alway have to eat at places like Ms Wilkes & Clary's. In Asheville there are no places like that any more. We only have 3 restaurants that claim to serve southern food, 2 of them serve all organic meats & vegetables, 1 of those 2 have a huge vegetarian & vegan section of the menu, the other one serves goat cheese grits with basil with every dish, the only potato on the menu is mashed sweet potatoes & sweet potato pancakes & for desert they serve flourless cakes. Those 2 mentioned above have never had anything on their menu like, macaroni & cheese, fried okra, chicken & dumplings or fried squash, neither of them never even serve fried chicken, but yet they call themselves southern, one of them refers to itself as "southern inspired"

Asheville's population is hugely northern in nature. Every year thousands of yankees move here. To them those 2 restaurants are pure southern. Also Asheville has a huge population of people from out west. Those people are the ones that are making Asheville so "green". Most restaurants in the area only serve organic or all natural foods & a HUGE price to go along with it. The place I mentioned above that serves goat cheese grits with basil with every dish. The cheapest item on their menu is $15 & that is for a small piece of free range, corn fed, boneless chicken breast, that is coated with a mix of chopped pecans & almonds, served with goat cheese grits with basil & mashed cauliflower.

A few other things I was curious about. In Savannah do people ever gather in town somewhere to do protest marches, picket line &/or rallies of some kind? In Asheville that is a VERY common thing. It happens all the time. I am so tired of trying to go to wal-mart just to pick up toilet paper or aspirin & seeing a huge group of people out there picketing wal-mart & calling it "the beast" or trying to drive thru down town & have people charge at me wanting me to sign a petition to anything from legalizing marijuana to stop a company from opening a new store somewhere in town.

I have always loved Savannah but I know living in a town is completely different that visiting a place while on Vacation. Would anyone be willing to take the time & tell me all the things about what living there is really like.

I DO NOT want a sugar coated version, I DO NOT want only positive things. What I do want is the truth. I want to hear all the wonderful things & all the horrible things. I want to hear from the locals, the people who are born & raised in Savannah & I want them to tell me what they truly think about people, not from Savannah or even Georgia moving into their city. I want to hear from people who have moved there & have loved every min of it & I want to hear from those who have moved there & have completely hated every moment & wish they could get out of town. I want to hear the complete & brutal truth. Hold NOTHING back.

[gentlearts]

I'll only speak to a few of your concerns.
The "green" people are few and far between here. I've been here since May, and work downtown, and have never seen anyone picketing anything.
There are tons of students and other young people living downtown, so you know the rent is affordable.
The biggest challenge to personal liberty around here lately was the no smoking ban in bars and restaurants that went into effect on 1/1/11. You can still carry around an adult beverage downtown.
As you know, there is a good restaurant on every corner in Savannah. The SCAD students bring a fresh vibrancy to the city. I feel that there is a good balance of "live and let live" here, and a good balance of lifestyles that live in harmony.
I've only been to Asheville once, and am going next weekend, but my impression is that it is like San Francisco or Colorado with a lot of tree huggers and Birkenstock wearers. It's not at all like that here.

[bellhead]

Savannah has a cool vibe, and a lot of them things you don't like don't happen here.

First off the job market is much better than Asheville, and you should be able to find work as a CNA. Also there is Armstrong Atlantic University which should allow you to continue on and pick up your LPN and your RN... There's a big difference in pay between the two.

There seems to be more southerners here, however I can't really judge this since I am a transplant. Most of the transplants are from the midwest vs. the Northeast.

I take exception to your part here...

"Asheville's population is hugely northern in nature. Every year thousands of yankees move here. To them those 2 restaurants are pure southern. Also Asheville has a huge population of people from out west. Those people are the ones that are making Asheville so "green". Most restaurants in the area only serve organic or all natural foods & a HUGE price to go along with it. The place I mentioned above that serves goat cheese grits with basil with every dish. The cheapest item on their menu is $15 & that is for a small piece of free range, corn fed, boneless chicken breast, that is coated with a mix of chopped pecans & almonds, served with goat cheese grits with basil & mashed cauliflower."

People down south put anybody from up north in the Yankee category... Being from the midwest what I call a Yankee is completely different from what you categorize one as. To me a Yankee comes from the Northeast...

Also the smoking ban was long over due, nobody I know who doesn't smoke wants to go out and be exposed to chemicals which in a plant or factory environment would require a respirator. All your required to do is step outside to light up, which to us non-smokers is not a major issue, it isn't like we took away your rights just made you move outside.

Rents are heavily influenced by the BAH paid by the government, we have Hunter army airfield with several thousand Army personal there.

[DanielAvery]

Keep in mind that all three of the major hospitals are on the South side, but the commute from downtown or the islands is not terrible. There are also assisted-living and nursing homes all over the Savannah area, because a lot of people have decided to live out their golden years in Georgia rather than Florida.

I had no idea that Asheville was so "protest-happy," but I think Savannah has much more of a live-and-let-live mentality that some may view as apathy. In my one and only trip to Asheville last summer, I did see what I thought was a festival (Savannah has an obsession with weekly "festivals" for practically everything), but was in fact some sort of protest gathering.

Kinda off-topic: Also when I was there, I was shocked to see people casually smoking in fast-food places. I had become accustomed to the smoking bans of GA/Savannah, and had forgotten that tobacco is still an economic big deal in NC. Definitely a culture shock--but when in Rome...

[WNCbadwolf]

smoking has been baned in NC & has been since 1/1/10, whether smoking is allowed indoors or out is no concern to me. I personally have no issue with it one way or another. So I would like there not be a big debate about the pros & cons of smoking. Nor do I care to hear everyones personal opinion on the health effects of it.

[ATLsportsfan]

Driving-
The drivers here are the worst drivers I have ever seen in my entire life. I thought that Clayton and DeKalb County drivers were bad in Atlanta, but these people down here are lucky to not kill people everyday with their driving "skills." Almost every afternoon there is an accident in front of Walmart on Pooler Parkway because people don't know how to yield, don't know how to look for traffic before changing lanes, and they don't put on their directional signal before changing lanes. The I-16/I-95 interchange is a mess as is the I-516/I-16 interchange.

Schools (elementary, middle, high)-
The schools are not very good to be blunt about it though people will try to tell you differently. For example, you may hear,"South Effingham has such great schools" or "Richmond Hill has great schools." The schools here are adequate. Nothing more, nothing less. You also can pay $10,000+ to send your child to a private school, but that will be a complete waste of money in my opinion.

Schools (universities and colleges)-
SCAD is an overpriced, left wing school that in no way is worth the amount of money people are paying to attend it. The people that go there are just plain weird. In fact, many locals in Savannah won't even venture into the "SCAD district." I enjoy the pizza at Mellow Mushroom, but I don't enjoy looking at the wall and seeing an "artistic" wall painting of someone holding their head on a silver plate.

Food-
Great places to eat here regardless of what part of the metropolitian area you are in. Some people will tell you go try Love's Seafood or the Crab Shack, I will tell you that places like that are a complete waste of money and not worth it at all. Definitely get a Savannah Menu dining card though if you want to save a lot of money eating around Savannah.

Housing (rent)-
It really depends on the area, but the rent prices are definitely on the high side for what you get. For example, a one bedroom in Pooler is going to cost you between $800-$900 a month. A two bedroom is going to cost you between $900-$1,200 a month.

Housing (buy)-
There is a reason the housing market is taking a tumble and it starts with price. The prices here are completely out of line with what they are worth. Yes, there are some bargains, but they are few and far between. Most houses for sell were bought at the peak of the market at let us say $300,000 and they are trying to sell them now, at the bottom of the market, for like $285,000.

[cathy heissler]

My hubby and I are ready to buy a condo or townhouse in the savannah area. We want an area with a pool, clubhouse and nice walking areas (parks etc..) We are looking for a condo size 1200 t0 1500 square foot. Two bedroom for a great price. So any ideas?

[ellie]

That's funny. Many interesting people I've known over the years have moved to Asheville because they were looking for a more progressive community. So it would make sense if you wanted a slightly less progressive community {with character}, Savannah might be a good fit for you.

It's not perfect but you might enjoy yourself here for a few years.

[WNCbadwolf]

Just to clarify a few things on my situation.

I have no children, so I am not interested in the schools.

I do have pets, small dogs & a cat. To be perfectly honest even if an area is not pet friendly I would be bringing them with me, there is no way I would ever give them up for anything or any one.

The kind of place I would like to live does not have to be in the historic district, although that would be a dream for me. I would prefer not to live in something new, nothing with HOA fees, no amenities like club house, pool, or walking area. I want older (built before 1950) can be anywhere within 30 miles of city center. Not looking for somewhere withing walking distance necessarily. I have a car & I am not afraid to use it.

I am also curious about what the typical light bill & water bill is in Savannah & surrounding areas. In the area of WNC I current live in, I have a 980 sq ft home. my light bill last month was $330, my water bill was $30. My cable package which is TV, internet & home phone costs me $185 a month. because I live in the mtns I can not get cell phone service in my home or withing 50 feet of my home, so I have to have home phone service. I am hopping that I could drop that if I were to move to Savannah.


I am not big on up scale dinning, restaurants that have executive chiefs or use words on their menu like, innovative, inspired, artisan, gourmet or organic. I am also not interested in sushi, or trendy places, touristy places (Such as "she who must not be named" She just opened a new restaurant in Cherokee at the casino here in WNC, so I can get her at home) I prefer traditional southern, low country, Cajun, country & soul food. I also like typical sea food places, the kind that serves a HUGE plate full of several types of breaded & deep fried fish, hush puppies, slaw, grits & choice of fries or baked potato.

Not every thing on my list of wishes has to be in downtown or in the historic district, I am more than willing to drive 25 to 30 miles or more just for dinner or even to go to work or shop. I have to do that now living here in WNC. I can not afford to live near an area where any restaurants or shops are.

I have been to Savannah MANY MANY times over the past 15 years, so I am well aware of SCAD & the impact the school has on the city. I am not looking to move there because I want to live somewhere that has a young, fresh or vibrant feel to it. I like Savannah because of the history, the architecture, true southern people who's roots run deep in the south. people who know what it means to be southern & are proud to be southern. (I am also southern, 9th generation born in Western NC, before that 2 generations born in North GA) I also want to live there because according to my research Savannah has a much higher pay scale & a MUCH lower cost of living compared to Asheville & all of WNC. The Balance between cost of living & pay in Savannah seems MUCH better than Asheville.

I would love to hear from any locals & by locals I mean native born southerners, people either born & raised in Savannah with family roots that run very deep in the south, Not even necessarily born & raised in Savannah but anywhere in the south with deep southern roots. I want to know if you type of people still think Savannah is just as southern as it has always been or have the resent influx of Yankee transplants started to diminish the southern feel of the town.

In Asheville, the locals & native southern people feel that Asheville has COMPLETELY lost every bit of its southern feel, we feel that Asheville has become a mix between San Francisco, Seattle, New York, New Jersey, Boston & Connecticut. That is where the majority of the transplants are from. Asheville has several nick names, one of them being "San Francisco of the south". To those "non" southern people who move here, they say that Asheville feels VERY southern to them, so it is a matter of perspective. So I want the perspective of someone who is a natural born southerner, their view of how southern the city still feels would be more similar to my perspective & expectations.

[Newsboy]

Other than being big tourist and art cities, I don't think Savannah and Asheville have much in common. The mountain vs. coastal lifestyle makes each pretty unique. Jobs in the health field are plentiful here. There are some free-range creative nuveau type restaurants here but far more that serve plain old fried seafood or a meat and three. Rents are comparable. Nightlife is MUCH better. Weather is neat perfect this time of year. Politics are odd -- there are more card-carrying Democrats than Republicans in Savannah, but they tend to be the conservative rather than the liberal kind. Like Asheville, Savannah does have a large and very visible (not hidden) gay community so that's always made things interesting. And of course the very liberal drinking laws which keep the party going.

As someone who has done both, I can honestly say living here is just as much fun as visiting -- except when the weekend is over you don't have to drive 300 miles home. Home is here!