Narrowing choices (Savannah, Richmond Hill, Pooler: 2015, apartment complexes, rentals)

[CampingMom]

Good morning,

We are narrowing down the choices for relocation here. Savannah area, Charleston, Greenville, SC and Raleigh, NC. Our youngest is going to SCAD and we are leaving Upstate, NY behind-along with winters with feet of snow. My family is native to NC/VA. No family left in NYS now that my folks have passed away and it's time for us to move along in life. Our oldest children live in FL.

I am a school bus dispatcher/driver-Class B with PS endorsements. I have heard rumblings about the school system there going to run their own buses and not contract out. I did contact them about it, but nothing is set up yet for the new school year. I am keeping an eye on that. Hubby dispatched ready mix concrete for 21 years. He's in the process of getting his CDL Class B here, he'll transfer his license also when he gets where we are going. He'd like to go back into the ready mix industry as a dispatcher, but will also be looking for driving jobs. I also have a degree in hospitality and tourism management, I could actually put it use in Savannah.

We are seeing what industries are in the area. Where the best fit for jobs are. We aren't moving until we have one lined up. Never would move without that being done.

Since we have no kids left at home, schools are not important, with the exception of me finding work. Looking to live up to 30 mins away from work or so. Finding a 3 bedroom, 2 bath about 2000 sq ft home under $250k. We looked at a home in Port Wentworth, GA. It would have fit our needs. How long is a drive time from there during the work week back and forth into Savannah? Looking to be outside of the city, although we did see a few homes listed we weren't familiar to those areas.

I have 4 trips to Savannah before SCAD starts with the youngest. We have time to look for work while there and do house hunting. Any suggestions where we might look for housing? Still debating on a HOA as we've heard horror stories about them.

Can I get also what would be a general cost for car insurance? Tried to see that online, but couldn't find it. Also do cars have personal property taxes on them each year? Would we need to add hurricane insurance closer to Savannah opposed to being away from the coast? How are electric costs there? It's 14 cents per KW here. Natural gas is 85 cents per CCF. Also local cable providers there? How much would the usual triple play cost? I'd really like to ditch the landlines and stick with the cell phones, but to get internet, you have to keep that in the mix.

Thanks for any help. It's greatly appreciated.

[gentlearts]

The closest surrounding towns are Richmond Hill, Pooler, Bloomingdale, Port Wentworth, and Rincon. You can easily commute to Savannah from any of those places. You will be able to find plenty of houses in your budget. Or, why don't you rent for a year, so you have time to look for a house in a leisurely way?
There are a lot of really nice looking new apartment complexes in Pooler. I think you would be very comfortable there for a year until you know what area you like the best.

The Preserve at Godley Station Apartments for Rent in Pooler, GA
Apartments for Rent Pooler GA | Two Addison Place

I do not know of anyone who has special hurricane insurance here. Savannah is tucked into the coastline, so is more protected than FL and the Carolinas. You should ask about flood insurance on any house you're thinking of buying. I think utilities are pretty reasonable, except of course for cable or satellite, which start low until they proceed to ********* eventually LOL. They have ad valorem tax on vehicle registration. when you register an existing car, the charge is based on the value of the vehicle. For example, I just paid $88. for a tag on a 9 year old car. I believe this is being fazed out, so if you buy a new car, the tax is charged up front instead of every year after.

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

The closest surrounding towns are Richmond Hill, Pooler, Bloomingdale, Port Wentworth, and Rincon. You can easily commute to Savannah from any of those places. You will be able to find plenty of houses in your budget. Or, why don't you rent for a year, so you have time to look for a house in a leisurely way?
There are a lot of really nice looking new apartment complexes in Pooler. I think you would be very comfortable there for a year until you know what area you like the best.

The Preserve at Godley Station Apartments for Rent in Pooler, GA
Apartments for Rent Pooler GA | Two Addison Place

I do not know of anyone who has special hurricane insurance here. Savannah is tucked into the coastline, so is more protected than FL and the Carolinas. You should ask about flood insurance on any house you're thinking of buying. I think utilities are pretty reasonable, except of course for cable or satellite, which start low until they proceed to ********* eventually LOL. They have ad valorem tax on vehicle registration. when you register an existing car, the charge is based on the value of the vehicle. For example, I just paid $88. for a tag on a 9 year old car. I believe this is being fazed out, so if you buy a new car, the tax is charged up front instead of every year after.

We thought about renting at first, but with pets that's not easy to do. We only rented once decades ago while we built our house and it left a really sour taste. It turned into a nightmare. So we've always owned our homes. We've only had two and an apartment for 8 months. Still debating to go with new construction-we'd have to see that it's not being built with particle board.

Sounds like every cable company out there suckers you in then, wham. LOL

So with bringing used cars to GA, we'd be charged based on the value correct? Both are 2011's. Pickup truck and then a car. We have a camper too-does that fall in the same category?

I will look at those apartment complexes at least when I am down in April. See what the rents are and see if they offer short term rentals in case we find a home sooner than later.

Thanks for that tip!

[gentlearts]

Perhaps if you call the tag office they can tell you how much your cars would be.
http://local.dmv.org/georgia/chatham...-locations.php

[ajc100890]

Ad Valorem Tax is calculated by the state averaging the wholesale value and retail value of your vehicle. Then they multiply this value by 7.0% (that was the rate in 2015) to calculate the fee.

The Georgia Department of Revenue has a calculator on their website to help calculate these fees.

https://onlinemvd.dor.ga.gov/tap/Option1.aspx#message

[toscgwsndiqz]

Port Wentworth (1-95 exit) to Downtown Savannah is 10 miles
All of the new Subdivisions and apartments are West of I-95
It is convenient and quiet
One must obtain a Flood Insurance policy if the structure is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, FEMA maps all of those areas:

FEMA Flood Map Service

[Newsboy]

Not sure what's going on with the Savannah-Chatham schools bus service. It's a mess:

MV/Reliant ending Savannah-Chatham school bus contract early; District taking over | savannahnow.com

Savannah-Chatham school bus drivers rally for rights at SCCPSS o - WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports

But there are several other VERY good possibilities for you in that field. SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) has a large bus fleet that's managed by First Student I think, and Chatham Area Transit (local bus system) operates 7/365 and is pretty extensive. However, your best bet might be with one of the trolley tour companies that operate in the Historic District. There are 4 of them running 9 am to after midnight most every day of the year -- daytime historic tours, nighttime ghost tours, charters etc. It's a HUGE industry that's highly regulated by the city and relies completely on radio dispatch to keep moving. The two biggest are Old Savannah Tours (locally owned) and Old Town Trolley Tours (Historic Tours of America which operates all over the country). Gray Line operates as Oglethorpe Tours and Kelly Tours just recently entered the market. You should check them out! They are ALWAYS hiring!

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Not sure what's going on with the Savannah-Chatham schools bus service. It's a mess:

MV/Reliant ending Savannah-Chatham school bus contract early; District taking over | savannahnow.com

Savannah-Chatham school bus drivers rally for rights at SCCPSS o - WTOC-TV: Savannah, Beaufort, SC, News, Weather & Sports

But there are several other VERY good possibilities for you in that field. SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) has a large bus fleet that's managed by First Student I think, and Chatham Area Transit (local bus system) operates 7/365 and is pretty extensive. However, your best bet might be with one of the trolley tour companies that operate in the Historic District. There are 4 of them running 9 am to after midnight most every day of the year -- daytime historic tours, nighttime ghost tours, charters etc. It's a HUGE industry that's highly regulated by the city and relies completely on radio dispatch to keep moving. The two biggest are Old Savannah Tours (locally owned) and Old Town Trolley Tours (Historic Tours of America which operates all over the country). Gray Line operates as Oglethorpe Tours and Kelly Tours just recently entered the market. You should check them out! They are ALWAYS hiring!

Thank you!!! Just the information I needed to know. I have two trips down next month. I will be going to see each of them while I am there to get the lay of the land. It's a perfect fit, my major and driving. I can't get that together up here in upstate NY! LOL


I really appreciate you had the information about them all!

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by toscgwsndiqz

Port Wentworth (1-95 exit) to Downtown Savannah is 10 miles
All of the new Subdivisions and apartments are West of I-95
It is convenient and quiet
One must obtain a Flood Insurance policy if the structure is in a Special Flood Hazard Area, FEMA maps all of those areas:

FEMA Flood Map Service

That was going to be my next question. Being I know how close to the coast a number of these places are we are thinking of, flood insurance is a biggie.

What do you find down there in terms of cost for hurricane insurance? Is that something that they insist on having? I know when we thought about the Myrtle Beach area, if you were on the ocean side of the intercoastal there it was quite high to next to impossible.

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by ajc100890

Ad Valorem Tax is calculated by the state averaging the wholesale value and retail value of your vehicle. Then they multiply this value by 7.0% (that was the rate in 2015) to calculate the fee.

The Georgia Department of Revenue has a calculator on their website to help calculate these fees.

https://onlinemvd.dor.ga.gov/tap/Option1.aspx#message

So we go then by the purchase price when we bought our car used in 2013? It comes up roughly about $798. So does that decrease each year? While it's a 2011, do they factor in mileage on the tax? I have 107K on the car. I know it'll have over a 115K easy by the time we get there to move this fall.

Do they also tax campers the same?