Rose-tinted glasses? (Atlanta, Savannah, Richmond Hill: fit in, salons, real estate)

[Icky76]

Ok, so I'm Baltimore born and bred and OVER IT! I'm a 31 y.o., married, mother of 2 little girls, who I would like to save from the temptations and crime of Baltimore. I am not naive enough to think that drugs and crime do not exist anywhere else in America, but I also know that we have ourselves quite a problem (and reputation) here in Baltimore, which I have been an unfortunate witness to all too frequently. I have found myself smitten with Savannah. I was given a bit of advice from a realtor (and mother) to stick with the areas of Guyton and Rincon, and maybe Richmond Hill. We are very family-oriented, but other factors about us to consider are:

My husband is a tattooer (covered from head to toe)
We are left-leaning liberals
We are not religious, church-going folk
We are vegetarian
Some of our (would be) visiting relatives are African-American (which we are not)
We are drug AND ALCOHOL free
We are both blue-collar workers (tattoo artist and hair stylist), so we would need to be able to carve out a decent living

Having said all of that, can we honestly be happy and comfortable down there? My biggest fear is trading in a Heroin-soaked city for a Meth-soaked city (in which my kids are ridiculed for their parents being different). Just looking for a safe place with good schools and some open-minded people!! Could it be Georgia, or am I just being silly?

[colonelpoop]

I'm not familiar with the surrounding Savannah area, but I can attest that downtown Savannah is filled with nothing but wealthy white families and gay men from Denmark on Holiday.

It's a very SAFE place. If you were to find any faults with Savannah, then you might want to start looking into residency at one of Disney's Magical Kingdoms.

[ellie]

A meth-soaked city? Huh? I don't think we're meth-soaked here, unless I'm missing something.

Will you fit in out in Rincon, Guyton, or Richmond Hill? It's fairly conservative out there. But I imagine there are military and others who have plenty of tattoos. (Everyone seems to have a tattoo these days, even my boss.) I'm thinking that they'll still be more of the country music/NASCAR crowd who still support George Bush.

I've always thought hair-stylists and tattoo artists to be more associated with the arts and music crowd. Blue collar works at the port, at the mills, and drive trucks. I don't seen many of latter voting for Obama - union or no union.

Kids get ridiculed every day for something. I don't care where you live.

So, under the terms you're setting forth, no you probably won't find a good match for what you want here. There are plenty of fully tattooed men in town or riding motorcycles. Lots of hairstylists and vegetarians... Gay men on holiday from Denmark? Yet again, I must have missed that.

[Padgett2]

You have only to sit in the Food Court at the Mall to see lots of tattoos peaking out from clothing and people of every shade and hue being together to know that you would fit in with a lot of Savannah people. Lots of vegatarians too.

However, Rincon, Guyton, Richmond Hill, have more of a small town flavor. You may have a problem fitting in there. More church centered too.

Savannah is a lot more than just the downtown Historic District, which is filled with tourist, high priced real estate owners, and students at the Savannah College of Arts and Design (SCAD) Blue collar workers live outside of the Historic Area. Rents can be high or low, depending on what you can be satisfied with. Not all areas are good and crime free.

As far as being able to make a living????? I have no idea. There seems to be a lot of Tattoo places springing up all over the place. Do they need additional help? Your guess is as good as mine. There are beauty salons everywhere too. I think that it would depend on your skill and type of training as to whether you could find, and keep, enough customers to pay you to move.

Now, the children. This is a military city. There are quite a few mixed marriages from that. We even have many that are NOT military. Kids are used to parents being mixed with mixed race kin. I wouldn't know the % of Black over White or Asian and Hispanic, but I suspect it's higher than it is in Baltimore.

The big problem may be yourselves. If you move anywhere, expecting poor treatment because of what you do or what you think, you will probably find exactly what you expect.

[Icky76]

Thanks for the replies.
Ellie... I wasn't insinuating that Savannah is "meth-soaked", I am just unaware if it is or isn't. Most of the country is, at this point, and Baltimore has somehow missed that train (already on the Heroin Express).
Padgett2....I'm also unaware of the % of Black over White in Balto., but I know that Black is the majority. It's of no consequence to us, but we just didn't want our mixed-race relatives to feel uncomfortable visiting. We never EXPECT poor treatment, we're actually surprised every time it happens (which has been anywhere and everywhere). We just don't want to move somewhere that it's the norm.

[Padgett2]

I got my curiosity up. Check out this City-Data site for both cities. It gives a lot of information for comparision in a lot of different areas, things like average education, average earnings, average home prices, etc. You might find it helpful. Some pretty pictures of the areas too.

https://www.city-data.com/

[bgnzsavnh]

Meth-soaked city

Try Meth-soaked County:
The problem is so severe that Effingham County has been nicknamed “Methingham”
Georgia Magazine

In Southeast Georgia, Effingham County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie refers to his county as “Methingham.” His jail is now running close to full on a regular basis, thanks to a rise in meth-related drug arrests.

Meth epidemic overwhelming jails - Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Poor planning. Too many subdivisions dumping traffic on to narrow roads. Every one heading to Savannah for work, shopping, hospitals, dining, a life. No solutions for years.
Methingham has traffic problems with Fantasy solutions.
Highest taxes and impact fees in the area.
Schools are ok, but if your kids are bright Chatham offers much better opportunities and advanced options
Savannah Arts Academy: Best High Schools - USNews.com

mixed-race relatives would be more comfortable in Chatham, Pooler/ Port Wentworth Georgetown, or in the City
Letters to the editor | SavannahNow.com

[Icky76]

Wow! Thanks for all of the info everybody! It has all been quite helpful. Bgnzsavnh.....you've given us a lot to think about and look into. Thanks again!

[jk2008]

Originally Posted by colonelpoop

I'm not familiar with the surrounding Savannah area, but I can attest that downtown Savannah is filled with nothing but wealthy white families and gay men from Denmark on Holiday.

It's a very SAFE place. If you were to find any faults with Savannah, then you might want to start looking into residency at one of Disney's Magical Kingdoms.

I am not sure if this person is from the area or not, but to say Savannah is safe is just about the craziest thing I've ever heard. We lived there for five years and couldn't wait to leave. I have lived near Baltimore and I would have gladly relocated there from Savannah. Crime IS bad and what's worse is that it is random and at all times of the day. It doesn't matter what gender, color or ethnicity you are - you are a target. In five years, I could not begin to detail the victims of crime I know, but I can tell you that I was carjacked at 8:30 AM - not PM - AM. Two people I know were shot on separate occasions, not doing anything wrong. And I am not just saying that. Crime is rampant and crime is random.

Savannah is a nice place to vacation for a few days - and hope and pray you get out with just a few sand gnat bites. It is not a nice place to reside or raise a family. I am not trying to be pessimistic, this is just information I wished we would have had before we relocated. Best of luck to you and your family!

[mrsnespy]

I cannot tell you that jk2008's account of Savannah is inaccurate if that is what he/she expereienced, but I can tell you that I've been here in Port Wentworth for 1-1/2 years now and have not experienced any of the horrors that he/she seems to be suggesting.

That being said...yes, Savannah does have crime, and yes...it does appear to be random quite often. However, I must live behind those rose-colored glasses, because I don't see it as rampant as was suggested.

There are some bad parts of town. There are places not to be found alone. There are places to not go at night. These are the sites of many of the criminal activity. There is a reason to not be oblivious to your surroundings. That being said, I don't feel constantly terrified for my life. No, I cannot predict what will happen during a random crime, but I also don't walk around expecting the boogeyman to jump out at every nook and cranny. Maybe I live under a rock, but I am not as frightened to live here as has been insinuated.

People seem to think that Savannah, being a beautiful city, should be Paradise-like and void of all problems that most cities have. When their view of this is changed because of a crime, their entire perception of the city is somehow ruined and it seems to devastate them. Why not just admit that while it is a beautiful city, the beauty does not prevent some shady activities that other cities see?