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Could Savannah be the next New York?


Newnan

  

101 members have voted

  1. 1. Could Savannah be the next New York?

    • Yes
      4
    • No
      50
    • Huh?
      47


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Perish the thought of Savannah ever becoming like NYC. Who wants the New York city style of decadence, crime rate, and extreme living costs? Even if such an event were possible, and it's not, that would totally destroy Savannah and it's charms not to mention the coastlines of southeastern South Carolina and Georgia.

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Ok, a lot of you may be thinking that I'm absolutely crazy, but think about it. Savannah is located on the extreme southern part of a river that empties into a harbor just like New York, It has Hutchison Island which could be like Manhattan and already has many people living in the inner city. Doesn't it seem like Savannah has the potential now? After your vote, explain your reasoning

This is utterly ridiculous. Do you ACTUALLY think that the Esther Shavers of the world would have that? It's people like you who are in the process of destroying the historic originality of my own home city, I think a lot of people in Savannah would appreciate it if you wouldn't try doing the same to them.

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Perish the thought of Savannah ever becoming like NYC. Who wants the New York city style of decadence, crime rate, and extreme living costs? Even if such an event were possible, and it's not, that would totally destroy Savannah and it's charms not to mention the coastlines of southeastern South Carolina and Georgia.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Savannah already known to some extent for decadence, inability to control crime, and sky high living costs (at least in the Historic District)?

NYC actually has one of the lowest per capita crime rates in the country if I am not mistaken

Correct, from what I hear, NYC is the nation's safest big city.

This is utterly ridiculous. Do you ACTUALLY think that the Esther Shavers of the world would have that? It's people like you who are in the process of destroying the historic originality of my own home city, I think a lot of people in Savannah would appreciate it if you wouldn't try doing the same to them.

Easy there, like Newnan said, it was just a thought. I'm sure he was not in any way wishing ill on your city and wouldn't want to destroy the history of the charm of your city.

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Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Savannah already known to some extent for decadence, inability to control crime, and sky high living costs (at least in the Historic District)?

Would you consider the cost of living in the historic district and other parts(maybe such as the islands) of Chatham County higher than some areas of Atlanta? I'm just curious. I just had to wonder since cost of living has risen dramatically in certain areas.

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I think the point was whether or not Savannah could become a world class city like New York City. It obviously would not be a duplicate of New York.

Agreed, that's kind of what I picked up.

It certainly has the potential, the question is, though, how to utilize this potential without damaging the historic district.

Would you consider the cost of living in the historic district and other parts(maybe such as the islands) of Chatham County higher than some areas of Atlanta? I'm just curious. I just had to wonder since cost of living has risen dramatically in certain areas.

All I know is that a bachelor's pad (one bedroom and a small living area & kitchen) sold for a little over $100,000 a while back in the historic district.

As for prices in Atlanta, if Lady Celeste or one of the other Atlanta forumers drops by, perhaps they can help you.

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Agreed, that's kind of what I picked up.

It certainly has the potential, the question is, though, how to utilize this potential without damaging the historic district.

All I know is that a bachelor's pad (one bedroom and a small living area & kitchen) sold for a little over $100,000 a while back in the historic district.

As for prices in Atlanta, if Lady Celeste or one of the other Atlanta forumers drops by, perhaps they can help you.

I think I read somewhere that cost of living on average in Savannah is 89.? while Atlanta metro is aroud 114. Savannah metro is, I think the 2nd(or 3rd) highest in Georgia though. This may be completely area dependent. I know the historic district is considerably higher than most other areas.

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I was shopping for Atlanta real estate the other day, particularly, one-bedrooms, and many were priced starting at nearly 200k. I would say that it is more than Savannah.

I would seriously doubt that anwhere is more expensive than Statesboro, at least for renters - and that is something to consider as well. While Statesboro is probably cheaper in terms to home purchases, it is whole other story for renters. In any other city in Georgia, the majority of landowners rent by the apartment, where as $1000/month per unit is getting pricey. In Statesboro, however, due to the supply and demand of rich kids needing a place to stay 9 months out of the year, landowners charge by the bedroom, not unit. They charge nearly as much for the room as many charge for the units in other cities.

It really screws over anyone who wants to make a living in Statesboro. The average room probably starts out at $400 a pop and goes way up from there. That means that 4--bedroom units are easily $1600-2000, and thats just for the decent properties. But as long as wealthy Atlanta-metro parents are willing to fork it out, property owners are loving it.

On a personal note, I had to live in one of the highest-crime communities in the town last year, and I hated it. Drugs everywhere you turn, loud people, even shootings in front of my unit on multiple occasions. It was the smallest unit I had ever seen, and came with nothing. I couldnt even fit my full size bed in the room. The units were even made from old mobile-home parts - as if they remodeled a trailer park into an apartment complex. I lived in the cheapest units, $1,040/month. I had to live there because it was all I could afford. Now, I just moved to a less ghetto property and I like it a lot more. Its only $1620/month. Minimum wage jobs just doesnt cut it. And people wonder why so many people move to this town and end up with a career in drug distribution - because no one can afford to live here otherwise.

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As for prices in Atlanta, if Lady Celeste or one of the other Atlanta forumers drops by, perhaps they can help you.

As far as housing prices, of course Atlanta will have some areas that are the costliest in the state. I think what others may be saying is that Savannah's housing prices are not that much lower than Atlanta. This stands out because the the amount of jobs (hence the ability to pay such high prices) is greater in metro Atlanta than metro Savannah. Much of Savannah's high prices are fueled by vacation home purchases and the historic designation. This could make home ownership for the average Savannahan more complicated than for the average Atlanta........although cost of living is higher in Atlanta.

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I was shopping for Atlanta real estate the other day, particularly, one-bedrooms, and many were priced starting at nearly 200k. I would say that it is more than Savannah.

I would seriously doubt that anwhere is more expensive than Statesboro, at least for renters - and that is something to consider as well. While Statesboro is probably cheaper in terms to home purchases, it is whole other story for renters. In any other city in Georgia, the majority of landowners rent by the apartment, where as $1000/month per unit is getting pricey. In Statesboro, however, due to the supply and demand of rich kids needing a place to stay 9 months out of the year, landowners charge by the bedroom, not unit. They charge nearly as much for the room as many charge for the units in other cities.

It really screws over anyone who wants to make a living in Statesboro. The average room probably starts out at $400 a pop and goes way up from there. That means that 4--bedroom units are easily $1600-2000, and thats just for the decent properties. But as long as wealthy Atlanta-metro parents are willing to fork it out, property owners are loving it.

While this is nothing to brag about, the Buckhead district and parts of midtown have much higher rents. Before the Paramount went condo, there was a unit for rent at $10,000/m. As you are stating below, I believe that the market is being driven by students. While this is a good thing, it's not healthy for the average person living in the area. There are just not the type of jobs there to support such a high monthly rent.

On a personal note, I had to live in one of the highest-crime communities in the town last year, and I hated it. Drugs everywhere you turn, loud people, even shootings in front of my unit on multiple occasions. It was the smallest unit I had ever seen, and came with nothing. I couldnt even fit my full size bed in the room. The units were even made from old mobile-home parts - as if they remodeled a trailer park into an apartment complex. I lived in the cheapest units, $1,040/month. I had to live there because it was all I could afford. Now, I just moved to a less ghetto property and I like it a lot more. Its only $1620/month. Minimum wage jobs just doesnt cut it. And people wonder why so many people move to this town and end up with a career in drug distribution - because no one can afford to live here otherwise.

If you are paying these type of prices for these type neighborhoods then I can see why people flock to the metro Atlanta area. Having high average rents with low to middle paying jobs will breed high crime and the sense of not having any part of the city. If what you say is truth then this city is a disaster in the making. Outside of the school, there just is not the mass amount of corporate prescence needed to justify such high rent. Think about it, a native student who is about to graduate school at Statesboro has one of two options.

1) stay in Statesboro with their degree and try to make a difference while paying $1000/m for substandard living

2) move to Atlanta, get hired with some large firm making $65,000 a year, living in Atlantic Station paying $1200/m and enjoying all the amenities mtero Atlanta has to offer.

Which would you choose?

Many times, jobs follow people. If there is a brain drain in Statesboro then there will never be a major corporation locating there. If all you are left to do is work at the school or in some factory then you will lose some of your more valuable citizens. I don't know how old you are but if what you say is true then I would be all in my local government's face crying for higher paying jobs and affordable living for the people. If not, matters will only get worse.

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It seems as if historic Savannah is the same as you described Statesboro. SCAD likes to buy out, and renovate(or even knock down homes, and build new ones) homes, and double or triple rent/mortgage. This makes it difficult for the people in Savannah who can only afford to live in the downtown area. As more homes are being renovated, that part of Savannah gets more beautiful, but the living conditions for low income residents don't. And regardless of how pretty historic Savannah is, it still has a lot of crime in close proximity.

As in comparing Savannah to Atlanta, I was just their. It seems that, when you go to an Atlanta higher-class suburb, you get can get a decent amount of land for a "reasonable" price.(particularly in the southern suburbs) In some of Savannah's suburbs, it seems as if you end up paying around the same price(and even slightly higher in some cases) for less land, less bedrooms, and less bathrooms. For example, my uncle stays in Eagle's Ridge of Lithonia. He has a house that is very nice, has 1 acre of land, 5 bedrooms, and 4 1/2 baths, and the value of his house is about $375,000 currently. In Savannah suburbs, I've seen homes with 4 bedrooms, not quite an acre, 3 1/2 baths for like 425,000.(And they're not even golf course communities). I believe I was in Pooler. I wonder what could cause this.

Maybe it's because areas like Pooler/Bloomingdale/Pt. Wentworth area far less developed than places like the Lithonia/Conyers/Stone Mountain area. The Atlanta areas mentioned still have some very urban problems/issues while our suburbs are more reserved(though definitely not fully, I think Pooler's getting "some" Commercial/retail development). It's possible that people value more calm areas that are in close proximity to high levels of urban development.

Does anyone think any areas of west Chatham will ever become anything like those areas of Atlanta?

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  • 1 month later...

I get the NY thing. I would like to see the Savannah grid laid out across Hutchinson Island and filled in with towers and new squares/plazas, not golf courses and convention hotels. It may take a 100 years but it's a perfect location for a planned highrise district. It would make for an amazing contrast with historic district across the river. Let's just hope that people have the currage to let Savannah change and grow to it's potential. It's already one of the best cities but it's destined to be even greater.

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  • 4 weeks later...

^ You know, that's a good question. Savannah went through a lot problems in the 30 and 40s with many people wanting to demolish some of Savannah's historic areas. Maybe that coupled with people fleeing for the suburbs in the 50s and 60s destroyed any need for Savannah to conitinue the grid system.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Ok, a lot of you may be thinking that I'm absolutely crazy, but think about it. Savannah is located on the extreme southern part of a river that empties into a harbor just like New York, It has Hutchison Island which could be like Manhattan and already has many people living in the inner city. Doesn't it seem like Savannah has the potential now? After your vote, explain your reasoning
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Well, folks can forget the comparison between NYC and Savannah, until that parkway/interstate connects Augusta to Savannah. When the cities are finally linked....all I can say is w-a-t-c-h out Atlanta, as we're going after the money owned to us due to decades of forced segregation.

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Well, folks can forget the comparison between NYC and Savannah, until that parkway/interstate connects Augusta to Savannah. When the cities are finally linked....all I can say is w-a-t-c-h out Atlanta, as we're going after the money owned to us due to decades of forced segregation.
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  • 3 months later...

Firstly, my answer to the initial question is a thundering 'no'. And be careful what you wish for. Savannah already has nice attributes of NYC, but in a much more relaxing context. Forsyth Park is like a mini Central Park. Broughton Street is really getting great street shopping (and hello, a Marc Jacobs store! Cities 10 times bigger don't have that). The new, south end of Savannah is what's 'blah' and borderline nauseating IMO. And if Savannah grows too fast, I'm afraid we'd see more of that kinda crap. And looking at the tricky coastal/river geography and goofy existing highway structure, I'd be afraid of more growth and how that new population would be sustained. The Truman highway totally needs to be tweaked and/or expanded for starters. Savannah is sooo long, and the main way through town is up and down Abercorn?! That street and it's gazillion slow-poke stoplights are a recipe for mental breakdowns. I could knit an entire sweater while waiting at DeRenne and Abercorn alone! By the time you get down to the Savannah Mall area, you don't even care anymore, and give up hope that you'll have any brake pads left at the end of the day.

And if growth doesn't go out, then it's gotta go dense and up. And Savannah is totally height phobic, for sure in the Historic District anyway. Maybe in a decade or two, that Starlight or Starland (?) District will sprout into a more autonomous urban center, like a mini Buckhead or something. But that's really iffy.

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