Stay away from Camden County, GA unless you are rich and happily married! (Savannah: rentals, credit)

[chrisg3]

I think you will like it here. All of the elementary schools are good. I do not know the prices on apartments. We moved here because we like the coast. Fernandina Beach is about 30-40min away. You can take the Ferry to Cumberland Island, but you have to make reservations. The trip is usually 40 min. Most of the locals just drive to Fernandina.

[appalachiangirl]

Ashawkins,
As far as what you termed the "Good old Boy" system it is alive and well in ALL parts of the country. I previously lived in a small town right across the mason-dixon line(PA) in a small town that was exactly as you described, so it isn't one particular area of the country that has these things. I am hoping to move to the Carolinas and hope I can make a home there. While I am visiting South Carolina I may drive down to Georgia and visit Savannah and Tybee island if time and finances allow.

[gimpster]

Camden County used to be affordable several years ago - back when the county's two largest employers were the Union Carbide plant in Woodbine (the county seat) and family-owned Gilman Paper in St. Mary's. Then around 1980, construction began on the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base and when the base got up to the point of where around 10,000 people were working on the base (military and support contractors), it began to be a huge drain on the community. Many of the people who worked there lived elsewhere (like Jacksonville) and commuted, not spending their money in Camden. Also, the huge influx of military dependents on the community infrastructure and school system created huge property tax increases that put a lot of low-income retirees out in the cold. Add in all of the support businesses and retail that followed and what was once a quaint little fishing village (St. Mary's) is now an expensive place to live. If you want to live in the Camden area now and have it be affordable, you have to go West - out to Browntown, Folkston and places like that (for now, anyway).

[Askhawkins]

We live in a decent 3bd/1ba and pay 625. This is actually about as low as you'll get unless we look into the few income-based apts here which continuously have waiting lists. And this is actually the affordable communities from which people commute. Basic shopping.....Walmart is here. Cant comment on school because mine are homeschooled. Feel free to email me for more info, I don't mind and I'll be fair and honest. I don't recommend moving here unless your job is located in Camden County otherwise you'll end up wanting to blow up Exxon, Chevron or whatever gas station you frequent.

Originally Posted by jonashville

I'm considering applying for a job in St. Marys. I am a 42 y/o single parent of a 6 y/o. Can someone tell me a ballpark figure for a 3 BR apt? I don't mind the small town atmosphere as long as there is basic shopping, and I'd love to be closer to the beach. I"m currently in eastern NC. Are there neighboring communities which are affordable but within commuting distance of St Marys? thanks
Jonashville

[Askhawkins]

Just so YOU know, we don't stay where we aren't comfortable...in a few months, Camden County will be history to my family so your snide remark was blatantly unnecessary.

Originally Posted by Kingfysh

You guys hate it down here so much, leave. If you are miserable in your current locale, move. You obviously don't like your jobs and the pay isn't enough to make up for the low quality of life down here. Moderator cut: off topic

[brentyoung12]

I find it hard to trust and believe people who exaggerate their "facts" greatly to try and prove a point. You say Jacksonville has at least one murder everyday and sometimes four or five. Using that math Jacksonville should have 365+ murders a year.

Which is off by about 200+ murders.

[korin1017]

I am a bit confused reading through this thread! Some people seem to love the St. Mary's/Camden County area and others hate it...different strokes for different folks I guess. But when people complain about how expensive it is I have to wonder what people are comparing it too???? Somebody was complaining about a 3 bedroom apartment for less than $700 and I am here in CT paying $875 for 2 bedrooms (utilities NOT included) 45min -1 hr from the nearest real city (Hartford which I think is about the same size as Jax). I know pay is less down there, but I also saw a post of someone working an admin assistant type job for $12/hr and I was only making $14/hr here as an HR assistant with a Bachelor's Degree....So what is so expensive??? I really want to know as my husband and I are thinking of relocating due to the cheaper cost of living!

[Askhawkins]

I don't need to exaggerate anything. Do you keep up with Jacksonville news daily? Well I do. And someone is killed close to EVERY day over there and thats fact. I'm not subjecting my children to that. And I'm not talking about anything before July 2007 cause thats when I moved here. Be belligerent elsewhere, this ain't the place.

Originally Posted by brentyoung12

I find it hard to trust and believe people who exaggerate their "facts" greatly to try and prove a point. You say Jacksonville has at least one murder everyday and sometimes four or five. Using that math Jacksonville should have 365+ murders a year.

Which is off by about 200+ murders.

[Askhawkins]

I am referring to living in Camden County GA if you are poor. To us, making less than $100K/yr is poor. That's where most of this county's people rank. With gas and food costs obviously rising, 2 people have to work full-time good paying jobs to survive (not be comfortable but survive) if you have a family and those good paying jobs are not local. Our opinion of this area is that the job wages (locally) don't equate to the cost of living. And to live in Jacksonville is too dangerous for our taste (i.e. man goes to library to drop off a book and gets car jacked, lady gets carjacked in her driveway, 15 year old shot at a park after an argument, boy dies after being shot in his home during attempted drive-by). Simple as that, you can't take my opinion as fact, if this is living for you, great, but for me, I choose to leave here and never look back. The only thing stopping me now is my lease (and the money it'd cost to break it). Gee Wiz.

[noelle81177]

We moved to Annapolis,MD 1yr ago. If you think Camden is expensive, come up here, you will scratch and claw your way back to Camden County. I lived in Kingsland and St Marys in the 9 yrs I was blessed to be in Camden. I gave birth to 2 of my 3 babies there. The hospital is better than in Annapolis. The people are nicer, the traffic is no comparison. As for the murder rate in Jacksonville, try being 20 min from DC or Baltimore. Even in the small suburb of Annapolis I live in now (Severna Park), the traffic accidents are so bad that there is at least one fatality due to negilgent driving, per week. The average home goes for $500K+ and people walk around (or sail around in their expensive sailboats) with their noses so far up in the air, one may think they're drowning. In Camden, people are kind and always willing to help and I would give anything to be transferred back there. Don't even get me started on the politics. If you even breathe the word conservative, they'll hang you (so much for being tolerent). Maybe if I click my heals 3 times and repeat "There's no place like home", I can wake up from my nightmare and be back in one of the best places I can ever imagine. Count your blessings, it could be a lot worse.