Retirement
Savannah’s a retiree’s dream place to settle. Recreational opportunities for the active retiree abound, from the opportunity to play golf virtually year-round on a variety of courses to boating and sailing around the abundant islands that feed into the city, which are attractive, plentiful, and challenging enough to have landed the city Olympic venue status. Social opportunities are plentiful also, with a variety of organizations tailoring their offerings strictly to older members. Those who are eager to explore new educational horizons have the resources of area universities and their related programs.
Services for the changing needs of an elderly population are in place in Savannah, and they are growing in scope as the demand increases. Health care options are first class, and there are two cancer centers in the middle of the city. If you have family members who are likely to need assistance with household chores or daily supervision because of Alzheimer’s disease, programs are available to help both them and you. Expanded transportation, meal, and utility programs have been established to serve the elderly who need additional help.
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Address: 50 Diamond Causeway
2. Savannah Square Retirement Community
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 927-7550
Description: This facility began offering independent-living, assisted-living, and skilled-nursing housing options in 1990. Financial arrangements call for a $500 deposit and month-to-month leases for apartments and cottages at rates ranging from $2,067 to $3,560. Amenities include communal dining, transportation, security, a library, a variety of community spaces, and other services. The facility covers a total of 15 acres and, between its apartments and cottages, incorporates 200 housing units.
3. Summer Breeze
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 228-4473
Address: 351 Wilmington Island Rd.
Description: This delightful assisted living home offers private cottages and spacious studio-type housing for senior citizens, with an on-site beauty salon, transportation to medical visits and shopping, a full cafeteria with first-class meals, and a setting that is on the skirts of one of Savannah’s most picturesque country clubs. The staff at this facility is caring and efficient. Call for pricing.
4. Club 55
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 236-0363
Address: 3025 Bull St.
Description: This separate suite within the Senior Citizens complex is designed as a social and educational center for all Senior Citizens’ members. It includes meeting facilities, rooms for scheduled bridge games and other recreation, exercise facilities that include treadmills and other machines, computers for classes and Internet access, and a gathering place for health screenings, courses, and seminars on topics of interest to seniors. Dues are $12 annually. Current courses range from keyboarding to tap dancing to oil painting.
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
6. Ruth F. Byck Social Center
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 234-6666
Address: 64 Jasper St.
Description: The Social Center’s adult day-care program provides an option for families facing the hardships of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or similar chronic disorders. Residents receive social interaction, exercise, and meals while family members are freed to go to work or take a break from constant care. The center is located at the rear of the Senior Citizens’ complex.
7. Armstrong Atlantic State University
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 921-5439
Address: 11935 Abercorn St.
Description: Armstrong Atlantic’s courses are based in two locations: at the university’s Southside Savannah campus and on Tybee Island, Chatham County’s beach municipality. Offerings are varied but tend to have musical themes. At Armstrong, the program has expanded into a Lifelong Learning Institute geared toward local membership. Courses are based at the Armstrong Center for Professional & Continuing Education, 11935 Abercorn St.
8. Savannah State University
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 356-2253
Description: Savannah State University has equally diverse offerings. The university’s marshfront setting comes into play in a course on marine life of the Southeast, and other recent courses include Savannah history, phonics, and Gullah culture, which examines the language and African culture retained by a community of Lowcountry slave descendants. Among Savannah State’s most popular Elderhostel offerings are its various jazz courses, taught by members of Savannah’s thriving community of jazz musicians and scholars.
9. Congregation Mickve Israel
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 233-1547
Address: 20 East Gordon St.
Description: The courses sponsored by Mickve Israel tend to focus heavily on Jewish culture and history. The Mickve Israel congregation itself, as the oldest Jewish congregation in the South, is the focus of one course. Not all courses are centered on local topics, however. For example, check out “The Jewish Heritage of the American Musical.”Schedules change each quarter. Your best bet is to call. Note that some courses involve Savannah teamed with other cities.
10. Generationone
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 350-7587
Address: 7137 Hodgson Memorial Dr., Suite 12-B
Description: This club, sponsored by Memorial Health University Medical Center, offers health fairs and screenings, a member discount program, and visits to members hospitalized at Memorial. Classes in such areas as arts and crafts, line dancing, and bridge are scheduled, along with Senior Net computer classes and Internet access. Seminars are offered on health and retirement issues, healthy aging, and driver’s safety. This group also has an active ongoing arrangement with a group-tour company. Eligibility begins at age 55. Membership is $12 per year.
11. Smartsenior
City: Savannah, GA
Category: Retirement
Telephone: (912) 352-4405