Tybee Island Relocation Information

I have to start by saying that I relocated my family to the islands a little over two years ago. In our lives between the military, college, and jobs, we have lived in many places. With these life experiences I can honestly say that Savannah (outer islands) has been the best move of our lives. Life is relaxing and enjoyable not to mention that we feel like we are living in paradise.

When considering a move out here there are a few things to evaluate when it comes to picking an island location.

Location Selection:

Tybee Island is a beach type setting and a resort community. Your choices are beachfront, walk to the beach, drive to the beach, or a marsh front property. Within those choices there are every type of structure and price range honestly starting in the 400k range and up (mostly up).

Tybee Island Residence:

Most of the Island is investment property with few full time residents. Personally it is a great place to live full time and the "off season" is our favorite time.

As a vacation home, retirement, or investment, Tybee meets all of these needs and more. Thus far it has kept the rustic look and very small town atmosphere with a community of some really great people that respect island living.

There are no real "down sides" to living on Tybee but it does lack shopping (grocery) and parking in season can be a problem. Schools, groceries, stores, medical, and most professional services are offered on the neighboring islands which is at most a 20 minute drive.

Wilmington Island:

Wilmington is primarily full time residents who work on Tybee or Savannah. The island offers primarily single family homes in a quiet residential setting. Deep water locations are great for the family with the 50ft boat they want to dock at their house. Prices start in the 210k range on up and as anywhere; waterfront is a premium. The waterfront is awesome and the deep water locations are something you have to see to appreciate. If you are a "boater" this is an island to consider. Your boat will be very happy living on Wilmington Island not to mention the peacefull enviroment.

You have the same 'island living" without the beach but you are a quick drive to Tybee and Savannah. Benifits as a full time residence are schools are closer, shopping, restaraunts, medical, veterinary, and traffic are much easier for everyday life.

Whitemarsh Island:

Whitemarsh is the inner most Island and offers the quickest travel routes for the commuter. The island is made up with every range of home and a few condos. The schools, shopping, and medical are located here but it has been done in a way that nothing looks cluttered. From here you are 20 minutes from Tybee, 15 minutes from River Street in Savannah, and 10 minutes from the Marinas on the intercoastal. Price ranges are from 150k on up with waterfront being a premium. The Savannah Yacht Club is located here and you can select from deep water, marsh, creek, and tidal creek locations.

Investment property:

Tybee Island is the only island you can honestly do "vacation rentals" with an investment property at the current time. The tourism is based on the Tybee Beach and the goal of everyone is to be on the beach. Current pricing makes it almost impossible for a unit to cash flow and the investor is counting on future value of beachfront island property and in many cases they are simply trying to offset the expenses for their future retirement home.

Wilmington and Whitemarsh islands are composed of mainly full time residents and for investment the normal situation is long term leasing (12 month) on a residence. Cash flow depends on the price paid for the real estate however many people wish to live on these islands because of the schools and setting.

Lifestyle:

Life out here is great! This area has some of the most courtious and polite residents I have ever met. The weather is great and even driving on the islands is a pleasure for the most part. The scenery is the difference and I'm sure that over the years we will become spoiled but for right now we really appreciate everything the area has to offer.

Boating is the best I have ever seen and oddly enough the waters are fairly empty of boaters. If you like fishing you had better get in shape because the fish out here are BIG and abundant. If you like biking, you can tour the islands until your wheels fall off and never get tired of it. Going to the beach for lunch and laying in the pool after work is the normal day out here for us and a chunk of the population.

Having lived in California and Chicago the unique aspect of living down here is that within minutes you can completely change the setting and entertainment. An example would be sitting on the beach at Tybee and then running down to Historic River Street for dinner or deciding on a weekend trip to Tampa. The weather stays greeat most of the year and the winter is so mild (no shovels required) that you never get bored.

Travel:

Most of the fun spots are minutes away so it is easy to take off and have family fun at the last minute. Just the location of Savannah and our GREAT airport and highways makes it affordable and easy to cover the entire east coast for travel. Our airport is something you will really appreciate if you have ever had to travel a lot; it is a comfortable building with very little traffic and yet the flights go everywhere. Parking and pickup are easy and affordable with a very polite staff.

Taxes:

Unfortunately paradise still has taxes but having lived in the Peoples Republic of California, these taxes are reasonable and modest in comparison. I do see GREAT roads and I don't see a great deal of wasteful spending or inflated pension plans so if everything stays within balance, Georgia should remain an affordable tax state.

The easiest way to calculate your property taxes is 1% of the sales price per year. This is not exact but it is close enough no one should get angry at the quote.

Utilities:

This is another big plus in comparison to many areas of the country and I will use my bills as a comparison. We have a 1900 square foot 2 story home with a pool. Running everything well within the comfort level and keeping the pool is excellent shape our electric bill runs $130 per month. Everything in our home is electric and well used.

Water:

Our water bill runs about $60 every 2 months and this includes the sewer cost. There is no need to water the lawn on an average year and if you do, I'm sure it will rain the following day!

Cable:

Cable is cable, there are no deals and it always seems expensive to me but you are in the $65 per month range to see all of the re-runs and goofy programing you want. The up side is high speed internet and a voice over telephone. We did this last year and celebrated the removal of regular phone service. If you have broadband you can add a box (Packet 8) wich will turn your cable into a telephone line. This service runs $19,95 per month for UNLIMITED phone calls anywhere in the US or Canada 24 hours a day. The best part is that it does magically turn into $60 as with the phone company; there are no other charges, taxes, etc..., the final bill each month is $20.55.