After One Month in Savannah…
Our first month in Savannah had come to an end, faster than expected, and it was fun, weird and exciting as we hoped it would be. As we did after our first month in Oviedo, we completed a small self-survey of our experience, to share our initial impressions of the city.
Most Memorable
Mike: Kayaking on Tybee Island, and especially climbing up onto the Cockspur Island Lighthouse
Jürgen: Getting out of the car on the day we arrived and seeing the Spanish moss for first time.
Favorite Food
Mike: Our meal at the Pink House was so far the culinary highlight; I was in love with the flounder.
Jürgen: Wiley’s pulled pork and macaroni and cheese. Finger licking delicious.
Most Surprising
Mike: The artsy, hipster, liberal population of Savannah; perhaps I hadn’t done my homework properly, but the influence of SCAD totally took me off guard.
Jürgen: How well the weather has kept up. It seems like it’s always sunny!
Most Disappointing
Mike: I appreciate the party atmosphere in Savannah, and totally approve of To-Go Cups, but the bar scene on River Street wasn’t as fun as I’d hoped, with obnoxious tourists getting very drunk, very early in the evening.
Jürgen: Perhaps not a disappointment, but an unpleasant surprise was the Savannah Stink, provided by the paper factory.
Funniest / Weirdest
Mike: I went into the “Health Clinic” near our house to ask for a doctor’s appointment, and the woman at the desk looked me up and down. And then in a sardonic tone, she said, “We do abortions here, honey.”
Jürgen: We took a ride with a taxi driver, who was also a frustrated poet, and he wouldn’t let us leave us car until we had read and commented on his poetry. Only in Savannah!
How Expensive? From 1 (cheap) to 10 (expensive)
Mike: 7; Savannah is a tourist town, and it shows in the prices of the museums and the more touristy restaurants. But overall, it’s not any more expensive than other spots in the US, and the squares are free!
Jürgen: 7; if you know where the locals eat, good food doesn’t have to be expensive.
People from Savannah are…
Mike: … an eccentric lot, but very open to strangers. And talkative!
Jürgen: People here are very friendly and really want to talk to strangers. Being from Germany, where people are a bit colder, I don’t necessarily respond well when people standing next to me at the urinals start chatting me up.
Savannah in Three Words
Mike: Unconventional, Mossy, Haunting
Jürgen: Charming, Clean, Photogenic
Love your insights, guys! Very funny about the Spanish moss and I love pulled pork from just about anywhere, especially on a bun with coleslaw in top…Loving your adventures…
I am really enjoying this look at a town I love. The photographs are beautiful! Thank you.
Love your candor! From a native, I’ll say,”Welcome to Savannah!”
Thank you Sandy!
The Savannah stink! Is that from the horses? I wonder. The city needs to either wash down the streets or get rid of the horses or both. I was thinking it might improve with some rain.
Not get colder? It is not winter yet.
Great observations.
Well sometimes I get a whiff of the that horse smell which is em normal but as Suzanne comments below I mean the paper mill.
Hope buy the end of the 91 days I will miss it too 🙂
The stink? Hmmm, perhaps it is the paper mill when the wind blows just “right.” The longer you live here the less you notice it. OR…it could be the marsh. When we first moved here we couldn’t stand the smell but now I actually love it.
Your observation that Savannah is populated by mostly transplants is highly accurate. I think the city (which I have described as New Orleans without the crime or excess) draws a certain mindset which results in a mostly non-native population.
As to the cost, it is probably 8 or 9 around the historic district, but drops to 5 or 6 outside.
Savannah surprised me in a lot of ways, too. I was expecting a super conservative city but got almost the opposite. I don’t think I met any native Savannahians (sigh). As for the Savannah stink? After the first day, I got used to it and even started to kinda like it. Weird, I know.
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