Stay away from Camden County, GA unless you are rich and happily married! (Atlanta: real estate, crime rate)

[bleighorr]

Lived in Norfolk, VA then moved to Raleigh, NC, now in southeast GA about 1.5 hours down from Savannah, 30 min. down from Brunswick.

Went from making $50+K a year to $12.00 an hour down here. I'm living in Camden County, GA, near FL border, where a great job is $12.00 an hour but the cost of living is crazy high here. In Atlanta, the commute to great jobs is a total nightmare but it almost makes you wanna go there to live instead.

It is truly a life's quest to find a great job, a nice area, and affordable daycare as you age. What is acceptable at 25 is not acceptable at 35, so be careful where you plant roots....(ie. buy a house, have kids). It's hard to sell homes now, start over again, and find great daycares.

And that's in ANY metro area.....

But i will say THIS about where I am now (35 miles outside of Jacksonville, FL): The commute to a real job in Jacksonville is HELL (2 lanes on I 95 into Jacksonville, road construction won't be complete for another 10 years....), the crime rate is shocking in Jacksonville, at least one murder every day, sometimes four or five, which pushes people out to Camden County, GA.

Great school systems here in SE Georgia, homes in $200K+ range are about 1,600-1,700 sq ft. 1/4 acre. IF you can take the commute to Jacksonville to make the money to pay for one of these homes, or IF you are retired military, get a decent pension, and work another job....then you can make it in Southeast GA. This is NOT a place for singles and is an absolute NIGHTMARE for single parents and people without support systems. I work for a domestic violence shelter here and work closely with single parents every day. I am also a single parent myself. I also work with the social services system here (DFCS), and they are an absolute nightmare. This is a totally political town, small town USA, who you know, not what you know. I have several friends with master's degrees who are making $12.00 an hour here because they don't know the "right" person. If you "**** off" the wrong person, you'll get blackballed here and won't be hired. I pissed off a DFCS Supervisor here when I called attention to the fact that one of her workers did not handle a client of mine appropriately. I was later told by another worker that if I hadn't pissed her off, she probably would have offered me a job.

There is also nOthing in the budget here for subsidized homes, subsidized daycare is a joke. The healthcare seriously lacking here (everyone is sent down to Jacksonville for healthcare if it's more than an ear infection). I would never have a baby in a hospital here, nor would i ever have any type of surgery here. I would also never live in Jacksonville unless I was filthy rich and could afford one of the $600K homes that would place you in a "better" neighborhood.

Downtown Jacksonville is very pretty, but that's where it ends. Orange Park, FL, a suburb of Jacksonville, is an overcrowded mess, and it can take you an hour to travel 9 stoplights on the main drag on a Saturday. The yards are about .152 of an acre, and the school systems suck. That's why little places like Camden County are growing, b/c people want out of the metro Jacksonville area with the overpriced real estate, high property taxes, and expensive cost of living.

Just to give you a preview of life in Georgia....

[bgnzsavnh]

Went from making $50+K a year to $12.00 an hour down here. I'm living in Camden County, GA, near FL border, where a great job is $12.00 an hour but the cost of living is crazy high here.

Why did you leave a $50,000 job for $12.00?

[tcb]

Originally Posted by bgnzsavnh

Why did you leave a $50,000 job for $12.00?

I almost did something similar, but it was for a girl. But I didn't.

[bleighorr]

I lost my job when I had a baby (hadn't been at the telecommunications company a year). My daycare wouldn't watch him until he was 8 weeks old, didn't trust anyone else with him. I had a week's paid vacation, and they told me that I had a week, and that was all they would give me. I had a territory (40 stores)....and there was a major rate plan change. They took an employee from one of our retail stores and gave him my job.

So, in essence, snowball effect: lost job, lost house. ended up in GA.

[Askhawkins]

You hit alot on the head. But a few more serious issues you forgot to warn about, is the horrific weather and flooding here.

You'd think that a city or area with significant raining each year, would have very good drainage systems. No way Jose!! Moderator cut: off topic Intersection after intersection is flooded. Car after car stuck. It's so horrific, that when it rains, I get terrified to 1) Stay at work in Jacksonville or 2) Go to work at all!!

I moved here 5 yrs ago from Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland's economic system is it's main downfall. And I just got tired of the snowstorms. Otherwise a very beautiful city, with tons and tons to do. However, moving here was an even worse mistake. And I have to drive from Camden to Jacksonville to work everyday. That's 45 min there, 45 minutes back. On CLEAR days and nights. The people here drive like complete idiots. They drive slow, have no clue what the FAST LANE means. And when you flash them, they have no idea to get over. 90% of southern people pass you from the right side. Accidents are at a premium down south.

Camden County. You either have $350K saved up and are retired. Or you have over 1 mill and living it up playing Golf in Fernandina every other day. Otherwise, it's a horror for the Poor Class. (there are no middle class people) any longer in America. If you make less than $100K per year, you are considered poor. There is upper tier poor (50K-99K) then down right nothing ($5K-49K). [MOD} off topic [/mod]
The water Company cut our water off for being 3 days late. The Bill was $33 dollars!! Yep, had to pay a late fee of $10. They cut our water off at least 9 times in 5 years. All for being less than 5 days late EVERYTIME!! The light and gas company acts the same way. Camden County is a ripoff. Moderator cut: off topic You will be guaranteed a few tickets from the Camden, Yulee, and Fernandina areas. BOOK IT!!

[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

[jessiesma]

you need to check it with eeoc.

Originally Posted by bleighorr

I lost my job when I had a baby (hadn't been at the telecommunications company a year). My daycare wouldn't watch him until he was 8 weeks old, didn't trust anyone else with him. I had a week's paid vacation, and they told me that I had a week, and that was all they would give me. I had a territory (40 stores)....and there was a major rate plan change. They took an employee from one of our retail stores and gave him my job.

So, in essence, snowball effect: lost job, lost house. ended up in GA.

[green_mariner]

Originally Posted by bleighorr

Lived in Norfolk, VA then moved to Raleigh, NC, now in southeast GA about 1.5 hours down from Savannah, 30 min. down from Brunswick.

Went from making $50+K a year to $12.00 an hour down here. I'm living in Camden County, GA, near FL border, where a great job is $12.00 an hour but the cost of living is crazy high here. In Atlanta, the commute to great jobs is a total nightmare but it almost makes you wanna go there to live instead.

It is truly a life's quest to find a great job, a nice area, and affordable daycare as you age. What is acceptable at 25 is not acceptable at 35, so be careful where you plant roots....(ie. buy a house, have kids). It's hard to sell homes now, start over again, and find great daycares.

And that's in ANY metro area.....

But i will say THIS about where I am now (35 miles outside of Jacksonville, FL): The commute to a real job in Jacksonville is HELL (2 lanes on I 95 into Jacksonville, road construction won't be complete for another 10 years....), the crime rate is shocking in Jacksonville, at least one murder every day, sometimes four or five, which pushes people out to Camden County, GA.

Great school systems here in SE Georgia, homes in $200K+ range are about 1,600-1,700 sq ft. 1/4 acre. IF you can take the commute to Jacksonville to make the money to pay for one of these homes, or IF you are retired military, get a decent pension, and work another job....then you can make it in Southeast GA. This is NOT a place for singles and is an absolute NIGHTMARE for single parents and people without support systems. I work for a domestic violence shelter here and work closely with single parents every day. I am also a single parent myself. I also work with the social services system here (DFCS), and they are an absolute nightmare. This is a totally political town, small town USA, who you know, not what you know. I have several friends with master's degrees who are making $12.00 an hour here because they don't know the "right" person. If you "**** off" the wrong person, you'll get blackballed here and won't be hired. I pissed off a DFCS Supervisor here when I called attention to the fact that one of her workers did not handle a client of mine appropriately. I was later told by another worker that if I hadn't pissed her off, she probably would have offered me a job.

There is also nOthing in the budget here for subsidized homes, subsidized daycare is a joke. The healthcare seriously lacking here (everyone is sent down to Jacksonville for healthcare if it's more than an ear infection). I would never have a baby in a hospital here, nor would i ever have any type of surgery here. I would also never live in Jacksonville unless I was filthy rich and could afford one of the $600K homes that would place you in a "better" neighborhood.

Downtown Jacksonville is very pretty, but that's where it ends. Orange Park, FL, a suburb of Jacksonville, is an overcrowded mess, and it can take you an hour to travel 9 stoplights on the main drag on a Saturday. The yards are about .152 of an acre, and the school systems suck. That's why little places like Camden County are growing, b/c people want out of the metro Jacksonville area with the overpriced real estate, high property taxes, and expensive cost of living.

Just to give you a preview of life in Georgia....

That is called a traditionalistic society. Basically, political actions are taken by the elite, upper crust. The rich can afford private schools, so there is little investment in making the school system better. You decided to challenge the system and try to get something done. I can't applaud you enough for that. Sadly, when you do that, your job gets put on the line. That is why few people ever take significant action is there is an injustice going on. They have something to lose. The "it's who you know that counts" is a part of the "good-old boy" system. People look out for their own and if you're not one of their own, well, good luck. There is a want for keeping the status quo, so in the reality of things, if you challenge the system, well, bad things happen because you won't have alot of people who will take action with you. Even if they agree, they don't want to lose what they have. I don't blame you for hating Camden County.

[Kemba]

I lived in Camden County for 2 years in the early part of this decade and absolutely loved it! It was close to the action, but somewhat removed. I found the people to be very welcoming and still have contacts in the area. It is a beautiful area with a small-town feel, but it is growing. I never had a problem with the cops, but if you like to speed, this is not the place for you.

[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