Travel In The American Southeast: Nashville To Savannah Region
Relocation To the Southeast USA
A reader wrote in with a question about where to live: Can anyone give me information about moving to another state like Tennessee or Georgia? (Nashville or Savannah).
Nashville and Savannah are two of my favorite southern cities and either is a good place to live for singles, families, and seniors. When considering relocation to a new city, a number of factors are important.
Among the most important are cost of living, crime rates, physical size and population size of the city, businesses and services available there, public transportation, school systems, the local job market, and some others. Visitor attractions, night life, and the art scene are also often deciding factors in a move. Nashville and Savannah are different in many of these elements.
Deep South Differences
A large difference between Nashville and Savannah is that Savannah is part of the Historic Deep South and its economy is largely based in the Port of Savannah on the Atlantic Ocean, the US military in the area, and Tourism.
Nashville offers more jobs than Savannah has listed and its economy is based in small and large business ventures as well as the Music and Entertainment Industries and the Port of Nashville on the Cumberland River. A vibrant fine arts culture has establised itself and rapidly expanded in the 2010's.
Nashville has received many awards from financial, economic, retirement, and travel magazines and organizations in the 2000s. For instance, Money.com named the city to its Top 25 for Work and Business in 2009 and 9th Best Place to Retire in America in 2011. Black Enterprise magazine puts it at 4th Best Place to Retire in 2011.
Nashville TN and Savannah GA: 500 Miles Apart
NASHVILLE - 
SAVANNAH - Port of Savannah
Relocation Resources
Savannah
Chatham County Seat, Savannah, offers a gorgeous Historic District of the Antebellum South with mansions, parks, and reenactment events carrying out the history of the Civil War for visitors.
The city is the home of Food Network's Paula Dean and her various cooking shows as well. The Port of Savannah is a transportation and shipping hub of he first order and military installations like Hunter Army Airfield are contributors to the economy. The International Paper Company has had a large presence in Savannah ever since The Great Depression, when agriculture (cotton and others) began to decline.
Savannah encourages small business enterprises via a number of long-term development programs and expects population growth to meet or exceed an additional 140,000 between 2000 - 2030. The cost of living in Savannah is found to be one of the lowest of major East Coast cities in America and lower than the national average.
Places to Live
Nashville
Nashville is the county seat of Davidson County and its Chamber of Commerce reports that the city enjoys a low cost of living compared to the national average (lower than Savannah as well), no personal city income tax, a diverse population that has access to affordable living spaces, a well developed arts and cultural community, historic venues, outstanding regional healthcare services, great schools K-12 and postsecondary (24 colleges and universities), and many outdoor recreational activities.
The climate is described as seasonal and warmer overall than the Midwest, but cooler on average, than Savannah to the south.
Transportation is outstanding in this city, with an international airport, rail service from an intermodal hub, and water transport from the Cumberland River throughout the Midwest and South. The number of passengers per year has increased from 2004 - 2008 by a million people up to 9 million per year in 2008 - 2010.
Nashville on the Cumberland River
City Comparisons: 2011 - 2016
Nashville
| Savannah
|
|---|---|
Metro Population: 607,500+
| Metro Population: 130,800+
|
Housing Cost of Living: 93 (Average is 100)
| Housing Cost of Living: 78
|
Number of Jobs: 55,000 listings, over double that of 2011
| Number of Jobs: 8,000+ ; up from 5,200 in 2011
|
HIGH DEMAND JOBS: NURSES: RNs and LPNs, Sales and Customer Service Jobs, Physical and occupational Therapists. Truck Drivers, Project Managers, Fast Food Crew, .Net and Java Developers, Managers, Supervisors, Pharmacy Technicians, Business Analysts.
| HIGH DEMAND JOBS: CDL Truck Drivers, Occupational and Physical Therapists, Event Specialists, Sales and Customer Service Jobs, Truck Drivers, Pharmacy Technicians, Supervisors, Pizza Management and Crew Jobs.
|
Savannah Riverfront
Economically, Nashville has the greater number of job listings, with over 23,000 job vacancies in October 2011 compared to approximately 5,000 jobs listed for the Savannah Area. Savanah jobs listings increased significantly in 2008 - 2009 and then declined, but Nashville listings have risen higher in numbers in 2010 - 2011.
Although fewer job openings exist in Savannah, the cost of living is lower than for Nashville in several categories, the Savannah cost of living for housing being the lowest of any (groceries, utilities, etc.) at 78.
More About Nashville And Savannah
- Work In Nashville: America's Smartest Cities
The long-time Country Music stronghold of Nashville, Tennessee is also one of the 25 Smartest Cities in America, according to Money Magazine. A substantial proportion of its residents hold a Bachelor's Degree or higher. - The Pirates House: Savannah Georgia
The Pirates House in Savannah Georgia was built in 1753 and is supposed to be one of Georgia's most haunted locations. The Pirates House in Savannah Georgia was built in 1753 and is supposed to be one of Georgia's most haunted locations. - Jobs and Travel: Aiken SC and Lower Savannah Region
In considering Travel and Tourism - and family vacations - think about the Aikin area on the western side of South Carolina beside Georgia. In a recent National Geographic issue dedicated to the Top 50 Tours the society recommends.
© 2011 Patty Inglish
Comments
Great hub with lots of information about relocating to Nashville or Savannah. I liked the comparison charts, the cost of living info and the job outlook information.
Voted up, useful and interesting.
- Author
I just read that Nashville is also on a list of 50 Top Cities to watch in the future. Lots of economic success is predicted. Thanks for commenting!
I was in Savannah last June and it is worth the trip. Did you know that the port of Savannah does more shipping than every Florida port combined? That is a busy place.
Thanks guys, it looks like Nashville might be my choice! Keep the good info coming!! I appreciate it all :)
I also thought the comparison charts were helpful and although I have never personally been to Nashville, Savannah was one of the places I did almost move to to attend college (Savannah College of Art and Design). Looking back, I regret not going as I loved the town and every time I visit I love it more and more.
Wonderful! I have never been to Savannah, but I have been to Nashville and I loved it. Your hub entices me to visit Savannah. Thank you for the abundance of information.
I relocated to Jacksonville nearby back in the day. I have been through Savannah and had a good time.
I was amazed by how Nashville looks today, after last seeing it in 1997. What a vibrant town it is, and very diversified away from just the music industry.
Thank you, Patty, for your hard work of putting all these interesting and helpful information together.
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