I have lived here for over 3 years now. savannah as a place to live year round is ok. obviously it is a southern city and it is very mild in the winter and very oppressive in the summer. it gets rediculously hot and humid here during the warm months.
if you are thinking of living in savannah I would suggest the downtown area, even the historic district. the town is small and has most things you need in downtown-grocieries, stores, shops, bars, restaurants, etc. it is more expensive, but the atmosphere and culture of the area make up for it. plus being that scad is scattered aroudn downtown it makes commute time by car very short and very very bikeable. parking can sometimes be an issue but if you dont mind walking it shouldnt be too bad. as far as jobs go I'd say its more towards not too many in town. there are a few firms in town that do fairly larger designs, but I have found that for the most part much of the firms here do restorations, homes, etc, but with the historic look and construction. very southernesque as well... I tried to find an internship here this summer and there was just no one looking for any interns. I'm not sure what level you're at but I had no luck finding a job.
tourists can get pretty bad in the warm months, and the sheer amount of tourist trolleys and carriages that drive around downtown can really aggrevate you. its not that bad during the winter though. savannah has its fair share of events, a lot of drinking/bars here. famous for st. patricks day due to the large amount of irish that live here... and college kids on spring break of course. there are a fair amount of galleries as well. the whole art/architecture scene seems to be pretty small-meaning everybody knows everbody kind of deal. -as explained to me by one of my professors here. he doesnt like it here job wise(outside of teaching).

I think I have tried to touch on your main questions....

oh yeah its on the coast too so if the whole "beach community" thing is what you are looking for its here.


Crime- forgot about this. it can be bad at times, a lot of scad kids downtown, and a lot of people that want other peoples stuff... basically you are as safe as you want to be. some people freak out about this btu overall nothing bad has happened to me *knock on wood* but I do have countless stories of friends, professors, fellow students getting abused, robbed, property stolen, broken into, etc...

let me know if you want more specific info about any of this

Thanks joe, that was a lot of what I was looking for. Just a few more questions. At SCAD are most of the faculty full time or do they use a lot of adjunct faculty drawn from local firms?

It seemed when I was there that there were a lot of rich white people and a lot of poor black people. Would you say that race or racial tension is an issue in Savannah?

And how is the school and its populus recieved by the community? is the school a welcomed addition to the area, or do the local percieve it as a nuissance?

Thanks.

most of the architecture faculty- as far as I know -have outside jobs..maybe half. well I'd say about half and half. for the most part the faculty is well experienced and knowledgeable, but there are some younger proffessors as well.
and most of all other faculty do their own art/work too. like sculpture, painting, etc.

there are a lot of "rich" white people and "poor" black people here. and that does create racial tension. I'd like to think of savannah like a target... downtown has mostly students and "rich" white people, but as you go further out there are almost rings of color and neihborhoods. like there isnt just one area with white or blacks, but rather rings of each that progress out, so they alternate like a target. but yes there is a fair amount of racial tension.

I think the school is recieved by the community in both ways, without scad coming and basically revamping the entire downtown area the town would be a shit hole. the school coming here got peopel thinking about how much money could be made renting and selling real estate, so there are a lot of renovations going on around town, but at the same time that effort being put in isnt put in in other neigborhoods which results in low income areas/ghettos, which tends to put crime in the downtown area because thats where the people go to steal, break into cars, etc.
but at the same time I can see that peopel resent us students , thinking we are all rich nd have everything handed to us. I dont see how people can look at scad as a bad thing for the local community/economy, but some do. and the same feeling that scad students are rich and have a lot of money and such draws crime to us too. people specifically go for students here. but if you are careful and use your head you'll be fine.

joe,
three years in savannah, that puts you almost into your fourth year at scad?...i graduated last year. good luck, bro

dan,
savannah is an awesome city if you get to know her. the party scene is amazing if you know the right people, or even if you don't. crime in savannah is the same as every other city in america (dark alleys BAD!!). common sense is king. the beach is nice. the jobs, well, if you love pitched roofs and eifs cornices this is your place. there is room for someone to break out and do their own thing, but the road would be long and hard. moshe sofdie has a new museum under construction there (the new Telfair Museum). the first piece of modern architecture to grace the streets of downtown since Drayton Towers back in the 60's (first building in sav with central air). i think between me and joe that about covers it.

Guys: I went to Savannah back in the good 'ol mid nineties and I loved it! (Lived in Oglethorpe House I believe?)
Always think I should go back and earn another degree. It is a lovely place, nice campus buildings and great for sport on Fridays. (That was the day I took off and either did Mountain Bike in the woods behind Eichberg Hall and surf out on Tybee.
It was fun but then again, at the time I wasn't pursuing an architecture degree.
Hey go to SCAD, earn a professional degree and take advantage of the other programs as much as possible while doing your foundation year!