Savannah, Georgia. My version of heaven on earth. Every bit of southern charm with a taste of coastal bliss. It was everything that I could have wanted in a city and more.
In my opinion, the city is fabulous. The downtown had just enough to keep me busy and excitedly exploring. From the boutiques, to River Street, to the speakeasies and everything in between. One of my favorite things was quick drive to get to the ocean and feasting on all of the seafood your heart desires.
I decided to spend the first few months of my journey in Savannah as I was honestly intimidated by weather conditions that I heard the city experiences during the months of May-September. The early winter months provided me with the perfect conditions. Mid 60s, lots of sun, and by the time I was leaving at the end of April, the weather was making it into the low 80s. It was still too cold to go swimming in the ocean, but I enjoyed the beach all the same!
The public transit was lacking, no, not just lacking it was non-existent. However, with the grid system in which the city is set up, if you are in the downtown vicinity, you are able to easily walk pretty much anywhere you need to be! As far as the traffic, it wasn’t anything too difficult to navigate. When talking about the traffic in regards to Tybee Island, especially during peak times was truly a PITA. As it is an island, there is only one way on and off. This posed major delays in my commute getting off of the island on more than one occasion.
Now for me, Southern Cuisine has got to be one of my favorites. There is something so comforting (get it) in the style in which southern restaurants prepare their dishes. The seafood was some of the best that I have had, it was an added bonus that it was fresh. The cocktails were outstanding and the overall vibe within the restaurant industry was top tier!
Which leads me to my next point. I have never truly experienced southern charm prior to living in Savannah. When I tell you it is not a fallacy, it is not some phrase made out of empty meaning. The people that I interacted with and befriended while in Savannah were the kindest yet and a true embodiment of what I imagine southern charm to be.
One thing I worry about as a solo traveler is the ease of making personal connections when I go out and explore. As someone that works behind a computer screen, I try my best to be the most intentional with my connections to the people in the cities I am visiting and found that this was something that came with ease in this location.
All in all, Savannah was a dream and set the bar extremely high for all of the stops yet to come.