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Why I ditched San Francisco for Savannah, the place the median house prices simply $285K

Keyan Karimi

Many Americans are looking to move: Indeed, a record 32.4% of Redfin.com users looked to move to a different metro area in January, which is up from “a previous peak of 31.5% in the first quarter of 2021 and significantly higher than before the pandemic,” the site revealed. And the data showed that San Francisco was the No. 1 destination users were looking to leave. It’s a trend that has been happening for a bit already, other research shows: The number of people leaving the Bay Area jumped 21% from March 2020 and September 2021, according to a report from University of California researchers. In this story, we talk to one of those people who left the Bay Area, and share tips on what to consider if you’re looking to move too. Check out the lowest mortgage rates you can get here now.

When 30-year-old start-up investor Keyan Karimi’s Silicon Valley office shut down due to COVID-19 in March 2020, he went to visit his parents in his hometown of Atlanta. “I was spending time with them and it made me realize something had really been missing from my life. It had been almost 10 years since I spent more than two weeks with my family since I’d gone to college out of state, worked in Dubai and then California,” says Karimi.

With work-from-home becoming the new norm, Karimi began to consider a move. A Zillow search for affordable historic homes in Atlanta didn’t reveal any promising prospects, but when Karimi zoomed out, he noticed a cluster of red dots hovering over Savannah, about 3 and a half hours away. “That led to a visit, since I’d never been there, and I started looking at houses,” says Karimi.

Though he had been renting an apartment in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood while commuting to Silicon Valley, Karimi knew he’d found his next home the minute he walked into a historical row house in downtown Savannah. “Downtown Savannah is actually quite expensive and in the last year it’s really exploded. The value of homes in my neighborhood have gone up 45%, which means my taxes have increased and my cost is actually now a little more than what I paid in rent,” says Karimi. Still, he says it’s like comparing apples to oranges, since he had a junior one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco — and he’s now in a row house duplex with a courtyard and a garage.

Looking for a mortgage? See the lowest rates you might qualify for here.

What it really comes down to for Karimi is the way his life has improved since leaving the tech capital. “I love the walkability, even though San Francisco is considered a walkable place, you still have to walk from neighborhood to neighborhood. Here, it’s block to block and anywhere you want to go out or eat is all in one neighborhood,” says Karimi. This, he says, is one reason Savannah frequently lands on lists of the best cities to visit in the United States.

He was also surprised to discover how much the south had to offer businesswise. “Seeing companies relocating and starting here was really surprising. The population from all the universities has an appetite for innovation, technology and building the community up,” says Karimi. And, that’s made it easier for him to continue to work remotely. “I partnered with some entities here … try to bring an element of Silicon Valley tech as it applies to logistics, and I launched an initiative where we’re going to bring that to some of these companies,” says Karimi. Now, with these projects on his docket, he has even more of an excuse to stay in Georgia permanently.

Of course, he misses many of the people he knew in the Bay Area. “It’s just a different level in San Francisco. No matter where you are in the world, the best talent and the smartest people are drafted by companies to Silicon Valley. Living and working there is something I wouldn’t trade for anything,” says Karimi.

Dreaming of moving to a less pricey city, too?

Here are some resources to help you make that decision:

Housing: See what kind of a mortgage you can qualify for here, and look up what you might pay in rent here.

Cost of living and other lifestyle factors: Compare the cost of living in a new city with your current city hereas well as things like taxes, crime and more.

Healthcare: Look up how US News ranks your the new state ranks in terms of healthcare here.

Jobs: If your current job won’t let you work remotely, you can hunt for jobs via sites like Indeed other Glassdoor.

Crime, education and other lifestyle factors: Look these up on niche.

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