Much to the frustrations of Southerners, Northerners and Mid-Westerners have begun flocking from their usual locals to the South. One Southern island is seeing an influx of people moving to it, including both A-Listers and celebrities.
We're talking about Tybee Island in Georgia of course. Until now, the area has been considered underrated and under the radar. But more recently, celebrities have begun to make the Southern Island their home. Sandra Bullock and John Mellencamp among others have purchased properties in Georgia.
"Tybee has really been discovered in the last 10 years or so," Judy O'Neill, a real estate agent, told the DailyMail.com. "We have had some celebrities here before, Sandra Bullock owned a house here, John Mellencamp too. They have since came and went, but there could be others living here, we just don't know! I think people just really like the idea of being here."
The Southern Island To Move To
Unfortunately, that has also jacked up prices to the extreme.
"Home prices have practically doubled since the Covid pandemic," she said. "I sold my first house in 1999 for $35,000, today, the same house would probably go for close to $500,000."
So it doesn't look like it will be easy to find a house on the Southern island any time soon.
"The market has been high all the time. We used to see cheaper prices in the winter, but that is not the case anymore," O'Neill said. Keith Gay, a real estate agent, also added, "Tybee has seen a strong acceleration of home valuations in the last three to four years, much like the rest of the country."
Many people are attracted to move to the island due to its charming but quaint nature.
'Tybee is a funky little island,' Gay said. 'Tybee is a destination island. People from across the country from New York to California come to Tybee and fall in love with it, then move to Charlotte or Savannah and have a beach house to visit in the summers.'
Plus, it's close to Savannah.
'Tybee is a great place to live. There is a ton of community spirit,' O'Neill said. 'If you get bored, you can just drive over the bridge and go to Savannah. Then come back and appreciate it some more.'
