Richmond Hill vs. Pooler for 55+ Buyers
These are the two corridors most Savannah-area active-adult buyers weigh. They sit in different counties, with different tax rules and a fundamentally different kind of community. This is the comparison that actually decides it.
| Factor | Richmond Hill (Bryan County) | Pooler (Chatham County) |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship 55+ option | Del Webb Heartwood — genuinely age-restricted, ~700 homes, new construction | Age-targeted villas inside Savannah Quarters (Westbrook Villas, The Fairways) — not deed-restricted |
| County tax baseline | Lower; Bryan ran 9 straight millage rollbacks (county 5.770 mills, schools 14.663 in 2025) | Higher county M&O (10.518 mills in 2025) plus school/transit/city layers |
| Homestead freeze | No Stephens-Day; rely on standard homestead and any Bryan senior programs | Stephens-Day freeze applies — but resets to your purchase value and excludes school tax |
| Commute to downtown Savannah | ~23–30 min; <1 mile to I-95 | ~15–20 min; at the I-16/I-95 junction, heavy retail & the airport nearby |
| Healthcare | St. Joseph’s/Candler campus planned inside Heartwood; SouthCoast Health nearby | St. Joseph’s/Candler Pooler campus and abundant medical along the Pooler Parkway corridor |
| Feel | Quieter, riverfront/marsh, master-planned; smaller-town Richmond Hill | Busier, suburban, shopping-and-restaurant dense; near the airport |
How to choose
Pick Richmond Hill / Del Webb if: you want a genuinely age-restricted community with an enforced 55+ lifestyle, new construction, baked-in healthcare, and a quieter setting — and you’re comfortable owning into a community still being built out, with per-lot flood cost as your key variable.
Pick Pooler if: you want maximum convenience (retail, dining, airport, shorter downtown commute), you’re fine with an age-targeted (not deed-restricted) villa, and you value Chatham’s Stephens-Day freeze on the county portion of your bill over the years.
Whichever corridor, model the all-in number — taxes plus the very different coastal insurance picture — on the total cost comparison.
Talk through the trade-off with us