My husband has been interviewing for a job in Charleston. We%26#39;ll be heading down there soon for his final interview but we only have time to make it a quick trip (may not even be a full weekend). I%26#39;d like to get a feel for both the Charleston area and some neighborhoods while there. Are there certain ';must-sees'; when exploring Charleston (not necessarily for touristy things but to really get a feel for the city)? If we have time to explore neighborhoods, what would you recommend? To give you a bit of background, we are in our early/mid 30%26#39;s, both work in marketing, no kids yet, love outdoor activities like hiking, biking, beach, etc and would probably look to spend about $350K on a house.
On a different note, I%26#39;m wondering about culture shock coming from New England? Are the locals welcoming to us yankees? :)
Quick visit to Charleston for possible relocation
With your budget, you may want to look in the Mt. Pleasant area (about 15 minutes from downtown) and close to the beaches. You should be able to find something nice within your price range and when you do have kids, the schools in that part of Charleston are pretty good (just to let you know SC public schools are pretty below par in comparison to the rest of the country...only Mississippi is lower than us...YIKES!) but we do have some great private schools in the area.
You could also find something very nice in Summerville (about 30 minutes to downtown depending on traffic it will be more) and if you find something in District 2, you will have good schools. Summerville is a quaint town (I grew up there and it has grown over the years but still has the town feel to it)...something about it reminds me of Lexington, MA.
I guess where you live depends on where you%26#39;ll work and how much commuting matters to you. I personally prefer Mt. P because just about everything is on that side of town (something you would never have said 10-15 years ago but that side of town has grown like crazy and continues to every day).
As far as welcoming to Yankees...there are so many of you Yanks down here now that Charleston doesn%26#39;t seem as ';Southern'; to me as it did when I was growing up here (since high school, I%26#39;ve lived in DC, Baltimore, Chicago, LA, and Boston before returning home 3 years ago). When I moved back home from Boston, I was amazed at the number of MA tags I saw driving around and it seems like almost week I meet someone from Boston or other parts of MA.
Depending on where you%26#39;re coming from in MA, you could have some culture shock...I did moving back home. After living in Boston, it was hard to come back to a small town and all the things associated with small towns. While downtown Charleston is a walking area, Charleston as a whole is not a walking city...living in Boston, I rarely drove my car as you could literally walk just about everywhere or take the T. Unfortunately that%26#39;s not the case here...and I personally don%26#39;t recommend the bus system in spite of fact my tax money is paying for a portion of it. If you%26#39;re coming from a smaller town, I don%26#39;t think the shock will be as big. One of the things you%26#39;ll probably appreciate the most will be NO SNOW SHOVELING!! While Charleston and Boston are very different, there are a lot of similarities in my opinion. I always felt like Boston was just a giant version of Charleston as Boston just feels like a town to me (I really loved that about Boston...you knew you were in a big city but yet still felt like you were in a town), there%26#39;s the amazing history of both areas, and there%26#39;s definitely the ';old'; families of Charleston and the society just like Boston.
The nightlife in Charleston for people our age is not as grand as Boston but again, if you%26#39;re coming from a smaller town, you may be used to that. I think that was the biggest thing for me...Boston is more ';single'; friendly but Charleston is great if you%26#39;re married.
This really is a great place to live and raise a family! Best wishes with the interview and the move decision!
Quick visit to Charleston for possible relocation
Travelgirl nailed it square on-I couldn%26#39;t add much. $350K won%26#39;t buy as much in Mt Pleasant as it would a few years ago, but it%26#39;ll still get you in. The proximity to Downtown and the beaches on Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island are worth every dime. The schools are pretty good too-for South Carolina...if you ever need them. You may also want to check out James Island-it%26#39;s a very nice area too???
You won%26#39;t have any problem being welcomed-for the most part! There are still a few who won%26#39;t let go of ';The Recent Unpleasantness.'; Remember, Charleston is the last civilized place on Earth! Truth is, most of the locals will more than welcome you and those who don%26#39;t, really do, but won%26#39;t admit it!
Hope everything works out the way you want it to.
My parents just bought a house in South Carolina near the North Carolina border. We visited for a week in December, and found everyone to be nice and friendly. Cashiers are actually happy to wait on you, and on Cape Cod where I live I just don%26#39;t get that anymore. Must be the warmer weather!
We only allow NICE Yankees to move here! LOL.
Thanks everyone for your feedback, it%26#39;s very helpful. It%26#39;s good to know that we would be welcomed even if we do come from the north!
Travelgirl, we live in the outer suburbs of Boston, about a 40 minute drive to the city so we don%26#39;t have easy access to downtown Boston although we go in on a semi-regular basis. I%26#39;m not concerned about nightlife too much so that%26#39;s ok (we%26#39;re pretty boring at night!).
If my husband got this job he would be working on Daniel Island which seems to be very convenient to Mt. Pleasant. It sounds like this is a great town (perhaps the equivalent to Newton near Boston???), one that we were already looking at online. We talked a lot about whether it would make more sense to spend less and cut our mortgage payment from what we%26#39;re paying here but still live a bit further away or keep the payment the same and live in a really nice area close to the city. I think we%26#39;re leaning toward the latter since we would never have that option up here with the prices as crazy as they are. I guess we won%26#39;t know for sure until we check out the areas. We may venture out towards Summerville just to consider that as another option if we want to get more for our money.
I have yet to hear a bad thing about the Charleston area so I%26#39;m keeping my fingers crossed. How nice it would be to escape the snowy winters here!!! If it works out, I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll see a lot more posts from me in the future.
I had a feeling it was Daniel Island...seems to be where most folks are working that are looking to relocate down here. DI is a beautiful little island that has more of a town feel than an island feel. If you can swing it, I would go with Mt. P as the drive from S%26#39;ville would be pretty rough with rush hour traffic here. I don%26#39;t know as much about the real estate market in town (I move so much it%26#39;s hard to get me to stay in one place long enough to buy something) but I%26#39;ve seen listings for places in Park West or Dunes West(both in Mt. P) that seem like they%26#39;d fit within your budget. If you have time before you visit, try to arrange to meet with a real estate agent on this trip as they would really be able to point in the best direction with regards to your budget and personal situtation.
As far as not hearing bad things about Charleston...glad to hear it! Of course no town is perfect so we do have our challenges. Since it is really a subjective issue, I think it%26#39;s best for people to form their own opinions. You%26#39;re probably already planning to but while you%26#39;re visiting, pick up a copy of our local paper ';Post and Courier'; and watch the local news, that will give you a better idea of the life in Charleston.
Best wishes and let us know if you end up here!
Wow, excellent replies from everyone. I liked bud%26#39;s comment about ';nice'; yankees ;-))
My wife works on Daniel Island and we live West of the Ashley; suffice it to say that she absolutely hates the commute. It seems that every day there is an accident or some kind of delay that just eats at you while your trying to get to work.
So in your case, I%26#39;d definitely look at Mt. Pleasant and the area on that side of the Cooper River. There are so many neighborhoods being built up there that I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;ll find something suitable.
And like travelgirl said, our school system leaves a bit to be desired (thank God for Mississippi). Wando High, just north of Mt. P (as fast as that town is growing, it will be downtown soon), is a fine school. I would have no problems sending my son there.
Enjoy your visit!
350K price range in Mt. Pleasant is a tight market. Best thing to do is have a realtor ready and waiting to pounce on homes as soon as they become available onto the market. Homes get snapped up pretty quickly there.
I once drove 4 hours to view a home that was available that morning only to have it under contract by the time I arrived in town. Very frustrating to say the least. You might even want to consider renting a home for a while before you buy so you can be in town for showings.
Thanks everyone. I have two more quick questions. First, it sounds like the real estate market is booming down there but just curious on your thoughts on this. Right now, it has really flattened out up here in Boston. Would you think that investing in a home in Mt. Pleasant would give us a good return in the future since it seems to be growing a lot or is real estate leveling off down there as well?
Also, I%26#39;ve talked to a few places about jobs for myself. One was in North Charleston and the other was right downtown. Would the commute to either of these places be ok from this area? Sounds like traffic is an issue down there although I%26#39;d be hard pressed to think it%26#39;s any worse than Boston! Maybe that%26#39;s just wishful thinking though. :)
Mount Pleasant gets pretty congested. They are working on a new road system to ease things but that will probably take a while. First they have to get past arguing what the best solution is! The commute to downtown or North Charleston would be okay from there in answering your question, not traffic free by any means though.
You might want to check out this site: realtytimes.com/rtmcrstate/South_Carolina
It might help you a little to what is going on around here in the real estate market.
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