Year Round Residents' Opinions?

Our family is considering a lifestyle change. Wife and I have 2 very young children and have lived NE of Charlotte the past 7 years and really enjoy it. Have good job, schools, neighborhood, friends,right on down the line. We visit Cherry Grove several times per year and lived in South Florida for 25 years, so love the beach/ocean. We seem to be drawn to the ocean and are beginning to consider moving east. For those of you who live year round in MB area, what do you think? Comments on schools, places to live, and lifestyle in general. We like N. Myrtle and Garden City/Surfside area and would prefer to be as close to the beach as possible. What is the housing like? Understand we would sacrifice space and lot size the closer to ocean we get and would consider condos also. Thoughts/comments would be appreciated.

Year Round Residents' Opinions?

About 12 years ago we made the decision to move to MB. We had great jobs (me in health education, my husband in partks and rec) %26amp; our son was entering his 2nd year of college. We had vacationed in MB for a number of years and everytime we left we would talk about moving to the beach. Our last vacation here we decided we would go home, let our employers know that in 1 year we would be leaving to move to the beach. We figured we would find employment in the same or similar fields when we moved, and that our son would enjoy visiting the beach during school breaks and summers...well, needless to say neither of us are in the field that we left, our son ended up transferring %26amp; graduating from USC (Univ of South Carolina -- GO GAMECOCKS!)and I would%26#39;ve done the same thing all over again if I had too! Guess what I like about this area is that it still has a ';small town'; feel. And its clean, has a progressive attitude..plus it has alot of things to do.

The area can be hectic at times, especially during season (June thru August) or Bike Rallys, but you learn the shortcuts, and when areas will be the busiest, and just avoid those. Its a bit like having company at your house here...you know, its great when they are here, you enjoy them, but you also enjoy when they leave and things are a bit back to normal...that%26#39;s the way it is handling the tourist season.

Just about the whole Grand Strand is experiencing major growth...we looked at Garden City, Surfside, N Myrtle and Little River as options for us. We settled on Myrtle Beach for a few reasons. First off we moved to the area for the beach, so we wanted to be as close as possible...and we really like the beach in the area we are in (the ';avenues';), I also liked the fact that MB has a great city service department, great recylcling program, just a comfortable place to be. Our schools are getting better, alot on the education debate right now, especially with so many people moving to the area. A number of new schools in the Carolina Forest area (small area across the waterway here in MB).

As far as housing...its wide open, anything from a single wide to multi millon dollar beach houses or golf villas. Depends on your price range. Prior to moving down, we subscribed to the Sun News (local paper) the Sunday edition...this way we had a pretty good feel for the area, knew the going rate of property in certain areas...etc. You can check out their website:

www.myrtlebeachonline.com

You may also want to contact the local chambers...they all have a ';relocation'; packet that may help you with decisions. I%26#39;ve seen so many young kids at the beach with their moms and dads, learning about the ocean, learning to surf and I guess I couldnt think of a better way to raise a child!

Hope all this helps! :)

Year Round Residents' Opinions?

Thank you for your response/feedback. There is just something about the ocean and salt air, not to mention just being in a coastal environment. We%26#39;ll be heading down again in March for a long weekend, so I suppose we%26#39;ll take a look at some areas/houses. By the way, we%26#39;re a family of Gators!

You are welcome! And I guess we have room for a Gator or two!

Thats the best way to do it...check areas out that feel right. Stop by the Chamber offices and pick up the relocation packets, talk to people in the grocery stores...you%26#39;d be amazed of the info you can learn in a grocery store! Good Luck! :)

Well, I don%26#39;t yet qualify as a local but I did just buy a house in south MB. Home prices are escalating but still quite reasonable compared to other east coast resort towns, and therefore a good investment. I would favor single family homes over condos %26amp; you certainly want to own your own land. Watch out for association fees because as sure as death %26amp; taxes, they will continue to go up.

Taxes are cheaper than NC, but there is a surcharge for non-resident property owners.

I can%26#39;t comment on school districts, other than hearing Carolina Forest area is good. This should be a very important consideration. Even the casual observer will notice that MB is in ';expansion mode'; with so many new neighborhoods the realtors can%26#39;t keep track of them all! Most of these are reasonably priced (from $140%26#39;s on up) but not real close to beaches.

The areas you mention would be my choices too...actually still looking to buy in Murrel%26#39;s Inlet area. You can still (if you HUNT)find ';affordable'; property on the east side of Bus17 in Garden City/Surfside but I doubt for much longer. It is a no-brainer that investment here will be rewarded, even if you decide not to stay.

Jobs normally pay less in resort areas, because everyone wants to live there, hence plenty of job candidates. My survey of the construction fields confirmed quite a cut from typical northeast wages.

As far as friendliness, there are rumors that natives (born there) do not warm up to newcomers (especially in the inland towns) but they are getting more used to it %26amp; grateful for the influx financially. We did notice a little rudeness from drivers (where don%26#39;t you?!) but I%26#39;ll bet this would improve with a local license plate!

Good luck to you!