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Hi all! I am hoping you can give me some guidance. I have been viewing many posts on this page and have narrowed down my search based on all your feedback...
So my family and I (younger couple, early 30's, two younger kids under 5 are wanting to relocate). We live in Phx, AZ and frankly am tired of the overpopulation, the big city life, and the extreme heat.
We are looking for a coastal community, family orientated, not a large city but a city where you have all your anemities (grocery story, movies, restaurants etc), warmer weather (no snow), clean ocean for water acitivites, 5 to 10 minutes from the beach. My hubby is a pharmacist and I am a HR consultant. I am not certain how the job market is out there (but I assume that will be our greatest hurdle prior to coming).
I have seen posts on people suggesting Mt. Pleasant, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach .. Any other thoughts? Will it be difficult to find a job close to this region, are they close to major cities?? Thanks so much for your guidance. I went to NC once before and loved it, but never to SC. We will plan to go for a discovery trip prior, but am hoping for more suggestions/guidance.
Also, any thoughts on a NC coastal community if you know, would be great! Pros and cons to NC vs SC??
If you don't like extreme heat you don't want to move here, we have had a couple of really hot summers, the average temp has been 95~99 with heat indexes into the 110s (we have alot of humidity here)
NC or further inland in SC may be more to your liking.....
Charleston is beautiful and has a lot to offer young families....the beaches, history, etc. We had to choose somewhere in the Southeast and after examining and living in a number of other places chose Charleston, and I think we will be here a long while.
I am curious though why you are not looking at the West Coast....perhaps that would be a more natural fit from AZ. And avoiding "extreme heat"...that would suggest coastal California, Oregon, or Washington to me. (Unless those locales are prohibitively expensive). Coming to the South, you will feel the heat, a different heat from AZ, but hard to take all the same.
If you want to avoid extreme temps, maybe coastal Maryland would work? Like Annapolis or the Eastern shore? I know they do get snow, but I don't think it's too bad.
I would definitely recommend either of the Carolinas other than your concern about the heat.
We come from New England and this was our first summer in Charleston. It is definitely hot and to the extreme I might say, but it is such a beautiful place to live I'll put up with the heat for 4 or 5 months. It was an unusually hot summer but Charleston has a lot to offer families and if you can deal with the heat and humidity for part of the year, I think you'd love it. Frankly North Carolina is hot too unless you move to the mountains, which would then put you in the colder, snowier winters.
I agree with "aetcas" that Mount Pleasant would be a good choice. Also, James Island might work for you.
You'll find almost everything that you want and need in Charleston. Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach are also nice areas, but I think that you will have a tough time beating Charleston.
Sure, it gets hot in the summer. Being from Connecticut the trade-off is no big deal. (Don't forget that this is a shorts and flip-flops area.)
Two things that might be somewhat difficult will be selling your Phoenix home and finding employment here. I'd start working on both well in advance of any planned move.
Let me know if you have other concerns or questions.
Thank you all so much! This gives me more ideas! I love the shorts and flip flops type of place (thanks vic1949) Aside from the heat in the summer months, and perhaps a little snow...do I need to be fearful of hurricanes/tropical storms if I plan to live very close to the coast? I may be asking an idiotic question, but I think it is worth the risk right?!! I'm not concerned, but others from AZ say I am being ignorant (but they don't know anymore than i do). I want to go straight to the source of the folks that know! You guys!
Everywhere you live there is a risk of some kind of natural disaster/weather situation. Tornados, earthquakes, ice/snow/blizzards, volcanoes, flooding, fires, hurricanes, etc. There is no place you can go where you can be free from an Act of God. (And I mean that quite seriously).
Our take on the hurricanes is that a major one only happens rarely. You will know it's coming and you will have time to get out. You get insurance.
Is it ideal to have to live with that threat? Well, no, but if an earthquake or tornado gets you do you have any warning?
No place is perfect...you have to assess what you can live with.
Also, if you think you can handle the summer weather and the mosquitoes (get a screened porch!) then I say come visit! Charleston possesses so much charm and beauty; it is very lush and vibrant.
I am from California and have lived all over the Southeast, and Charleston just feels right.
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Aside from the heat in the summer months, and perhaps a little snow...do I need to be fearful of hurricanes/tropical storms if I plan to live very close to the coast? I may be asking an idiotic question, but I think it is worth the risk right?!! I'm not concerned, but others from AZ say I am being ignorant (but they don't know anymore than i do). I want to go straight to the source of the folks that know! You guys!
