Interested in Charleston (moving, love, fried)

[sbohandley]

Amprtry,

You would be very safe in Downtown Charleston. However the further north in the city of Charleston you go the worse it gets. I think the "line in the sand" is Calhoun street. The northern part of Charleston itself and many parts of North Charleston are quite undesirable and I would not recommend visiting at night. I think some of the suburbs such as Mt. Pleasant, James Island, West Ashley are pretty safe and no doubt the higher property values dictate this. Once you get past North Charleston and Hanahan the crime rate drops off. Ladson, Summerville and especially Goose Creek have much lower crime rates. Beware, they all have their "armpit" area's. Lincolnville is a dump. There is one area in Berkely county just off Hwy 26 around Sangree/ college park area that is very bad. I met some local fire fighters that told me there is a trailer park area with a lot of meth labs and the Hells angels have a bunker nearby. Hopefully once the good land starts to disappear so will some of these types of area's...
Like any city there are places to avoid. The good thing is that most of the people who have a cap popped in their ass are at the wrong place, at the wrong time, doing the wrong thing of the wrong choosing. Drive around the area. Try before you buy.

[DJShymansky]

I think the "line in the sand" is Calhoun street.

That's not necessarily true. Hampton Park, Wagener Terrace, Longborough, and Lownde's are north of 17 on the Charleston Peninsula. There are parts of the peninsula that are lagging far behind in redevelopment, but there's not really a "line in the sand". Even Eastside is beginning to come around with developments like 400 Meeting, and all the areas being revitalized and renovated near the old bridge locations.

[ampetry]

Wow-It's amazing that so many people absolutely love Charleston. It seems that most everyone who lives there are happy living in Charleston. That's what's attracting me the most. People are always saying how laid back people in the south are and I can really see that by reading everyone's replys. Maybe it's that Charleston truly is perfect but I think it's more likely that the southern attitude is that no matter where you live you'll have certain problems but if you have a great attitude and learn to appreciate the good things then the bad things won't seem so bad. I love that attitude and I just hope that my opportunity to join you wonderful people comes quickly. Everyone who's posted a relpy has been so wonderfully helpful and I can't even start to express my gratitude. Thank you everyone for taking the time to encourage (and warn) me, nothing can compare to hearing from people who actually live in the area you want to move and now I'm even more confident that Charleston is the right place for us to move to. So, thanks again!!!

[SCDweller]

Absolutely! Folly Beach has dancing (moonlight mixers) on their pier on the first friday night of each month...Kaminsky's is "a handsome bar with a small and cozy space. It is a warm place to enjoy decadent desserts, specialty coffee drinks and a large selection of wines." It's a fun place people love to hang out. They show outdoor movies in the downtown area of Charleston in May and October in Marion Square.
As far as safety...you should be just fine. Just take the normal cautions you would in any city. The historic district of Chas. is very safe for walking around at night as there are tons of people out on the streets. However, you would want to stay away from areas of North Charleston as they can get dangerous.
Apartments in West Ashley or James Island might work well for you price wise. I would look there first. Apartments in downtown Chas for that price would be considerably smaller. However, in the Medical School area (Near MUSC) many students rent apartments for relatively cheap. (In the range you indicated). Best of luck to you in your search! Also, check out the thread "Apartments in West Ashley" for specific names of apartments recommended by some other agents as well.

[ampetry]

SCDweller-I looked up some of the activities that you mentioned and they're exactly the type of things I would be into. I'm really interested in the moonlight mixers, that would be really fun. I also love the fact that you can be in the city and still be safe! That's rare.

If I could, I would pack up tonight and be in the car tomorrow morning!!! It's almost depressing that I can't do that. Oh well, I can wait a little while longer as long as I know that I'll be down there soon!!!

[SCDweller]

Glad that you are excited. I hope everything falls into place quickly for you and you can move sooner than expected! Have a great one.

[emilybh]

Another thing you will LOVE about SC as compared to VT is that SC has good health insurance regulations which means health insurance companies actually like to do business there which means there is COMPETITION which means there are lots of CHOICES and AFFORDABLE coverage can be found.

I know because I was forced to become somewhat of an expert when the Rhode Island market fell apart to try to prevent two national health insurers from leaving the state. RI had an opportunity to both prevent and end its crisis and it decided instead to try to reinvent the wheel, like other states in the northeast have tried to do....and it is NOT working... Now there are only 2 companies doing business in the individual and small group markets in the whole state. Most of the northeast except for CT and NH are totally messed up and have health insurance rates 2 to 3 times what people pay in the rest of the country (with a few exceptions). NOTE: States to avoid where health insurance, if you have to pay for it yourself, will cost more than your mortgage are MA, RI, VT, ME, NY, NJ.
Sorry for getting off track but a GOOD thing about SC is that health insurance is both more available and affordable than VT.

[sbohandley]

Emily,

We have good coveage with my wife's employer. Trying to find healhcare providers that accept Aetna insurance and especially signa dental is a different matter. Good, hopefully there will be a price break as well as a greater choice of providers that will accept what we have been given.

[emilybh]

People need to understand that true insurance (this is not the case with HMO's with primary care physician requirements) is like having a line of credit. Your card is like a Visa or Mastercard. All providers will "accept" it because the insurer will pay all providers at least the usual and customary rate in the geographic area where you are receiving treatment. You may have a higher deductible or coinsurance if the provider happens to be out of the network your plan may be affiliated with but, as long as your plan is a PPO plan and not an HMO plan and as long as the network is a large one, ideally a national one, you should not have a problem with doctors "accepting" your coverage.

[sbohandley]

I think I worded my statement wrong. I guess our problem is not finding Md's and dentists that will accept our insurance, it is hard to find any "in network" carriers where we live with higher deductable limits.