Charleston areaCharleston - North Charleston - Mt. Pleasant - Summerville - Goose Creek
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Now that we have been here in Ladson (Summerville line), we still love it here. A lot of people complain about the traffic. I sure don't! It took me over 2 hours for a 20 minute drive to work every day just outside of DC in Virginia. Folks down here don't know what traffic is. Now if we are saying Myrtle Beach during the summertime, that's traffic!!!
I paid $178k for my house and I'm sure it would be well over $300k in Mt. P. If you love to be on the beach and pay higher home insurance, that's the place to be. It is really pretty over there though. We go to the Boat House Restaurant on Isle of the Palm every couple of weeks. Fantastic food.
Summerville is as far away from the Charleston "scene" as you want to go. If hubby likes the "old stuff" then do not dismiss MTP as it is there, especially in the Old Village section. MTP is closer to/more involved in the CHS artsy/fartsy scene then Summerville is.
Wando High School (serves all MTP) is considered the best high school in the area.
We live near Summerville (Ladson, technically in northern North Charleston) and we go to the beach every week (unless the weather is bad or we are out of town). We go downtown at least once a week. I work in Mount Pleasant so I have access to the amenities of restaurants and the like on a daily basis. I'd love to be closer to the beach, but understand that it comes with a price tag: possible flood insurance, higher home owners insurance, higher risk of named storm damage (if and when it happens of course). People say things about traffic but it's all relative. I lived in MtP for a year and the traffic wasn't bad, but with all of the housing developments coming to MtP, 17 stands to be a nightmare in 4-5 years. But traffic on 26 can only get worse as well.
If you're interested in Summerville, make sure you're looking at Dorchester 2 school district (not all of Summerville is in Dorchester 2).
Don't get me wrong; Mount Pleasant is awesome. But we bought a house for $172k that has 2100 sq feet, 4 bedrooms, 5 years old-house, in a nice neighborhood. The same would be 75k-150k more in Mount Pleasant. I love the beach, but I love practicality as well.
We recently moved to Summerville from Arkansas (July 1). My husband commutes into North Charleston for work and doesn't mind the 30 minute drive. We bought out in Legend Oaks Plantation and love the neighborhood so far. After commuting into Little Rock about an hour each way to get to my son's school - I think I'll love having the school less than a mile from our house.
My only complaint so far is that Summerville is very spread out. But that is to be expected for a community that grew without a well planned vision. Now they are catching up and going through the pains of unplanned growth (traffic, sprawl, etc.) but the town will get through it and it will be a great place to raise a family.
After living in Florida, and going through a few hurricanes, we looked at Mt. P but the bridges and lack of points of egress made us skeptical.
Good luck and I hope you find the right place for your family!
Well, after some anxiety-filled weeks, it looks like things are coming together. My husband is back up north now helping with this end of our upcoming move. He was accepted for a position in Charleston that's right up his alley, and due to its nature, he won't be dealing with a commute into the city every day once he gets settled at work.
We found a PERFECT place to rent in the heart of Summerville's historic district, and I think it's going to be as good a match for us as we could wish for.
Again, thanks for all the input here. Y'all have made this big transition for us just that much easier.
Yes, welcome to the Charleston area! Sound like you're off to a great start!
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