Expats (Charleston, North: home, neighborhoods, schools)

[Pennybrack]

Curious! Is there any Scottish, English or Irish living in Charleston? If so, what are your thoughts? I currently live in the US (Maryland) and i am married to an American with 2 young kids. I am just curious to the British/Irish perspective of living there! Thanks in advance!

[soulsea]

My wife is Scottish (Renfrewshire) and we moved to Charleston about a year ago from DC.

We absolutely love it here, but to be honest it's got little to do with the fact that she's scottish ... people are generally very nice no matter where you're from. That said, I do run across a lot of folks from the UK, and I think there's a Scottish society group type .thing going on ... the Publix in MP even has a small section with British goods. No Scampi Fries or Frazzles tho, we have those shipped from the UK.

[Pennybrack]

Wow DC! We are in Annapolis, MD, not too far from DC. My husband and I toy with the idea of moving there and I actually flew down and drove around all the subdivisions in MP. We used to live in Atlanta but love the smaller town and slower pace of life, but I am struggling to pull the plug. I actually love Annapolis; but not the cost of housing. So I am somewhat conflicted. Tell your wife I am from Ayrshire. Where in MP did you buy?

[soulsea]

We bought a home in I'on ... but there are loads of great places to live in MP and and Charleston proper. And coming to Charleston from Annapolis is actually a very natural move as the two share a lot of common elements. Come down and spend some time investigating it for yourself ... I think you will really like it, and compared to the mid-atlantic (price per square foot) you can get a lot of home for you money down here.

[Charleston Address]

Annapolis is a beautiful spot. I spent a few weeks there last summer with my son. We were doing back to back lacrosse camps and we thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

As far as your moving here goes: The good news is that the flight from BWI to Charleston is easy so taking a few trip to make sure Charleston/Mt Pleasant is the place for you is fairly easy. Do you like older neighborhoods or newer? Older neighborhoods are going to be found South of 41 and newer neighborhoods North of 41. Are amenities important? North of 41 has more neighborhoods with amenities, that be said, there are some neighborhoods like Creekside, Hobcaw Point, Belle Hall and Ion that have all have pools - some have tennis courts and boating facilities. North of 41 a few places to start are Dunes West - typically bigger lot sizes, Rivertowne, and Hamlin Plantation. Carolina Park is one of the newest developments and has several neighborhoods within the larger development. I gather schools will be with small children.

Good luck!

[Charleston Address]

And no Veda Bread if you are familiar with that!

[cookiesmom]

Coming from Annapolis be prepared for shopping culture shock - nowhere near what is available in the Annapolis area.

[Pennybrack]

Lol! Shopping! That may the deal breaker - I love to shop! Re: neighborhoods I loved I'on and Hibben- these two were my favorites! I have a lot to think about and hopefully I will come to a conclusion soon; one way or another. Thanks for the input.

[soulsea]

I'm not sure what cookiesmom is talking about ... shopping choices in Charleston are FAR greater than that of Annapolis. Other than a few quaint shops everyone we know in Annapolis schleps to DC for shopping. The only thing that is lacking here are department stores, and that's a failing/doomed business model across the country. Charleston does not have the shopping choices of a major city, but certainly a great deal more than Annapolis.

[cookiesmom]

Annapolis has Nordstrom's, Macy's, Lord and Taylor, Saks, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn, Country Curtains.... Wegman's, IKEA, Container Store, L L Bean are all within 25 miles .... Not everybody is into boutique shopping.