any information will help- please! (Charleston, Mount Pleasant: real estate, apartments, rentals)

[readytomove26]

Hello! My fiance and I are going to be moving to the Charleston area in September. We are 20somethings who currently live in Charlottesville, VA. He is a chef at a resort, and I am an administrative assistant, both of us taking classes at the local community college. One goal of moving to Charleston is to continue working on our degrees.
Currently, my income is $24k and his is $11 an hour with full benefits.
We pay $950 a month for rent in a considerable sized apartment.

With all that said- how easy is it to find jobs similar to the ones we have? Is the pay rate comparable? We are trying to figure out how much we will be able to afford for rent. Ideally, we'd like to stay under $850 or so.

The area that catches our eye the most is Mt Pleasant. We really want to be near the beach without getting too pricey.

Is it safe to move first and find a job second? (We both have waited tables for years- if all else failed, its usually easy to get hired as a server in the meantime).

Any information at all would be incredibly helpful. Thank you!!!

[Rggr]

Originally Posted by readytomove26

Hello! My fiance and I are going to be moving to the Charleston area in September. We are 20somethings who currently live in Charlottesville, VA. He is a chef at a resort, and I am an administrative assistant, both of us taking classes at the local community college. One goal of moving to Charleston is to continue working on our degrees.
Currently, my income is $24k and his is $11 an hour with full benefits.
We pay $950 a month for rent in a considerable sized apartment.

With all that said- how easy is it to find jobs similar to the ones we have? Is the pay rate comparable? We are trying to figure out how much we will be able to afford for rent. Ideally, we'd like to stay under $850 or so.

Given that the food and beverage industry in such a big part of Charleston, and you can work anywhere, I would think you could find similar jobs. I can't say for sure, but I think you should find pay pretty comparable to that.

Originally Posted by readytomove26

The area that catches our eye the most is Mt Pleasant. We really want to be near the beach without getting too pricey.

You could probably find something in your range in Mt. Pleasant. James Island is generally cheaper than Mt. Pleasant and is also close to the beach. Between the two, I think you will find something that works for you.

Originally Posted by readytomove26

Is it safe to move first and find a job second? (We both have waited tables for years- if all else failed, its usually easy to get hired as a server in the meantime).

There is always a risk in doing that, but given what you do, and the ability to wait tables just in case, I would think you could pull it off.

[pbass]

I would suggest going ahead and moving. I definitely think you could find jobs with similar pay. This is a popular tourist town with a lot of great restaurants. We also have several resorts in town that he might want to send a resume to - Kiawah, Seabrook Island, Wild Dunes Resort. Mt. Pleasant is definitely a hot pick for young couples. The houses are a little bit higher than other areas of town. You may want to consider James Island or West Ashley. Those areas are not far from Folly Beach - about 15 - 20 minutes. Hope this helps.

[beachme]

I live in Mount Pleasant now. I was previously in the Food and Bev industry and so was my husband. It is going to be easy to find work. I believe the only issue you may have is finding a place to live. Most of the apartments in Mt Pleasant have gone condo conversion. It won't be very hard to find rental,just maybe not an apartment. Most rentals in Mt P are around $1,000. I don't handle rentals, but I did a quick search for you on mls.

Good Luck!

[readytomove26]

I checked out the websites on the resorts, and they are VERY similar to where he's working now. You all have been very helpful- thank you so much!

[Jim3310]

If you bump up your rent to $1K per month, you will be very comfortable in any number of places down here. Keep in mind two things; social life & commute. Other than that, you're pretty much good to go.

I'd visit first & get a job before I moved here. It's just too stressful the other way around.
jim

[luvnthebeach]

Good luck surviving on that much income. Don't mean to sound rude but Mt Pleasant is expensive! Apartments and for that matter real estate in this area are INSANE.

[geraldz]

Craigslist is probably the best place to search for a rental. Just type in "Mount Pleasant" and you'll see a wide range of prices.