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We are from Massachusetts and looking to move South. We want to be somewhere where we can spend more of our year outdoors, enjoy metropolitan life, and find lots to do with our 3 1/2 year old son. My husband works for Whole Foods Market and will be looking for a job there. I am at home with my son but am growing a practice in the Holistic/Yoga community and plan to develop that more once we move.
Its hard to know if Charleston will be a good move for us. We have not spent any time there or in the South really at all.
We most likely will have to find a Montessori/Private/Charter School as we hear the schools are not great...Is this true? We would like to be in a safe, walkable area where we can easily find; parks, cafes, Farmers Markets, yoga, and activities that are fun for our little one. My husband likes o be outdoors, bike, swim and in general be outside without freezing It is important to me that I meet nice, friendly people and that I can can become a part of a Community of mothers with young children who share similar views (progressive)
I think we can cover the outdoors part. We have Whole Foods here too. We do have Montessori as a public option, charter schools as well (but many are performance based or slanted to areas with lower performing schools). The public school quality depends on the area. Typically you'll see Summerville (Dorchester 2) or Mt. Pleasant for public school systems recommended for quality systems from primary through high school.
There are plenty of Mom's clubs. Charleston as a whole is more liberal than many parts of SC, but this is a red state so you're looking at a lighter shade of red. Downtown is more liberal, but then the schools aren't great. My impression is most of MtP tends to be more fiscally conservative and socially libertarian. You can find progressives and several frequent this board, but overall this is a conservative area... as is a majority of the south.
You can absolutely find friends with similar interests and views. It's not like there are 700,000 Bill O'Reilly clones walking around the city like some people would lead you to believe.
The first suggestion though is for you to actually spend some time in the area. Come down for an extended visit or visit a few times. If you're thinking of living within Charleston proper check out the South Windermere area as a potential option. There's a shopping center there that anchors everything, and if you live close enough it makes life walkable to a lot of places that I think you might enjoy.
Heck, even 25 miles out here, we have quite a few Blues, and I'm not referencing the old people, even though I guess some would consider me one of them, too . I come from a long line of New England liberals, and I've not felt uncomfortable here one bit. I love it here. That said, you'll find it a vast change politically from MA, but that's what you have to accept when moving to the South, in general.
Although Charleston and vacinity have the amenities you're looking for, I would recommend at least one exploratory trip down here to get a feel for the area before even considering a move here. Once you've spent some time, you'll be able to gauge you comfort level.
Progressive? err you mean regressive? Mass., is a sewer of moral regression. You do know that the Carolinas hate "liberal" from the north? and for a good reason. Your so called "regressive" ideas has left the North and the Pacific states a humanity of degeneracy where nothing works right....you have high taxes, the highest crime rates and the most ignorant and arrogant people; and when you are done wrecking one place you want to move somewhere else leaving a mess behind you. Stay home with your "pro?REGRESSIVE" ideas. I have travelled to Mass a few times. You people are RUDE and downright dumb. No you are not going to like the Carolinas because people don't take to your "nutty" ideas. You know what is consider holistic in the South? The foundation of the country CHRISITANITY! the one you (pro?) regressives threw out of Massachusetts. How's Buddha working out for you? Oh and the Carolinas like their 2nd Amendment, which I am sure your precious prodigy is taught is a bad thing. Well, the Carolinas like a defensive tools handy against the predators, you Mass., folks are trying to escape from. NO DON'T BRING YOUR IGNORANT IDEAS SOUTH OF THE MASON DIXON LINE.
Progressive? err you mean regressive? Mass., is a sewer of moral regression. You do know that the Carolinas hate "liberal" from the north? and for a good reason. Your so called "regressive" ideas has left the North and the Pacific states a humanity of degeneracy where nothing works right....you have high taxes, the highest crime rates and the most ignorant and arrogant people; and when you are done wrecking one place you want to move somewhere else leaving a mess behind you. Stay home with your "pro?REGRESSIVE" ideas. I have travelled to Mass a few times. You people are RUDE and downright dumb. No you are not going to like the Carolinas because people don't take to your "nutty" ideas. You know what is consider holistic in the South? The foundation of the country CHRISITANITY! the one you (pro?) regressives threw out of Massachusetts. How's Buddha working out for you? Oh and the Carolinas like their 2nd Amendment, which I am sure your precious prodigy is taught is a bad thing. Well, the Carolinas like a defensive tools handy against the predators, you Mass., folks are trying to escape from. NO DON'T BRING YOUR IGNORANT IDEAS SOUTH OF THE MASON DIXON LINE.
Progressive? err you mean regressive? Mass., is a sewer of moral regression. You do know that the Carolinas hate "liberal" from the north? and for a good reason. Your so called "regressive" ideas has left the North and the Pacific states a humanity of degeneracy where nothing works right....you have high taxes, the highest crime rates and the most ignorant and arrogant people; and when you are done wrecking one place you want to move somewhere else leaving a mess behind you. Stay home with your "pro?REGRESSIVE" ideas. I have travelled to Mass a few times. You people are RUDE and downright dumb. No you are not going to like the Carolinas because people don't take to your "nutty" ideas. You know what is consider holistic in the South? The foundation of the country CHRISITANITY! the one you (pro?) regressives threw out of Massachusetts. How's Buddha working out for you? Oh and the Carolinas like their 2nd Amendment, which I am sure your precious prodigy is taught is a bad thing. Well, the Carolinas like a defensive tools handy against the predators, you Mass., folks are trying to escape from. NO DON'T BRING YOUR IGNORANT IDEAS SOUTH OF THE MASON DIXON LINE.
+1 Maybe outside of Charleston (Summerville might work)
Byron1022, I notice from your posting history, you live/have lived in the Hudson Valley, in New York, just as I did for the last 20 years! The two of us were neighbors! Imagine that!
Do you live in Charleston now? Have you ever? No? Oh.
Lol.
As I've seen stated before on this forum, Charleston is more apolitical than it is hard line conservative. It's more conservative leaning but politics is usually not in your face much here in my experience. Of course there are exceptions...
The advice to come for a visit is good if you can manage it. I think you'll find most people very friendly and welcoming. Yoga has a reasonably strong presence here it seems to me and there's plenty of good schools available. Search the forum for opinions on schools and you'll see there are many that are highly rated. One downtown elementary school is excellent, Buist. It's a magnet school with limited enrollment so there's no guarantee that your child will get in but your chances are good if you live downtown. Check out Greatschools.org as well for other highly rated schools in the area.
Finding a place that's Walkable, safe, close to a farmer's market, yoga and fun activities is all possible if you have the budget for it. You're describing some of the more upscale communities around Charleston, most notably downtown Charleston itself. Charleston is not Boston but it's not a small town anymore either. It offers some decent cultural opportunities with the Spoleto Festival topping the list. I rarely hear of someone coming here and not liking it due to the city, or the residents.
The heat/humidity can be a bit overwhelming in the summer but it's not unbearable to most people. Certainly not as bad as the northern winter was last year. Here you can play outdoors all year round whether it's running, tennis, kayaking, soccer, etc. Swimming weather is generally May thru October. I kayak year round.
As IsNull said, there's a Whole Foods in Mt Pleasant and it seems I'm always hearing rumors of another going to be built. There's a similar store, Earthfare, in West Ashley in the South Windermere area that NO10 mentioned.
Most people really like it here. Come for a visit and see for yourself!
As I've seen stated before on this forum, Charleston is more apolitical than it is hard line conservative. It's more conservative leaning but politics is usually not in your face much here in my experience. Of course there are exceptions...
The advice to come for a visit is good if you can manage it. I think you'll find most people very friendly and welcoming. Yoga has a reasonably strong presence here it seems to me and there's plenty of good schools available. Search the forum for opinions on schools and you'll see there are many that are highly rated. One downtown elementary school is excellent, Buist. It's a magnet school with limited enrollment so there's no guarantee that your child will get in but your chances are good if you live downtown. Check out Greatschools.org as well for other highly rated schools in the area.
Finding a place that's Walkable, safe, close to a farmer's market, yoga and fun activities is all possible if you have the budget for it. You're describing some of the more upscale communities around Charleston, most notably downtown Charleston itself. Charleston is not Boston but it's not a small town anymore either. It offers some decent cultural opportunities with the Spoleto Festival topping the list. I rarely hear of someone coming here and not liking it due to the city, or the residents.
The heat/humidity can be a bit overwhelming in the summer but it's not unbearable to most people. Certainly not as bad as the northern winter was last year. Here you can play outdoors all year round whether it's running, tennis, kayaking, soccer, etc. Swimming weather is generally May thru October. I kayak year round.
As IsNull said, there's a Whole Foods in Mt Pleasant and it seems I'm always hearing rumors of another going to be built. There's a similar store, Earthfare, in West Ashley in the South Windermere area that NO10 mentioned.
Most people really like it here. Come for a visit and see for yourself!
Good post, LocalHero.
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It is important to me that I meet nice, friendly people and that I can can become a part of a Community of mothers with young children who share similar views (progressive) 
. I come from a long line of New England liberals, and I've not felt uncomfortable here one bit. I love it here. That said, you'll find it a vast change politically from MA, but that's what you have to accept when moving to the South, in general.
