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The prospect of moving anywhere is a stressful one but I'm particularly worried about my kids. I have 5, ages 6 - 13 (yes I am crazy!). For the past five years we have been living in a remote corner of SW VA. Its a 35 minute drive to the nearest WalMart and that's without traffic. They go to small schools(which are terribly underfunded),basicly we are in "the sticks". I wonder how they will react to the bustle of the "city". We are looking at living in Summerville or Goose Creek.
The change is something I look forward to. I grew up just outside of DC in Alexandria so I'm used to the city. It's beautiful here and I liked the idea of raising my kids on the river, climbing trees etc. but remote don't pay the bills.
I'd love to hear any success stories of other families that have moved to Charleston with kids and any advice in preparing them for such a change would be welcomed!
I am hoping to relocate from CT to SC over the summer with my son, who would then be starting 5th grade. And he does have special needs regarding reading, so I wonder if SC schools have as much help available as my CT school does?
Also, would it be better to move when entering 5th grade at elementary school, or better to wait until 6th grade when all kids go to a new school, so no one is the newbie (but you still are if you don't know anyone)?
My son started 5th grade here and it was probably the better choice. It gave him the opportunity to get involved in local sports and make friends before heading off to middle school. He didn't have a ton of friends, but at least by the time he went to middle school he knew some people.
Kids are more resilient and adjust easier than you think they will. We also had an 11th grader at the time who as you might imagine was very resistant to the move. I was pretty concerned at first about her being accepted, but after the first 6 weeks she clicked with some friends and we never heard another word about it.
The prospect of moving anywhere is a stressful one but I'm particularly worried about my kids. I have 5, ages 6 - 13 (yes I am crazy!). For the past five years we have been living in a remote corner of SW VA. Its a 35 minute drive to the nearest WalMart and that's without traffic. They go to small schools(which are terribly underfunded),basicly we are in "the sticks". I wonder how they will react to the bustle of the "city". We are looking at living in Summerville or Goose Creek.
The change is something I look forward to. I grew up just outside of DC in Alexandria so I'm used to the city. It's beautiful here and I liked the idea of raising my kids on the river, climbing trees etc. but remote don't pay the bills.
I'd love to hear any success stories of other families that have moved to Charleston with kids and any advice in preparing them for such a change would be welcomed!
First, if you can handle the stress of driving outside of DC in addition to raising 5 children then you can handle anything! I just had to say that.
My husband and I relocated from the southern NJ/Philadelphia area to Summerville over a year ago and we have one child. It's been a great experience for all of us, even for my daughter as she was very nervous about the change and started school here at 12 and in 7th grade.
We decided to buy a home inside a large subdivision because we wanted our daughter to have access to as many children as possible, especially because she is an only child. This may not be an issue or a need for everyone. My daughter was very nervous about meeting other kids and making new friends and she was relieved by the response when she arrived. She's had no problems making friends here. In fact, the children here are polite and friendly and she was welcomed quickly. Most of the subdivisions here in Summerville are full of families with children and there are so many transplanted kids that are going through the same adjustments that she found friends who all related to the same thing. This is something that really helps those new to the area.
Her middle school has been great but she has had to adjust to some changes there, too. For instance, in this county they have a longer school day than she was used to (8:30 am to 4 pm) and she was not used to starting school in August. Neither was I! Also, the curriculum was challenging for her at first, even though she was previously in an expensive private school. She was actually a bit behind the rest of her class when she started. This was especially unexpected because of the unfair "reputation" SC schools have and we can personally attest to the fact that it's not the case everywhere in SC! Her teachers helped her catch up and my daughter is doing well now in 8th grade. She even claims to be looking forward to next year at Summerville High. As a parent I'm grateful that she's getting a good education AND that she's happy there socially.
Another mention of location..we feel we are far enough away from Charleston to be away from the "bustle of the city" yet close enough to drive into town and the beaches. Our subdivision has a pool, playground, tennis and basketball courts, etc for the kids to play in which gives my daughter something to do at home and it helped her to meet the other children. A short drive will take us to the beach or waterways for boating, shopping, movies, water parks, etc. on the weekends for family outings. In short, there are many things to do to keep your children happy and avoid boredom.
Overall, we're very happy with our decision to move. Yes, it was scary for all of us at first, but definitely worth it.
Thanks for the reassurance! I'm looking forward to so many opportunities not only for my kids but for my husband and myself. Both with jobs and life in general. It gets lonely out here in the sticks where the only excitement is the flea market on Memorial Day!
Patty, my research has shown that the school systems both in Dorchester II and Berkley have great systems in place to help kids with reading issues. I think I would be happy with either school system.
I agree with all the comments! As far as rentals, probably won't have many problems as homes are going into the rental market on almost a daily basis. Also lends to buying as there are some motivated sellers here.
I agree with all the comments! As far as rentals, probably won't have many problems as homes are going into the rental market on almost a daily basis. Also lends to buying as there are some motivated sellers here.
Oh I definitely agree.
Even though you may need a larger home, I don't think it will be too difficult to find a rental home to suit all of your needs.
We leased a 2000 sq ft 3 bed 2.5 bath home for 6 months with an option to go month to month (MY terms! ) in the subdivision and school district we were seriously thinking of buying into. We paid 1200. a month over a year ago. And the softer market should ensure that rentals will be more flexible with their leasing terms and price.
While we rented we took a good look at every subdivision in the area, all while we "test drove" the neighborhood we rented in. We also kept a sharp eye out for any deals there, especially from the builder. 6 months into our stay, we were ready to sign on to build a home in our rental subdivision and discovered that a former model home there was slated to be placed on the market. We bought it before it did and got a great deal because the builder wanted to close on it quickly.
I am considering a move by next fall, with a 6th grade girl, 7th grade girl and Hailey will begin school next fall as a junior. She is a diver on her schools swim team and this is very important to her. How are the kids there at accepting outsiders, is there a program for that? Know of any high school teams that include diving???
I broke the news to my two oldest kids and got mixed reactions. While they are obviously sad about leaving their friends, they are equally excited about the prospect of the new adventure. I truely believe that in these schools (DII, Berkley, Charleston) there is a constant flow of "new Kids". Sure, there will be the ones that have lived there all their lives and gone to school together since Kindergarten but with the constant influx of people that are driving Charleston's solidly growing economy, I think that the new kids aren't as big a deal as they might be in the places we are currently calling home. I don't feel that fitting in will be an issue for any of our kids. I look forward to the prospect that my kids will be exposed to the experiences and traditions of kids from all over the country and the world. Trying to prepare them for these changes seems to be the biggest challenge.
I am considering a move by next fall, with a 6th grade girl, 7th grade girl and Hailey will begin school next fall as a junior. She is a diver on her schools swim team and this is very important to her. How are the kids there at accepting outsiders, is there a program for that? Know of any high school teams that include diving???
wtsherri@gwm.sc.edu
Accepting outsiders probably won't be the issue. I'm afraid that there isn't any substantial, if any, diving programs. I couldn't find any real information on any of the local high schools that have a diving program. You may want to send an email to the Head Diving Coach at the University of South Carolina (wtsherri@gwm.sc.edu) Maybe he can give you some insight as to whether he recruits within South Carolina and what High Schools have programs that he would even consider recruiting from. Sorry I didn't have any more info than this. Good Luck
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Diving in South Carolina
