Top 5 (Or More) Things You HATE Most About Living In Charleston? (Darlington: purchases, property taxes)

[OrangeCountyGirl]

Who wants a Gap, anyway?

You can find the same crap at J.Crew, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Dillards.

I'd rather have a boutique or something with unique style.

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by OrangeCountyGirl

Who wants a Gap, anyway?

You can find the same crap at J.Crew, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Dillards.

I'd rather have a boutique or something with unique style.

I agree...I haven't shopped at The Gap since I was in my 20's, but that's apparently a high priority with one poster who dislikes Charleston immensely.

[jeena]

I'm a northerner and since you guys don't want Charleston to get like a "northern city", I will just stay put and not move south, so don't blame me when your home prices don't appreciate from my "northern money" not buying your home, and besides, I will get much more appreciation staying in my home when the sub-prime mortgage crisis is over.

In addition, I will not miss your:

!. Gross palmetto bugs running all around the house

2. Boring downtown area

3. Hurricane locale

4. Drunk college students driving on the roads

5. High crime rate in North Charleston

Signed,

Happy Northerner

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by jeena

I'm a northerner and since you guys don't want Charleston to get like a "northern city", I will just stay put and not move south, so don't blame me when your home prices don't appreciate from my "northern money" not buying your home, and besides, I will get much more appreciation staying in my home when the sub-prime mortgage crisis is over.

In addition, I will not miss your:

!. Gross palmetto bugs running all around the house

2. Boring downtown area

3. Hurricane locale

4. Drunk college students driving on the roads

5. High crime rate in North Charleston

Signed,

Happy Northerner

Great! And you came to this forum because.....????

(I'm so happy to hear that they don't have crime, drunk college students, "boring downtown areas", bugs, or bad weather in the North)
Heck, I'd stay there too!

[OleTomCat]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

Great! And you came to this forum because.....????

(I'm so happy to hear that they don't have crime, drunk college students, "boring downtown areas", bugs, or bad weather in the North)
Heck, I'd stay there too!

One less to crowd the streets and beaches.....

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by OleTomCat

One less to crowd the streets and beaches.....

Happy Birthday! Is it really your birthday?

[OleTomCat]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

Happy Birthday! Is it really your birthday?

For another 24 minutes....

And thank you...

[fqtravlr]

Originally Posted by jeena

I'm a northerner and since you guys don't want Charleston to get like a "northern city", I will just stay put and not move south, so don't blame me when your home prices don't appreciate from my "northern money" not buying your home, and besides, I will get much more appreciation staying in my home when the sub-prime mortgage crisis is over.

In addition, I will not miss your:

!. Gross palmetto bugs running all around the house

2. Boring downtown area

3. Hurricane locale

4. Drunk college students driving on the roads

5. High crime rate in North Charleston

Signed,

Happy Northerner

Yep, Compared to your home town of New York, I'm sure the crime rate in North Charleston must appear astronomical!

I have to admit though, our downtown area must seem pretty mundane after being "downtown" (or is that uptown) in New York.
Been there, made the tour. Manhattan, The Bronx (lovely in the Spring), Staten Island, the BIG suburb of New Jersey.

I've been to quite a few cities in New England, and driven through many many more, and honestly, in most there is an older factory or two surrounded by neighborhoods or housing projects. It always brought to mind the North Area here in Charleston. The industry was developed there because it was an unincorporated part of the County, and the City of Charleston considered it far enough away to not be a nuisance, but close enough to provide the support and jobs to the City. The mills and factories provided housing for the workers because nobody owned a car and the closer they were to work, the better chance they could be at work when needed. Same principle here as it is there. The factories may or may not be functioning, but the housing remains.

The forming of the City of North Charleston in 1973 seemed to catch the City of Charleston offguard, and the City of Charleston has been aggressively pursuing expansion ever since. North Charleston has been trying to reclaim some of the old industrial land and they have been moderately successful. It takes time and money. Everybody wants improvements. Bike paths and sidewalks and new roads, but yet, they want to eliminate property taxes and vote down tolls and keep sales taxes low. I fall into this trap too. I want the best of both worlds. The moderate approach takes time. Time and patience. If you fly into Charleston (or North Charleston) on Thursday and leave on Sunday, you won't see any improvement, just problems. Just like me going to NYC and riding the subway or driving the Cross Bronx Expy. Not exactly the best welcome to the City you could hope for, but it's part of the experience.

Charleston itself has had its share of problems over the years as well. Flooding was a major issue for many years, as the City does not have the one luxury nature afforded to the City of New York. The bedrock is very close to the surface in NYC, providing a solid anchor upon which construction can sit. Here in Charleston, we have land reclaimed from the marsh. As I said before, it is what it is.

Getting back to New England for just a second, when you venture off the main roads and take in the countryside, it really is a great place to visit. I liked the small town feel of the town centers and villages. A good trip for early fall if you haven't been, but early for sure! It gets too cold for me up yonder! Start in Mystic, CT and work your way up through Maine. Beautiful countryside and lobsters! A good place to visit.

Kind of like my hometown.

[jeena]

Wow. thanks for all the responses to my post! Actually, I like Charleston and have family there so that's why I like to read this board, but I was a little hurt over the "northern bashing", I have never heard anyone in NY or anyplace up here putting down southerners, ever!

New York is the financial capital of not only the country, but the world, and now with this financial crisis on Wall St., there is talk of raising our property taxes here, so we get stuck paying more property taxes, even though everyone in the country benefits from the financial markets in NYC. So be happy us northerners will be footing more of the bill for this financial mess, and don't be so hard on us!

I live in a city within a NYC suburb with a low (violent) crime rate, so high crime rates in southern cities concern me. I had an incident on the road with drunk college students in Mt. Pleasant, and almost needed to call the police on my cell phone, but they finally left me alone. Additionally, a family member was robbed at gun point in a S.C. city (not Charleston), so I worry about crime all the time when I visit.

Anyway, enjoy your great restaurants, beaches, gardens, golf courses, historic landmarks, etc., I'll be visiting, but not staying (you all must be thinking; thank goodness, one less northerner down here!)

[OrangeCountyGirl]

Originally Posted by jeena

I'll be visiting, but not staying (you all must be thinking; thank goodness, one less northerner down here!)

Count me out of that thinking.

Some of the people I've enjoyed the most since being down here have been Northerner's.

And, there is something to be said about diversity!