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My husband will be retiring within 2 years and we can't wait to leave California. (Sacramento, to be exact.) We're looking at South Carolina. Originally, I was interested in the Greenville area but my husband is looking at Summerville, so both are in the cards. As you probably know, California is a mess- beautiful state, but a political and economic nightmare. We are conservatives and want to move somewhere with traditional values. Our housing here is outrageous and we are taxed/charged for everything you can think of!
Living and working in California is extremely stressful so we want a relaxed, small town environment within 30 mins to a metro area for entertainment and shopping. We would prefer to be near the ocean or a lake but have the mountains within a couple hours. We are looking for a home around 1700+ sq ft for up to $250k with a large lot. What areas would you recommend? I've noticed that pools aren't very common there. Is there a reason for that? How much would utilities average on a house that size?
My husband has never been to the east coast so he's a little nervous about that. We're planning on visiting next year. What is a good time to do that? We're not used to humidity so that is an issue but a very small one.
My husband will be retiring within 2 years and we can't wait to leave California. (Sacramento, to be exact.) We're looking at South Carolina. Originally, I was interested in the Greenville area but my husband is looking at Summerville, so both are in the cards. As you probably know, California is a mess- beautiful state, but a political and economic nightmare. We are conservatives and want to move somewhere with traditional values. Our housing here is outrageous and we are taxed/charged for everything you can think of!
Living and working in California is extremely stressful so we want a relaxed, small town environment within 30 mins to a metro area for entertainment and shopping. We would prefer to be near the ocean or a lake but have the mountains within a couple hours. We are looking for a home around 1700+ sq ft for up to $250k with a large lot. What areas would you recommend? I've noticed that pools aren't very common there. Is there a reason for that? How much would utilities average on a house that size?
My husband has never been to the east coast so he's a little nervous about that. We're planning on visiting next year. What is a good time to do that? We're not used to humidity so that is an issue but a very small one.
We would appreciate any advice you can give us!
Depends if you call Charleston a "metro area"
Maybe "outer" Summerville or really Johns Island area (if you want a lot/small town feel) might be a good bet?
Realize the CHS area is FLAT. I mean biggest hill is 15 ft high. So you would have to drive 3-4 hrs to get those.
Pools are normally HOA/subdivision community shared there.
"We're not used to humidity so that is an issue but a very small one."
Yeah, ask you that one on Aug 1st, then see how small it is...
You should visit in April or May and then again in July or August. Spring and fall are gorgeous, winter is a few cold days intermixed with 60s and 70s, and mid-summer is go the the beach or hunker down in the AC.
Charleston itself is very slightly left leaning, but not so much that you really even notice. Sales taxes are high but real estate property taxes are very low. My utilities for an older 1900sf house average around $250/month (gas, water & electric).
Summerville is a good fit for your housing requirements. People will tell you it's 30 minutes to the beach, but most times you can figure closer to an hour. For mountains, a place like Asheville is about 4 hours away.
Depends if you call Charleston a "metro area"
"We're not used to humidity so that is an issue but a very small one."
Yeah, ask you that one on Aug 1st, then see how small it is...
YES to that one!
But after living here & loving it so much, I truly forgot how extraordinary the Charleston humidity is. We visited the New Jersey shore in mid July & BOOM! I realized that not everywhere resembles wet Hades for 3 months a year.
$250k for 1700 sqft is doable in a number of areas around Charleston including the above-mentioned Johns Island. Depending on whether you're looking for a newer house or would be happy with an older home, the lot size could be harder. By "large lot" do you mean a third to half acre or are you thinking 1 acre or more?
Best time to visit changes depending on your purpose. If you want to experience the best of what Charleston has to offer, April-May would be good (and Spoleto happens in late May-early June). If you want to experience the worst of the heat and humidity, July-August would be it. Personally, my favorite time of year is October-November but that has to do partly with spending time in a kayak.
Summerville is a decent place that is both close to the ocean (30 - 45 minutes, depending on traffic) and two rather large, albeit man-made lakes with Lake Marion and Moultrie not too far to the northeast of there. I don't do much in the way of lakes, but I did take my mother over to see Moultrie last fall and was impressed with just how big the thing is. Marion is even bigger, and I've read it's referred to as South Carolina's "inland sea".
Downtown Summerville has definitely got the small town, sorta "Mayberry" aesthetic, but it does get pretty congested. Just to the northeast of downtown, along 17 towards Interstate 26 is pretty much 90% of all the shopping you'd need on a regular basis with Walmart, Home Depot, Target, Kohl's and a number of other places. There's a mall not too far away towards North Charleston, with other shopping choices in that general area.
A visit would definitely be in order. Spend a week, check out some of the touristy spots to get it out of your system, and do be sure to check other areas around Charleston besides Summerville to get a feel for the general area. Good luck!
OP, what do you mean by traditional values? I'm a man who's married to a man. We live in Charleston. Summerville probably has some men married to men and women married to women, too.
South Carolina's new GOP governor said South Carolina needs to go on a spending diet, right after he asked Donald Trump for $5 billion and right before he decided to pay his chief of staff $31,000 more than his predecessor.
OP, what do you mean by traditional values? I'm a man who's married to a man. We live in Charleston. Summerville probably has some men married to men and women married to women, too.
South Carolina's new GOP governor said South Carolina needs to go on a spending diet, right after he asked Donald Trump for $5 billion and right before he decided to pay his chief of staff $31,000 more than his predecessor.
I suspect the OP is looking for a place where, just as an example, people don't feel the need to constantly shove their sexual orientation down people's throats as a means of eliciting a reaction.
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