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Good Morning. Our family moved from Milton Ontario (Toronto) back in 1997. Originally we moved to the Atlanta area and have been living in Mt. Pleasant since 2008.
We moved with three small children -- 9, 7 and newborn -- yes just two weeks old. My kids are now 31, 29 and 22.
Schools -- Mt. Pleasant has great schools -- the transition should be fairly easy. School systems in the same state can be a little different so you might find that there are some minor curriculum differences but nothing earth shattering.
Lifestyle -- not much different. You don't have three rinks within 15 minutes of your house but for the most part similar lifestyles for families. Summers are hot and humid -- but I love it. Winters -- well you'll see -- your kids may never own a 'ski jacket' again.
Biggest issue was establishing credit, getting a mortgage, etc. We were fortunate to buy a house in 1997 with a company that had their own financing so we secured a mortgage through them -- and then were able to get a car loan through the same finance company. BUT I have heard of Canadians struggling to get a mortgage. The Canadian credit rating did not transfer.
Commute -- depends on where you are coming from. We live south of Carolina Park or Park West and my husband works downtown -- it is the easiest commute we have had EVER. But in Canada we lived in the Greater Toronto Area & then in Atlanta.
There is an adjustment with health care system. It is different.
Let me know if you have specific questions.
Thank you very much for the insights!
We currently live in Burlington, so yes, GTA - And I know what you mean about the commute, etc.
House prices here went crazy, so sometimes we look at our house, and think "how can this 'small' house [2200 sq ft] cost over a million dollars", with this weather, etc... :/ So even though Burlington is one of the best ranked cities in Canada, it is becoming unavoidable, and it's not making sense live here anymore - Even with all the other great things...
Toronto area -- then you will find the commute a breeze and a welcome break from the 401.
We took three years to sell our house in the Atlanta area, and I know Mt. Pleasant as well as any realtor. My husband also works in residential land development.
While Carolina Park and Park West are amazing communities. For us -- they were a little too far away from the beaches and Charleston downtown.
That's a personal choice for sure. Of course they are AMAZING family communities, and have great schools.
(My youngest went to Wando and while it was large in student population, the opportunities were plentiful).
Charleston is a much much smaller community. You don't have major sports teams, you don't get all the big concert acts, and the shopping is not like the GTA. And -- lack of diversity in ethnic restaurants -- lol....minor differences in food trends but nothing to really upset your world. I love going to Shem Creek to do my shopping for fish -- once you are settled here I'll give you the scoop on getting the best fresh fish.
Minor sports teams, easy access to Charlotte & Atlanta, great restaurants...and just that Low Country living can't be beat.
High taxes in Charleston --- who said that. Even in the southeast it has some of the lowest taxes.
Housing is expensive -- not Toronto expensive (mind you will take a hit on the exchange).....but once you are here you will find the cost of living is not that high (coming from Toronto). We travel to Toronto area at least once a year and it always is an adjustment to see the cost of gas, some food (produce is not that expensive in Toronto -- it can be here).
Now that I know you are coming from the GTA, I really can relate to any differences in lifestyle, etc.
Toronto is still my favorite place to live -- it just has winter.......and now is so expensive housing wise....but that city -- oh my.
Thank you for sharing your story! Very helpful!
We live in Burlington, so I can relate to all the GTA 'issues', and also the good things
We really like the area, but I think we just reached our threshold - for cost of living being too high. We look at our little house, and can't believe it costs over a million dollars, with this weather... :/ We our our pool for pretty much 3 1/2 months (and that is a little bit of a stretch). If it was warm most of the time, OR, houses did not cost ridiculous amount of money, we would've just stayed.
We were looking at Carolina Park and Park West - But you said you guys moved somewhere else? Maybe I missed, but where did you end up moving to?
Another big worry for us is that we would have to go there on a "TN Status", so that makes things that much more "uncertain"... I think I will post that in another topic. (can of worms...)
Hi Thomas, while we dont have a huge amount of Canadians that move here directly, compared to say, folks from Ohio, we do have many folks from up that way. Are you moving for a job? Is drive commute times important to you? I find that placing folks in areas where they travel agaisnt the flow of traffic is a nice break from the morning humdrum. For example, I live in W. Ashley and commute to Summerville daily. I never even hit the breaks on the way to work, but inbound traffic will be at a standstill.
Enrolling your kids for school isnt a hard venture, finding child care might be a tougher prospect as we dont have enough child care professionals here currently.
For the price range you're considering (Park West and Carolina Park) you can pretty much afford most areas of town.
There are plenty of good public schools, magnet programs, charter programs, etc that youre kids will get a fine education here.
What drew you guys to Mt Pleasant?
Thank you for all the info!
Well, we would like to work/live south of the border, and my wife felt in love with the place (never been there though!), so I guess you can say we would be going there for a job, since that is the only way we can go! I really thought it was easier for Canadians to go there, but apparently is not that easy... which, as I posted in a few replies just now, it's more of a process that we anticipated. So I'm not even sure if our 'dreams' can become a reality at this point. ('TN Status', 3 years caps/renewal, etc......or the other path, "H1B Visa", which is a pain, since employers hate to deal with that... really, for the nice Canadian neighbors? )
So at this point we have to sort out job, (TN or h1b stuff )...and only then house, etc...
Fellow Canadian here. Lived in Toronto most of my life. I've since lived in various US states and recently moved to Summerville. As someone mentioned, healthcare is different in US compared to Canada, it will be an adjustment. In terms of weather, I'm new here so I can't say much about summer, it's already starting to warm up! You will love the milder winter here for sure. People here are as friendly and nice as Canadians. Our neighborhood has a good mix of retirees and young families with kids the same age as yours. Also, you will love the lower sales tax here! Not sure which part of Ontario you're from, but if you are familiar with Toronto traffic (DVP for example), the rush hour traffic here is nothing compared to that!
We live in Burlington, so very familiar with the commute problems, even when taking the Go train
But is the weather only now warming up? I thought only Dec/Jan were a little cold...?
Thank you for the insights!
We live in Burlington, so very familiar with the commute problems, even when taking the Go train
But is the weather only now warming up? I thought only Dec/Jan were a little cold...?
Thank you for the insights!
Grew up in Mississauga, lived in TO for younger life and ended up in Milton when it was time to have the kids.
AND OMG -- yes -- house prices in GTA Toronto area are off the chain.
For the southeast Mt. Pleasant SC seems to be expensive - but they have no idea what someone pays for the same house in the GTA.
Good luck -- yes it is more complicated than most think
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)...and only then house, etc... 
