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Hey y’all! I love Charleston rightfully so and many others. I’m going to break this down lol to try to Avoid jumping all over the place . Basically I’m looking to relocate , I know Charleston is a gem - with some cons as any place has (too many transplants flooding COL so I’ve heard) basically my situation is this :
1. Born and raised in the south
2. I visited Charleston growing up & fell in love with the history and charm (I’m an old soul)
3. As a teen I had to move around the US and Spent most my late teens early 20s in New York City
4. Nyc became my identity . The way I talk dress everything
So I never thought I would ever leave Brooklyn for the south again.
5. Well everything kind of changed during the pandemic and fast forward to now I’m
Looking for a change. More peace. Easy going life. I’m single female would like to meet
A good man and settle down.’
6. I am well aware of the culture down south and don’t plan to bring north east with me
7. I’m ok with the politics there
8. I am concerned bc while I enjoy the beach and coast, I’m afraid I’ll get bored fast just because I’m
Used to nyc
9. I’m concerned I won’t fit in even if I adapt to southern culture I’ve heard Charleston can be very snobby and pretentious. Although I’m not looking to break into high society lol. Same goes for Manhattan. Never was my crowd anyways.
10. I’m also concerned bc the rent and inflation is insane. I don’t want to pay NEW YORK RENT IN SOUTH CAROLINA WITHOUT NY WAGES. I understand I won’t make nyc money out of nyc but to pay 2k for a studio in the south doesn’t sit well with me. Based off the drastic salary change. (I will have my RN)
11. A lot of ppl say try Savannah (I’ve visited and loved it but perfer Charleston)
12. I like a walkable city. So I don’t want to live too far out. Summerville is a no for me.
13. What are some of the cons here no one speaks of? Do you think I’m better off in ny? Are you a transplant? Did you find it hard to adjust ? Is this a better place to just visit or is living just as a nice? Don’t be afraid to be honest . I want to know the bad just as much as the good . I’m thinking I’m better off staying in New York and just traveling but I get tired of it and really could do without the snow and hassle
The infrastructure is behind. The humidity can be stifling. The laid back pace is exemplified by horse-drawn carriages, narrow streets, and a few cobblestone ones - something to either embrace or to become impatient with. Studios are more like $1,400 to $1,500 new. Hurricane evacuations happen sometimes and are a pain. Certain streets flood a lot - heads up - keep up with the weather (tens of millions are being put into flooding fixes.) I hear nurses’ salaries here need a boost. Those are some drawbacks or possible drawbacks, depending on whether you think they’ll bother you. The things that draw you and others to Charleston are pretty commonly agreed upon and probably don’t need mentioning.
There are no cons that no one speaks of! Everyone who is a native complains of traffic and downtown crowds, neither of which you will even notice, coming from NYC.
There are no cons that no one speaks of! Everyone who is a native complains of traffic and downtown crowds, neither of which you will even notice, coming from NYC.
Thanks .. is it a walkable city if u live downtown or work at Musc? (Sorry not sure where it is been so long ) & is it “dead” there during winter months . Growing up near murrels inlet I remember how unalive the town felt in the winter like a ghost town
Thanks .. is it a walkable city if u live downtown or work at Musc? (Sorry not sure where it is been so long ) & is it “dead” there during winter months . Growing up near murrels inlet I remember how unalive the town felt in the winter like a ghost town
CHS downtown is very walkable. Restaurants and shops and clubs on King don't just shutdown in December and January.
Thanks .. is it a walkable city if u live downtown or work at Musc? (Sorry not sure where it is been so long ) & is it “dead” there during winter months . Growing up near murrels inlet I remember how unalive the town felt in the winter like a ghost town
If you work at MUSC and can afford to live on the west side, it would be very walkable/bike-able. Charleston is not Murrels Inlet and doesn't shut down in the winter. Coming from NY you might not find Charleston to be all that cosmopolitan, but there will be things happening all year round.
Downtown is very walkable. It can be a little cosmopolitan. Just a little...
The issue with living downtown is affordability. Expect to pay at a minimum South of Calhoun $1.8k a month for a 650 sf 1 bedroom apartment. I look at the rental market daily and that would be for a unit on E.Bay in a larger bldg. Farther down the peninsula anything goes. But, it goes up and up ! My advice is to just do a Zillow rental search to see where you would like to live and then do your budget thing ?
LocalHero,
Would just over the river W. of Ashley be a better fit budget wise ?
First off, let me preface by saying my "pros" list would be way larger than the "cons" list. I'm very happy with our relocation out of Washington state. We relocated ~6 months ago from Seattle (used an agent in this thread who was fantastic) so we can list the cons quite easily since they're pretty obvious to us. If I were in your shoes, I'd take the plunge and move out of New York City but that's a decision you have to make. These are ranked in order of annoyance from a Summerville perspective.
1. Drivers in general can be bad. I knew something was up when our insurance rate increased by nearly $500 per year when moving here with no accident history. I also noticed a crap tons of accident lawyer billboards around I-26. We already had to get our car fixed from an accident. Speed limits are too high for some of the areas (my opinion) and I very much worry about our safety in small vehicles. Our next vehicle will definitely be an mid-size SUV+. Too many accidents from people doing "stupid" things on the road. This is most definitely my single biggest complaint.
2. Lack of infrastructure & mixed-use retail. This is not just roads. The area is lacking freeway on-ramps, stop lights, crosswalk signs etc. This somewhat goes hand-in-hand with bad drivers. As an example, there have been over 400 accidents at Rivers Ave and Greenbridge Road over 3.5 years and there's no plan to fix it. The counties appear to increase the sales tax to fix these problems but they don't say ahead of time what the increase will cover. At least out in Summerville, it is also lacking convenience stores/shopping/restaurants per capita big time. If you want a haircut at great clips on the weekend, you need to get on a 90+ minute waitlist and even those fill up and they stop taking people. The counties around here seem to be approving housing developments much faster than mixed-use retail. Why, I don't know but it's annoying and obvious. Pretty much everything retail is busy, at least out in Summerville.
3. Lack of ethnic cuisine. If you're getting a craving for some ethnic cuisine, you'll find the areas can be significantly lacking. Charleston is one of the best food towns in the country, it's just lacking some of the ethnic food diversity that other metro areas have. Not good ethnic grocery stores either.
4. Bugs. Bugs can be bad when out for a walk at times. Didn't account for the annual termite bond fees when planning the move. And yes, we've seen a few non-poisonous snakes too. Enough said.
4. Electric storms/Hurricanes We still haven't entirely gotten used to the severe electric storms & rain downpour the area gets. Since I didn't deal with them in Washington like this, it always puts me a little on edge. It's a bummer the rain & electric storms are more severe in the summer which is swimming season. It can also catch you off-guard when you're driving places and you need to keep the wipers on full speed and didn't bring a jacket. Of course hurricanes are also a factor, but I haven't had to deal with that yet. The humidity/heat concerns we heard about were over-rated unless this was a particularly cool summer.
Quote:
I’ve heard Charleston can be very snobby and pretentious.
We're not near downtown so I can't speak for that, but I have not seen any of this in Summerville. The majority of people we've met in Summerville have been very friendly and pleasant. South Carolina in general consistently ranks as one of the friendliest places in the country.
Last edited by inspiration100; 08-28-2022 at 09:15 AM..
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