Charleston Living (Orangeburg, Clemson, Edisto: apartment, homeowners insurance, houses)

[innocence123]

That Sounds Lovely But I Guess In The Closest I'll Get To The Coast And Find Affordable Housing And Decreasing The Impact Of A Storm While Still Having Great Ammenities I Would Have To Move To Cola Cause The Low Country Would Be Too Compromising. I Wish There Was Another Large Suburb Other Than Summerville That Was A Little Further Inland.

[ChrisStum]

The whole hurricane thing is not worth worrying about. I have lived here since 1976 and the only bad hurricane was Hugo (1989) that was nine years ago. In 1979 david was nothing. And Floyd was a scare but still missed Charleston. Let me point out.. there are no mudslides, ice storms, Bad Floods, tsunamis, Twisters, Droughts, Snow, Dust storms, Earthquakes (although I hear we are due), locust swarms, Astroids, or any other natural disasters you can think of here.
chrisstum

[Rggr]

Originally Posted by innocence123

should i let hurricanes stop me from moving where i want? i would live in florida if i really could.

No, you should not. The threat is much greater in Florida than Charleston though.

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by ChrisStum

The whole hurricane thing is not worth worrying about. I have lived here since 1976 and the only bad hurricane was Hugo (1989) that was nine years ago. In 1979 david was nothing. And Floyd was a scare but still missed Charleston. Let me point out.. there are no mudslides, ice storms, Bad Floods, tsunamis, Twisters, Droughts, Snow, Dust storms, Earthquakes (although I hear we are due), locust swarms, Astroids, or any other natural disasters you can think of here.
chrisstum

You are very right...everyone seems to think we have hurricanes all the time! As you said, the only one which has affected Charleston (other than to cause outrageous traffic jams) since I've lived here (1984) was Hurricane Hugo. Since then, I've evacuated twice and both times it turned out to be a false alarm - thankfully! I would much rather have a hurricane every 20 years or so than all the natural disasters ChrisStum mentioned!

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by Rggr

No, you should not. The threat is much greater in Florida than Charleston though.

I agree....and I would much rather have to evacuate from Charleston than FL in the event of an actual emergency! Not to mention the state of FL has SO MANY massive fires! My grandson (7) has developed respiratory problems because of all the dangerous smoke in the air where they live in central FL...I wish they'd get the heck out of there! (I keep working on getting them to move up here to Charleston ).

[TheKellyn]

WOW! I just moved to Charleston from South Florida and find that the cost of living here is FAR more reasonable than down there! As to hurricanes, I grew up in South Florida so I'm used to the hurricane season. As long as you prepare in advance and have a sturdy place to live you should be fine, honestly. Also, remember that with a hurricane you typically have a week or more to get the heck out of town if it's a big one. Having lived through some of the larger ones to hit Florida, I can honestly say that preparation and heeding warnings goes a long way. For me, it's a fair trade for living in such a glorious town. Besides, hurricanes aren't THAT prevalent.

[luvs2fish]

thekellyn,

What is considered a "sturdy" home?

We are considering a moving to the Charleston area from Southern CA. I agree that a disaster you can prepare for is better than something unexpected.

Are brick homes better?

luvs2fish

[charlottePA]

If you are even willing to go to Orangeburg, then you should first look at St. George or Holly Hill or Summerville or yes, Walterboro. In the other direction, think Moncks Corner or St. Stephen, maybe even Jamestown or Andrews if you like really rural. Personally, I think you may be confusing cost of living with housing costs, which are related, but not exclusive. There is fine housing to be found around Charleston.

And going to Columbia versus Charleston just to avoid hurricanes is curious. If you're going that far, just keep going to Greenville/Sparkleburg. GSP is a far better area--probably the best livable city in S.C., IMO.

I think Orangeburg County got ranked in the top 10 most depressed, economically disadvantaged counties in the nation last year. Unemployment there is around 18%. The gardens are called Edisto and are nothing to really hoot about. I mean really, if there is an armpit to S.C. its' probably Orangeburg. But hey, they do host the National Coon Dog Hunts every now and then. And anytime a politician wants to pander for votes, he/she goes to SC State U. for a speach.

Walterboro has a nice lowcountry feel and is very small town. Some good BBQ that way. It'd probably be closer to Edisto Beach, which is a better beach anyway. Technically Edisto is in Colleton County, though I think Edisto Beach seceeded a while back. Sandlappers love that stuff. Summerville is already growing out the direction to Cottageville, and from there is a hop over to Walterboro.

[Luvsdabeach]

St Stephen and Jamestown are loaded with drugs so I wouldn't recommend those areas.

Just a FYI, when hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte, NC received 100 mph winds. As the storm moved north every state was affected by the storm in some way, mostly the floods from the rainfall.
If a storm hits in the gulf when it moves north there is always the risk of tornado's, wind damage and flooding as it moves north depending on what catagory the storm is.

[charlottePA]

Originally Posted by Luvsdabeach

St Stephen and Jamestown are loaded with drugs so I wouldn't recommend those areas.

Just a FYI, when hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte, NC received 100 mph winds. As the storm moved north every state was affected by the storm in some way, mostly the floods from the rainfall.
If a storm hits in the gulf when it moves north there is always the risk of tornado's, wind damage and flooding as it moves north depending on what catagory the storm is.

True, I would never live in St. Stephen. Or Jamestown. Jamestown has what, like 80 people living there. Seriously. But the OP wants to move to Orangeburg. In comparison, any of these pine-flat towns between are probably paradise.

Excellent point on Hugo. Caught Charlotte flat-footed.

A good hurricane could be GOOD for Charleston. You know, a good flushing out every 20 years helps the construction industry, and leaves behind the people that REALLY want to call SC home