People who recently moved to Charleston (Summerville, Isle of Palms: appointed, home owners insurance, home)

[beachme]

I also live in Park West..It really isn't that far out. You'll get to learn the short cuts and you learn to by pass "traffic".

[WxJester]

[quote=Pattig;4406786]

Originally Posted by echobeach

as far as friendliness goes I will call it as I see it (which may upset or p.o. some people): people here are friendly to your face no matter what - what they say the minute your back is turned may be completely different and don't hold your breath for that dinner invite to actually materialize, service people will yes you to death but not provide the services you asked for (we went without A/C for over 2 weeks!), and you will be considered an outsider although I am not sure how long this lasts....some people are very angry that "outsiders" have moved here as evidenced by the abundance of those "NATIVE" bumper stickers you see everywhere (aren't we all AMERICANS, this divisiveness, along with the ingrained racism can be troublesome but not enough to cause me regret!)...

Technically haven't moved to Charleston yet (pack the truck tomorrow!), but the hubby and I are in an interesting situation so thought I'd share an observation. We both grew up in Charleston, but we were down there last month looking for a place with the PA plates on the car. We got the usual tourist response from most locals who asked us where we were from - you know, the kind of superficial "I'm just being polite enough to ask because that's what my mama told me to do but I don't really care" interaction. But as soon as we got to the "So are you just visiting Charleston?" with the "Well we grew up here, but we're moving back," more often than not, the tone changed. A lot. Enthusiastic "welcome homes," recommendations, asking whether you think such-and-such has changed, etc. It's almost the "nudge nudge, wink wink, you're in the club" reaction. Drinks got a little stronger the next round, etc. So there's definitely protective feeling going on.

Catch is, that's happening EVERYWHERE. We got the experience of being non-natives in central PA, and despite being three hours from anywhere it's an area where people outside the immediate Penn State area hold outsiders and "gownies" in ultimate contempt. There are some people here who could out-snob any 5th generation Charleston blueblood in their SLEEP. We've been here 8 years finishing our degrees, but one slipped up "y'all" in the wrong crowd and conversation can cut off pretty fast. Don't hold the door open for anyone - they'll think you're trying to mug them. If you don't take the Monday after Thanksgiving off (first day of antlered deer rifle season), something must be wrong with you (either that or you're associated with the university - see the part about there being something wrong with you). We've owned our house in one of the small towns outside of State College for 5 years, and only in the last few months have we finally become worthy of returned waves from the neighbors. And trust me, if I had a nickel for every dinner invite here that I've been promised...

People don't like change, but these days people are so mobile and so numerous that change gets forced on us. So we get defensive. But it's not unique to Charleston. Not by a long shot. It sounds like some people in Charleston are just being more obvious about it than most.

[TheKellyn]

Yes and we both LOVE that (English being the primary language spoken here)!!

[LadyJasper86]

Originally Posted by echobeach

We have been here since late April and continue to fall in love with different things here every week...traffic is all relative to what you are used to...I travel about 14 -16 miles each way to work and rarely spend more than 20-30 minutes on the road, which is not a lot compared to subway rides that are interminable or visiting my sister on a weekend and taking 1-1/2 to over 2 hours to drive about 18 miles when I was living in Brooklyn! We rent on James Island and are enamored of the laid back atmosphere and easy access to beaches...where we will buy a house is still up in the air: limited budget, the unbelievable cost of home insurance here (not really offset by my lower cars' insurance premiums) not to mention you really must drive everywhere and with gas at $4 a gallon we need to be as close to our jobs as possible...as far as friendliness goes I will call it as I see it (which may upset or p.o. some people): people here are friendly to your face no matter what - what they say the minute your back is turned may be completely different and don't hold your breath for that dinner invite to actually materialize, service people will yes you to death but not provide the services you asked for (we went without A/C for over 2 weeks!), and you will be considered an outsider although I am not sure how long this lasts....some people are very angry that "outsiders" have moved here as evidenced by the abundance of those "NATIVE" bumper stickers you see everywhere (aren't we all AMERICANS, this divisiveness, along with the ingrained racism can be troublesome but not enough to cause me regret!)...while I have made several acquaintances and, as someone else said, I know the friends will come eventually, but sometimes you just get lonely for your family or friends that really know you....Am I glad I made the move: 150% glad, I do not miss NYC one bit (just the friends/family), I do not miss the crowds, the filth or the noise...AND I love my beaches and the surprising access to some decent shopping, even if it is mostly chain stores...knowing I can still get to Barnes and Noble at 10 on a Saturday night is somehow comforting! It is a beautiful place to live and I am grateful to be here...oh, one thing I don't think anyone mentioned: you do need to drive VERY cautiously here...I pass on average 2-3 accidents every day...people are ALWAYS on their cell phones and it is dangerous on the road as a result or maybe they are just distracted by all the natural beauty around them!

Yes ma'am we're all Americans. However, many of us are rather proud to be a native of a particular area, hence the bumper stickers.

Also, if you really look into Southern culture, we tend to be very clannish, and while we WILL be nice to a stranger to their face (Its the way we are raised) we DONT have to be nice to them once they go away.

[Pattig]

Originally Posted by LadyJasper86

Yes ma'am we're all Americans. However, many of us are rather proud to be a native of a particular area, hence the bumper stickers.

Also, if you really look into Southern culture, we tend to be very clannish, and while we WILL be nice to a stranger to their face (Its the way we are raised) we DONT have to be nice to them once they go away.

So you're saying southerners are raised to be two-faced?? I think you are in the minority my dear!! Also I don't think "clannish" is the right word either.

[DJShymansky]

Clique-ish, perhaps.

[Theresejenkins]

I wouldn't touch that one with a ten foot pole...lol...

[Mari']

Originally Posted by beth1104

Did you move from out of state? The elem. school is asking me to have immunization records sent to a Dr. here that can transfer the info to a S.C. form before I can register. Wasn't sure why they can't just use the form from previous state, but that's okay I suppose. Anyway, did you find a good Dr. here?

That's odd! We came from out of state and we are in MtP also. The elementary school just took the form I gave them from our previous pediatrician without question.

[csurch]

hey y'all...

what areas should we scout out during our (general info gathering) visit to your fine city this fall? our plan is to relocate to the charleston area from dallas once the school year is finished in may/june. we have 3 kids, aged 11, 5 and 3, my husband works from home, schools are our #1 priority, we would like to be as close to the beach as possible, we would prefer a 5 bedroom home (3000+ sq. ft), we would also love to live in a subdivision that has a lot of family activities as well as a pool, tennis courts, and playground. my husband also has this thing about sitting on our deck looking at our beautiful "water view".

any suggestions?

thanks.

[USCJoe]

I think the general response you will get from members of this forum will depend to a large degree on the general price range in which you would like to stay and what you would consider to be a reasonable driving time to the beach.