Talk to me about James Island! (area, rules, people)

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by harris1214

My wife and I are moving out of the Atlanta area and seriously considering James Island as well. We have two small kids - a toddler and a 7 yr old. I have seen some reasonably priced townhomes for rent on James Island. They all seem to be located in the same area - Fleming Rd, Stephan Dr and Howle Ave. All are dead end streets across from Riverland Terrace Subdivision. Since we have kids, can anyone tell me if this area is safe? Also, is Harbor View Elementary considered a good school?

Thank you in advance for all your help!

Fleming Rd. and Howle Ave. are reasonably priced for a reason - high crime and drug-infested. About a year and a half ago, a man was beaten, burned, sodomized, tortured, and dismembered in an empty townhouse on Fleming Rd. because he owed some drug dealers money. I know one of the detectives who worked that case. I don't know about Stephan Dr.. Riverland Terrace itself is nice for the most part - there are some rough areas there too, though.
Yes, Harbor View Elementary is a great school as is Stiles Point Elementary.

[wildwoodflower]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

Fleming Rd. and Howle Ave. are reasonably priced for a reason - high crime and drug-infested. About a year and a half ago, a man was beaten, burned, sodomized, tortured, and dismembered in an empty townhouse on Fleming Rd. because he owed some drug dealers money. I know one of the detectives who worked that case. I don't know about Stephan Dr.. Riverland Terrace itself is nice for the most part - there are some rough areas there too, though.
Yes, Harbor View Elementary is a great school as is Stiles Point Elementary.

this is scary! right now i live in such a rural safe area and am moving to JI in the fall. fleming rd is only about 4-5 miles from the harborwoods/stiles point area on the other side of the island. it's hard to picture the neighborhoods so close, but so different. is there alot of crime on JI? are the neighborhoods really all so different?

[SCBeaches]

Harborwoods/Stiles Point is worlds apart from Fleming Rd. - totally different social climate - you don't have to worry there. But, there are murders everywhere these days - from the highest to the lowest socioeconomic neighborhoods, unfortunately. There was a man killed in his living room in the Charleston National neighborhood in Mt. Pleasant last year. Even in the tiny, upper middle class midwestern town where I grew up there was a homicide this year. So, it goes to show that nowhere is exempt. Not to scare you, but just realistically speaking.

To answer your question, yes, neighborhoods here can change drastically within a 1 -2 mile distance from one another. That was the first thing I noticed about SC when I moved here 24 years ago... from one neighborhood or street to the next can be as different as night and day. Be sure to drive throughout any potential neighborhood you plan to move to, just to get a feel for the entire area. If you are planning to move to the HarborWoods subdivision, you don't have to worry....it's all nice and very safe. I have many friends who live there and I teach many of their children. I think I gave you a list of great, safe, family-oriented neighborhoods near Stiles Point Elem. in another thread and if you stick to those, you'll be fine. There are others, of course, that I probably forgot to mention - but, as with any town in the Lowcountry - you have nice areas and not-so-nice areas. Feel free to DM me with questions about Stiles Point and surrounding neighborhoods.

[Rggr]

I'll just second SCBeaches; the areas mentioned are very safe. You will be fine. I would live in all of those places without worry.

[emilybh]

Originally Posted by Rggr

I'll just second SCBeaches; the areas mentioned are very safe. You will be fine. I would live in all of those places without worry.

Also, if I'm not mistaken, most of the homicides if not gang/drug related which are mostly in North Charleston or parts of downtown, the other murders out side of those areas are mostly domestic homicides. Right?

[SCBeaches]

Exactly.

[emilybh]

Is Cross Creek a bad neighborhood? It seems that the only access to it is through Flemming Rd. which looks like a low income development. Whether the homicides are domestic or not (assuming that some of them occur here which may be wrong), having to drive through that area to get to Crosscreek (where there seems to be people who have put money into their homes and then put them on the market) is scarey and obviously NOT a selling point. What is the deal on this neighborhood? It is closer to downtown and local shopping than all but a few higher priced areas. Should it be avoided due to its possibly unsavory neighbors?

[SCBeaches]

Cross Creek used to be a very nice, middle-class neighborhood and there are still nice homes there.....but 2 of my friends (teachers) who used to live there with their families have moved because of all the break-ins and thefts. Both of them said that the crime tends to come from those who live on Fleming Rd. and come over there to break in to garages, steal cars and anything left in the yard, and some have actually come in to the homes. I have noticed that there aren't as many well-groomed yards as their used to be and some of the homes are starting to look run-down.

[kev4heels]

I used to live very close to Harbor Woods (right next to Stiles Point elementary). It is very safe there...very family oriented and close-knit neighborhoods.

I had been away for 16 years and came back to notice the same thing as others have about James Island. There could be an absolutely horrid neighborhood present, with half-million dollar homes situated right across the street. Really odd and I'm wondering who would spend that kind of coin with those types of neighborhoods that close by.

Anyhow, IMO, most of James Island represents a model environment to live in, especially with children. The "Islanders" become very close to each other and tend to look out for each other at all times. It can be somewhat of a fish bowl at times, but rewarding nonetheless.

[Everwatchful]

James Island used to be a fairly safe place to live. Then came the downtown connector which opened the door to the world around ten years ago, and rampart development is driving an increased culture clash with attending social pressures. Crime is on the increase, or it being better reported, or both.

Making matter worst was the recent incorporation of the Town of James Island, which includes about half the area of the Island. The Town has no standing police force and since it was formed in 2006, a woman was raped virtually at the back door of Town Hall. Another man was killed in a home invasion nearby, and recently a man used a big rig to ram a County Police cruiser and two other vehicles about a mile away on Folly Rd. Even one of the Towns Councilmen's home was robbed. Years ago, a friend of mine had a bad accident in front of where town hall is now at Christmas. People actually came up and stole gifts from his damaged car.

The integrity of those who run the town is also suspect, as it appears they violated State Ethics Commission rules while campaigning. These are the people who make laws that governs others, and you would think they would know and abide by laws that apply to them. Of course it could be they just made a mistake, but according to the Head if the State Ethics Commission, the forms a candidate has to file are simple, and if these seasoned politicians can't fill them out properly, one has to wonder what other "mistakes" they are making in running the town. Perhaps not having a police force and trying to count on a miniscule County Police presence is one of them.

Those planning to move into the area need to use due diligence and check out police data and on-line crime statistics in comparison with other communities. Suffice it to say that anyone who feels completely safe these days is a little naive. A really good indicator of any area is the number of post where people say they are sorry they ever moved to the area. I have seen few if any of those kind of comments where James Island is concerned.