Another Yankee (Brooklyn, NY) moving South to Charleston, with some questions please (Summerville: real estate market, 2010)

[moneill]

Well the morning I left MP to head north on I26 -- 526 was moving kind of slow. Surprised me. I 26 was kind of slow too for a little bit. It was around 8:00 am -- maybe that was the issue.

[MichaelNYC]

Shame there is no webcam for traffic conditions that I can check out here. In NYC we have webcams that shows traffic in the 5 boroughs and also on a local TV from various parts of the city.
But perhaps another reason we are leaving.. less Big Brother

When there.. will drive the various routes during rush hour... seeing is believing.. well sitting in any traffic is believing... but overall... a little traffic in the morning the 3 days I would work would easily be acceptable for living there...

Will check out the traffic from Mt Pleasant, the eastern areas to Charleston and to James Island and visa versa James Island to Mt Pleasant and each to Summerville... I know I will be working all over from MP, JI upto Summerville.

BTW how is the commute to Summerville from JI, MP in the AM ?

[OleTomCat]

There are traffic cams, they are at SCDOT.com.

[OleTomCat]

Sorry it was scdot.org These are the N.Charleston cameras.

[joyeaux]

Hey, Michael,
In many ways, subdivisions are a necessary evil in SC. That said, less structured, more mature (landscaped) areas & not cookie cutter are The Groves, Cooper Estates & Creekside in Mt. P. They are all filled with families, in your price point, offer more land than newer developments & just restricted enough. The Tennis & Swim Club of Cooper Estates/Creekside is a bonus for casual socializing. You may need to be handy to get the biggest bang for the buck but do take a hard look at them. Great location, between Coleman & Hwy 17 near the bridge. I prefer the 29464 zipcode to get into Charleston quickly. I also love Snee Farms & it was my second choice when I moved here. A bit pricier for your stated preferences in housing though. I feel like I won the lottery by finding a home in Molasses Creek 6 years ago for a great price but only 2100 sq ft (we're empty nesters).
My credentials: born in Brooklyn, then to Queens, city job & apartment in Tudor City across from the UN. And I couldn't be happier here! PM for anything else I can answer. Good luck !

[MichaelNYC]

way cool Ol' Tom.. thanks....
I just peeked and will look at it time to time
But once there in June will drive each day to check out all the routes.

Any feedback on commute time from MP and from JI to Summerville ?
While you are at it... any feedback on time for commute from MP to JI and visa versa

Thanks again for all the feedback

[MichaelNYC]

Any comments, feedback on these areas in Mt Pleasant ?

Would they fit what we are seeking.. please read back to the 1st page for my posting (I listed what we are seeking 2x on the 1st page)

Snee farm
Park West
Longpoint
Brickyard
Wakendaw Lakes
Hobcaw Creek Plantation
The Groves
Copper Estates
Creekside

[mrpeatie]

I am partial to three of the closer in neighborhoods. I really like Hobcaw- it just has a nice vibe and old vegetation.

The Groves is in a great location- a little generically ranchish but large lots and there have been a couple of nice remodels in there. They are the type of houses successful southern people lived in 30-40 years ago before we realized we were supposed to be rebuilding Tara on 1/5 acre lots.

I also like Creekside but everything is a little 80s-ish. I whole-heartedly agree with the previous comments on its swimming/tennis club. Again a great location about 1/2 way between 526 and the Ravenel Bridge. To me this neighborhood is the most like your criteria. Other neighborhoods offer more, even larger houses and newer amenities/entries but this hits the biggies on the head.


Cooper Estates has never really done anything for me- just feels a little shoe-horned, but if you lucked into a home their that backed up to the creek or that small damned lake it could outweigh any minuses.

One thing Longpoint has going for it is a well-sized park at the back of the nieghborhood but it and the others all have more traffic issues to go along with their pluses.

Also all three of these are pretty close to the track beside the city offices off Houston Northcutt.

And to be honest all of Mt P is transient enough for you to fit in easily with at least some of the neighbors- just ignore any that have issues.

[beth1104]

Originally Posted by MichaelNYC

...

Any feedback on commute time from MP and from JI to Summerville ?
While you are at it... any feedback on time for commute from MP to JI and visa versa

From Mt P to Summerville is only about 30 min in the a.m., and coming back in the p.m. (I understand it is significantly longer if reversed, ie. smmerville to mt p in a.m. and mt p to summerville in pm). Of course, if you're already in the Longpoint Rd area (Hobcaw, Belle Hall), you're right by 526 so would be even shorter. My husband takes 41/Clements Ferry to 526 from Park West in the morning to stay away from the 17 a.m. traffic.

[joyeaux]

The poster talking about Hobcaw & older feel/vegetation probably was thinking of Hobcaw Point up off of Muirhead Road. This is vastly different than Hobcaw Plantation a newer development off of Longpoint Road. I like the older Hobcaw but it is tricky in that not all neighbors do the right thing in keeping up their property. But you'll see that yourself. There are many lovely homes there but the prices are on the high side of your search (though not unfair).