My experience apartment hunting... (Charleston, Florence: best cities, rent, condos)

[automated]

Ok, that is a little different, what is your specialty?

Are you a PHD?

Yeah, I'm a PhD in Media Studies...I'm psyched about my job and the department, so I hope you can understand why I'm coming to Charleston despite my reservations about the city itself.

SFWoman- She's got an open mind to that sort of stuff, but I'm thinking more along the lines of eclectic techno (not the cheesy stuff...). She lived in Baltimore for a while, which is obviously much bigger, and we found a really dedicated scene there that was actually better than NYC in that the shows were much cheaper and the attendees much more into the music. If I can find a space to start DJ'ing again and draw enough of a crowd to keep the bar manager happy a couple of Thursdays night every month, we'll be pretty psyched...

[Browsing Duo]

Hampton Park is bikeable and walkable to downtown and the Upper King Street restaurant areas. Many rents are under $2000 a month. I have young artsy relatives who live in Charleston. They, too, looked at the student firetraps near C of C, but opted for Hampton Park and Wagener Terrace. Yes, there's crime, petty and big--much higher rates than NYC if that's your comparison. Tie everything down the way you would in any city, get a burglar alarm on your car and apartment. Use your city street smarts to walk around at night.

On the subject of why there's only a limited art community: #1, history, history, history. It's the soul of Charleston. The business of Charleston is history, which looks back. Art looks forward, and that's the dilemma if that's what you're interested in. So get interested in history. Real local books so you can have some good talks with people who have been living there forever. #2 Economy. The local economy pays people poorly relative to real estate costs. Charleston attracts many outsiders who made money elsewhere and sold more expensive houses in their high-tax home states and want SC's lower taxes as they get older. So some of that outsider $$$ inflates housing prices, which are relatively high, given the poor economic conditions.

Right now SC is one of the top five states in unemployment. Also SC ranking in education, though improving, is still very low in national rankings. States with low-ranking educational systems do not attract a lot of creative jobs, new technology jobs, and so on that would support a larger art community. I have young relatives in these fields in Charleston, and it's a slog, but slowly coming along.

Still, I love it when I spend extended time down in Charleston, walking the old streets, waving and talking to people on their porches. I love, love art, but I don't go to Charleston for art, though, but for history, Spanish moss, and shrimp and grits! To quote Ram Dass: "Be where you are."

Having said all that, check out thedigitel.com to find out about some of the artsy events that do go on in Charleston--there are some events, not just Spoleto, though, that alone is fantastic. Charleston did sponsor several Pecha Kucha gatherings of creative types several times last year. Google that. Creative and media types from Charleston seem to have packed the event. Still, the numbers are small, but these people are trying to change that. It's a slow go.

You'll eat well, and you have a coveted tenure-track job. Just deal--here are no trifectas in life except in horse racing.

[CharlestonHelp]

Automated, there are some great parties/clubs that you'll find you probably will like, off the beaten path. There are some places that spin world music and we have some DJ's from NYC that go to school at CofC, so it makes for some good fun. I would also try to hang with the fashion crowd here, cause they're always ahead of the curve for where the best techno/trance/worldbeat parties are. Look up "Kulture Klash Charleston" on Google. They usually have some great parties with a large-city feel, and that's where you can meet some people to hang with.

Like I said, you have to look around. Once you get past the "tourist" aspect, you'll find a growing buzz of different styles and cultures.

[automated]

Browsing Duo-
Thanks for your analysis, that all makes sense. People up north are very surprised when I tell them how much rents are down in Charleston. Certainly unexpected. Didn't look in Hampton Park until the last day of our search and by then it was a bit late in the game. So we signed on a large 2 BR on JI, just across the connector. It'll be boring after all the different neighborhoods/situations I've lived in around NYC, but in the long run we opted for safety- maybe we're just getting old/lame :> ... Once we get a sense of the city we may change our minds.

My girlfriend is trying to find employment in her field (environmental work) and right now things are looking pretty dry. Even in an up economy, it looks like she'd be taking a hit. She'll volunteer in the meantime and work part-time outside her field, but we're hoping environmental jobs open up when the stimulus money starts coming in (if anyone on this board has any contacts, please PM me!).

CharlestonHelp,
We will certainly look, thanks for the suggestion. It'll nice to be somewhere where space isn't as much of a premium. We saw a lot of really busy bars/clubs over the weekend, but very much like the weekends in the East Village and the Lower East Side the crowd skewed very young (early 20s) and wealthy (which is all well and fine, just not our thing). All I need is one or two good bars with cool staff and a good jukebox. The best music we heard (for our tastes) was at Kaminski's, where they had a radio station playing New Wave...

Honestly, if it wasn't for the heat I'd be a bit more upbeat about coming to Charleston. I just don't deal well. Some people say you adjust, some people say you don't, all I know is that the last week was absolute misery except early in the morning. I hope it was unusually bad stretch for June but I doubt it. NYC businesses keep their AC cold cold cold on the hot days, and we were a bit surprised to find how warm some of the shops were. Some people said the temp is a little cooler on JI, hoping that's true.

I apperciate everyone's help. There were many things we liked- people were very pleasant (except for the downtown real estate people...urg...) and will talk your ear off, the wait staff were fun, and we saw good/independant coffee shops all over the suburbs. I honestly knew nothing about the college until I applied for the job (really just a regional thing), it's story is unique and there are some very bright people there who've been hired over the last decade (meaning the faculty skews younger).

[SCBeaches]

James Island is a great place to live, except for the Folly Rd. traffic headed for the beach....it's much worse in the summer months. Try a little place called "Daily Dose" off of Folly Rd. - I think it's on Highland Drive - looks like a hole in the wall, but REALLY good wraps (mostly veggies) - young (20's/30's) crowd - they have live music on weekends. Kind of a surfing/hippie place....acoustic guitar, vocals, some reggae. Great lunches!! I think they're moving to a new location this summer. You might enjoy J Paulz too - runs alongside Maybank Hwy. in front of the Piggly Wiggly. They have D-Jays on weekends, live music, tapas, all kinds of drinks and an interesting atmosphere - lounges with couches, etc. Very hip place to go on Friday and Saturday nights and just down the road from your apt. Then there's Nectar's on Folly Rd. which also has food and live music and lots of places on Folly Beach to choose from. I think you'll like James Island more than you think!

[automated]

Thanks Beaches- some of my coworkers already have places on the Island so we should have a nice group of friends living nearby. Someone from my job gave me the tour Wednesday and sold us on it- seems like there's a lot within very quick driving distance (he also suggested J Paulz). And we're close to the city park, which will be great for my better half...we opted to for a little more expensive place closer to the connector to avoid the Folly Rd traffic. Pretty sure catching the bus across the connector will be easy for those days I don't want to drive.

[SCBeaches]

Lots of people walk and ride bikes over the connector....you're less than 5 minutes from downtown without paying downtown prices!

[tiffan28]

Originally Posted by automated

...so far:

Compared to other metro areas I've lived in, Charleston is not friendly to young professionals. The historic section of town is priced outrageously, and anything above it is student slums that exist because the college hasn't addressed it's lack of student housing. As a consequence, there's no real youth culture in Charleston beyond the undergrads (mid 20s-early 40s). So from what I've seen, the only urban area is split between old money, tourist types, undergrads, and poor families gradually being displaced by aggressive landlords trying to make money off of comparatively wealth undergrads.

We're basically faced with the situation of paying a premium to live in a downtown that is pretty impoverished culturally- the food is amazing, but the music scene is cover bands and cheesy undergrad bars. Unlike many cities, which have different zones, Charleston looks pretty homogenous- there is no industry to speak of which would attract young professionals. So those populations are confined to the suburbs, which seem very sterile and controlled, mainly strip malls.

Overall, there's a lot to like about the area, the food is incredible, and the proximity to the beach is nice. But we were really disappointed to find it is not a city like we're used to in the northeast (not comparing it to NYC but to 19th/20th c industrial cities like Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Pittsburgh, ect). The height restriction on the construction downtown seems like it strangles urban growth, forcing everything out to the suburbs and making Charleston be a car-heavy city. There's no real "creative class" within the city limits, which if you buy Richard Florida's argument is essential to the growth of a successful city.

If I'm missing something, please let me know. So far, it has been a frustrating search, with landlords and property owners downtown not valuing professional and fiscally responsible tenants above 18 year-old students, unless you're willing to break the $2K/month barrier on rent, which is a pricey ticket considering the city just doesn't have much by way of an alternative culture. Basically it seems like in the downtown you're paying for the same places that exist in the strip malls, it's just that in the city you can walk to them rather than drive.

The only people I know who are happy living in the Charleston and surrounding area are retired people. It's a perfect place to retire.

[tiffan28]

Try The Tradition apartments in Summerville.

Originally Posted by automated

...so far:

Compared to other metro areas I've lived in, Charleston is not friendly to young professionals. The historic section of town is priced outrageously, and anything above it is student slums that exist because the college hasn't addressed it's lack of student housing. As a consequence, there's no real youth culture in Charleston beyond the undergrads (mid 20s-early 40s). So from what I've seen, the only urban area is split between old money, tourist types, undergrads, and poor families gradually being displaced by aggressive landlords trying to make money off of comparatively wealth undergrads.

We're basically faced with the situation of paying a premium to live in a downtown that is pretty impoverished culturally- the food is amazing, but the music scene is cover bands and cheesy undergrad bars. Unlike many cities, which have different zones, Charleston looks pretty homogenous- there is no industry to speak of which would attract young professionals. So those populations are confined to the suburbs, which seem very sterile and controlled, mainly strip malls.

Overall, there's a lot to like about the area, the food is incredible, and the proximity to the beach is nice. But we were really disappointed to find it is not a city like we're used to in the northeast (not comparing it to NYC but to 19th/20th c industrial cities like Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany, Pittsburgh, ect). The height restriction on the construction downtown seems like it strangles urban growth, forcing everything out to the suburbs and making Charleston be a car-heavy city. There's no real "creative class" within the city limits, which if you buy Richard Florida's argument is essential to the growth of a successful city.

If I'm missing something, please let me know. So far, it has been a frustrating search, with landlords and property owners downtown not valuing professional and fiscally responsible tenants above 18 year-old students, unless you're willing to break the $2K/month barrier on rent, which is a pricey ticket considering the city just doesn't have much by way of an alternative culture. Basically it seems like in the downtown you're paying for the same places that exist in the strip malls, it's just that in the city you can walk to them rather than drive.

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by tiffan28

The only people I know who are happy living in the Charleston and surrounding area are retired people. It's a perfect place to retire.

I beg to differ - thousands of people who are NOT retired are happy living in the Charleston area - me being one of them. There really is a lot to do here and there are many young apartment/condo living communities for young professionals on James Island, Mt. Pleasant, West Ashley, even Johns Island.... I don't know who you've talked to, but you obviously have only talked to people who are unhappy for some reason. A place is what you make it to be and you get out of it what you put into it.