My experience apartment hunting... (Charleston: renting, house, college)

[OleTomCat]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

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.

Me too...

[moneill]

I'm sure it will be an adjustment. Charleston does not offer the urban lifestyle you are use to but it has other charms. Good luck with your move.

[mickd]

Automated, I had lived all my life in Milwaukee. I am 54 but still love the night life and alternative music. I had played in many bands in Milwaukee starting in '81 'til I left in '08 and knew a lot of people who did make it big from the area. Milwaukee does have a very good alternative scene. I took a job in Charleston and had my heart set on living in downtown Charleston. I had made trips with my last job in Wisconsin to Florence, always visited Charleston. I fell in love with Charleston, no other place in the country like it, with all its history. Be glad there are no buildings taller than the tallest church steeples, this is what makes this town such a gem. like you, found rent downtown too expensive for something decent. I too decided to rent on James Island, and I love it here. So close to downtown and my favorite beach. If you look close, you can find some good alternative stuff here. I saw The New York Dolls at The Music Farm, Drivin' 'n Cryin' at The Windjammer, and Southern Culture on the Skids with a great Charleston band, Hypnosquad, at Halligans in West Ashley. Kevn Kinney will be at The Pour House here in James Island next month. Check out The Torch Lounge downtown, they have DJ's, and it's a super hip place to hang out.

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by mickd

Automated, I had lived all my life in Milwaukee. I am 54 but still love the night life and alternative music. I had played in many bands in Milwaukee starting in '81 'til I left in '08 and knew a lot of people who did make it big from the area. Milwaukee does have a very good alternative scene. I took a job in Charleston and had my heart set on living in downtown Charleston. I had made trips with my last job in Wisconsin to Florence, always visited Charleston. I fell in love with Charleston, no other place in the country like it, with all it's history. Be glad there are no buildings taller than the tallest church steeples, this is what makes this town such a gem. like you, found rent downtown too expensive for something decent. I too decided to rent on James Island, and I love it here. So close to downtown and my favorite beach. If you look close, you can find some good alternative stuff here. I saw The New York Dolls at The Music Farm, Drivin' 'n Cryin' at The Windjammer, and Southern Culture on the Skids with a great Charleston band, Hypnosquad, at Halligans in West Ashley. Kevn Kinney will be at The Pour House here in James Island this month. Check out The Torch Lounge downtown, they have DJ's, and it's a super hip place to hang out.

Great post! You are just the person Automated needed to hear from. I used to be part of the music scene too, but have been out of the loop for probably 15 years now, so don't have much up-to-date advice on that topic.

[mickd]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

Great post! You are just the person Automated needed to hear from. I used to be part of the music scene too, but have been out of the loop for probably 15 years now, so don't have much up-to-date advice on that topic.

Thanks SCBeaches. I have seen a lot of your posts on this board and have found them very useful when I moved to the area on Thanksgiving day last year. I have always felt you will find what you are looking for if you look hard enough. Having great fun here in Charleston and am proud to now be a resident. The people here in Charleston are the friendliest people I have ever met.Very refreshing after living in urban/suburban areas of Milwaukee all my life. It's no wonder that Charleston was #1 in the friendly category for 2008's 10 best cities in Travel and Leisure Magazine.

[SCBeaches]

Thank you....I try to be honest and unbiased when offerring advice. I'm glad that you see Charleston's beauty and what makes it so unique from other cities. Have a great week!

[nyc2chux]

Hello automated,

Welcome to Charleston. I moved here from NYC a year ago. My world had been roughly along an axis, known as the F train, connecting Midtown, the Village and Park Slope. A number of factors brought me here. Chief among these factors were being stuck in Manhattan during the 01 terror attack and 03 blackout. In any event, getting home to Brooklyn never felt so safe and sweet as it did in those days. I guess those experiences, and much more isolated ones, gave me the impetus to seek out a simpler life away from the city. Oh, I had looked at Staten Island but that was slowly evolving into a suburban Brooklyn with overpriced houses and condos and seemingly unmanageable traffic and parking problems complete with rude and obnoxious drivers.

Here in Charleston, I found overpriced houses and condos minus the noise, crowds, filth and pollution of the big city. Charleston's worst traffic arteries (I26-526 X, Ashley Phos, Folly, 17N) are easy drives compared to what I'm used to up north. The peninsula is all about its history, which was partially what drew me to the area. The sexy, "off the beaten path" location of the historic peninsula jutting into the harbor with its easy proximity to the beaches and sea islands shot me out of the sky like some stupid stray goose.

However, coming into the game, I knew that certain aspects of the culture here were different. For example, it's not unusual for employers to take months to follow-up after you submit an application/resume. A colleague once told me, "You've moved to the beach. Further, you've moved to the beach in the South!" Since last summer, I found three adjunct teaching jobs by way of employers who called me months later, and eventually found full-time employment through one of them.

I get homesick now and then. I miss the countless options that the city offers, those which I always took for granted. But I know that New York City will be there. For now, I'm experiencing the sleepy Southern city that is Charleston by the sea, which probably won't be the same a decade from now. So I'm enjoying it for what it is, and hopefully won't take it for granted.

I hope that you can eventually enjoy this place for what it is, as well as thrive in that awesome new job. Then, hopefully you can share some of that great music you love so much with some like-minded folk here in the lowcountry.

njoy 4 2day!
nyc2chux

[Rggr]

Originally Posted by joyeaux

Automated,
You've got it right about the peninsula south of Hwy 17. Before giving in to Mt. P, you might consider the Hampton Park/Wagener Terrace area, though can't say about rentals there. It's still the city, edgier, though not "downtown".
As far as original sounds, there's a lot of it being made down here. Ya just gotta go off the peninsula mostly to hear it. Looking in the Charleston City Paper has helped me find my way to it.

The Hampton Park area is a nice area. Charleston is not going to have as many options as some of the cities you mention. Downtown is still fairly expensive because it's still a very desirable place to live for other reasons. There is some decent music, but again, some of the cities you mention will have more. Come enjoy Charleston for what it is and best of luck to you.

[automated]

Thanks for all of the additional recommendations.

nyc2chux, for a host of reasons, I don't find NYC all that oppressive- the walls of trash are pretty disgusting, but that's only a problem if you're walking through midtown or the financial district at night. The convenience of getting on the subway and literally feeling like I'm in another region of the world just holds endless appeal. Much of what we do for entertainment is just walking the various neighborhoods of the city- you can just walk for miles without getting bored. The summers can be pretty brutal, though this one is really mild for some reason.

mickd- Thanks for the suggestions, I will check those places out. We need one or two good bars, where we won't catch any crap from people for dressing/looking how we do (which is fairly conservative by NYC standards, but apparently weird for Charleston judging by all the strange looks and attitude my GF caught down there). I've always lived in urban areas b/c they tend to more tolerant than rural ones, and am just hoping Charleston is a big enough tent to accommodate us. What's great is that if we like it, we'll be able to stay as long as we want...provided the other half can find gainful employment once the economy recovers.

Much appreciation to everyone for the helpful posts...

[Fortunekookie]

Charleston is very analogous to many places I lived in Europe, small towns and larger like Berlin, that all had character from historical buildings and environs. I understand the desire to live, walk around at night to a cafe/bar/restaurant, which is commonplace in Europe. I almost decided to stay there, as I love going to a bakery around the corner and buying fresh bread, sitting at a cafe drinking coffee, or a beer/wine, then watching people pass by on their routines. Heaven on Earth to me, and Charleston is the closet I have seen in the United States to all of the above. Embracing the warmth and tasting the history makes me glow inside. I lived a total of 12 years in Europe, and the plus to being in Charleston, is the ocean and warm weather.
Tout bien! Alles ist wunderbar! from this Southern boy.