Charleston, South Carolina (North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Goose Creek: apartments, rentals, crime rate)

[Malrose]

My girlfriend and I are considering relocating to Charleston, SC, I may accept a job that is located in North Charleston and I am curious as to the where we should reside. Can anyone give us any insight into living arrangements (primarily apartments or townhomes), school system, crime, and activities? Thanks.

[theflynns]

We just got back from a "getting to know the area" trip (planning on moving next year to Summerville).

Just my opinion...while there are some nice developments in North Charleston, I would avoid living in the city itself. We stayed in No.Charleston on our trip and had no problems, but we were at a large, national hotel chain. Lots of abject poverty in North Charleston; acc. to ShotSpotter, in 2003, No.Charleston was the 12th most violent city in the COUNTRY!

Lots of nice areas around there...(Downtown Charleston, the barrier islands, Summerville, etc...)

Good Luck!

[belladee]

From my research the place to be is Summerville and if you can afford it Mount Pleasant. North Charleston is "said" to have more crime. Some of summerville is in the Dorchester II school district which is supposed to be the best in that area.

[youmanyo]

Mt plesant , James Island , Daniel Island , summerville , Goose Creek would be your best choices .North Charleston has some nice areas but overall it is not a great place to live.

[Malrose]

Thanks for the information, we were looking in the Summerville and Hanahan areas. We prefer serenity as opposed to chaos (at least at home), would any of you say these areas fulfilled that criteria? Thanks.

[Darcysells4u]

Summerville is more serene than hanahan. IMO

[salatheel]

I really like Summerville. North Charleston defintely has some scary areas. Moncks Corner I feel will be an up and coming area too.

[piper444]

N. Charleston has a much higher crime rate than the surrounding areas. Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, the West Ashley and James Island areas of Charleston, and Goose Creek are all better bets. Hanahan has some nice areas but they are right next to N. Chuck and sometimes get the over-run.

[SCBeaches]

West Ashley, Johns Island, James Island, Summerville all have nice apartments and townhomes and are safe communities to live in...for the most part. Once you narrow down your search to a particular town, ask again about areas in that town. As always, there are safe parts of town and not-so-safe parts of any town. Mt. Pleasant, Daniel Island, Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, Kiawah and Seabrook Islands are all very expensive. Good luck!

[mLeeTaylor]

Try a Google search on "Joan Craig and Associates" on Ashley River Road or "Just Rentals" on St. Andrews Blvd.