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No, you are not right to assume that. Everyone I know (college age to retirees) prefers Charleston and it is a much easier getaway as far as driving from Charlotte--at least, from where I live.
From my experiences living in Charlotte, it seemed just as many folks went to Myrtle as went to Charleston. Either way, both destinations are the most popular coastal locations for weekend getaways for Charlotteans.
From my experiences living in Charlotte, it seemed just as many folks went to Myrtle as went to Charleston. Either way, both destinations are the most popular coastal locations for weekend getaways for Charlotteans.
Well, I should have prefaced what I said by saying I grew up around folks who owned property (second homes) at Wrightsville or Charleston area (Isle of Palms, Kiawah) and that still holds true. MB has always been considered more "touristy" (and it is - wh/ makes it a great weekend, especially if you have kids in tow).
When you have a vacation home or condo and aren't renting it out, you tend to choose less commercial areas, or at least, that is what my experience has been.
Charleston is very touristy as well, just in a different way than MB.
But the areas around Charleston aren't. And Charleston itself is touristy in an "historic" sort of way.
When folks say they are heading to Charleston, they may mean Isle of Palms, Seabrook, Kiawah, etc - not just "Charleston proper."
At least, that has been my experience.
It's the newcomers who typically choose Myrtle Beach or Charleston proper -- as they are discovering the area and may not even know about other places, such as Litchfield, Georgetown . . . which are the mainstays for natives if they want to spend time in the MB "area."
Folks who own property in the Wilmington area may choose to go a little further out to the Brunswick Islands, which have been very popular with longtime residents in this state . . . i.e., Emerald Isle, Oak Isle - or they may like Southport, wh/ has become almost too gentrified (imo). And then there is Bald Head if you have the Big Bucks, lol.
I am simply explaining what longtime residents have been doing for decades. When I was growing up, it was fairly common for folks to own second homes at one of these places I have mentioned. And many of my friends and relatives still own places there, especially if they live in a part of the state which makes it an easy drive (i.e., get on I-40 to the Wilmington area or get on 26 to Charleston).
Myrtle Beach can be a fun place! But it is not typically where folks who have lived here a long time would want to buy their own vacation property, unless they are subsidizing the purchase by renting a condo or house to vacationers.
Folks may not be aware that there are some other fine choices for a quieter beach experience, if MB is not their cup of tea. And some of those choices are actually an easier drive than heading to MB.
To be more accurate to what the OP is seeking which beach Charlotteans go to he wanting to know of a beach town and not a city. Charleston is not a beach town its a harbor town like Wilmington.
Closest beach to Charleston is Folley Beach.
I'm a map enthusiast, and noticed there is no rapid road access from Charlotte to Myrtle Beach, SC, which suprised me under the assumption that people from the Charlotte metro routinely flock to MB for getaways being relatively close. Has a freeway (interstate or other) ever been proposed to link these two areas? I would think it would be a heavily traveled route if it did exist.
you have to consider:
(A) When the interstates were planned, Myrtle Beach barely even existed.. it wasn't incorporated as a city until 1957.
(B) Interstate planning is highly political -- North Carolina's leaders were never too interested in funnelling tourist dollars into South Carolina
(C) Wilmington and Charleston both have ports, which Charlotte wants access to for industrial purposes -- Myrtle Beach has no port.
(D) Wilmington, Hilton Head, and Charleston all have beaches that are just as good (if not better) than Myrtle Beach, and all are reasonably close.
Anyway, it's important to understand what Myrtle Beach was like before the invention of the automobile, which was basically a malaria-filled economically-depressed hell-hole. In the old days the terrain was so poor that you couldn't even get horses into Waccamaw neck -- they had to use Ox instead. If you look at a map of roads in eastern SC, very few roads of any capacity "lead to Myrtle Beach" , because prior to the automobile there was no Myrtle Beach.
But the areas around Charleston aren't. And Charleston itself is touristy in an "historic" sort of way.
When folks say they are heading to Charleston, they may mean Isle of Palms, Seabrook, Kiawah, etc - not just "Charleston proper."
At least, that has been my experience.
It's the newcomers who typically choose Myrtle Beach or Charleston proper -- as they are discovering the area and may not even know about other places, such as Litchfield, Georgetown . . . which are the mainstays for natives if they want to spend time in the MB "area."
Folks who own property in the Wilmington area may choose to go a little further out to the Brunswick Islands, which have been very popular with longtime residents in this state . . . i.e., Emerald Isle, Oak Isle - or they may like Southport, wh/ has become almost too gentrified (imo). And then there is Bald Head if you have the Big Bucks, lol.
I am simply explaining what longtime residents have been doing for decades. When I was growing up, it was fairly common for folks to own second homes at one of these places I have mentioned. And many of my friends and relatives still own places there, especially if they live in a part of the state which makes it an easy drive (i.e., get on I-40 to the Wilmington area or get on 26 to Charleston).
Myrtle Beach can be a fun place! But it is not typically where folks who have lived here a long time would want to buy their own vacation property, unless they are subsidizing the purchase by renting a condo or house to vacationers.
Folks may not be aware that there are some other fine choices for a quieter beach experience, if MB is not their cup of tea. And some of those choices are actually an easier drive than heading to MB.
I wasn't disagreeing with the premise that the Charleston area seems to be preferred by Charlotteans, but just pointing out that it can be very touristy as well. And as you mentioned, there are non touristy areas near Myrtle Beach as well. And some of the Brunswick County beaches can probably almost be considered "Myrtle Beach area" anyway as they are basically equidistant from Wilmington and MB.
Not sure why this has to be a natives vs. newcomers comparison though. In my experience, the Charleston area seems to be more popular with natives and newcomers alike. Obviously a lot of that has to do with the fact that people love the history and charm of Charleston, but in regards to the OP, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that is easier to get to Charleston via the interstate (as you mentioned in one of your earlier posts)...
Horry County is one of the fastest growing counties in the country.
No it's not.
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