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Hi! We might be moving to the general Myrtle Beach area sometime in the future. My boyfriend has applied for a very promising job in the Georgetown area. From what I've read, Georgetown sounds like a quaint, historical touristy town; which is fine, but not for me. We are planning on visiting the area in the coming weeks and I'd like to know what areas to look at while we are there.
A little about us- late 20s/early 30s couple, currently living in Louisville, KY. I am from KY and the boyfriend is originally from Michigan. (note: 2 things I hate about KY- horrible for people with allergies and the summer humidity). No kids currently, although we do have a dog. We love going to the dog park here in Louisville; would like to be able to continue to do that where ever we end up. We are young and like to go out; not looking for a retirement community. However, safety is probably my number one concern; I have a very low tolerance for crime in the areas I live. I would rather live in a somewhat boring neighborhood and know my house isn't going to get broken into. I am a school social worker so I would be looking for a position with a school system; I typically work with low income/disadvantaged populations. My boyfriend would be working in the Georgetown area; a one hour commute is the max either one of us could tolerate; we currently both do a 45 min commute. We would be looking to rent, preferably a house or townhouse (2+ bed, 1.5+ bath) with a max monthly rent of about $1200.
Neither of us have ever been to the area, so we are completely clueless about everything. Hopefully we will be able to get a feel for the area when we come down to visit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Georgetown is actually a pretty cool little city. I've thought above moving there myself several times.
As far as your job goes, the unemployment rate in this area is very high. State or government jobs are rare and nepotism is huge.
This is the deep south so the humidity is bad and it lasts all year long (not the extreme humidity, thats May-August). The humidity is what keeps our winters so mild.
I would look at Murrells Inlet because it sounds like something you all would enjoy.
Georgetown sounds like a quaint, historical touristy town; which is fine, but not for me.
Then in the next paragraph you say:
I would rather live in a somewhat boring neighborhood and know my house isn't going to get broken into. I am a school social worker so I would be looking for a position with a school system; I typically work with low income/disadvantaged populations.
You can't really have it both ways. My advice is that you come visit, which it sounds like you are planning to do. Both of you really have to have jobs before you move unless you can live on one income. Rent somewhere for a while. And then decide where you might want to settle down or buy something. Not sure why you, at such a young age would want to live somewhere that you think is boring..........
I can't think of any "boring" neighborhoods in this area, but I also don't know exactly what you mean by that! If you are in your late 20's and early 30's, then maybe those retirements areas would be boring to you! But you said you didn't want that!
Well, I guess this wasn't very helpful, but it's hard to tell considering that you don't seem to know what you want. What I can tell you is that it is beautiful here and that if you live at or near the ocean the humidity is nothing. Others will disagree with me about the humidity, but that is either because they don't live as close to the ocean as I or because they have never lived somewhere like D.C. where the humidity is truly unbearable!
What I meant was, although I don't want to live in a small town, I do want to live in a safe area. Although I want to be within a short driving distance to the events of the city, I would rather live in an area where I wouldn't have to be worried about my car getting stolen and such. Does that make more sense?
What I meant was, although I don't want to live in a small town, I do want to live in a safe area. Although I want to be within a short driving distance to the events of the city, I would rather live in an area where I wouldn't have to be worried about my car getting stolen and such. Does that make more sense?
The Grand Strand is made up of nothing but small towns. North Myrtle Beach, Windy Hill, Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Garden City, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys Island and events literally happen all over the place. It's a sixty mile stretch.
As far as getting your car broken into, I've driven a mercedes for most of my adult life and have never had it broken into.
Vrexy, I'm confused by your comment. I've lived on the ocean for a good part of my life and the humidity is bad on the beach also. Granted, the ocean breaze helps but doesn't alleviate it.
This is helping me try to figure out what I want! Here are some more specific questions...
What if we wanted to go out to the bars? What kind of options are there? Our favorite bar types are Irish pubs, places with live music, sports bars and the like. Don't care for the club, pounding dance music scene; prefer a more laid back vibe for those nights when we want to go out.
Are there parks or beach areas where you can have your dog off leash? Mine is a border collie mix and I need places to let her run.
What about a zoo? Aquarium? Museums? Theater?
And locally owned restaurants? We love trying new places. I think we could eat out every weekend here in Louisville and still never get time to try all the restaurants! lol
Are there any areas where we would be more likely to find our demographic- youngish couples without kids? We don't really fit in with the retiree group (just a tad too young) or the nuclear family sets.
This is helping me try to figure out what I want! Here are some more specific questions...
What if we wanted to go out to the bars? What kind of options are there? Our favorite bar types are Irish pubs, places with live music, sports bars and the like. Don't care for the club, pounding dance music scene; prefer a more laid back vibe for those nights when we want to go out.
Are there parks or beach areas where you can have your dog off leash? Mine is a border collie mix and I need places to let her run.
What about a zoo? Aquarium? Museums? Theater?
And locally owned restaurants? We love trying new places. I think we could eat out every weekend here in Louisville and still never get time to try all the restaurants! lol
Are there any areas where we would be more likely to find our demographic- youngish couples without kids? We don't really fit in with the retiree group (just a tad too young) or the nuclear family sets.
I think if you were to come here Myrtle Beach would work. But, the problem is you are looking for culture and around here you have none. Everything they do here is half assed and for the tourists. For example, we have a Ripley's aquarium- but it's not something the locals visit every so often. More of a tourist sideshow if you ask me. I think there is a civil war museum that is attached to an armory here. No City type Zoo, unless you go count some of the tourist sideshows such as the Waccatee Zoo. There is theater around here, but just tourist entertainment shows and impersonators. No ballets, musicals or opera's. There is no ice skating here unless you count the small pad of synthetic garbage they put up on the grass at Market Common that ignorant locals call "Ice" and use it to justify to northerners why the area doesn't need a real ice rink.
There are plenty of restaurants here, but don't count on anything too exotic. There is no Vietnameese, so don't count on getting a bowl of Pho soup anytime soon. But, there are some places that do cater to different tastes, you just have to look outside some of the tourist area's for them. Probably restaurants are the best feature of anyting you mentioned.
A fun area to hang out is Broadway on the Beach. I live in the Market common area, and that has a more laid back but fun feel to it. They have a mix of bars and many festivals as well. Another great hang out area is Murrils Inlet on the water.
The South isn't the most Dog friendly part of the world. There are Dog parks where you can let your dog run around. But, the best places seem to be neighborhoods that have been cleared but not built up yet.
I would say come and check it out. There is lots of entertainment here, but little of substance here. All depends on what you want.
There are performing theaters outside the tourist district...Theater Of The Republic in Conway, CCU Theater, as well as 4-5 other amateur theater groups in the Grand Strand. While admittedly not Broadway, they are very good (better than what you think of when you think of amateur shows) and we enjoy the them very much.
As NS_Highlander points out, I don't recall seeing any Vietnamese restaurants, but there is a Thai restaurant, and a Jamaican restaurant near our house and a wide variety of others in the Grand Strand...you just have to search them out because many are small mom/pop places that don't advertise heavily.
Notthatgirl, as others have suggested, the best way to find out about an area is to visit for a week but not in "tourist mode." Come and stay in a hotel away from the beach and explore as if you're looking for an apartment or house. Talk to locals at the grocery store or the mall and ask questions. Murrell's Inlet or Pawley's might be a good place for you to look since it will be closer to Georgetown and will also put you closer to Charleston as well which is more culturally rich than the Grand Strand. Another option would be to look closer to Charleston and commute to Georgetown although costs would be higher on the Charleston side.
Check out The Myrtle Beach Market Common they have a dog park, lots of walking areas, mixed age group, shops, bars, close to the beach and there are rentals.
Vrexy, I'm confused by your comment. I've lived on the ocean for a good part of my life and the humidity is bad on the beach also. Granted, the ocean breaze helps but doesn't alleviate it.[/quote]
As far as the humidity, it's all relative. (Hahahaha!)
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We are planning on visiting the area in the coming weeks and I'd like to know what areas to look at while we are there. 
However, safety is probably my number one concern; I have a very low tolerance for crime in the areas I live. I would rather live in a somewhat boring neighborhood and know my house isn't going to get broken into. I am a school social worker so I would be looking for a position with a school system; I typically work with low income/disadvantaged populations. My boyfriend would be working in the Georgetown area; a one hour commute is the max either one of us could tolerate; we currently both do a 45 min commute. We would be looking to rent, preferably a house or townhouse (2+ bed, 1.5+ bath) with a max monthly rent of about $1200. 
What exactly are you looking for?
