HELPING YOU LOVE MYRTLE BEACH~ Do THIS! (Greenville, Socastee: fit in, transplants)

[Summering]

I hear so many say. " They want to head home."..They miss that shoveling of snow off their roof in NH.
They miss mountains. They hate tourists and tacky things.
I'd like you to do a few of these things and see if you feel the same way.
I think that perhaps your not exploring what there is to see and do here.
So here are IMHO some wonderful, fun, relaxing, things to do.

Sit at Spuds, outside and have lunch. Watch the boats in the inlet.
( a nice spring, summer thing to do) Spuds has a great view, its in Murrells Inlet overlooking the marsh. However, many take boats out and also Jet ski. It is very relaxing.
Go into the Crazy Sister gift shop there at Spuds. Adorable items for your Christmas tree with nautical theme. T Shirts that are adorable in all sizes. Nice hand painted pictures and all sorts of interesting things.

( note: right now its bike weeks...so wait until thats over to have less crowding...although we were fine there.)

Go to the Socastee swing bridge area and walk the new walkways there. Watch the boats head out to the ocean. Fish, if you like fishing. Have a picnic.....relax and enjoy.

There must be something you need for your new home. Head to the new and exciting Consignment shops. Spend some time with the consignment maps and find a few you love. Finding that special thing can be real fun.

Take a weekend journey to just above Greenville to the state park with the most beautiful lake. Rent a pontoon boat with friends.
YES, we do have mountains and lakes in SC. Lake Jocassee in SC ..SW corner. Its just gorgeous there, and make a stop for a day in Greenville.

Stroll along the boardwalk area in Myrtle Beach on a nice day.

Head to the Flea Market in Surfside Beach.

Go to Brookgreen gardens or Huntington State Park......

Take in a great movie at the Coastal Grand or Market Commons...

Go to the Zoo in Socastee and find the bridge with all the egrets nesting.....quite breathtaking. Have a picnic there.

Sit at the ocean with a good book.

Take your dogs to the wonderful dog parks we have, they love it.

Our Socastee Library is a joy.

Or, sit awhile in the Barnes and Nobles book store......Relaxing.

There is so many enjoyable things to do. Sure there is tacky around but there is lots of other things around.

I have seen great artwork here and there. One artist was in the consignment shop. One had artwork in Crazy Sisters. There is artwork in restaurants. We are not devoid of artwork in this area.
Besides the Art Museum.

Remember the festivals and attend them. Artwork galore. Good artwork.

Hoping your time in Myrtle beach will be enjoyable.....Its a great place to live and to visit.

[canudigit]

All of those things are wonderful, that's true. But it's also true that in a lot of cases, people impulsively move away from all of their memories, everything that they have known all of their life, and most of all the people who love them, simply because they visited places like MB, enjoyed their vacation, and decided to move, without taking into account how much they would miss all of the above things. Is it really that they miss shoveling snow, or do they miss the way the snow looks against the bright blue winter sky? Do they really hate the traffic in MB on the Fourth of July, or are they truly crying inside because the whole family back in Pennsylvania, or New Jersey, or wherever, is having a big cookout and they are the only ones who aren't there?

I agree with you, Summering, MB can be a magical place to live, but if someone moves there for the wrong reasons or without truly considering what they are leaving behind, they will still complain and want to go home, no matter what they do while they are there.

Your enthusiasm and obvious love for the Grand Strand is great. It is obvious that people can and do move for the right reasons and after having given it much thought, and you are proof of that.

[Summering]

OK....I have to admit....I love MB a whole bunch but yes, the worst part is missing your family.
So, I certainly should add be strong enough to do that because that part is hard. Yes it is!
It took me 10 years of coming here in winters and making many friends to be able to leave those we love so dearly back at home.
We did have to put that question of "those near and dear" to us.....into account.

We have to spend a bunch of time back home ( yes, NJ and PA) to be able to calm those "missing home and family" issues.

We spend about 3 separate times up North.

One time is during winter at Christmas time and so we do get to still see that forever beautiful snow. I love snow in many ways but my driveway was huge, and hubby can't shovel anymore.

We also will spend the month of June with family. They need us, we go!

I love many, many, things here. There is more for us to do then on my mountain back in PA. However, family is near and dear to me. Always ......

So yes, put that into your choosing MB as a place to live. Family is tremendously important, and it still is for us. I still keep constant contact with my girls and the little fellows. We do marvelous things when we are together her or there. We still make many memories. We visit DC and NYC and swim in lakes and pools.

I plan to go to that great Boat parade in Murrells this 4th of July after I return from NJ and being with family for the month. It can work out ok......It really can.

[loveagrey1]

Summering...I admire your love for this area...and I can totally understand it...but I still go back to you have to have alot of money to live here or you just cannot get the time, etc. to do alot of the things you list....you and your family seem to have that money....so I am glad you enjoy.....but not all of us have the luxury to do it..... and we want to go back to where we made money and got to enjoy life as you do here.....I am not getting any younger...I want to go back to Pennsylvania where I had benefits and a larger salary....

[canudigit]

^^^

I'm noticing more and more that this seems to be a big problem in the MB area. We were down there last week and met several people working in restaurants, etc. who said they were originally from places like Boston, Michigan, Chicago, etc. None of them looked to be under thirty or so, but yet there they were, waiting tables, seating people, working the front desk, etc. One friendly guy who waited on us in a restaurant looked to be about forty and told us how he had moved to MB from Massachusetts about sixteen years ago. He also told us that he lived in an apartment in an "unsafe" area of MB and had a pit bull to protect him and his stuff. He was polite, articulate, and very neat looking, and yet there he was, waiting tables, paying rent, and worrying about his stuff while he was away from home, even after sixteen years.

It does seem that most people in MB fall into one of two categories: older people who retired there from somewhere else and can afford the good life, or younger people who either grew up there or moved from somewhere else and can't attain the good life and are just getting by.

Just an observation, and I'm sure there are exceptions to this. MB is an awesome place in so many ways, but I can see where living there with little or no money or upward mobility could be a major bummer.

[Summering]

Originally Posted by loveagrey1

Summering...I admire your love for this area...and I can totally understand it...but I still go back to you have to have alot of money to live here or you just cannot get the time, etc. to do alot of the things you list....you and your family seem to have that money....so I am glad you enjoy.....but not all of us have the luxury to do it..... and we want to go back to where we made money and got to enjoy life as you do here.....I am not getting any younger...I want to go back to Pennsylvania where I had benefits and a larger salary....

I must say all of you who answered and gave your personal thoughts.
This wonderful attitude of the southern people is rubbing off on you!

Nah, not a LOT of money. We did work a long time, and I managed on our last two homes to pay them off in full. The last home in PA and this home in SC. I don't mind not having a mansion at all. Those things never meant very much to me. I love my house however and its location here. I bought my first home at 18 and just worked at fixing and moving forward with homes. ( first home was one bedroom made by us into three bedroom)

Actually my hubby had two very major heart surgeries and retired early "when offered" it. That was a choice to make to be able to keep our health care. If he did not retire then, in the future it might not be there.

I would say having no mortgage gives us the extra to spend. There still are plenty of things to pay for with the household and car expenses.

Going back to PA to work wouldn't be in the cards for us. Shoveling snow is a major issue when your heart has problems. Our home gave us too big of a yard, and too long of a driveway to handle. Snow becomes difficult for older people with health problems. I find many don't think about that as they head back north. Cold causes me issues, and I've met others here who said they moved here because of "the cold" too.

Worst off in PA, and I'd add NJ to that, is the cost of taxes. I was writing out a check for $6,000 in school tax and town tax. Here, I write a check for $336!! ( something like that...) There is extra pocket change too.

Wow, I am bareing my soul here.

Thank you for your answers......and I hope this helps you understand why I'm here. Even thought the lights of my life are north. The girls and little fellows mean the World to me.

[BigDaddyMoosh]

I guess I'm in the minority. I don't miss the weather and snow in Cleveland but there are many things about it that I would put way, way, way, ahead of this things listed here. After living here full time for 5 years I am looking to get out and head to Sarasota FLA. Myrtle Beach is wonderful as a family tourist destination. We have big beaches, lots of sun, tons of restaurants and lots of kid-type things to do (ie. miniature golf, water parks, go-karts). However, living here is entirely different. It's not so much the crowds that bother me, it's the abscence of arts and culture. What are we supposed to do, walk the boardwalk 100 times? Stroll around Broadway at the Beach 100 times? In the offseason you can't even get into a Starbucks after 8 or 9. The only thing to do here is go sit in bars or the plethora of tourist traps. I find the area to have pockets of "northern" people who tend to be more socially liberal, open minded and culturally diverse. Once you venture outside those pockets you have the good ole boy, closed minded, racist, ultra-conservative, bible belt element. It's not pretty. That's just my opinion. It would be much easier for me to stay and not have to sell my house in a down market, take my child out of school, etc. But ya gotta go where you fit in.

[canudigit]

It sounds like you moved to MB to flee the North's winters and didn't do much research on the area, or you would have known these things going in and chosen a place more suited to your personal preferences.

I don't live in MB, I'm not even Southern, but I find your gross stereotyping of Southerners to be somewhat offensive. Being a conservative and/or a Christian does not automatically make one racist (don't forget that the anti-slavery movement was started by Christians like the Rev. William Lloyd Garrison based on their Biblical beliefs), close-minded, or a "good ole boy", just as being Northern, "socially liberal" and "open minded" does not automatically make one benevolent, loving, and tolerant. Have you seen some of the hatred and name calling vented against Christians here on City-Data by all of the "tolerant" liberals? Wow!

You apparently much prefer people from the North, so wouldn't it make sense then, to just...kinda...live in the North? Just sayin'...you can't move somewhere where the natives are nothing like you and expect them to acclimate to you. You have to try to fit in with them. They were there first. That's kind of "Relocating 101" stuff.

I wish you well and I hope you can find a way to get out of MB soon. You sound very unhappy and Sarasota is full of Northern transplants, so it sounds like it will be a better fit. Either way, I bet you're glad to be out of Cleveland. What a depressing place!

[Summering]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyMoosh

I guess I'm in the minority. I don't miss the weather and snow in Cleveland but there are many things about it that I would put way, way, way, ahead of this things listed here. After living here full time for 5 years I am looking to get out and head to Sarasota FLA. Myrtle Beach is wonderful as a family tourist destination. We have big beaches, lots of sun, tons of restaurants and lots of kid-type things to do (ie. miniature golf, water parks, go-karts). However, living here is entirely different. It's not so much the crowds that bother me, it's the abscence of arts and culture. What are we supposed to do, walk the boardwalk 100 times? Stroll around Broadway at the Beach 100 times? In the offseason you can't even get into a Starbucks after 8 or 9. The only thing to do here is go sit in bars or the plethora of tourist traps. I find the area to have pockets of "northern" people who tend to be more socially liberal, open minded and culturally diverse. Once you venture outside those pockets you have the good ole boy, closed minded, racist, ultra-conservative, bible belt element. It's not pretty. That's just my opinion. It would be much easier for me to stay and not have to sell my house in a down market, take my child out of school, etc. But ya gotta go where you fit in.

I hope you know you don't have to go to the Art Museum for displays of art. Just last week at "The Blessing of the Inlet" there was various artists work displayed. One was in paintings, one in photography and another had painted lampshades that were just awesome. I bought one for home with a beach scene of dunes and dune grass.
There is art to be found in various restaurants also. Yes, we have art.
Conways festivals have artists too. I think strolling at some of these happenings would have helped you enjoy the area, until your home sells.
I've found over the years there is other good coffee besides Starbucks.
Try a few other places. The Mountain Grown Coffee is delicious as is Dunkins. ( I love Dunkins)
I have had young southern people talk to me for hours. Just pleasant everyday conversation. Just a week ago I had a wonderful conversation with a young man about the area and his friends that came down to visit.
His boat...and the shark we just ran from in the ocean!! I always leave with a big smile from these conversations as this southern charm is so endearing to me. People who take the time to talk and care...I have to admit that was a bit rare back north. ( Sorry North I love you anyway)
We don't hang out in bars but have lots of dinners with friends on the marsh or on the oceanside....with wonderful talk and views.
I didn't mind that my realtor said a prayer before we had lunch. There is no harm in someone enjoying their faith. I havn't meant any of the bible-toting people some talk about. But that wouldn't bother me at all.
Yes...live where its best for you. If the area doesn't suit you, it sure is best to find a place that does.
Just didn't want you to think I was still walking the boardwalk 100 times.

[Summering]

Pawleys Island Festival of Music and ART In September look for information....
We do have great music and art in the Myrtle Beach area.