Recent visit to Myrtle Beach (Columbia, Charleston: how much, homes, find a job)

[drsmiley06]

So I took a weekend trip to myrtle beach for x-mas holiday, had a great time, except for the bus system there, but I seemed to encounter many people who didn't like living there. I asked quite a number of locals about possibly moving there but many said that the economy there stinks, and this isn't just in myrtle beach either. I must have talked to half a dozen people up at Broadway who were from the northeast part of the country that made the move down there and almost all of them told me to stay up north because the pay down there in myrtle beach let alone south carolina is horrible. Everyone keeps telling me to look into Charleston but I haven't recieved many great reviews about south carolina in general. I just want to go where there's smart beautiful intelligent highly educated women in a nice warm climate, haha! Someone give me the real deal about this south carolina because I'm sick of getting mixed reviews! Can I live happily ever after in the state of south carolina?

[baylovers]

Well Doc, as you know, you can't please all of the people all of the time!

the economy there stinks, and this isn't just in myrtle beach either.

You are right, it is just about everywhere... spoke with friends of mine in Fla. & NYC and it seems people everywhere are in hard times. Many people are in fear of being laid off. SC is not known for high end salaries, so do not come here expecting to get rich, although my dentist seems to be doing pretty well.

I just want to go where there's smart beautiful intelligent highly educated women in a nice warm climate, haha!

That is a tall order for anywhere! I would have to lean towards Charleston also if you decided on SC. However, it is fairly large city and it has city type issues. MB is less of a city and has different issues.

We moved here from NY and have made a life for ourselves. We do not regret the move at all. It is nice to away from the cold, the traffic and the high cost of living. Obviously, it is all relative to where you are coming from.

[drsmiley06]

Hey Baylovers, thanks for the response. Ya know, I actually quite a number of people working up at Broadway who were from the NY/NJ area and had made the move to SC. And the one thing I heard the most from these people was that they thought the cost of living would be cheaper but from what they told me it's not. Maybe the housing is cheaper but everything else from what they told me is a wash. Although the one thing they did seem to like the most was the weather, which was one of the big reasons why they made the move. Sadly, a few that I did talk to said they were planning on moving back up to the northeast because they need to make more money. I guess the weather is nice but it's not enough to overcome the financial burdons.

[burr]

MB is considered a resort in the state, as is the entire coast. Resort living has a higher cost of living, wouldn't ya' think ? Move to Columbia, 90 minutes or so away from the coast (or anywhere inland) and cost of living will be no comparison to NY/NJ. BUT, you will not have the ocean breeze, which keeps the humidity and mosquitoes in check, sorta.

Remember, you gotta pay to play.

[southernbychoice14]

Ok here is my take....my husband got a transfer here when I came to look at homes I was horrified at what random people would say to me about how much they hated it.Comments like :you will never find a job" this is horrible" "that is awful" ...so after I completely freaked out I started breaking down who was saying this.
Most were retail type people...it is no secret they are having a bad year and they deal with the yuckiest people.And that is all they hear all day long.So maybe they are bent to being more negative. Local but younger ...some locals dont like outsiders.period. and some young people just don't like anything. Northerners...some dont like the pace, they dont get the whole Southern vibe. And trust me when I say it is slow and I was a Southerner to begin with...no one gets in a hurrry.
Now since I have moved here I hardly ever hear it. The people I run into now gush about the weather or how great this or that.
Now I chalk this up to several things....maybe me being nervous made me notice the negative more, some people dont want more people to come,some people are just negative.
As for me I have been here a few months and I love it. The weather is great.You live somewhere people come visit.There is always something to do.I live in a gated community with parks and pools and am three miles to the beach. oh and for us it has been cheaper we come from a rural Southern state where we lived in a resort lake community so you would think it would be more here but we cut our monthly output by 40%. The people who say it is so expensive are living like they are on vacation and lets face it you just cant do that.

[drsmiley06]

Well you're absolutely right about the retail business, they are taking a huge hit. I'm a dentist so I don't think I'll have a problem finding a job done there, the pay may be alittle different but I can deal with that since I'm single with no children. And you know, it's kinda of funny, but I get a sense that there are a large portion of people in south carolina that wish it was alittle more faster pace down there, not that they don't like the laid back attitude, anyone would love that. And you're definitely right about people living on vacation, there are quite a number of people that live way above their means. But I'll tell ya if south carolina has smart beautiful intelligent highly educated single women with no children, I wouldn't care what the economy is like, lol.

[rubber_factory]

I would caution you about confusing characteristics of Myrtle Beach with characteristics of South Carolina in general.

Resort areas are generally going to be less affordable. In my experience they are full of disgruntled working-class people trying to get by, somehow oblivious to the apparent fact that they choose to live in an expensive area. Also, they are full of people from other parts of the country, who move in with unrealistic expectations.

That's not to say that they're bad places to live; just saying that there's a reason the majority of South Carolinians don't live on the coast, and it isn't because people don't like water.

[Sportygal21]

Hi Dr. Smiley,

I am from MA and live here now. I graduated from USC-Columbia, and lived in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach for a total of 7 years. My mother lives in Little River, SC (just north of NMB). After reading your post, I would recommend Charleston to you. The MB area is very touristy with a lot of party attitude folks. I think you will find the lifestyle you seek and perhaps even the woman of your dreams, in Charleston rather than MB.

There are negative and positive people where ever you go. Obviously pay is less, but as you mentioned with your profession you should be fine. The cost of lving is absolutely less than in New England.

Best of luck! Dentist love me,I have a great smile!

[drsmiley06]

Find the woman of my dreams, I just want a woman to can...forget it! Anywho, thanks for the prompt reply and I'll definitely take it into consideration. I definitely agree with you that some people have unrealistic expectations when living in a coastal town like MB. I really don't know if the pay would be that much different than in Pennsylvania. Medicine is the one profession where someone's salary can be almost the same no matter what region they're in. Someone else did mention Charleston to me, maybe I'll look into that region instead of MB.

[thaxil]

Dr Smiley,

I recently move to myrtle beach from Mi after graduating from dental school. My experience is that native don't like implants from anywhere. There is this strange coast verse inland rivalry. Many dentist are hurting and cutting back days and hours. I am doing reasonable well. I would not consider Charleston as a dentist. Very competitive region. There are a lot of rural areas that need dentist in SC and NC. Try lexiton county very fast growing and western part of the state is growing rapidly. Myrtle beach is overly populated with dentist like Charleston.