A question to those who relocated to Myrtle Beach (Charleston: 2009, home)

[Fazzina3]

I have lived in Myrtle Beach for 10 years and it was and is complete culture shock - in other words - no culture. Lots of red-necks here and extreme right wing republicans. I live in a beautiful home on the Marsh and that fact makes me very happy. I had a hard time adjusting here. So, what I did was take some classes at the local colleges here (Horry Tech and Osher Life Long Learning) There are a lot of groups to join and lots of other classes to take. Most of my friends are from the North where I am originally from. The restaurants are not great except for Bistro 217 in Pawleys Island and Croissants on 38th Avenue in MB near Broadway at the Beach. I did go to culinary school at Horry Tech., but it is no Culinary Institute of America. It was fun however.
Here - you have to search for things to do. The summers are very hot and muggy which I do not like.
If you like horse-back riding and golf this is the place to be. I love old Conway and I love old Georgetown - fun places to doddle for a day.

[NevrEnufGolf]

I have lived here just a little over a year and am planning a move, either to Wilmington or back to New England. I vacationed here for years before moving. While it's a great place to visit, living here is very different that visiting here.

[pburgess68]

Originally Posted by NevrEnufGolf

I vacationed here for years before moving. While it's a great place to visit, living here is very different that visiting here.

EXACTLY what we say here at home. It's a shame that even my daughter wants to leave now, and she was oblivious to how we felt. Or so we thought. Recently we moved away from Carolina Forest out to Loris. Way less to do, but no crowds. 4 years until my son graduates HS and then we'll reevaluate at that time.

[baylovers]

Fazzina, if you enjoyed Bistro217 you should try The Chive Blossom around the corner. It is on the North Causeway behind the Walgreens. Not what I would call inexpensive at all (most dishes are $20+), but the food is outstanding.

[golfball]

We lved in Myrtle Beach for ten years moved out in 2002 and now are in the process of moving back. We are semi retired and love the beach,golf and seaford no better place. When we lived at the beach i worked with a lot of younger people who said it was tough to socialize, that was 8 years ago and i do not know if it has changed. The weather is great with just the right amount of winter Jan. & Feb. Good luck in what ever you decide

[rainroosty]

Originally Posted by Rapture

This is just my opinion/experience and you can have a totally differnet one once moving here. (don't get mad at me people) I moved here 2.5 years ago from NJ and if I could I would probably move back. It's not so much that I don't like it here it's more that I miss where I'm from. It's very different and even though I did fly down several times looking at houses, I didn't realize how different until I moved here. I'm more of a city "type" person and this is not the city. Maybe I should have looked more into Charleston before moving, I don't know. There are great things about living here I really appreciate and no place is perfect, that's for sure. The weather is fantastic and of course being from NJ the low taxes are great. Beautiful trees, birds but lots of bugs, snakes and lizards. I don't want to make a list of what I don't like but if I could do it over I would have stayed in NJ. Keeping in mind, I moved here right when the economy went down the tubes, I also started to have health issues and it's hard to make new friends when you work from home, so some of my discontent has nothing to do with this area. All I can say is do a lot of research, list things that are important to you and what doesn't really matter if you don't have it any more. See how that all fits in to this area by asking questions. If you're not buying a house right away or moving with a family, then you can always easily move back to where you're from if you don't like it. Good luck!

I am surprised to hear about the snake problem there. What exactly is the problem?

[neecewh]

We moved here about 2 months ago and feel like we moved to paradise. Now it has been a short time and we haven't experience the summer tourist season but I really can't imagine ever wanting to move back north. We moved from Maryland (but I am originally from the Philly suburbs) because my husband was forced into early retirement (health reasons) and we struggled to survive on our limited income in Maryland. The cost of housing is half of what you would pay up there. We enjoy the relaxed atmosphere. As for politics, I would like to think I am not a "wacky liberal" (as pawleysdude would say) but I only bought the newspaper once and realized I was not on the same page as my neighbors. That being said the people in the area are warm, friendly and have been nothing but helpful.

[Teddyterp]

Welcome neecewh,

We, too, are Marylanders (Crofton). Glad to have you on board. Tourist season is really not bad, as you will find you own little short cuts around the traffic. You won't find any Marty O'Malleys in SC, but Mark Sanfords instead. (Haven't reached a decision on that one.)

Anyway, the best is yet to come for you because the winter (hardly any compared to MD) is so nice weather-wise. I haven't had to shovel the sunshine since we moved here 4 years ago.

Welcome aboard!

[neecewh]

Teddyterp,
I am looking forward to a mild winter as I am not a fan of the cold. I left my shovel in Maryland (Chesapeake City) so I am glad to hear I won't be needing it. Thanks for the warm welcome.

[s3a3r3a3h]

I actually just moved here about two weeks ago. Before here i lived in Charleston for about 3 months an before that Greenville. I loved Greenville mostly because i spent my whole life there. Its close to the mountains, where i was born. I really thought I would be disappointed with Myrtle Beach but Im really not so far. I am of a college age but the only thing that really bothers me here is the college kids. lol Im not a party person an I have always thought Myrtle Beach was just a place for that. (Also driving here is bad...some people are not so nice!)But I do like Conway. Its a small country town an nice to visit. I like Myrtle Beach better than i actually thought that i would, everything is pretty conveniently located.
*Most people that move here from anywhere but the south pretty much go into shock (lol) because a southern city is very different. You can walk through a town an see maybe two people, whereas in a northern city or big city people are everwhere an there is always tons of hustle an bustle. (My husband moved from a huge city (guayquil, ecuador) and cant stand walking outside an not seeing people!) Its very different. So if you are moving from a city like that know that it is harder to run into people here, to make friends here...but it is easier to relax!