Taxes, insurance, jobs, and the culture of Grand Strand ? (Myrtle Beach: appointed, sale)

[2nd_life]

What are the home taxes and insurance like in the Grand Strand area?

How different are they in different areas? Any areas kinder on taxes and home insurance?

I keep reading vague comments about the culture of the area. What specifically do people mean when they say they know the "culture" of the area?

Any comments are appreciated. Thanks.

[baylovers]

Taxes are based on the sale price of the home. Some of the real estate folks may be able to give you hard numbers but a $225k home will probably be around $2k.

Insurance is more expensive the closer you get to the ocean. Any property east of Hwy 17 is very difficult to obtain & will likely be in the state insurance pool, which is costly. Actually, the Wind & Hail policy is the expensive part. The homeowners part is average. I have a 3500 sq ft house built in 1992 & the total cost for insurance is $3200.

[Waterslaw]

"The culture of the area" is confusing to me too.
You might Google South Carolina History and the Myrtle Beach area.
It's an interesting mix of people, since now a days people are moving here from all over.
We have the very wealthy, your average middle class, and the poorer group.
Senior retires are a large group due to the better weather and lower housing prices, compared to other states.

Diversification best describes the area I guess.
You may see an expensive home and close by is something very cheap and possibly shabby. I've seen this a number of times.

There are also the Ocean front homes, which I see as being for the more wealthy, considering the off the scale of Insurance prices due to Hurricanes and possibility of Tsunami wave activity. Though highly unlikely.

Google is the easiest way to seach for information on our history and the people. We've got it all, almost. The good, the bad and yes, the ugly.

Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly is to the bone.
Have a good day.

[2nd_life]

Hello BayLovers & Waterslaw,

Thank you for the information.

I lost track of this thread.

We visited Pawleys Island briefly in early December and had a chance to have a quick visit at Georgetown. We really liked the old town feel of it and had dinner along the water.

Also had a quick trip to the Market Commons and drove through some of the home sections. Was disappointed in the layout of the homes as we had thought they were to foster an old town lifestyle as well. The way they are laid out doesn't seem like it would foster a "know your neighbors" kind of lifestyle. I don't mean "best buddies", but even "knowing your neighbors". Seems like people would go in and out of their garages/homes and not necessarily know anyone.

That seems to be a piece of what is wrong with America. There are so many communities where everyone is so disconnected and isolated. It's hurt our country and quality of lives.

Our trip was cut short by an emergency back home. Still looking for an area where there is more "community", reasonable prices, and close to medical and other necessaries of life.

Thanks again and best wishes.

[pburgess68]

There is very little culture in Horry County. It is a tourist area, after all. Mostly transients, vacationers, college kids, snow birds, etc. There are no true ethnic areas, and very little to offer outside of the tourist traps. If you need Asian ingredients, there's a few good grocery stores. Of course, there's no lack of Mexican ones. Unfortunately, we don't have too many museums, but the several we have are very nice.

I'm not sure what you were looking for "culture" wise, so I tried to cover most of the bases!