Is there a place for us? (Charleston, Summerville: house, colleges, maintenance)

[lieberry-lil]

My recently-retired husband and I are thinking of relocating to SC for the gentler winters and less-burdensome taxes. He would like to be no more than 2 hours from the ocean and have a low-maintenance house with its own deep-water access on a lake or river. I need lots of trees around me but few people living closeby: an area with old live oaks would be heavenly, far away from housing developments and chain stores. I would need to find work as a public or academic librarian within an hour's commute and he would like to find opportunities to continue teaching college-level English.

We visited Beaufort recently but it is pretty congested and pricey (our top range for a house would be around $300K).

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks.

[connielee]

Originally Posted by lieberry-lil

My recently-retired husband and I are thinking of relocating to SC for the gentler winters and less-burdensome taxes. He would like to be no more than 2 hours from the ocean and have a low-maintenance house with its own deep-water access on a lake or river. I need lots of trees around me but few people living closeby: an area with old live oaks would be heavenly, far away from housing developments and chain stores. I would need to find work as a public or academic librarian within an hour's commute and he would like to find opportunities to continue teaching college-level English.

We visited Beaufort recently but it is pretty congested and pricey (our top range for a house would be around $300K).

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks.

Have you looked at Summerville? Great place but you may find it as pricey as Beaufort. Walterboro may suit your needs. Small town. Lots of land available. Beautiful Spanish moss hung trees. Housing is more reasonable. If you're inclined, you could probably find a historic home that has fallen on hard times and restore it. Commute to colleges will be right at an hour for sure. Also smaller towns in and around Charleston. All of these much less than 2 hours from beaches, most less than an hour. Land on several black-water rivers available and BREATH-TAKING. Good luck in your search.

[lieberry-lil]

Thanks for the mentions. Someone else had mentioned Summerville favorably in one of these forums; we'll take a look at Waltorboro for sure.
Cheers!