Which part of South Carolina should I move too? (Charleston: apartments, rentals)

[OliviaORourke]

Hey all. New to this forum but trying to gather some information.

My friend and I are both 18 years old and looking at going to South Carolina for the summer. We plan to stay about 6 months to work and live before I go to California for school. My grandmother lived in Myrtle Beach for a long time and I would spend my summers there growing up and I adored it.

But I am wondering if Myrtle Beach is a good choice. We are looking for somewhere close to the beach (not RIGHT on the beach but within a 15-20 minute drive), a good party scene, nightclubs, and just a general 'touristy' location in the summer. Oh and we would love it to be a safe area...but I think that's a given....


Other than that, any information anyone has on South Carolina would be great. We are on a budget for the move but since it is two of us, it is deff possible.

[Moab1]

the part where you can find a job before you move.

[OliviaORourke]

I don't believe that is what I was originally posting about. But thanks for your concern. As I have family out there, that wont be a problem. Thanks.

[Moab1]

Originally Posted by OliviaORourke

I don't believe that is what I was originally posting about. But thanks for your concern. As I have family out there, that wont be a problem. Thanks.

You said something about working for 6 months.

It sounds like you want to go to Mrytle Beach.

If not Mrytle Beach, then Charleston. James Island / Folly Beach has a lot of young people who like to party.

Hilton Head / Bluffton would be the only other option.

Wilmington NC has beaches and a nice downtown area with bars.

[OliviaORourke]

Great! Thanks. Is it more expensive to live in Myrtle Beach as opposed to Charleston?

[Moab1]

that is hard to say. You will have to get on a website like Zillow and just look for rentals in both areas. It really comes down to how nice of a place you want to live in. I

I think MB will have more vacation rental houses than Charleston given it is more of a vacation place than Chucktown.

Apartments in Chucktown start at 900-1000 for one bedroom and it could be even higher than that depending on how close to the beach you are.

Chucktown will have more people there for the entire time you are there while MB will have more people just there for a week or two vacation so if you want to make some friends Chucktown is probably the place to go.

Chucktown also has two other beaches at Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island, with Mount Pleasant being an upscale area near those two and just across a big bridge from downtown Chucktown. That is the area that I would want to live in but it is most expensive area of CHarleston metro.
You could look at North Charleston which is only 10-15 minutes from Mt. Pleasant, it is generally much more affordable there.

[CarolinaDreams]

Well hubby and and I just recently moved to MB, trust the guy on the job thing....We have been here 30 days, no jobs yet and applying all the time. If you are going to need a job while you are here, don't do what we did and come without jobs. My husbands field is security and I do retail....we didn't think jobs would be a issue either, we was wrong.

Myrtle beach is great, but the job market sucks! If you need a safe place, I suggest around the market common...not really so much in the market common (because to me it's a rip off) but around the general vicinity is pretty safe. I've also heard Carolina Forest is a good area, but it's more family oriented.

I have a cousin who recently moved to Charleston and his wife has a big fancy degree of some sort, and she's been trying to find work for months and no job for her yet either. I've never been to Charleston only looked at pictures and information online and I wasn't very impressed with it, seemed nothing like myrtle, seemed rather bland to me. Myrtle Beach was our dream, it's home for us and while we love it, our dream is dying slowly because of a lack of jobs.

Rent to me is pretty high for what you get, I seen a lot of slums priced around $750.00-850.00 that includes homes and apartments here in Myrtle. If you want a decent apartment or a true luxury apartment you wont find it, not in that price range anyway. Want a decent nicer home look in the price range of 975-1500 a month. I've looked at every apartment coming and going and none of them met my standards but I wont live in just anything either. I wanted something nicer and as new as possible.

Info you may or may not know about:
1. With renting apartments or anything from a rental agency you need to make 3xs the monthly rent or have 1 years rent saved up in bank account. Don't make 3xs monthly rent, they wont talk with you, unless you have a cosigner and even then some places will not have anything to do with you.
2. Rent can increase or decrease every single year, it never stays the same. Most apartments are all priced different even the same floor plan in the same complex, they all seem to have different prices. Almost seems like they make prices up as they go.
3. Crazy rules, and crazy fees come with the leases, be sure to READ CAREFULLY before signing. Make sure you don't mind the weird rules or tons of fees you could be charged. I've received 40 page leases full of fees and crazy rules before...refused to sign them after I read them.
4. If you don't like pesticide spray, don't move to MB. Every thing here is sprayed down with pesticides all the time...even your apartments. Some places get more crazy with it then others.
5. Palmetto bugs....it's basically a cockroach and they are EVERYWHERE.
6. When dealing with rentals...be prepared for your phone calls not to be returned, also be prepared for lies, be careful what you believe and be careful what you choose to rent or even buy if you go that route.
7. If you want vacation rentals you are in luck there are a ton, want a annual rental....good luck with that! took us three years to find the right place for us.

[912]

Originally Posted by CarolinaDreams

Well hubby and and I just recently moved to MB, trust the guy on the job thing....We have been here 30 days, no jobs yet and applying all the time. If you are going to need a job while you are here, don't do what we did and come without jobs. My husbands field is security and I do retail....we didn't think jobs would be a issue either, we was wrong.

Hate to say I told you so....

Ladies & gents, let this be a warning to those of you seeking to change lifestyles in SC: NEVER, EVER move here without a job lined up FIRST!

[IsNull]

What kind of clubs and party scene are you looking for at 18?

It's not exactly my crowd anymore, but I'm not to familiar with under age clubs in Charleston. But, being a college town, there are things to do downtown for those not yet legal to consume alcohol. Plenty of restaurants, lounges, patios, coffee style houses that one can hang out at.

How much of a cushion do you have to live on before needing work?

[Iam4USC]

Go find an apartment around Coastal Carolina. Should be fairly cheap in the summer as most of the students are gone. But those who hang around, like to party. Coastal is only 15-20 minutes from the beach depending on traffic.