MB, Charleston, or Wilmington? (Summerville, Aiken: real estate, low crime, townhome)

[dreamingofbetter]

Hi Everyone, We have an opportunity to move and are thinking about the 3 areas of MB, Charleston or Wilmington NC - my husbands company has offices in those 3 cities & could potentially choose anywhere within about 30-40 mins commute to those offices. We are moving from the Baltimore area. We have 5 young children ages 10-3 months. Here are a few things that will be important to us:

1. Great schools - although we would consider homeschooling if we find an area we love that does not have great schools...we'd like to have the option to place them in either private or public school if they are great.

2. Land - we would like at least 1 acre of land, because we are coming from a congested area in a townhome - looking for wide open spaces

3. The possibility of building/living next to 2 other families who may be moving with us. My sister, her family and our parents. What are the laws like in SC with respect to building multiple homes on properties? This is very difficult in Maryland due to the real estate regulations and laws - is it possible to have multiple homes built on a piece of land purchased there?

4. Beach - we would like to be within 30-40 minutes of the beach

5. Lower cost of living - hopeful to find a 4br home less than 300K

6. an area that has activities/festivals/libraries etc with things for a young family to do along with other families similar to ours to hang out with. we don't want to be the only family in a retirement community or the only family with kids

7. Safety - low crime

Can anyone point me in the direction of areas to begin researching? and maybe areas to stay away from? I don't mind being in a rural area, but need to be close enough driving distance to amenities.

Thanks for reading! We are done with the winters here being stuck indoors for months at a time.

MH

[CD2013]

Dont know much about Wilmington but....

Charleston has 2 of the top public schools in America. Academic Magnet and Charleston School of Arts. AMHS was ranked 10th best in the US. Also a vast private school system because many public schools arent as good. For a large public school.however...Wando HS is great.

Charleston is more expensive than Myrtle.

Both have pockets of high crime.

Both have incredible beaches. Charlestons Kiawah Island was listed as one of Americas top 10 beaches. However...Charleston beaches are all islands. Myrtle has a much much larger beach area acess and cheaper to live near that.

Both are tourism hotbeds and loaded with festivals. Charleston has the Spoleto Festival, a world class arts event.

Id strongly recommend visiting both...DURING summer. They're an hour and a half drive apart so its easy to do both in a week.

Many people I know live in Charleston and take day trips to Myrtle.

[gigifisher]

I can definitely recommend the Wilmington to Jacksonville area. If you go out of town, you can find the space and price range you are looking for. NC has better colleges than SC (I got that from a friend who teaches at a college in SC). There are numerous great schools in the Wilmington area, eg Topsail. Wilmington is vibrant, has a great influx of people from all over, including international due to UNCW, the film industry and its great location.

[kwarfield]

Three cities with three different atmospheres - you really need to come and check out all three. I wouldn't worry much about college unless your kids are older and you're really concerned with them getting in-state tuition, and gigifisher, I have to disagree about NC colleges being better necessarily.
Clemson, USC, College of Charleston are three with nationally ranked programs, and all are public institutions. I think it all depends on what major/minor path you want to take and you 'shop' colleges from there. Maybe Clemson's engineering programs are nicer than UNC's...or maybe Duke's beat that one out. Not sure. It is up to the parent and potential student to do their homework.

There is a lot of open space outside of all three metro areas. Holly Ridge is nice outside of Wilmington, I have friends who have lived there. High military population with Camp LeJeune nearby. About 30 minutes from downtown Wilmington and close to Surfside Beach. Not sure about the schools in that area as my friends there did not have kids.
You may want to check out Conway, SC which is near MB. I'm not sure about the schools in Conway, SC or anywhere near Wilmington (you may want to post specifically on the Wilmington thread to ask). Conway is relatively close to the beach and closest to MB.
Also check Dorchester County, SC. Dorchester 2 school district has some of the nicest schools around from what I hear. Most of the county is relatively rural from what I see driving by but that is how a lot of our state is. Dorchester is close to Charleston and I think the largest community there would be Summerville which is becoming quite popular. I also have friends who live there, and they love it.
All three areas have your necessities like grocery stores, pharmacies, home improvement stores, etc. nearby.

My advice to people looking to move is to take a few days to visit and do normal things. Don't do just the touristy things. Go to the grocery store, pharmacy, go and actually tour the schools, drive around during rush hour to see if you can stand it. Find where rec-league sports are for the kids and check them out if your kids are into that stuff. If you have time, come during the touristy times of year. Not for you to enjoy necessarily, but for you to see if you can stand it. All three are popular tourist destinations and if you need to go into town say, the first week of June in Myrtle Beach (around 'senior week' for graduating HS students and bike week) you're in for longer waits and heavier traffic. Just an example.

Here in SC it is very, very red and property owners rights are important. There are good and bad things about that. You can do what you want in most places to your property (depending on county laws and if you have an HOA, etc.) but so can your neighbor. This means that you can have a million dollar mansion next door to a trashy, run-down shack in some places depending on how strict the county is on zoning. Some people think this is weird and something they have to get used to.
I'd check with the counties you're looking at before buying property, but I know I have seen families with one piece of land and multiple homes. I had a friend growing up whose parents had like, 25 acres of land (in Aiken County) and several mobile homes that other family members lived in (aunts, grandparents, etc.). We also knew a couple who had about 90 acres with two homes (again, Aiken County). They were quite well-off and lived in first in an RV on the property while they started construction on both homes, then they lived in the smaller house once it was finished while they continued construction on the big house. Eventually they parceled the land out some and they sold the smaller house with several acres.

Anyway, good luck with your move and welcome to SC or NC, whichever your family finds fits them best!

[Uncle Brad]

I prefer Wilmington to the other two. The downtown area is right on the water, and not so many tourists. A lot less traffic in the metro.

[ihret1]

Hey All,
My husband and I are hoping to move to either Charleston, SC or Wilmington, NC in the next few years. I have been to Charleston many times, but I know people that swear by Wilmington. I would love to hear some of the opposing views from locals in either area. About us- my husband is a long time commercial diver, and I am a bartender pursuing my RN in nursing. We don't have kids, but we do have 3 rowdy dogs and would require at least .25 acres, preferably more. Coming from Connecticut, we are used to having a decent amount space, little traffic etc. Also, coming from Connecticut, we are beyond tired of the pretentious vibe that comes with living near upper class coastal communities. We are pretty laid back, and hard working, blue collar at heart. We both love the amenities of city life- art & music, especially, but on an average night we are home early just relaxing with our dogs and some Netflix. There are so many things I love about Charleston, but I suspect that it might honestly be too richy (and congested) for us. In CT, we are lucky enough to live less than 5 miles from the beach, but we bought along time ago when it was not so expensive. I have lived in Boston, Tempe, AZ, Pittsburgh, and CT, and hands down- Pittsburgh has always been my favorite for it's small town/family oriented feel. All that being said, while it's nearly impossible to ascertain a city's vibe via internet information, if some locals out there could chime in and let me know their thoughts on Wilmington & Charleston, I would love to hear them! I suspect that Wilmington will probably be more our scene, but any info would be greatly appreciated! PS- my husband is an avid boater, and kite surfer- so being close to the beach and boat launches are important, but again- I suspect that to get near the beach in Charleston, you have to have some serious cash. It seems like the real estate in Wilmington allows a lot more bang for your buck, but again- it's hard to really know anything just by doing internet research. Thanks for any info!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by kwarfield

There is a lot of open space outside of all three metro areas. Holly Ridge is nice outside of Wilmington, I have friends who have lived there. High military population with Camp LeJeune nearby. About 30 minutes from downtown Wilmington and close to Surfside Beach. Not sure about the schools in that area as my friends there did not have kids.

Check the WhiteBridge development in Hampstead, NC. It has 2-5 acre lots and allows horses. If you look at the Holly Ridge area, I suggest sticking with the Pender County side as the schools are better than in Onslow County. For more information, check the Coastal North Carolina sub-forum.