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Been a long time (5yrs!) since I last visited but as this forum was so helpful to me back then I wanted to get some advice on another relocation.
We currently live in Southern Indiana. I miss the coast (being from the UK) and being a west coast (WA) girl, my wife misses the coast too and generally doesn't enjoy the Midwest. We had talked of moving to CA but it seems way too expensive. I have always been open to moving to the South East but she was apprehensive, mainly because of humidity. Long story short, we went on vacation to Myrtle beach last year and while I loved it as I expected, my wife was blown away by that area and Charleston and is very very open to the idea of moving somewhere in that region.
I KNOW living somewhere is different to just visiting but even with that in mind, we very much liked what we saw of the state so are looking at moving down there, preferably within reasonable distance of Charleston if possible.
My concerns currently are:
I earn about $100k, my wife is a SAHM to our only child but is going back to work in a few years when the kid goes to school full time. My company has a site in Charleston but it is minimal compared to the facilities up here. Even so, with remote working now it is not an issue moving to another state. However, I already know from someone else who made the move that they don't do a cost of living adjustment. That said, from what research I have done for my role, it seems like I might not get much more from a new company there anyway.
Home wise, our home is valued at ~$240k. With equity on our current single income, we have a budget of around $300k but that would be more in a few yrs when my wife is earning also. With that in mind could we get a house (3 or 4 bed, 2 bath) with at least 1/2 acre of land within an hour of Charleston? The nearer the coast the better so we are open to going South, or even South. I know people mention Columbia or Sumter, but I think being realistic we want to be nearer the beach as I surf a lot and our kid enjoys it. I did a search in Zillow within 50 miles of Charleston and sadly it looks like what we want may not be within reasonable distance.
Other considerations I haven't thought of are appreciated, I don't want this post to be an essay so if you have any specific questions then I'm happy to answer.
How do you feel about hurricanes? They don't happen every year, but sometimes hurricanes happen multiple times per year. Charleston floods. You'll pay for that. I suggest you follow our hurricane coverage this year. The further inland you live the less destructive storms you will experience. For this reason we moved to the Upstate (Greenville) so that we wouldn't have to deal with those storms. We are 4 hours from the coast. Columbia will put you 1-1/2 to 2 hours closer to the coast. Columbia is where many coast dwellers flee when a hurricane is headed to the SC coast. Some will have to come further north.
Let me repeat that:
It doesn't happen every year, but sometimes hurricanes happen multiple times per year.
You make a good point. It's 'part of the territory' I'm guessing so we would have to consider the pros and cons.
The last hurricane to significantly affect Charleston was decades ago, in 1989. Hugo was a monster storm, but since then, nothing nearly as serious. Matthew in 2016 dumped a lot of rain and caused some coastal erosion, but I was able to drive around Mount Pleasant within 2 hours of the storm passing. 2016 had multiple storms along the Atlantic Coast, but only Matthew turned out to be anything of consequence. If you move here, DO NOT watch the Weather Channel. Jim Cantore has been caught doing live "hurricane" feeds on the boardwalk in Myrtle and then be seen on the beach cams signing autographs 5 minutes later.
Here is factual information on tropical cyclones hitting the Charleston area.
My late father and his ancestors all the way back to southern Indiana’s first settlers were from Orange and Dubois counties around French Lick and Hillham. This year’s just-released Top 100 places to live by Livability has several Midwest cities in the top 10.
Avoid buying in low-lying developments and you should be fine. Even on James Island in Charleston, our condo isn’t in a flood zone.
An hour inland, schools are a topic I won’t discuss. My mom and her ancestors back to the mid 1700s, as a result of a Charleston-to-Dorchester-and-Orangeburg-counties-land-grant migration surge, are from about an hour inland.
Have you googled the heck out of Georgetown on the coast roughly halfway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach?
We just bought a 3BR condo at Belle Isle “Yacht Club” for 189K. I’m happy with the price, but the ongoing HOA fees are pretty steep.Belle Isle is about five miles south of Georgetown.
The last hurricane to significantly affect Charleston was decades ago, in 1989. Hugo was a monster storm, but since then, nothing nearly as serious. Matthew in 2016 dumped a lot of rain and caused some coastal erosion, but I was able to drive around Mount Pleasant within 2 hours of the storm passing. 2016 had multiple storms along the Atlantic Coast, but only Matthew turned out to be anything of consequence. If you move here, DO NOT watch the Weather Channel. Jim Cantore has been caught doing live "hurricane" feeds on the boardwalk in Myrtle and then be seen on the beach cams signing autographs 5 minutes later.
Here is factual information on tropical cyclones hitting the Charleston area.
If seriously considering the Charleston area, I'd suggest reposting in the Charleston specific board. Good luck.
Thank you, funny enough I was talking to my wife over the weekend and said that at the end of the day there is probably about as much risk of a hurricane there as there are Tornadoes here and that didn't prevent us from moving here. You get more warning with a hurricane than a tornado too. Good to know about the weather channel!
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMSRetired
There will usually be some type of natural weather that happens in areas..
I lived in NY..blizzards
I lived in FL...hurricanes
I lived in TX...tornados
And now I live in SC so back to hurricanes.
I would also highly suggest renting for a year to make sure it's the right place for you.
Thank you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlestondata
My late father and his ancestors all the way back to southern Indiana’s first settlers were from Orange and Dubois counties around French Lick and Hillham. This year’s just-released Top 100 places to live by Livability has several Midwest cities in the top 10.
Avoid buying in low-lying developments and you should be fine. Even on James Island in Charleston, our condo isn’t in a flood zone.
An hour inland, schools are a topic I won’t discuss. My mom and her ancestors back to the mid 1700s, as a result of a Charleston-to-Dorchester-and-Orangeburg-counties-land-grant migration surge, are from about an hour inland.
Have you googled the heck out of Georgetown on the coast roughly halfway between Charleston and Myrtle Beach?
I had seen Georgetown, but it was one for a few towns along the 17 so hadn't focused on it specifically. I will take a look though, thank you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mckee16
We just bought a 3BR condo at Belle Isle “Yacht Club” for 189K. I’m happy with the price, but the ongoing HOA fees are pretty steep.Belle Isle is about five miles south of Georgetown.
Good to know, we would want a house rather than a condo but thank you for posting.
At $300K you probably are not going to get within an hour of the coast. Look at Summerville.
Exactly what I wanted to know, thank you.
We should have more to play with than that when we com to move as we will be back to 2 incomes but I figure it is best to look at worst case scenario.
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