does anyone know St. George? (Charleston, Summerville: apartment, for rent, house)

[ana]

hi,

I'll be soon moving to Dorchester county. I have no idea about SC, Dorchester or St. George, the small town I will be working at.
Could anyone tell me something about it?? flats for rent, social and cultural life, etc... whatever info' you may provide will be very useful
thanks

[anonymous]

I used to travel to St. George to play Dorchester Academy in football, in high school. It's about an hour and a half from my hometown.

St. George is a little blip on the map, in the middle of nowhere. It's about 1.5 hours from Charleston and 30 minutes from Lake Marion

My question is.. where are you from? That will go a long way in me helping you.

[ana]

as it is in the middle of nowhere...what is the nearest nicest town to live then???

[anonymous]

st. george is right off I-95. It is very small (about 2,000 people), very black (48%) and very poor (1/5 of the population is below the poverty line). on the bright side, if you like to hunt, you're in luck.

the only nearby towns are exactly like St. George. Harleyville, Reevesville, Holly Hill, Ridgeville, Walterboro.

summerville is about 30-45 minutes away from St. George (that's an estimate). it's decently sized (30,000 people) and it's not far from charleston. it's probably your best bet if you don't want to live in St. George. Its 20 minutes or so away from Charleston, 30-45 minutes away from the beach. I'm not crazy about summerville, but some people on this board have relocated there and seem to like it.

[ana]

wau!!!!!

it does not seem a very nice place !! I suspected it...I must admit, I just wanted to be optimistic about the idea of moving there.
I am a bit concerned about safety, accomodation, social integration and cultural life... let's see how it goes...
thanks a lot

[anonymous]

ana,
I'm not trying to discourage you. You mentioned you're not familiar with South Carolina. You didn't mention where you are moving from, but it's safe to assume it'll be a bit of a culture shock. There are positive aspects, though.

The people will probably be friendly. Everyone knows each other in that sort of town.

The cost of living will be very cheap. Even a little bit of money will go a long, long way in that area. You could probably buy a decent house for the amount of money that you could rent an apartment in a big city.

The cultural and social life is mostly centered around churches. That's the only place you'll consistently meet nice people in small towns around here.

As far as safety goes, I don't think St. George is particularly unsafe. It's simply not populated enough to be that dangerous. As long as you live in a good neighborhood (it will be obvious) things should be safe.

[ana]

well, thanks a lot...

it's going to be my very first time there... so everything worries me... I tried to contact some institutions in the area but nobody has answered yet... yours is the first reply I get... I just hope everything goes fine, after all I'll be living a "Southern Exposure".

[hussyb66]

Ana, My husband and I just returned from a trip to sc and looked in the st stephen - Moncks corner area. I found that I loved to back country feel of st stephen. The culture was approx. 60-35 black to white ratio and I even went to the school my kids would attend. I found them all very friendly and extremely willing to discuss any issues and let me tour the school on spot. I'd be willing to bet that any of the small towns around there would do the same for you

[len2nt]

St. George would be considered rural living by anyone who hasn't grown up in a farm area or out of the way community. It is next to I-95 so you can get north and south to other places fairly quickly... even west and east via I-26. Have you looked at Walterboro, south of St. George as a possible place to live. You would commute up I-95 to St. George. Also, Summerville is in the same county about 25 miles east. The roads between Summerville and St.George are ok, but not interstates. Positives for St. George are very friendly folks, church centered, small golf course, a little downtown area with quaint shops, and of course, I believe St. George is the home of the annual Great "Grits" festival. You might get some info from the Tricounty Chamber of Commerce that is located in Santee (another small rural town possibility on Lake Marion), Holly Hill or in St. George, itself. If you are more comfortable with city living, St. George will be radical change. Bottom line is: "friendly" people in St. George and you meet your neighbors immediately who will go out of their way to be helpful. If you have school aged kids, you need to be concerned about the school system. The county has two school systems... Summerville which is good, and St. George which is like many in S.C. not too great. In fact, SC is near trhe bottom nationwide. There are many private schools to send your kids but that can become expensive and most of the private schools are "fair to good"... but not excellent. Good luck!

[my2cents]

Ana - I grew up in st. george back in the late 80's and early 90's. Back then it seemed as though the town was growing. I think they now call themselves a city but don't let that fool you. Have you ever heard the saying - "the streets roll up at dark."? In all the small towns in this area you can be sure it's true. If you seek any adventure, road trips are you best bet. There is little to nothing to do socially, except if you include church on sunday or the annual world's grits festival. I have family who still lives near the area but I don't know why. Jobs are very few but it sounds like you have taken care of that already. You will be in the minority of those earning above the median income of 40K per year. It's been my experience that most live below 20K and the school system is no better. If you want to take trip down memory lane to a time gone by, that's about what you can say for the school system. The education system is one of the worst in the nation and the private schools are no better. Private schools are around but unless you want a sub-standard education (meaning below the public school), I would move to Summerville.