beaufort bluffton relocation (Charleston, Hilton Head Island, York: apartments, rent, crime rate)

[thomaspat]

been spending time researching and looking for relocation near coast in a family area. mount pleasant charleston had to much traffic for me . myrtle beach was similar but liked the town of conway.planning on visiting beufort area in fall. any suggestions for area with familys- school-for under 300,000. we just want to be near the ocean and want preteen daughter to be happy with relocation as well.thanks for everyones input so far its been very helpful in our search

[VivianAldana]

I live on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. This is a very beautiful place to live although it's kinda pricey.

Bluffton is just across the bridge. Affordable, eco-friendly, and family-oriented are words I would use to describe it. It should be one of your top 3 for the area.

[thomaspat]

ty vivian - i liked hearing eco and family friendly -saw a couple new home builders in bluffton -centrex and hallmark homes. if anyone has other builders in mind for under 300 thousand id be interested in looking at them as well. hope to be there by nov. to make a decision on where to relocate - trying to make this my last winter up here in western mass area

[GJBenn85]

If you did not like Mt. Pleasant's traffic, you might not like Bluffton's. Highway 278 can be a mess at times, particularly in the areas where it is still four lanes rather than six, and there are not many route options other than the Bluffton Parkway which has yet to be completed.

Still, I would gladly choose Bluffton over Beaufort. Beaufort is a sleepy town, not much to do and only a handful of good restaurants unless you like chains such as Applebees and Ruby Tuesday.

Furthermore, if your job will be dependent on development and economic growth (and let's face it, most are), Bluffton is a better option. Many people from Beaufort drive to Bluffton and Hilton Head each day for work.

[thomaspat]

ty gjbenn for the imput. going to fly in to charleston and drive down and check out the area. doing research i agree with you on bluffton area as far as the job market - resturants -shops-and cultural activities. beaufort does look beautiful and will will still check out that area as well, hopefuully this fall. anyone with builders they recommend please feel free to give out some names as i only found a couple in my price range until 300,000 thousand

[GJBenn85]

Word of advice when building out here: watch your back and stay on top of things. There are a lot of unethical contractors that manage to stay in business.

[lacecrazy]

Would you recommend buying a home that is already built over a new home? And, also, what community would you recommend for a retired couple that is NOT in an age restricted community. We are considering Island West or Rose Hill.

[GJBenn85]

I think Island West is nicer than the golf club side of Rose Hill, though Rose Hill has better access considering it has a light.

No recommendation on used vs. new. Just be careful, hire a decent inspector if buying used and if building new, watch every move the builder makes.

[lacecrazy]

Thank you for your answer. And, how does Eagles Point stack up? It's worrisome to buy another house at this point in our lives, and we don't want to make a mistake.

[kaitbrit]

I posted this to someone else but thought you might like to read...After we moved to Bluffton to Beaufort my daughter went to Beaufort Middle..It is the best, she loved it and missess it alot. We moved out of state..But here is my oppinion. Others may disagree but its mine. Also when we lived in Bluffton, we lived in Centex home within a year of being built they had to keep coming out fixing this and that. Of course it was in a subdivision so the homes went up very quickly. Hope this helps


I lived in Bluffton after being relocated for my husbands job from 2006-2008. We were alowed to visit before deciding to be transfered. We loved it and thought our children would as well. I grew up in San Diego, but were being relocated from Mississippi and while visiting and thinking about being relocated to such a beautiful place and coastal community of HHI. I was in love and "Convinced" this is where i wanted to live. We chose Bluffton. The reviews for the schools were great, crime rate was pretty much excellent. Well after a few months of living there i came to realized it was not as perfect as it seemed. The school, Bluffton element. was horrible. The principle did nothing but was to involved over getting her tax money.( i say this because the second day i took my children to school, she chased me down with an indian batton, and basically threatened to have me arrested if i did not change my tags over) (thought i had 30 days). After this i realized the sherriff there every day and YES he wrote tickets for people not having SC tags. Also please consider Bluffton and Beaufort are both military towns since Parris Island is extremely close. Anyway lived in a very prominant subdivision and was broken into 2x's. Crime and drug dealers, not to mention the tons of illegal aliens. I also worked at 2 Dr.'s Offices on Hilton Head. They were ok, but alot of people do travel to Beaufort memorial, Savannah or Charleston. I know you mentioned not to focus on traffic. There is one way on to the Island before you can spend 1.50 one way to cross a tiny bridge that takes less than 1 min to cross or take the even worse route. Bluffton has one main strip to everything and thats 278. you can get around the back way on 46 which is 2 lanes, but you have to end up on 278 to get to anything major. The crime at your local Kroger is outrageous just look up the many parking lot beatings and robberies that has happened. I witnessed a couple. Not that i am racial or a southern pride person, ( i did grow up in San Diego) but alot of the majority of people living in and around bluffton are Northerners. Mainly New York, but rude, impatientiance is there virtua. Taxes are higher, and the prices for groceries are a major difference between Bluffton's Publix, and the Lady's Island which is on the outskirts of Beaufort. Needless to say, after
a year, we relocated to Beaufort, in which i thought was a better cost of living. Rent in bluffton is outrageous, about 1100 for a decent apartment..Dont let them fool you...its not gated, anyone can get in, they leave open daily and they are Not Codo's. They are apartments. I worked in ladys island and lived near Lady's Island. For my recommendations, Lady's Island or Fripp Island is the better choice, alot of retirees live there and you have your own access to a much nicer beach, lots of deer you can walk up to, and feed on fripp. It is beautiful. I would just search for other options, other than to limit it to just Bluffton. Looks are deceiving. Read the online papers, you will see so many daily crimes. search the island packet, and beaufort gazette. You will see. I also just moved out of South Carolina, in december back home. But also take this into mind... Hilton Head became a town in the 60's... There is no true roots to that... Bluffton was nothing you can notice that by everything being extremely NEW. There is a couple of historical churches, but nothing else. It is MAN made and full of ILLEGAL Aliens TONS... all living in a 2 bedroom house with 10 other families. Sorry for the long response but bluffton has left a sour taste in mouth.