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We are moving from NC, with 2 kids (ages 3 and 5), 2 dogs and a cat. We have narrowed our choices for neighborhoods down and would love to hear some local feedback. We will purchase a home around $500,000. We want a neighborhood with sidewalks, pool, playground and close to shopping,restuarants and the beach. We like
1. Hamlin Plantation
2. Belle Hall Area
3. Daniel Island (still not sold, I need more info on the schools and I'm worried I will hate having to drive to Mt. P all the time for shopping,dining,etc.)
4. Old Village- mostly out of our price range for size we want, but would be interested in a fixer upper with potential.
Is there anything else I am missing. Also we decided we don't want to live near a pond after seeing a 5 foot alligator near a homes deck in Hamlin. We must have a fence and/or no water behind us. Thanks for your help!
We are moving from NC, with 2 kids (ages 3 and 5), 2 dogs and a cat. We have narrowed our choices for neighborhoods down and would love to hear some local feedback. We will purchase a home around $500,000. We want a neighborhood with sidewalks, pool, playground and close to shopping,restuarants and the beach. We like
1. Hamlin Plantation
2. Belle Hall Area
3. Daniel Island (still not sold, I need more info on the schools and I'm worried I will hate having to drive to Mt. P all the time for shopping,dining,etc.)
4. Old Village- mostly out of our price range for size we want, but would be interested in a fixer upper with potential.
Is there anything else I am missing. Also we decided we don't want to live near a pond after seeing a 5 foot alligator near a homes deck in Hamlin. We must have a fence and/or no water behind us. Thanks for your help!
I love in Waverly Hamlin Plantation and love it! Ask some questions if you'd like. It pretty much has everything your looking for.
They are all great locations. I'll give you my quick opinion -- but truthfully you would be happy in any of them.....
Hamlin is a great subdivision. Has a nice feel to it....nice selection of resale and new homes to choose from. Not bad location. We timed it to be 8 minutes from Rifle Range and the Isle of Palm Connector...not bad. If you have a teen -- not too bad of a drive to Wando High School.....but it is far. My only concern -- the subdivision is HUGE....the amenity area (pool) will get crazy in the summer.
Belle Hall is a little further away but it is a great location as well -- easy access to 526. I did not tour that subdivision as much as Hamlin so I am not as familiar with the amenity area but wonder if it would be as busy.
Daniel Island - great community....but you have limited services on the Island and will have to go on to 526 for EVERYTHING. Again may not be a big deal but I love being in Mount Pleasant proper and being 10 to 15 minutes to everything......There is some shopping...and some restaurants but it is set apart from everything.
Old Village -- oh go for it if you can. It's finding the right place at the right price but it's the right locale....
I think it depends on your lifestyle, and what you see yourself doing the most.
For me, it was more important to be able to walk and bike to things, even if I gave up a bit of variety to do so. Daniel Island would give you several gorgeous parks, pools, schools, a library, grocery store/markets, many restaurants, pharmacy, etc. all along well-lit bike & walking paths. You'd have to get in your car to go to big box stores and chain restaurants, but everyday life is very convenient. And it's a dog walker's paradise!
We looked at both Hamlin and Belle Hall, but noticed that we would have to cross a busy street to get to shops and restaurants, and that each only had one main amenity center (this may have changed...it's been a few years since I've been to either). Basically, it seemed to us that we would have had to get in the car for every little errand, which did not appeal to us. Belle Hall and Hamlin feel more like subdivisions, while DI is like a small town.
I adore the Old Village. Prices have come down a little bit there, but it is still slim pickings. If we had found the right place at the right price in OV, I think we would have been very happy there. But overall, I'm thrilled that we chose DI, and it's been fun watching the island grow and seeing new restaurants and businesses steadily moving in.
That's right - Daniel Island is like a small town. So if you want a coffee at 4:00 on Saturday you have trouble finding a place open. The 'town' is kind of quiet on a Saturday afternoon.
That's right - Daniel Island is like a small town. So if you want a coffee at 4:00 on Saturday you have trouble finding a place open. The 'town' is kind of quiet on a Saturday afternoon.
I'm not a coffee drinker, so I've never tried to find it on a Saturday afternoon. But I would imagine you could get a cup and a treat at Etcetera, Sermet's Courtyard, Ali Baba (Turkish Coffee & Baklava mmm), Publix, Kangaroo, etc.
Daniel Island Grille seems to be always open and frequently packed, the new Dublin Down is doing well, as are Orlando's, Vespa, and many others.
Like I said, it all depends on what kind of lifestyle you are looking for. There's no Starbucks, but there are plenty of locally owned cafes and restaurants...you won't go hungry or thirsty lol.
Last edited by scdreamer; 04-21-2011 at 10:37 AM..
Personally, I adore Daniel Island. If I didn't have kids that would have been my first choice. I wasn't happy with the schools available, so we chose Mount Pleasant instead. Old Village is wonderful if you can find a place in your price range. It's very far from the only high school in town, which was our reason for not looking there, but you have a long ways to go before you have to worry about that. By the time your little ones are in school there may well be a second high school anyway. We looked at Hamlin, and what we liked best about it was that it was right off Rifle Range instead of highway 17. Hamlin also has the easiest route to the beach. I live just past there, and it takes me about 12 minutes, door to sand. Belle Hall has a wide variety of house styles to choose from, and it's close to shopping and restaurants. We didn't look too closely at Belle Hall because we wanted to be close to Wando, and we REALLY wanted a heavily treed subdivision, which really limits your choices in Mount Pleasant.
Any of your choices would be great options, for various reasons. Wouldn't it be great if we could have it all in one spot?
Thank you for all the responses. I guess it made me realize that they are all good choices, but we have to decide what location we want to be in. I wish DI's schools were a little stronger. Its not that I have heard they are bad, but they don't seem as great as MP. That could sell me on DI if they were. But then again I want to be close to the beach. UGH!
You won't go wrong with any of those choices. The schools in MTP are great. The public school on Daniel Island has an excellent rating on the state report card. There is no public high school on DI, so kids go to Hanahan High or private high school. People choose DI because they "don't want to get off the island." So most work and play there without leaving. There is plenty to do and it is secluded and relaxing. You will get more for your money in MTP. There is more inventory to choose from and the average sales are in the $300s, whereas the average in DI is in the $500's. In MTP, you are also a bit closer to the beaches.
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