How to get a taste of life in Charleston during my vacation (Columbia: chapel, earthquake)

[Vasily]

I'm looking at the Charleston area (in particular, Mt. Pleasant) for a possible semi-retirement move in 5-6 years. The other areas I'm considering are Charlottesville VA, Virginia Beach VA, Raleigh/Cary NC, Columbia SC. I'm leaning toward the Charleston area because of the positive things I've read here, particularly the genuine passion residents and natives seem to have for life in the area. It's impossible for me to define, but it's a quality I haven't really seen in other forums.

I'll probably be visiting over the Christmas-New Years holidays and would like to know: what would be the best things to do to get a feel for life in the Charleston area ... not touristy things and not night life/clubbing (I'm too old for that), but for the rhythm and quality of ordinary life? What would help me make a choice for Charleston over the other areas I'm looking at?

Now, if I can just get over my slight fear of hurricanes and earthquakes ...

[OleTomCat]

I wouldn't worry about Hurricanes and Earthquakes it is the oppressive heat and humidity of the summer you have to deal with all the time, New Years Holiday week will not show you this, you need to look at visiting during Independence Day....

[kingping]

I hated the heat last year but I think I am starting to get use to it now.

[Vasily]

I lived in Chapel Hill NC for five years, visited Charleston during the summer on occasion so I'm somewhat familiar with the climate ... looking at the climatological data, summer daytime highs don't seem to be that different than Chapel Hill/Raleigh but nighttime lows are maybe five degrees warmer. Here in northern Illinois, I find the winters oppressive and depressing so I suppose it's trading one off for the other. Would love to hear from someone who's lived in both Raleigh and Charleston who can compare their experiences of the two...

(the comment on hurricanes/earthquakes was a joke, BTW, I really don't spend a lot of time worrying about those things though I didn't realize until I started reading these forums that the Charleston area was an earthquake hotspot)

[OleTomCat]

The big difference between Chapel Hill and Charleston will be the Humidity, the heat index here is suppose to be near 115......

[Caili]

I don't think you can compare daytime highs between cities to get an accurate idea of summer heat in Charleston. You may get similar daytime 'highs' in lots of different cities - but - look at the lows. There are times when it only goes DOWN to 85 degrees at night in Charleston during the hottest part of the summer. And Charleston heats up faster in the morning; we may reach 85 by 8 a.m.

Having said that, you do get used to it, though. You adjust your lifestyle to do outdoor activities in the early morning or early evening, and get used to glasses fogging up and getting soaking wet as soon as you step out the door.

But - spring and fall and even winter are absolutely wonderful here, so I wouldn't trade it for the world!

[accufitgolf]

You do not have to shovel the heat......LOL

[Vasily]

Originally Posted by accufitgolf

You do not have to shovel the heat......LOL

And you're not going to fall and break your hip on the heat, either. As I get older, each fall on the winter's ice takes on more significance ... one of the reasons I'm not so keen any more on moving to Charlottesville VA where I used to live ... lots of hills and major ice storms all winter long.

[moneill]

On Mount Pleasant there is often a coastal breeze that helps with the heat. It was gorgeous at the beach last night for a quick walk on the beach

[kingping]

I haven't smelled that paper mill that much lately. Wonder why?