Moving to Charleston -- dating and location questions (Columbia, North: apartment, neighborhoods)

[jolene407]

Hi,

I am moving to Charleston for a job. I have visited once and liked it a lot, but didn't get much time to explore. The job is basically a done deal, but I have two big questions about life in Charleston. Some of them have been partially addressed in previous threads, but not entirely.

1) I am a 30-year-old single, childless woman with an advanced degree. I know that in east coast cities like NYC or DC, I would find plenty of men to date who fit nearly that exact same demographic profile. (I'm not saying I *need* to date someone who is 30 and also has an advanced degree, just that they are fairly plentiful in those cities.) But while Charleston is on the eastern seaboard, it's also the South -- and I have never spent much time in the South. I have a feeling that it may be more like the Midwest, where I have also lived -- that is, if you're past 28 and a single woman, your options for normal upstanding men are pretty limited (unless you wait around until they get divorced from their starter wives, anyhow). How difficult is it to find decent men to date who are not (a) college students or just-past-college-boys or (b) retirees? And where and how do you find them? (Note: I'm really not looking for a date. I'm not moving there for months and months. I just want advice.)

2) Where should I live? I have lived in -- and liked -- some of the grittier, more up-and-coming neighborhoods of DC, Philly, and NYC. (OK, so we're talking Columbia Heights pre-gentrification, but not North Philly, aka Killadelphia. I draw some lines.) I don't mind some graffiti and the occasional burglary etc. if it means I can live in a more diverse (racially and socioeconomically) neighborhood. My first preference is to be within walking distance (that is, 3 miles-ish) of downtown, but my second preference is to live by the beach. I will be earning enough to live in a decent apartment without roommates and hopefully will buy in the not-too-distant future.

I'd definitely appreciate your thoughts.

[OleTomCat]

Here is an older thread on your dating subject.....

//www.city-data.com/forum/charl...harleston.html

Your name made me think of a Dolly song about Jolene.....

[Robynn]

I read all 20 pages of that....sounds like it could go either way for joleen

[jolene407]

Yes, thanks -- I scanned (parts) of that very long thread. The "And where and how do you find them?" part of my first question is less important, since I agree with folks on that thread; I'd probably meet them where I do now, that is, not at bars but at church, in the park, volunteering, etc. Though if there are Charleston-specific places where I would meet friends, men or women (like, what's an oyster roast?), I'd like to know that. The bigger question: Is Charleston more like an upper east coast city, where being 30ish and single is pretty normal for women and men, or is it more like the interior/Midwest, where it's not that normal? (Maybe the answer was buried in that super long thread, but I lost track after a while.)

And -- location suggestions?

[OleTomCat]

Dolly Parton -- Jolene - YouTube

Kinda fits with the questions too...

[Nike12]

This is disappointing. I didn't realize there was such a drought of single men in their 30s in the Charleston area. This is making me think twice about moving there. It seems like the area has everything else besides this though.