denver to charleston? (Summerville: rentals, houses, living in)

[wsmith58]

we are considering a nice job opportunity in charleston. we are familiar with the east coast and southeast from visits, but have not lived there. have lived in denver,colorado for 14 yrs: with kids. enjoy the outdoors life of colorado but no longer addicted to the winters. also appreciate cultural life and midsize, eclectic urban environments. anyone's experience with a similiar (or opposite move), would be greatly appreciated. tx wsmith

[MINIcoopKJG]

I moved from the northeast to here. In the northeast we had snow and ice all winter, had the heat on from Labor Day until Memorial Day, and sometimes into the first week of June. We had some humid days in the summer, but not 3 months straight like here. Up north a heat wave was 90 or above for 3 days in a row. I found the adjustment pretty easy. It's really humid for a good 3 months here, but there is air conditioning everywhere. Most rentals and houses have central air, unlike up north where I had one window unit for my whole house. This past winter was my first winter here and it was really nice. I never had to scrape my windshield, shovel snow, or drive in a snowstorm. My snow brush is now used as a beach brush. I use it to brush the sand off everything after we go to the beach. It's a nice change here. People are nice, roads are nice, drivers are much better here than up north, and the weather is great.

[Robynn]

I've lived in Denver. Everything I can think of is pretty much opposite of what you're used to there.

Dry vs humid
Cold vs hot
Liberal vs conservative
Mountains vs flat
Moths vs every other bug you can possibly imagine
Mostly unfriendly to mostly friendly

Note when I say unfriendly vs friendly I mean for example that people here will strike up conversations with strangers while people there mainly keep to themselves in thatq regard

Where else have you lived?

[Robynn]

I should have said Mountains vs Beach above
I'm not quite awake yet

Also
Blizzard vs Hurricane

[DJShymansky]

I moved here to avoid grey weather and drizzly winters in Maryland. Of the list you posted, everything you're seeking can be found here. Charleston is a small-town by comparison, but for cultural life, arts, entertainment, and the sunshine, it just needs to be experienced. Come down for a visit, you'll see what we mean. Be prepared for the fact that all this sunshine, makes for a generally happy and upbeat population.

[wsmith58]

thank you for the informative replies. we have lived a lot of places: cincinnati, pittsburgh, san fran and prefer not to go back to those. i like denver climate and geography but not wed to the city. beaches sound like a decent trade for winter. is the summer heat so oppressive that it limits outdoor activities? is life pleasant and enjoyable or a battle as it is in many cities? tx

[Robynn]

Originally Posted by wsmith58

thank you for the informative replies. we have lived a lot of places: cincinnati, pittsburgh, san fran and prefer not to go back to those. i like denver climate and geography but not wed to the city. beaches sound like a decent trade for winter. is the summer heat so oppressive that it limits outdoor activities? is life pleasant and enjoyable or a battle as it is in many cities? tx

I've lived all over as well. Life is pleasant and enjoyable, not a battle. The roads can get crowded during peak times like rush hour, lunch time on the weekends, and with tourist season. However, it's not a rat race feeling with people battling each other down the road... it just takes longer because there's a lot of cars

I think the towns nearer to the beach have a more beachy relaxed feeling than ones further away (like Mt. Pleasant). The ones further away from the beach have a more country type relaxed feeling (like Summerville).

This will be my first summer here, but I just moved from a nearly exact climate - hurricanes, heat, humidity, flat. The heat and humidity is very oppressive to some and limits their outdoor activities. You have to be very careful in the heat to prevent heatstroke - definitely something you should look up, especially in July and August. You'll find most people doing outdoor activities in early morning or just before dusk - running, walking, bicycling, lawn mowing, etc. You have to hydrate a lot, but you're probably used to that because of the dryness.

There's a lot of water everywhere... bridges connecting everything, rain, ponds, etc...

[DJShymansky]

It's just like up north where you have 1-2 months that you try to limit your outdoor exposure due to the cold. We have that here as well, during July/August, due to the heat. You do get used to it, but if you're from a colder climate and used to that, it could take some time to acclimate.

[wsmith58]

thank you. very helpful and good points: months of living indoors due to winter or a few months mostly indoors due to heat. we will visit in 2 weeks and strongly consider the move. sounds like a fun and interesting place for a family. is it green in the winter? sunny or predominantly overcast? hard to tell from the weather reports on google..tx you

[SonofDixie]

Try Florida if you want it to be green during the winter. Ain't happenin' here.