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It looks like we will be moving to the Charleston area. We are moving from Baxter Village in Fort Mill, SC (Charlotte area) which is a has a great Towncenter that we can walk to, all of the houses have front porches to encourage community, a playgroup, a Bunco group for the moms of young kids, a book club for moms of young kids, 2 pools, 2 parks (and 2 additional playgrounds by the pools), tennis courts, etc.
I have been looking for something similar in Mount Pleasant and I found Park West, which I think is the closest I can find (other than I'on, which is out of our price range).
We have a boat that we keep in the Charleston Harbor Marina and we vacation on it pretty regularly, so we are very familiar with that side of town, restaurants, etc., but I am not familiar with the area near Park West or where to go for the things we do in day to day life.
Specifically, I am looking for info/recommendations (or even recommendations of where NOT to go) that are in close proximity to Park West for:
Dance for my 3 year old
Preschool (I would prefer a religious environment that also teaches great academics)
Swim Lessons
Church (we prefer traditional presbyterian with children's programs and community outreach)
Tumbling (if not taught at the Dance studio)
Also does Park West have any type of mom's group where the moms get together and hang out and drink wine and have "girl time"?
Lastly, is my impression of Park West correct in that I think that it is similar to our current community or am I totally off the mark? If I am, are there any other communities that are similar to the one that I have described that we live in? My neighborhood's website is Welcome to Baxter Village | Fort Mill SC Master Planned Community if that helps. We have been working with a realtor some, but I will feel more comfortable with the move if I feel I can envision where we will be doing the things we are doing now and that our current lifestyle will be able to be recreated in Mount Pleasant.
Even though we vacation there, I am kind of nervous about moving.
Proximity to the beach is a non issue for us since the boat is big enough to sleep, shower, etc. on and we use it or the water taxi to go anywhere we want to go from there.
We do think Daniel Island is beautiful, but I have heard that the schools aren't as good as Mt. Pleasant. Also, the houses that are listed right now are either too small for us or out of our price range.
We have looked at Dunes West and have driven through it, however, I don't really like the fact that the amenities are part of the club and are an extra fee in addition to the HOA costs. My husband does like to golf though, so we could end up going in that direction, probably depending on the houses that are on the market in a few months when we will be buying.
It seemed like Park West had more of the walkability to shops, restaurants, etc.
I am actually already on Meetup. It's not as much the Bunco itself that I'm looking for as much as girl time with neighbors. The problem with Meetup is that I would join a mom's group and then be going all over Mt. Pleasant for events. I would like to make friends close to home that where I can walk or drive a golf cart, etc. to their houses.
Thanks for all of the information. Moving is so overwhelming when you think of all that makes a place "home" on top of all of the other things you have to consider with the day to day.
I live about half way back in Park West and can't imagine us walking to shops or restaurants. As a matter of fact we don't shop or eat up front here anyway.
There are only three neighborhoods that I consider a walkable distance from the 'shops' at Park West. The other 18-20 neighborhoods aren't really that close. I don't feel like walking 30-45 minutes in 95 degree heat and 80+% humidity to go eat at Dog & Duck (ick) or buy a banana at Publix.
Yea, you'll spend much of your time with your neighbors in PW. There's not a whole lot in walking distance. That's the trade off of more home for your money between DI and PW. When all was considered, we just couldn't justify DI for the money, even with the sidewalk compact structure of it.
Dance: We've used Cambridge and Tapio. Cambridge may be a better dance, but the owners are nicer at Tapio.
Christian Pre-K: We plan on sending our youngest to Coastal Christian
Church: We're Baptist so no help there.. sorry.
Tumbling: Little Gym?
Swim Lessons: Town of Mt. P teaches year round lessons at the public pool in Park West
Mothers groups, I know there are neighbors that have established stuff, but we're a dual worker family so my wife doesn't get to participate that much. She'll sometimes go walk with them in the morning when they decide to go and she has that day off.
Yea, you'll spend much of your time with your neighbors in PW. There's not a whole lot in walking distance. That's the trade off of more home for your money between DI and PW. When all was considered, we just couldn't justify DI for the money, even with the sidewalk compact structure of it.
Dance: We've used Cambridge and Tapio. Cambridge may be a better dance, but the owners are nicer at Tapio.
Christian Pre-K: We plan on sending our youngest to Coastal Christian
Church: We're Baptist so no help there.. sorry.
Tumbling: Little Gym?
Swim Lessons: Town of Mt. P teaches year round lessons at the public pool in Park West
Mothers groups, I know there are neighbors that have established stuff, but we're a dual worker family so my wife doesn't get to participate that much. She'll sometimes go walk with them in the morning when they decide to go and she has that day off.
Thank you for the information! I actually grew up Baptist, hubby just grew up Presbyterian, so that's which church we have gone to in the past. Any Baptist recommendation would be great too.
For those who actually live in Park West, would you say that the shops and restaurants are not that good or that they are? Where do you go to eat, shop, etc. and how long does it take you to get there?
I don't want to feel like I live out in the boonies, which is one reason we really like MP.
As far as walking to things...the humidity and heat can get pretty crazy where I live too. We don't walk in the summer months much (unless it is in the evening), but in the spring, fall, and on a nice winter day, we walk to Starbucks, the parks, to the cupcake shop, to eat dinner, to the library, even to dance class. I would probably want to live at the front of the neighborhood for this reason, just because it is something we've kind of come accustomed to, but if the shops/restaurants are a waste of time, that wouldn't be a big of a factor.
Joey Bag a Donuts - people are always in there with their families eating breakfast on the weekends.
Publix is right there...awesome grocery.
Dog and Duck...little bar with an outside area with kid toys ...people are always out there with their kids.
Los Poblanos is an ok Mexican restaurant.
ESAC is the gym everyone goes to...it has a daycare.
There's a little Japanese place but haven't been yet.
The nails place gives great pedicures though they need to work on odor control a bit.
All this stuff is really too far to walk to, but you will see people riding bikes sometimes or even ride up on a golf cart or moped. The paved trails on the side are nice.
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