Is this Out of the Question??? (Charleston, Mount Pleasant: how much, house, buying)

[macalan]

We are considering Charleston area for retirement. Where we live right now, we drive 1/2 hour to the nearest mall for a lot of things, as our city is touristy, and doesn't have some things (clothing, office supply store, big box hardware store). As we get older, it would be nice to have things closer.

Depending on where we live - Mount Pleasant, Johns Island, James Island, or Goose Creek (Carnes Crossroads area) would these things be available where we live, and if not, where (and how far timewise) would we have to drive to get them?

Daily/weekly needs:

Grocery (although right now we do most of our shopping via Peapod home delivery)
Gas Station
Pharmacy
Vet (Dog is on prescription food that we can only get at a vet)

Sporadic needs: Don't mind driving 20-30 min for these - we do now, except for the hospital which is 10 min. away. Ideally, we'd love the 24 hr vet to be closer to cut down on our stress levels when we have to race there (dog has some health issues that always seem to present in the middle of the night!).

24 Hr Vet
Hospital
Doctor
Dentist
Hairdresser
Office Supply Store (for printer paper, ink for printer, etc.)
Hardware Store
Big Box Hardware/Home Store - like Home Depot or Lowes
Garden Center

Not necessary (can do online), but would be nice to have:

Bookstore - Love Barnes and Noble
Clothing Stores (right now I shop a lot at the Talbots outlet for work/casual clothes, and Marshalls for basics - pjs, underwear, etc.)
Home Goods Store (like Home Goods)
Running Shoe Store
Apple Store

Also, what about Farmers Markets and Farm Stands? We love buying from these rather than the grocery store for some things. Any natural food stores that carry organic produce, vitamins, etc.?

I'm guessing that MP has most of these things. If we lived either on James Island, or Johns Island, how much of any of this do these 2 have, and for what they don't have where is the closest place to get them?.

[macalan]

Forgot a few -

Florist (very infrequent)
Wine Store (much more frequent!)
Post Office/UPS Store - for stamps, mailing packages, etc.

[OleTomCat]

Yes all of that is within your designated driving distances from any of the places you listed....

[roxanneself]

I can only speak for Mount Pleasant, but all of those things but the Apple store are within the city limits. You'll have to go in to Charleston for that. You should also find all of those things within the James Island/West Ashley area AND you would have a Costco too.

[macalan]

What about Johns Island?

[Sprouts]

I'm surprised how close everything feels. I live in Goose Creek but it only takes me about 20 minutes to get to Whole foods or Trader Joes in Mt Pleasant (I've only been a couple times). I have 4 grocery options within 5 minutes of my house so I just use those....Bi-Lo, Walmart, Publix, Food Lion. It isn't like you have to cross a city full of traffic to get to where you need to go, no matter where you live. Big box home stores like Lowes/HomeDepot seem to be on every corner...lol.

The newer areas of Mt Pleasant seems like the perfect place for you....or even Daniel Island. Mt Pleasant has both a Whole Foods and Trader Joes. Harris Teeter is also in those areas and tend to have more variety of organic foods.

Each of the places you mentioned have those stores within 15-30 minutes (or closer). Based on what you listed, I'm imagining you in Mt Pleasant but the stores you mentioned are within a short drive from any place you mentioned.

Depending on where you live in Mass., you will enjoy the layout of this area because it is easy to navigate and get around. You also don't have to worry about traveling and planning errands around winter weather conditions....

[OleTomCat]

Carnes Crossroads and Johns Island are the only remote places on your list and neither are that distant that you can't get what you want in a short amount of time..

[Serenity2019]

It depends where you live on John's Island. The part near River & Maybank near the Stono River is not remote and will be very built up in the next decade. It is 10 minutes to downtown and 15 minutes to the beach. The other end of John's Island is remote near Main Rd/Bohicket Rd. John's Island is one of the biggest Islands on the East Coast land wise.
Carnes Crossroads is in the middle of nowhere! And about 45 minutes or more to get to Charleston!

[Sprouts]

I had to google Carnes Crossroads and it is really out there if you are looking to live closer to Charleston. You'd most likely do all your shopping in Summerville, rather than the Charleston area. They do have the box stores in Summerville (there is a Lowes/HomeDepot/Target/Movie Theater/plenty of fast foods/etc) but not Whole Foods or some of the more specialized shops you are looking for. I would say Carnes Crossing would be about/at least 40 minutes from downtown Charleston. Carnes Crossing would be considered more rural than some of your other choices.

Personally, I like rural so it is a preference thing.

[OleTomCat]

Carnes Crossroads is actually pretty close to Goose Creek and the big Box Stores over there, it is less than 10 minutes to all of the major shopping in Summerville also. With the new stuff they are going to build out there is will be within walking distance of just about everything you could need..