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My husband and I are ready, (more than ready) to get out of the NY city area. (specifically eastern Long Island). I want to go to where the sun shines more often than not, the water is close by,( but not in danger of flooding), living is more reasonably priced, and a thriving city is not more than 20 minutes away from where I live. We love Charleston, but before we make the big move, how does it compare to areas in Va and North Carolina?
Well that depends on which area of VA or NC you want to compare it to.
I can take you places in NC that are paradise compared to Charleston...but you won't have a town close, no shopping, no buildings, nothing...but for coastal living it simply can not be beat.
I would classify many of the areas on the eastern shore of VA the same way.
My husband and I are ready, (more than ready) to get out of the NY city area. (specifically eastern Long Island). I want to go to where the sun shines more often than not, the water is close by,( but not in danger of flooding), living is more reasonably priced, and a thriving city is not more than 20 minutes away from where I live. We love Charleston, but before we make the big move, how does it compare to areas in Va and North Carolina?
Being from NY, the NYC area and Eastern LI are very different
There's always a danger of flooding if you live near the water.. That goes for anywhere. Unfortunately, that's the trade off.
As already said, NC and VA have some very nice coastal areas.. When I originally was doing my research, my needs/wants just kept pointing toward Charleston. It's really going to depend on what your personal (family) preferences/requirements are when everything is said and done. Charleston isn't for everyone, but is certainly for my family..
My suggestion would be to come up with a master list of all your needs/wants and prioritize them.. From there, you'll be able to see which area would satisfy your list best. Of course, visiting your potential areas on multiple occasions is a must..
I love Charleston because the city is historic, surrounded by water, great restaurants, friendly people, and you can live nearby in a more residential setting, so you have the best of both worlds. My husband would be happy with less city, but I like the diversity. Our only reservation is the heat in the summer, and of course leaving who we know.
So no other suggestions to compare?
Perhaps I can give you a bit of perspective, as we have been on the hunt for quite a while now for a retirement place, and keep coming back to the Charleston area - specifically, Mount Pleasaant.
Initially, we looked at Charlottesville, VA - although the pedestrian "downtown" area was nice, we found it lacking, and housing was high. Areas outside of Charlottesville were adorable (Orange) but nothing there. We looked at Culpepper, and Lexington, but didn't care for the vibe - cute, but didn't seem vibrant. Same with Staunton, VA.
Our favorite town in VA was Williamsburg. Very quaint, safe, livable. It had alot of what we wanted, but not the water, and not the variety that the Charleston area has - Norfolk and Newport News did nothing for us for surrounding towns. Hampton Roads area (Portsmouth) was crazy, and Smithfield was adorable, but tiny.
On to NC where we checked out Raleigh (I liked it, my husband not so much). But I didn't love it. Durham, not so much. Chapel Hill we had read rave reviews of, and didn't care for it. It's all about the University. The university IS the town. The town was filled with t-shirt shops, pizza joints, and not much we cared about. On game days, forget it. It also has high crime and high housing costs. Carrboro, next town over, is billed as the "Paris of the Piedmont" - Not... The town we liked best in the area was Hillsborough, an artsy, funky cute town, albeit small.
We visited Asheville, which had also been raved about in retirement books, and did not like it. Although the surroundings were beautiful, we found the downtown economically depressed, stores boarded up, lots of homeless people, just not our thing. We also checked out Hendersonville nearby and seemed like an older "cute" town but for tourists.
We visited Wilmington, NC and although it had a very cute downtown, it was small, and some of the same things we found in Asheville - a lot of boarded up shops, pawn shops, some "scruffy" areas bordering downtown. We vacationed on Bald Head, NC - not a place we were considering - just throwing it out there so people don't think I am bashing NC. It was the most beautiful stretch of coast I have ever seen. Just a gorgeous place.
We moved our search to the Charleston area as we had been once and loved it - we love history and as I said, the water, since we live in a coastal town now in MA and can walk to the water. It's a very vibrant town, lots to do, very pretty. Charleston is similar, on a larger scale.
We checked all over and think we have pretty much decided on Mount Pleasant - as Brasqo said - the master list helped. For us is was staying near the ocean, having an city nearby to go to, but not living IN the city, having shopping close at hand (we don't want to drive much as we get older), good healthcare, a hospital, a vet, a 24 hr vet, affordable housing, reasonable property taxes, good weather (for the most part), no snow to shovel, freindly people accepting of people relocating, good dining, colleges nearby, things to do - for us and for when company visits, and nice towns nearby to visit for weekend trips, etc. and a vibrant, growing place.
It took us 4 trips to Mount Pleasant to find out that's what we wanted. We drove and drove and drove - to West Ashley, Summerville, Johns Island, James Island.
We realized as we poured over our list after each trip that no place is perfect. We're not crazy and the heat and humidity, or the critters (palmetto bugs, aligators, poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, etc.) but the pros far outweigh the cons. The people are nicer in the Charleston area than anywhere we have been.
We love having choices of great beaches - Sullivans and IOP are our favorites, but have yet to see Kiawah, which we probably would like. We can easily get to Hilton Head or Savannah, or Beaufort if we want. And we love the architecture.
I can't speak for VA, but here's nothing like Charleston in NC. Wilmington is more like Myrtle Beach (the names redneck riviera and dirty Myrtle exist for a reason). All the other coastal towns are tiny.
Weather wise it is hot here in the summer. But, if you live near the ocean (read: not N. Chas or Summerville) it is more bearable. Winters are cool. 50s and 60s.
If you want perfect year round weather and culture So Cal should be an option.
Thank you!
Macalan you saved me a lot of gas and time! Meet me at Husk for a drink, I'll be there in 6 months!
(The bug thing is a little creepy), but when are you moving?
I'm definitely sensitive to being in a place that I can consider upscale, but of course I want to be able to afford it. I know California is the perfect weather, but we would both miss the history, and probably not as affordable.
It's good to hear what I suspected all along.
We love Northern CA. Took a trip to Sonoma & Napa Valley awhile back. Fell in love with Sonoma & St. Helena, neither remotely doable.
Checked out Healdsburg, Santa Rosa, Sebastapol & Petaluma (written up a lot). All out of our price range. I also love Carmel, but again, there's the budget...
We also like a "nice" area - a bit upscale. Mount Pleasant is that. I don't know your budget, but Daniel Island is really nice. Quieter than MP, more of a village feel - we love it. It's away from the fray, has some shops. & restaurants, but only 10 min to MP. Just a bit out of our price range. They have a nice website you could check out.
Sounds like you've had great road trips. We've been to a lot of the same places. I've been in a coastal seasonal town the last 15 years, we have crazy summers and long quiet winters, so year round normal action sounds better to me. Budget is a major concern (only 1 of us is semi retired) so Mount Pleasant is better for us. We are looking at the real estate, hoping to move sometime next year.
Do you have any idea of the cost of home owners insurance? I don't want any surprises.
Depends where you live - I hear East of 17 is higher due to potential flooding. I'm not sure what the cost of wind. & hail is. Still trying to get a handle on it. Perhaps someone here can chime in.
Not sure where on LI you are. We loved Amagansett & Sag Harbor - and Easthampton. Went off season though to avoid the crowds.
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