Will we regret moving from Mount Pleasant to Charleston?

[WiseManOnceSaid]

Originally Posted by LenLenLen

Don’t get me wrong, mount pleasant is lovely and we appreciate the good life we have here. We are a homeschool family, in our mid 30s and we have elementary school age kids. We don’t really have deep roots anywhere in the country as we have been a military family for the last decade+. Anyway, we moved to the Charleston area from the Seattle area last year and everything on paper led us to Mount Pleasant. Safe! Clean! Close to the beach! Good schools (doesn’t matter to us however)! We’ve been here for about 18 months and while it is everything we thought it would be, its also a bit “boring”.. not very diverse, the lack of walkability.. lots of sprawling neighborhoods but no where to walk to from our house without getting on a main road (and without sidewalks- rifle range, 17). We adore our neighborhood and neighbors, and I absolutely appreciate how safe I feel here, especially when my husband travels (which is very often). BUT I wonder if we’re just more city people.. is Charleston more exciting? We’d love to be able to walk to restaurants, field trips, coffee shops, parks. Will I miss the square footage in the burbs? The yard? Will my younger kids feel confined, not being able to roam the hood solo, on their bikes? Are there places in the city where i’d feel just as safe? Is the charm of the city overrated in terms of livability? In my elaborate day dreams (LOL) we would buy a fixer-upper duplex, live in one, rent the other for a while before turning it into a single family house. People usually move from the city into the burbs.. are we weird for wanting to leave the burbs for the city? Anyone else weighed the pros/cons going this way? Budget is around $650,000.

I made the same decision a few years back. We had been living off of Bowman road for years and watched Mt Pleasant grow up around us. When they started clearing the huge Gregg Tract next to Towne Center that was the final straw for me.

We decided to move out to the far reaches of West Ashley to get away from the urban sprawl that was overtaking Mt P.

As far as being Downtown, you could easily find Wagener Terrace attractive. Folks are out and about constantly walking their dogs, riding bikes at Hampton Park and visiting the local breweries and restaurants. North Morrison (NOMO) is certainly up and coming as well. As with most cities, the closer you get to the action, the higher the prices go.

There's plenty of multi-family properties scattered throughout Downtown, although they don't hit the market all that often as the owners typically hold onto them. But if I were looking for a duplex in Downtown, I'd start my search in Westside, Hampton Park, and Wagener Terrace.

[moneill]

Have fun exploring. Look at houses where you think you might like to live. Until you do some research for yourself you won't know.

In Mt. Pleasant SC -- anywhere south of Six Mile is closer to everything than where you are now. Old Village you can find a house where the kids might walk or cycle to school and you can easily access stuff on Ben Sawyer/Coleman (Vintage Coffee is a great coffee place).

But explore....talk to your homeschool besties. You must have close friends here where do they live? What do they like about where they live.

When we first looked in Mt. Pleasant SC (started looking in 2007) we originally went out to Dunes West, Park West, Rivertowne. A few Saturdays of looking at houses and we decided that we weren't happy having to drive the extra mile for more house for the buck. We are near the 526/Bowman exchange. Yes there is some traffic but you can't be convenient to amenities -- beach, downtown, shopping, etc......and be where there is no traffic.

Charleston peninsula just doesn't have as many neighborhoods to choose from for families as some major cities. But who knows you might find what you are looking for



AND There is no where on the peninsula your kids can 'roam' on their own. You will completely lose that.