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Hello! My husband and I are just starting to research areas for retirement; SC is on our short list, but I have never been there. We’d appreciate advice on where to look when we visit this spring. (Once we buy a place, we plan to rent it out until we’re ready to move.) I’ve been looking online at houses in Summerville (so much inventory!), but that seems to be pretty far inland and possibly too family oriented for retirees—agree?
1. Budget: We’d like to keep it under $400k but might go up to around $550k for the perfect place. 2. House/Condo/Townhome? Single-story, 3BR, 2BA, detached home with fenced back yard and a 2-car garage. Prefer newer but not brand-new construction. 3. Employment Status (commute/work from home): Will work from home or be totally retired. 4. Children (public school vs. private): N/A 5. Suburban, Coastal or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of them together (or even Rural): Suburban and/or Coastal 6. Amenities preferred or must-haves: Within an hour of an airport. Close (no more than 10-15 minutes) to supermarkets, decent restaurants, hospitals, etc. My husband is an avid surfer, so although he won’t be surfing every day like he does now, I’m sure he would like to be relatively close to a decent surf spot. Huge bonus: Within 30 minutes of an equestrian center that offers lessons and/or trail rides (English or western okay). 7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: 55+ (but not a dealbreaker)
Since you specifically mentioned Summerville, I can tell you that there is a mix of families and retirees. I live in one of the large planned communities and of the 9 houses closest to me, 6 are owned by retirees. The others are young families.
Your budget is good for almost anywhere in the area.
Depending on where in Summerville, the airport should easily be within an hour. I live in the Oakbrook area and it takes me about 20" give or take, depending on traffic, using a local (Dorchester) road.
I have 9 grocery stores (all normal- sized chains, a WM and a WM Neighborhood Market) up to 10 minutes away. There is a decent size hospital 5 minutes away and another about 15" farther, 3 chain drugstores, and so many medical offices and dentists I can't count them all.
Surfing might be farther than you want, but my son thinks nothing of going to Folly Beach to play volleyball for the afternoon so it's not terribly far. Less than an hour.
Not sure about the equestrian centers, but you can google those I think. The Hollywood, Ravenel area I believe is known for that. There may even be some closer to Summerville.
I know there are several 55+ neighborhoods, but haven't looked too closely at them. Again, just google and ask about location if you're unsure how convenient they are.
The main disadvantage to Summerville is traffic. If you live on one side and like the amenities in your general area you don't notice it as much. When you want to travel to the other side it takes more time than you would think.
Also, you didn't mention if you have military base access? If so, Joint Base Charleston comprises both the AFB and Naval Weapons Station. Both have all the usual amenities and are about 15" from me (once again, depending on traffic. Must always add that disclaimer!)
Hello! My husband and I are just starting to research areas for retirement; SC is on our short list, but I have never been there. We’d appreciate advice on where to look when we visit this spring. (Once we buy a place, we plan to rent it out until we’re ready to move.) I’ve been looking online at houses in Summerville (so much inventory!), but that seems to be pretty far inland and possibly too family oriented for retirees—agree?
1. Budget: We’d like to keep it under $400k but might go up to around $550k for the perfect place. 2. House/Condo/Townhome? Single-story, 3BR, 2BA, detached home with fenced back yard and a 2-car garage. Prefer newer but not brand-new construction. 3. Employment Status (commute/work from home): Will work from home or be totally retired. 4. Children (public school vs. private): N/A 5. Suburban, Coastal or Urban lifestyle preference or a mix of them together (or even Rural): Suburban and/or Coastal 6. Amenities preferred or must-haves: Within an hour of an airport. Close (no more than 10-15 minutes) to supermarkets, decent restaurants, hospitals, etc. My husband is an avid surfer, so although he won’t be surfing every day like he does now, I’m sure he would like to be relatively close to a decent surf spot. Huge bonus: Within 30 minutes of an equestrian center that offers lessons and/or trail rides (English or western okay). 7. Preferable demographics of desired neighborhood: 55+ (but not a dealbreaker)
Thank you in advance for your advice!
I think you would do best to look at Johns Island or West Ashley. Both are rapidly changing areas but still have enough open land to host several equestrian centers. They're close in enough to have the amenities you're looking for and Folly Beach is where the best surfing is to be found around here. Staying closer in on both of those areas wouldn't leave your husband with too much of a drive to get his board wet. Beachwalker Park at Kiawah Island hosts one of our nicest beaches as well but it's not as good for surfing as the Washout area at Folly.
We are a retired couple that moved to Summerville almost 4 years ago. We chose to NOT look at 55+ community because we felt that being around people that would keep us young. Our neighbors now range from late 20's to mid 70's and we all get along. Our community will be adding a 55+ community this year but we did visit a few of them early on in our search and all the people living there were freaking old! LOL
We are a retired couple that moved to Summerville almost 4 years ago. We chose to NOT look at 55+ community because we felt that being around people that would keep us young. Our neighbors now range from late 20's to mid 70's and we all get along. Our community will be adding a 55+ community this year but we did visit a few of them early on in our search and all the people living there were freaking old! LOL
I don't know of any around Charleston, but there are retirement communities that are intentionally located on college campuses. The mix of ages seems to benefit both populations:
Some years ago I drove Mom around to look at a few retirement communities around Asheville. Some were awful and some nice but Mom commented that she didn't want to live around only older people. Mom was 75 at that time and passed away last year at 94. With help from her kids, she was able to stay in her own home til the end.
I'm one of those "freaking old" people (66) and wouldn't choose a retirement community for the same reasons but I know people who do and love it. We rented a house in Brevard for a week to see the colors last fall. It was in a community called Connestee Falls and while it wasn't an age restricted community, it was clear that it was almost all retirees living there. It is a nice community with a golf course, pool, tennis courts, multiple lakes and ~20 miles of hiking trails that were some of the nicest ones we hiked while up there. It's not hard to imagine enjoying life in a place like that. No surfing though.
Thank you, all, for your responses. We are *only* 58, but we're introverts, so we thought an active 55+ community would provide more opportunity to meet people and do new things. But maybe you're right, and we're still too young for that. (More research!)
I will research all the recommendations, and I'm sure I'll have many more questions before our visit.
Some people have left me private messages, but it won't let me respond privately for some reason, so I'll just say "thank you," and I will let you know if I have further questions. :-)
Thank you, all, for your responses. We are *only* 58, but we're introverts, so we thought an active 55+ community would provide more opportunity to meet people and do new things. But maybe you're right, and we're still too young for that. (More research!)
I will research all the recommendations, and I'm sure I'll have many more questions before our visit.
Some people have left me private messages, but it won't let me respond privately for some reason, so I'll just say "thank you," and I will let you know if I have further questions. :-)
I think you may need to rent something short term to feel the area before buying. Also, do you have friends or families in SC? I am just curious, like moving to a new state for retirement, start new network, new friends...is it something to consider?
Cresswind in The Ponds in Summerville is nice. There is a horse stable about 20-30 minutes away on Hwy 61, not sure what all they offer but my neighbor has a horse there. Living in Summerville and having good surfing "close by" isn't possible IMO.
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