Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hey all- A friend of mine is taking a job in Charleston, he currently lives in Louisville. He is going to rent at first while he learns the area. I know very little about Charleston other than what little I've seen/read. My experience with southern cities is that it tends to be more difficult to tell good areas from bad, compared to northern cities. I don't know enough about Charleston to know if that's the case there as well.
He's looking for the following:
Somewhere close to gyms/groceries/other basic retail options.
Walkable neighborhoods (if possible)
Lower crime
Diverse (if possible)
Easy commute into the center city neighborhoods(if possible)
Rent $2200/max 3beds/2baths (approx)
His salary will be in the $140k/yr range so I think he will be fine, just dealing with the initial sticker shock of Charleston after living in ridiculously cheap Louisville the last 5 years.
He's a single gay male that likes to explore places so things like Schools/family friendly don't factor into his decisions. Does anyone have input on how the gay scene is in Charleston? He's coming from Louisville which has a very vibrant gay scene for it's size. This doesn't matter as much to him, but some insight could be helpful for what he might expect.
Any zip codes/areas/suburbs you recommend? He would definitely prefer to be in the center city or near it. He loves trendy neighborhoods, but initial research is pushing him out into the suburbs as he's too sensible to pay the price per square foot we are seeing in those areas. He's given me zip code 29406 (Northwoods area??) as a potential starting point for his move.
Will he be working at his employer’s address or from home? If the employer’s, please get him as close to work as possible, both for his sake and for the sake of the average commute time in metro Charleston. Rush hour can be a pain if driving far from the outskirts into the city. The infrastructure hasn’t caught up with the mad rush of people moving here, since such a large percentage of newcomers settle in the suburbs due to the high cost of housing in the city.
Hey all- A friend of mine is taking a job in Charleston, he currently lives in Louisville. He is going to rent at first while he learns the area. I know very little about Charleston other than what little I've seen/read. My experience with southern cities is that it tends to be more difficult to tell good areas from bad, compared to northern cities. I don't know enough about Charleston to know if that's the case there as well.
He's looking for the following:
Somewhere close to gyms/groceries/other basic retail options.
Walkable neighborhoods (if possible)
Lower crime
Diverse (if possible)
Easy commute into the center city neighborhoods(if possible)
Rent $2200/max 3beds/2baths (approx)
His salary will be in the $140k/yr range so I think he will be fine, just dealing with the initial sticker shock of Charleston after living in ridiculously cheap Louisville the last 5 years.
He's a single gay male that likes to explore places so things like Schools/family friendly don't factor into his decisions. Does anyone have input on how the gay scene is in Charleston? He's coming from Louisville which has a very vibrant gay scene for it's size. This doesn't matter as much to him, but some insight could be helpful for what he might expect.
Any zip codes/areas/suburbs you recommend? He would definitely prefer to be in the center city or near it. He loves trendy neighborhoods, but initial research is pushing him out into the suburbs as he's too sensible to pay the price per square foot we are seeing in those areas. He's given me zip code 29406 (Northwoods area??) as a potential starting point for his move.
Any input is helpful. Thank you!
I agree with Charlestondata regarding any commute.
To stay close to downtown and with his other criteria, I'd think inner West Ashley or James Island. There's nothing special about the Northwoods area unless you stretch to include Park Circle which is a hip area with a nice walkable town center of sorts. (mainly one street) Inner West Ashley has most of what's on his list as long as he isn't driving downtown during rush hr.
Most of Charleston isn't very walkable though a few neighborhoods at least have a few stores, restaurants, etc to walk to. If he's open to an apartment or townhouse it will increase his odds of finding something.
Good idea. He needs to invest time in the different areas before deciding to put down roots. Daniel Island is fully walkable, but entertainment is limited. I526 traffic can get nasty depending on where he needs to commute and what time. You really don't know if it's going to take you 15 min or 45 min+ to go ~8 miles. He could probably swing a 1B1B apartment under $2K, maybe a 2B2B around his budget but might go over after utilities and what not. Some of the apartments feature resort-style living and have a ton of monthly events that might interest him when it comes to meeting people. Same thing for Mount Pleasant, but he will have much more options for amenities, just a little spread out. I would vote renting in Downtown Charleston if he can give up the 3/2. If not, Park Circle or West Ashley. I wouldn't expect anything fancy though. His salary is solid so if he's willing to spend a little more it would open him up to more options.
As a licensed Realtor® I'm not permitted to offer feedback on "the scene". My best friend is part of the community here and he's always looking to meet new people. He would be much better help than myself. There is quite a few Charleston groups on FB if he'd like to explore them as well.
I think you'd be hard pressed to find a 3/2 on Daniel Isl for $2,200 or less.
Yeah, not on DI. I had a 1/1 in 2021 and that was close to $2k not including utilities. That was enough to force me to buy on DI in late 2021, back when interest rates were sub 3% fortunately.
TBH- I'm not sure I've ever heard Daniel Island as a suggesting for a single gay male. Park Circle or the inner West Ashley, James Island areas yes but not DI. TBH Charleston does not have an identifiable gay area like some cities but people of all striped live throughout the area. No ones mentioned Summerville but its downtown might be a nice option for someone working in the Northwoods area. That and Nexton are the 2 'hip' areas that trend beyond the typical boundary of staying within 526 for convenience or density.
What Lizard mentioned is also true- sometimes it is cheaper to buy than rent. I bought my first place because I was afraid of getting priced out of the rental market.
TBH- I'm not sure I've ever heard Daniel Island as a suggesting for a single gay male. Park Circle or the inner West Ashley, James Island areas yes but not DI. TBH Charleston does not have an identifiable gay area like some cities but people of all striped live throughout the area. No ones mentioned Summerville but its downtown might be a nice option for someone working in the Northwoods area. That and Nexton are the 2 'hip' areas that trend beyond the typical boundary of staying within 526 for convenience or density.
What Lizard mentioned is also true- sometimes it is cheaper to buy than rent. I bought my first place because I was afraid of getting priced out of the rental market.
DI is not exactly a singles mecca, irrespective of your orientation. If you’re looking for a wealthy divorcee to pay for some toys maybe. It’s mostly families.
And my mortgage is no where near as cheap as the rent was but at the interest rates we had in mid 2021 it’s close to free money. And we have deep water access all around us. DI works well for our lifestyle, but it’s not for everyone.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
