By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea ... (Columbia: appointed, house)

[DocPit45]

Currently, I live in Michigan City, IN. I'm 2 miles (a 7-8 minute drive) from the beach along the shores of Lake Michigan. The beach is beautiful, with free access and easy parking. It's almost indistinguishable from the ocean. In the morning or evening, I can take a quick drive, bring a coffee, and relax for an hour. It's close enough so that I don't need to make a day of it. The only thing wrong with MC is the Midwestern winter. But that's oh, so wrong! So, I'm thinking of moving to SC. I thought I might be able to find something similar if I locate in one of the towns along Lake Murray: Lexington, Irmo, Prosperity, Chapin.... But I'm getting the impression that beach access is limited and is not free. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I might find what I'm looking for?

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by DocPit45

Currently, I live in Michigan City, IN. I'm 2 miles (a 7-8 minute drive) from the beach along the shores of Lake Michigan. The beach is beautiful, with free access and easy parking. It's almost indistinguishable from the ocean. In the morning or evening, I can take a quick drive, bring a coffee, and relax for an hour. It's close enough so that I don't need to make a day of it. The only thing wrong with MC is the Midwestern winter. But that's oh, so wrong! So, I'm thinking of moving to SC. I thought I might be able to find something similar if I locate in one of the towns along Lake Murray: Lexington, Irmo, Prosperity, Chapin.... But I'm getting the impression that beach access is limited and is not free. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I might find what I'm looking for?

Lake Murray is nothing like a great lake; it is much smaller and most of the lakefront property is occupied with single family homes. There also aren't really any waves. There is a public beach next to the dam. I think there is a small charge to enter. There is also Dreher Island State Park, which is located on the lake. Columbia is less than 2 hours from the Charleston area beaches and we also have nice riverfront parks in the downtown area.

[shahram72]

Hello, new member here, although I remember waccamatt from another forum years ago.

I moved here from Florida in 2004. Lake Murray is beautiful but like many public works around the city, access is lacking. The aformentioned parks are nice enough, but overloaded and honestly not always the crowd I like to hang around with. There are no grand projects on the lake or river with nice access. I am very disappointed that non lake residents are shut out the way we are. In Florida if there was a beautiful area, you can be sure there was a way to access it. But in South Carolina, if you don't live on the lake, then it does not exist. At least that's how I feel. I don't feel entitled to a $1 million dollar house on the lake, but I do feel entitled to more/better parks. Don't let me turn you off to Columbia. As there are many things I am disappointed with and things I think are a complete joke and shameful, overall I have enjoyed life better since moving here. It IS a great place to live. I just don't understand why I pay state taxes for nothing when in FL I paid nothing for everything. But FL priced me out of the housing market. That's why I left.