Is North Myrtle Beach a nice area for family to move to (Columbia: real estate, insurance)

[hello47]

hello, We are considering moving to North Myrtle beach area. Can someone please tell me the pros and cons of living there and what are the Best areas for a family? We are looking for good schools, hospitals and employment. Also, we are thinking about Tampa area but not sure which is better, if you have lived in either place can you please give me your opinions.

ALso, can you please tell me what airports are in SC?


Thanks so much


I apprecaite all your help.

[janrey]

Originally Posted by hello47

hello, We are considering moving to North Myrtle beach area. Can someone please tell me the pros and cons of living there and what are the Best areas for a family? We are looking for good schools, hospitals and employment. Also, we are thinking about Tampa area but not sure which is better, if you have lived in either place can you please give me your opinions.

ALso, can you please tell me what airports are in SC?


Thanks so much


I apprecaite all your help.

Myrtle Beach is more a tourist/services area so unless you're in the restaurant/hotel/golf course business jobs may not be easy to come by. You might find the Charleston metro to be a better fit as you can live in areas such as Summerville but still be a close drive to the beaches if this is what you are looking for.


Airports, the closest major airport is in North Carolina (Charlotte) but Myrtle Beach does have some service as does Columbia and Charleston and Greenville.

[sheena]

Originally Posted by hello47

hello, We are considering moving to North Myrtle beach area. Can someone please tell me the pros and cons of living there and what are the Best areas for a family? We are looking for good schools, hospitals and employment. Also, we are thinking about Tampa area but not sure which is better, if you have lived in either place can you please give me your opinions.

ALso, can you please tell me what airports are in SC?


Thanks so much


I apprecaite all your help.

Well so far so good for us in Myrtle Beach. We live in Carolina Forest and the schools are suppose to be pretty good. I've been here since July and I have found a pretty nice job in Accounting.

Myrtle Beach has an airport and Wilmington NC has an airport just about an hour or so away.

[DJShymansky]

I agree, the Charleston area would have a much wider range of job opportunities available and has plenty of great family communities, some of the state's best schools, hospitals, and beaches available for those who need the water, like myself. It's definitely worth a trip down.

[baylovers]

There are plenty of family friendly areas around Myrtle Beach. I've learned that the Carolina Forest area is nice with good schools, so are the communities around Route 707 (Socastee & Murrells Inlet) and down south in Pawleys Island. I am not particularly familiar with North Myrtle but Little River is supposed to have some great areas as well.

The Myrtle Beach airport is not a rinky-dink airport. They have some major carriers that operate from there, such as USAir, Delta & Spirit. There was an article in this week's news about a direct flight to Germany being devised. You may have a difficult time getting a direct flight to an area that is not a hub.

[Global Friend]

Myrtle Beach area has lots of good hospitals, schools and there are jobs but maybe you can be more specific on what type of work you would be looking for? The MB airport is great! It's small enough that you can get in and out quick but big enough that you can fly most anywhere. Like baylovers said you might have to fly to a hub first. My SO works for Continental and commutes to NJ weekly from the MB airport with no problem.

[skyfire43221]

I have lived in Clearwater,FL near Tampa, and I am from (and again residing in) Myrtle Beach...

Tampa-- the Gulf coast is beautiful I must say. The winters are nice... but it is HOT ALL THE TIME, the fire ants hurt, the weather is WEIRD and the chance of a hurricane/tropical storm/ majorly adverse weather is higher in Tampa than in NMB. Tampa has a lot of job opps though and is not quite as touristy or resortish as MB/NMB in my opinion. Also, I don't know where you're coming from but I lived in the north for a very long time and was not used to seeing large bugs and insects. South Carolina definitely has them, and Florida has the biggest, nastiest, and largest amount of bugs I've ever seen. They are everywhere down there. Roaches scare the heck out of me... so...

North Myrtle Beach is also beautiful but the traffic is awful (no matter what anyone else says.) Especially if you try to work your way down the main drag toward Myrtle Beach. Jobs can be difficult to find and some people get laid off and go on unemployment during the winter months (non-tourist season.)

I should mention that traffic's pretty freaking bad in Tampa area, too, just for thought.

There's a lot of really good schools in the Myrtle Beach area. Tampa used to have notoriously mediocre schools but you can find pretty good ones, especially if you choose private schools.

The cheapest flights usually stem out of MB's airport, Raleigh-Durham, NC or Charlotte, NC (about 3 1/2 hours from Myrtle Beach.) Wilmington, Florence, (about 1- 1 1/2 hrs away) Charleston, Columbia,... all have airports but flights are typically more expensive out of them.

My personal opinion-- there's nowhere quite like Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach for that matter. I especially love that North Myrtle Beach is so close to the beautiful beaches of both North and South Carolina...

Hope this helps!

[susanrhyne]

Is myrtle beach/north myrtle beach safe? I had thought about relocating to savannah, georgia, until i read about the high crime rate...

[loveagrey1]

I have lived in North Myrtle for the last 10 years.....my husband is with the Horry County Sheriff's Dept and I have a job in Accounting....you "can" find a job here....it just isn't easy breezy....you must talk with alot of folks, apply with alot of companies and have some good luck..... but it can be done!

We only have a 4 legged and furry child...but know alot of children and parents in NMB and they seem happy with the NMB schools....I find NMB to be a little safer than the Carolina Forest area right now as well..some folks here may disagree with me...but that is my opinion.....

To answer about NMB being a high crime area...that is a touchy subject here..it is high in petty crimes I guess you can say...such as burglary, drugs...etc.....do I feel safe? Yes I do.....but I don't feel as safe as I did 10 years ago and find the area more transient...as all of Myrtle Beach is....I see alot more shady people around as they say....scoping out the area.....my husband just knows what to look for and taught me that as well..and see alot of that type hanging around NMB....also, a few of my friends have had their homes being watched and broken into while not at home....I don't mean to scare you but as in any city....you just have to be aware of your surroundings.........now if you have the money to live in a gated community....such as Grand Dunes, etc....you will feel much safer and only have the HOA's to contend with...LOL! Best of luck to your family...........

[michaelh730]

I currently live in Upstate New York and seriously considering relocating down south. I'm researching different areas,everything from employment, weather, cost of living - taxes, insurance, etc. I work FT in Human Resources and also a licensed real estate agent. I'm looking for feedback from people living in South Carolina or who have lived there - what areas are doing really well and where would I have the best luck with stable employment opportunities?

I'm also looking at Atlanta,GA area and areas in northern florida - so if you are from any of these places, I'd appreciate your feedback as well.

Thanks,
Mike