pawleys island, litchfield, Murrells inlet relocation (Georgetown: real estate, insurance, how much)

[sean&diane]

We have elementary and middle school aged kids and are considering relocating to the areas mentioned above. Looking for a laid-back outdoorsy lifestyle. Will we find it here?

Looking for a neighborhood with other kids and sense of community, not vacation or retirement homes. Where should we look? How are the public schools?

Also, I've been doing research and people have complained about traffic. How bad is it?

Thanks

[baylovers]

Originally Posted by sean&diane

We have elementary and middle school aged kids and are considering relocating to the areas mentioned above. Looking for a laid-back outdoorsy lifestyle. Will we find it here?

Absolutely, there is plenty do, especially outdoors, around here. Fishing, surfing, kayaking, biking, hunting (not too far), sports programs etc. The weather is a plus, wonderful spring & fall seasons and the breeze off the ocean during the summer is great.

Looking for a neighborhood with other kids and sense of community, not vacation or retirement homes. Where should we look? How are the public schools?

Pawleys & Murrells Inlet are more children oriented than Litchfield. Are you interested in a private community, gated or neither? The area is a little more expensive than the rest of Georgetown county. You can find housing from $250k to millions of dollars.

Also, I've been doing research and people have complained about traffic. How bad is it?

It is all relative from where you are coming from. I moved from NY and this is a piece of cake.... even during the summer. The busiest road is Hwy 17 and it always moves. Obviously there are more cars in the peak season than now but I cannot ever recall having a problem. I guess because there are three traffic lights as opposed to the one that was here a few years back folks think there's too much traffic.

Thanks

We have been happy with the schools, only complaint has been that they are a little crowded. They have maintained less than 20 students per class but there were around 9 second grade classes last year. The current elementary school is k-5 but they are opening an intermediate school in the fall which will be 4-6 grade and the middle school will 7-9. This will alleviate the crowding in all the schools. We have a boy in the HS which I think is great, Waccamaw HS was just named in the top four in the state.

If you are more specific about how big & much house you want, I can point you in a better direction. Also happy to answer any other questions you have.

[sean&diane]

We need a 4 bedroom house with at least 2700 square feet. Would like to spend low $4's but would be willing to go to mid- $5's if we had to. We're open to type of neighborhood. We don't golf, so I don't think it would make sense for us to pay a premium to live in a golf community. We're down to earth and want to make sure the neithborhood is not snobby.

One other question is how much are taxes and what should we expect for homeowners/flood insurance.

Any other negatives we should consider?

Thanks!

[BrickG]

Originally Posted by sean&diane

We have elementary and middle school aged kids and are considering relocating to the areas mentioned above. Looking for a laid-back outdoorsy lifestyle. Will we find it here?

Looking for a neighborhood with other kids and sense of community, not vacation or retirement homes. Where should we look? How are the public schools?

Also, I've been doing research and people have complained about traffic. How bad is it?

Thanks

Try to stay in Horry County!

[baylovers]

I respectfully disagree with BrickG... the schools in Pawleys are listed as among the best in the state although the Georgetown school district has schools on the other side of the county that bring the district down. I know the principal of the new intermediate school and expect it to be run very well and will alleviate the crowding in the current schools. The Saint James schools in Horry County are good as well but I think Waccamaw is rated better.

There are several neighborhoods in Pawleys that you could buy a house that size for under $500k and they are all nice. However, if you are interested in a real family neighborhood your options become more limited.

I would recommend Ricefields or Pawleys Retreat, there are a ton of kids in these to communities that are right next to each other. They are central to the schools, too. Homeowners fees are pretty low... Pawleys Retreat is less than $300 for the year (no pool though). Ricefields is a bit more but they have a pool and the grounds are beautiful. The Reserve (http://www.thelitchfieldcompany.com/communities.cfm?commid=15 - broken link) & Pawleys Plantation are two very nice gated golf communities but there are less kids around. There are several other nice communities too.

We have a 3800 sq ft home (5 b/r) on just under a half acre along a small lake.... taxes are $1080. Electric averages about $120 a month and homeowners is $3000 a year.

I can send you a PM with some real estate search engines if you are interested.

[pawleygirl]

In regard to the schools, I too believe that the schools in Pawleys Island are exceptional. I moved here 17 years ago to raise my children in this community. I have children in their 20's that went through elementary to graduation here and currently have a child in the first grade at Waccamaw Elementary and I have been very happy with the school district.