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Take it from a local who was born and raised here.....
SC is a beautiful state to me with many things to offer. I could not imagine living anywhere else in the USA other than here.
I love the slow pace of life, the historical aspect (not the negative), the people (most), the close knit ties to the community, the schools and the close knit ties there, THE BEACH, the short drive to the lake, etc.
If you are truly thinking of moving, you are have to do it with an open mind. SC is different in many ways than other states. There may be some culture shock. Things are done a little slower here than other places. But, you can learn to appreciate the beauty of SC and the people over time.
We are considering moving from New England to another state -- to a place with a milder climate than we have. A few people recommended that we look into SC.
My husband recently lost his job as a data analyst and a database administrator. He's been looking locally, and he'd even begun to look for short-term contract jobs around the country. We figured that would be a good way to bring in money and check out a few areas before deciding where to move.
I am an elementary teacher, and I work in a great school district. I'd hate to leave my job but I would if a great opportunity came along.
We'd love some help. We'd love recommendations of places to search and areas to focus on. Here's what we're looking for (in no particular order):
-- mild climate (frigid temps during the winter here in New England aren't fun anymore)
-- good job opportunities (there has to be SOMETHING, even now, with the economy the way it is)
-- good schools (for my job mainly, and although we have no kids, it's in our future plans)
-- lots to see and do (culture -- museums, parks, shopping, good restaurants, movies, theater...)
-- we're looking for a small to medium sized town or city. If we move to a larger town or city, that's okay too, but we're not looking for the big city feel. We would not like to see skyscrapers outside our window.
--ideally, we'd love to live near water of some sort -- a lake or the ocean (preferably). We're close to water now (well, within 30-60 minutes), and it would be hard to give that up.
If anyone could please help, we'd greatly appreciate it.
Thank you so much!
.
Here's the view of a native Charlestonian, who no longer lives there, that's contrary to norm you'll find here, but is backed-up by the stats:
South Carolina is a great place to live if you like a hot, humid climate with no winter to speak-of, AND (very important) if you can afford to opt out of the lousy social conditions via pecuniary means.
It has the worst schools and highest violent crime rate in the nation. Expect below-standard pay and conditions at your workplace- if you can find one, as despite using the Chinese system of capitalism, SC lags behind many states in employment percentage.
As far as the indigenous populations goes, the good news is that if you settle in a metro area you'll find people from all over are your average acquaintences. Locals are friendly on the surface, but if you do (as some inevitably will) complain about how backward the place is, then expect glare-laced hatred.
Entrance ramps to the interstates are shorter, public restrooms are fewer in number-and dirtier- than most places you've been.
Here's the view of a native Charlestonian, who no longer lives there, that's contrary to norm you'll find here, but is backed-up by the stats:
South Carolina is a great place to live if you like a hot, humid climate with no winter to speak-of, AND (very important) if you can afford to opt out of the lousy social conditions via pecuniary means.
It has the worst schools and highest violent crime rate in the nation. Expect below-standard pay and conditions at your workplace- if you can find one, as despite using the Chinese system of capitalism, SC lags behind many states in employment percentage.
As far as the indigenous populations goes, the good news is that if you settle in a metro area you'll find people from all over are your average acquaintences. Locals are friendly on the surface, but if you do (as some inevitably will) complain about how backward the place is, then expect glare-laced hatred.
Entrance ramps to the interstates are shorter, public restrooms are fewer in number-and dirtier- than most places you've been.
But the weather is nice, and there is litle snow.
Since you no longer live here, how do you know all these things hold true?
Public schools while not great, are not the 'worst in the nation' that honor belongs to Mississippi.
Both my wife and I have found both our workplaces to be more than reasonable w/decent pay compared to when we were in Ohio.
And, who cares if the interstate ramps are shorter? This is mainly in the rural areas of the state as there are some very long one's that I've driven on in Columbia off of I-77 & I-20.
Is SC the 2nd coming of the garden of Eden? Absolutely not, but it's not the worst state in the country by any means to call home. We've found more to like here than Ohio (I realize that's not saying a whole lot...lol, but still!)
How accurate are statistics? I would think that intelligent person, as yourself, would not buy into all of the statistics because that system is flawed.
--You can't group all of the HS graduates and students together. How many famous HS graduates of SC do we have? Whether it be athletes, musicians, actress/actors, we have had many come from this state that were educated in this school system. The same goes for the drop out rate.
--Yes, we do have violent crime in SC. But again, you are grouping these stats together. How many are domestic violence cases, how many are random acts of violence, how many are assault cases, etc. I think you get my drift, right?
--Who really cares about bathrooms and interstate exit ramps? It's not the focus of many SC residents.
--As far as trying to analyze natives/locals of SC, you are totally off base here. You are not the majority here, so speak for yourself.
Some of us LOCALS/NATIVES that actually live here love our state. We take pride in our positives and are also quick to state the negatives.
We don't need someone who does not live here year round and was not born and raised here speaking for us.
I think Geechee is very accurate painting a general picture of SC's drawbacks.
I don't expect people to necessarily agree, but I can't understand why people attack him. I grew up in SC, and most of what he says is common local knowledge & opinions.
I think Geechee is very accurate painting a general picture of SC's drawbacks.
I don't expect people to necessarily agree, but I can't understand why people attack him. I grew up in SC, and most of what he says is common local knowledge & opinions.
Geechie has his good and bad points. I'm not attacking him. As far as it being common local knowledge and opinion, where are y'all getting this from?
As far as it being common local knowledge and opinion, where are y'all getting this from?
Can't speak for geechee, but for me, personal experiences, stories, history books, accounts from friends, family, and acquaintances. My collective experience growing up in this state, along with my family's history here, and a lifelong interest in many of the topics discussed here.
I enjoy the opinions I read here, but I've never thought that this forum was a good cross-section of what South Carolinians are like. I can't put my finger on how or why.
Can't speak for geechee, but for me, personal experiences, stories, history books, accounts from friends, family, and acquaintances. My collective experience growing up in this state, along with my family's history here, and a lifelong interest in many of the topics discussed here.
I enjoy the opinions I read here, but I've never thought that this forum was a good cross-section of what South Carolinians are like. I can't put my finger on how or why.
The personal experience is so much better than statistics. That was the point I was trying to make in my earlier post.
But as for SC as a whole, I do think that we have issues that need addressing.
The way I see SC is that if you are looking for a place to relax and enjoy, you can do that here. If you are looking for everything that Washington, DC or Chicago and even NYC have to offer - look elsewhere. Everyone has different taste regarding what they look for the most in a place to live. Me, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else but here.
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