Quote:
Originally Posted by JP10
Long story short my fiance and I are considering a move to the Charleston area. My work would be in North Charleston specifically.
We are trying to determine where we want to buy. My fiance and I went down last weekend to check out the area. We were all over the place; downtown charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Isle of Palms, Summerville, Goose Creek, Sullivans Island, Daniel Island etc. W
We did not get a chance to check out James or Johns island, so any advice on those areas would be appreciated.
Bottom line is we are pretty much at a cross roads as to what we want and where we want to live. We enjoy great food, night life, the beach. The problem is the updated spacious house with a yard that we are looking for is within our budget in places like Summerville and Johns Island (a few in James Island), but less so in Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant. Ideally Daniel Island or Mount Pleasant would be the perfect area, but for our budget there isn't much available except for houses that haven't been updated in maybe a decade or more.
We did find a few places in North Charleston, but my Fiance is not a fan of how run down/industrial the area looks. I am aware that it hasn't been a good area in the past, but have heard it is starting to make a comeback around park circle.
Bottom line, given what our interests are would you think that we would be more content closer to downtown and the beach (Mount Pleasant/Daniel Island) and giving up our high house tastes, or should we go for a house further away in Nexton or Cane Bay and get everything we want (yard, garage, updated, 4bds). Before it is mentioned, yes I understand that the commute from North Charleston to Summerville or Goose Creek would be a hike with traffic. Working in Philly that doesn't bother me all that much. I am not opposed to North Charleston, but given my fiances opinion we would need a little more convincing.
I appreciate any advice/knowledge on the area.
|
We visit quite a lot...been vacationing there for over 20 years. Also have a few friends that own houses down there.
If I were moving, Mt. Pleasant is where I would be looking at. It's growing, but not quite at a point where it's uncomfortable. Plus you can always do some Home upgrades later...you will always win out in that financial situation.
Plus from there you have access to Isle of Palms, Sullivan's Island, and pretty much any part of Charleston within 20-30 minutes depending on where you want to go. So many great places to eat and a very nice "night-time" vibe.
Plus coming from Charleston, you just bear off to the right after coming off the Ravenel Bridge and get to avoid the IOP connector with most of the traffic.
Once you learn the back roads, you pretty much have it whipped. And the tourist season is not really too bad. Typically end of May to first of August with June/July being the worst...and then it's still not too bad.
And even then most of the congestion happens around the drive to and from work as most people vacationing there tend to hit the beach and not move until it's time to go find a place to eat.
Also Mt. Pleasant affords you more pleasant weather since you always have the breeze the closer you get to the oceans. Downtown Charleston is very prone to humid conditions, and tends to have a lot of flooding when heavy summer storms come through. It seems like they never designed any of their parking as most areas are "low spots".
We only live about 3.5 hours from there, and have thought about buying a second home as we go down so much. I personally love the place, and enjoy every minute we get down there!