Beaches

Where are the nice beaches and how far are they from the historic distric? Im thinking of taking a vacation here and I noticed that none of the hotels have pools...what would you suggest? I like the water (especially when its hot out!)

Beaches

Can anyone answer this? I think I got lost in the shuffel

Beaches

Most of the downtown hotels do not have pools due to space considerations. There are nearby beaches, but you will most likely want to have a car to get to them. Isle of Palms (otherwise referred to as IOP), Sullivans Island, and Folly Beach are the three closest. Folly Beach and IOP have public parks on them for beach access. If being at the beach is important, I would consider staying at Wild Dunes (the large resort on IOP) or Folly Beach (there is a hotel there) and taking day trips into town. Of those two, Folly is a little closer to downtown Charleston, but does not have the ';resort'; feel of Wild Dunes on IOP. All three beaches have houses that are available for weekly rental also.

A little further, but much less crowded, is Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island. It is a pleasant 40 minute drive from downtown on suburban/country roads. Once there, you pay to park (about $5 ??) for the entire day. In addtion to the beautiful, guarded beach, there are chair rentals, a snack bar, and very nice restroom and changing area.

Which hotels don%26#39;t have pools?

Downtown you have Charleston Place, the Days Inn, the Hampton Inn, the Holiday Inn, the Mills House Hotel, the King Charles Best Western, the Renaissance and the Market Pavilion. I am not aware of hardly any hotels in the surrounding area that do not have pools. On the beach the Holiday Inn Charleston on the Beach, the Holiday Inn Express on the IOP and the Wild Dunes Resort all have pools. And if you stay on Kiawah Island the Sanctuary has a pool and if you rent a villa there I think that there are pools throughout the island that are available.

I think that from Downtown Charleston to the area beaches it can take you anywhere from 20-45 min driving.

Relocating/Employment

Hi all,

My wife and I are looking to relocate to the Charleston area in the next 12 months. We are in our early 40s with a 13 year old son. So far we%26#39;ve decided that Summerville, Goose Creek or Moncks Corner would make for good housing areas. We%26#39;d like 3-4 bedrooms, a 2 car garage on about a 1/3 of an acre or a little larger and are thinking we can get that for around $250K or less.

Employment is our biggest concern and after reading some posts, I%26#39;m having concerns. I%26#39;m an IT Manager with 15+ years experience, I also teach a course at a local college and coud consider a career change into teaching, but I doublt thats where the money will be. I%26#39;m looking to earn around $85K. My wife is in Sales, more specifically she works for a temp (to permanent) staffing agency and would be looking to make around $50K. We are also considering partnering with her current employer and opening a staffing agency.

We%26#39;ve done some research on places we%26#39;d like to live as far as things to do and way of life and Charleston keeps coming to the top of our list, but being able to afford it is another issue.

Please be brutally honest as we are planning to come down in the next 8 weeks to possibly buy some property.

Relocating/Employment

While Charleston is a wonderful place to live and raise a family, you are right to be concerned about employment. Having lived all over the US, I finally returned home 3 years ago and was very surprised to see the extremely large increase in the cost of living here. While housing may be a bit more affordable than up north, unfortunately the salaries do not match the housing prices here. When I moved back home from Boston, it was challenging to find a job that would pay 1/2 of what I was making there but finding housing that was around the same price I paid in Boston was pretty easy. Honestly, I think it will be difficult for your wife to find a job around $50K. You may be able to find the salary you%26#39;re looking for in the IT field and teaching. I would recommend looking at our newspaper%26#39;s site (www.charleston.net) and check out the jobs section. You may also want to look at Trident Technical College (www.tridenttech.edu) for adjunct positions.

As far as the 3 towns you mentioned, I would suggest Summerville (where I actually grew up) as they have better high schools. Moncks Corner is really what we consider country here and Goose Creek while it does have some good spots, is just not a place I would want to live. If you live in Summerville, your son would go to either Summerville High School or Fort Dorchester...both are very good. For Moncks Corner, you%26#39;re looking at Berkeley High (where I went my freshmen year until my high school was built) and let me say that it was pretty scary back then!! For Goose Creek, you%26#39;re looking at either Goose Creek High or Stratford High (where I went my last 3 years). If you choose Summerville out near the 194/Jedburg exit, your son would go to Stratford if you%26#39;re in Berkeley County. You said you wanted brutal honesty, right ? :)

As far as housing, you should be able to find something in your price range in the towns you mentioned. The only thing you may not find is the acreage you mentioned...most subdivisions come with 1/4 or less. Of course if you go out to Moncks Corner, you would probably be able to find more land.

Again, the Charleston area is a fabulous place to live and raise a family but I think you are wise to be concerned about employment. We have more blue collar jobs here than white collar. Definitely check out the newspaper and Monster/Career Builder/Hot Jobs.

Best wishes in your search!

Relocating/Employment

Just want to say that I agree with everything travelgirl said. We got major sticker shock when we moved here. There is a misconception that homes in the south are cheap and affordable, while that might have been true at one time, that has changed over the years with the influx of people. Also, just want to add that Summerville is getting another high school that should be opening in the 2007-2008 school year. Stratford by the way, is the high school that got all that national publicy when it had the drug raid in the hallways? Remember that? Anyway, my husband went to a football game at Stratford and he said it was a scary crowd. Just being honest here.

You might be able to snag something in Summerville with a little more land in around your price range. Home costs have certainly gone up around here lately but every now and then I will see some good buys. Don%26#39;t expect the home to be brand new, something like you are talking will most likely be an older home. Nothing wrong with that, there are some nice older homes around here. ;) If you can afford to bump up your price range a bit you could probably find something out in the Legend Oaks area. It%26#39;s a nice area where new homes are being built around some older ones (they have bigger yards too) and it would put you in the new high school district. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. Good luck!

Travelgirl and ncjjm thanks for the honesty, it is greatly appreciated! We actually visted Summerville last summer and even drove thorugh the Legend Oaks area and were impressed. My wife is a little worried about earthquakes and Hurricanes, but if we want to live in the South close to the coast, we%26#39;ll have to deal with it. Moncks corner still interests us, but what could we expect realistically for drive times to a from work if we lived in that area and had to go to either North Charleston or downtown Charleston? ALso the same question if we lived in Summerville?

Back to employment. From the figures I%26#39;%26#39;ve been able to find, unemployment is around 5% and as you said a majority is blue collar and I%26#39;ll venture to say a lot is tourism based. I%26#39;m curious with all the new housing developments and population growth (I%26#39;ve read some areas have doulbed in size in the past 10 years), is this compounding the employment issues? I%26#39;m guessing a lot of the new influx is from Northerners (from PA) like myself, who want out of cold, but obviously not all of us are retirees, so we have to work somewhere. What efforts have been/are being made to draw in new employers??

There are 2 other areas were starting to investigate: Wilmington, NC and Myrtle Beach (my wife%26#39;s mother retired there). I know this really isn%26#39;lt the right forum, but anyone familar with these areas and the employment/ housing outlook. Looks like Wilmington has a low unemployment rate of about 3.1% and Myrtle Beach is only slightly better than Charleston (4.6%) .

Again thanks for any info you can provide. Charelston is still our top pick and we%26#39;ll be down later next month to check on some housing developments again. I%26#39;ve got my resume on Monster and careerbuilder.com, so we%26#39;ll see what happens.

Actually I lived in Wilmington for 11 years before we came to Charleston. It was a great place to live when we first moved there, but we watched it change drastically over the years. Too much commercialism, overdevelopment and a population explosion has ruined it in my opinion. We call it the concrete city now. Traffic is rated most dangerous in the entire state (gets real bad during the summer and holidays) and it ranks pretty high on the crime index. It also is a hurricane magnet. We went through 6 of them. Housing prices have skyrocketed there the last couple of years too, so homes are not so affordable as they once were there. If you were to consider that area, I would recommend living outside of Wilmington in Brunswick County. That%26#39;s the hot spot there now.

Myrtle Beach? Hmmmm, how can I put this. Commercialism, Commercialism, Commercialism. Traffic, Traffic and MORE Traffic in the summer. Seriously, it%26#39;s a great place to visit, but I wouldn%26#39;t want to live there.

It takes us roughly about 30 minutes drive time to downtown Charleston from Summerville. North Charleston around 20 minutes. That is not driving in rush hour though. I%26#39;m fortunate to not have to deal with rush hours. I don%26#39;t really go to Moncks Corner so I can%26#39;t really say the drive time, but I would assume that it would take a little longer from there.

I wouldn%26#39;t let the concern about hurricanes and earthquakes worry your wife too much. Charleston does site on a pretty good size fault and has little quakes pretty much every day, you%26#39;d never know it as they are so very tiny (nothing compared to the quakes when I lived in LA). As for as hurricanes are concerned, we have so many barrier islands, that Charleston is actually pretty protected from most of the storms...though we do have our share of them. We are very fortunate that our city, county, state officials and citizens actually work very well together during natural disasters.

Moncks Corner could be up to an hour drive from downtown and 30 - 45 minutes to North Charleston during non-rush hour. Unlike S%26#39;ville, Moncks Corner doesn%26#39;t have direct access to the interstate and you have to go through Goose Creek to get to the interstate.

I wish I could say that a great deal is being done to bring in white collar jobs but honestly, I personally don%26#39;t feel enough is being done. Yes, the influx of folks is definitely influencing the unemployment rates here.

I have to agree with previous post re: Myrtle Beach. A great little getaway if you%26#39;ve only got a few days but so not a place I would want to live. Myrtle, like Charleston, has pretty much become a year-round destination for folks but Myrtle is far more commericalized than Charleston.

Best wishes with your decision!

I do not mean this in any negative manner - but one of the reasons the increase in the cost of housing has out paced the increase in salaries is that so many people from the northeast appreciate our area and are moving in. Often these are retired people with substancial savings and alot of money to invest after selling expensive property in other areas of the US. They have the money to spend and the cost seems a bargain to them compared to many other areas of the northeast or west coast. Charleston has the most expensive housing market in the state, but it is a beautiful and highly desirable area to live, so more people want to come here. I personally would not want to live in any other city in South Carolina.

I know this does not apply to your situation (you would probably be GLAD to be a rich retiree, haha) but it does help explain the discrepancy.

Well the job hunt has begun; I%26#39;ve sent my resume to a few opeining s I saw. I guess I%26#39;ll wait and see what the next several months brings. We%26#39;ve widened our destination to include Charleston to Savannah.

We%26#39;ll be down later next month to check out housing in some of the communities, Summerville in particular.

Thanks for all your honest input and again if you have anything else to offer, please feel free to chime in.

Another question for the experts on housing and schools.

We already plan to check out the Summerville area and the experts have somewhat steered us away from Goose Creek and Moncks Corner, but what about other areas, like West Ashley and Mt. Pleasant? How are the schools in those areas? I know housing is steep in Mt. Pleasant, but haven%26#39;t checked out too much in West Ashley. Are private shcools really the way to go over public? Again we%26#39;d like to spend around $250K to get 3 bedrooms on about 1/4 acre. Thanks!

You won%26#39;t get a house like you describe above in Mt. Pleasant for $250k. Maybe in West Ashley, I am not in tune with the real estate over there, but it could be hard. Also, look at James Island. We don%26#39;t have children so I cannot give you an honest view of the schools, just that we know lots of neighbors and friedns%26#39; kids go to private schools.

The real estate prices in West Ashley aren%26#39;t much better. To give you an example my husband and I just purchased our 2nd home. We are moving to a neighborhood down Hwy 61. The house is 1 story we are going to have 3 bedrooms (small) and a 1.5 baths. I think that it is not even 1200 sq. feet. No garage however just a one car carport and we paid right about $189.

I think that if you can find a nice house in Summerville that would be my choice. I personally did not want to drive that far out of the city because I work downtown and West Ashley is closer.

carolina winds oveanfront angle view?

Hi, I noticed on the we site for cw they say they have ocean angle view, I%26#39;ve never been there, Are these still a good view? any how is their restaurant? please help with ay info you may have on this hotel.

carolina winds oveanfront angle view?

Have you looked at this picture?

http://www.carolinawinds.com/

The rooms on the front face the ocean straight on. As you can see, the ones on the side are angled so that you don%26#39;t see that part of the ocean that%26#39;s directly in front of the hotel. You get a nice view, but it%26#39;s not quite the same. They are also not as close. It%26#39;s different, but still good. It%26#39;s up to you as to whether or not it%26#39;s what you want.

carolina winds oveanfront angle view?

I have stayed at Carolina WInds, but in a 3 bed. oceanfront room.

However, the angle rooms are nice too. Now the view from some of the rooms is better than others. I mean those rooms closer to the side road, you can see more of the ocean. All angle rooms overlook

the pool, so at least you have something to look at. Ask for a room

with the best view of the ocean. Upper floors might be better too.

and yes, check out their website:

www.carolinawinds.com

Oh and their resturant is ok. We actually never ate the regular meals there, I don%26#39;t think they serve dinner. But one evening, we asked them if they could provide a buffet for our group. (We had 40 people). It was SO good. Salads, chicken, beef, mashed potatoes,

veggies, rolls and dessert.

So I guess the food they serve for breakfast and lunch would be

pretty good. They were very nice too.

blackheads

First time to HHI which villa?

I have always wanted to visit SC and we are thinking of coming maybe the week of August 12th. We have 2 children, 13 and 8 (both girls). We would like a nice villa within walking or biking distance to the beach that is not too crazy in price... and maybe within walking/biking distance to restaurants.

We don%26#39;t necessarily have to do the golf/tennis thing either.. fyi

Any suggestions?

Thanks a bunch!

First time to HHI which villa?

I live and work on the Island. If I were you I would check out the Adventure Inn. I used to do work for these people and I used to do work in all the rooms and I can tell you they are very good people and the rooms are nice.

鈥ahoo.com/p-hotel-372396-adventure_inn_vill鈥?/a>

First time to HHI which villa?

I am not so sure about the Adventure Inn. The complex will close permantly in the fall. It will then be demolished and redevelopment will take place on the land.

Since you are planning to come about six weeks before this is due to happen, I would be careful. The attention that would be given to a unit might be lacking. Why fix an airconditioner for example when we are going to close.

That being said The forest beach area may be where you want to go. You can find some inexpensive lodging that is just across from the beach.

The Breakers which is on the beach is also inexpensive.

Top of the line here is the SeaCrest, Shorewood, and Ocean One.

Besides the Breakers which is on the beach, you have Seascape villas, Xanadu, and Tanglewood across the street.

You can also look at the folly field area mid island. Hilton Head Beach and Tennis, and the Island Club are on the beach and less expensive than the ocean front complexes in the gated communities.

Fiddlers Cove, and Stones Throw are two complexes which are a short walk from the beach. This is a less crowded area of the beach than South Forest Beach, and a little more isolated.

Please read the sticky ';Plantations'; to find out about our resorts.

Stan (hhiguy)

We usually stay at Seascape. It is just across the street from the beach in South Forest Beach. It is an older complex, but a lot of the villas have been updated %26amp; are very nice. There are a lot of restaurants, shops, etc. in the Coligny area that you can walk or bike to. Have a great time!

It really depends on what you are looking for...

Folly Field beach and Fiddler%26#39;s Cove is perfect for a quiet family Resort. 2 large pools to choose from, 10 tennis courts, 2 racquetball courts and a large outdoor jacuzzi ( all free to guests - check this at the resorts you may also checkup on ! ).

Fiddler%26#39;s Cove is not direct ocean front but a quick 3 to 5 minute walk you are on the beach!

Dining, entertainment and shopping are very close by ( again - 3 to 5 minute drive for some, everything can be reached in 15 minutes by car!)

Rates in the summer are very reasonable too...

Here%26#39;s a link for more info if you are interested:

http://www.hhi-vr.com/fiddlerscove.htm

Hilton Head Beach and Tennis Club is also on Folly Field Road, I%26#39;d suggest you read their reviews...

The Island Club on Folly Field Road rents condos and the rate is about $500.00 more then Fiddler%26#39;s Cove for 1 week... it%26#39;s boils down to spending money saved for lodging on the island for fun and food or not...

triumphed over adversity

Follown up re: my concerns about diversity at Wild Dunes

I posted a topic about 2 weeks ago asking for feedback from any African-American folks who have visited Wild Dunes resort. I wanted to know if they felt that they were treated well. Well, we are back from our week long stay at Wild Dunes. And I have to admit (no SCREAM!) that we had an AWESOME stay!!! We were pleasantly SURPRISED! We were treated very well, no, outstandingly well!! We were a little shocked actually. Don%26#39;t get me wrong, I have not been living with my head stuck in the sand (smile) but I have traveled ALOT and I have SEEN and HEARD some real racist behaviors. But, the staff were exceptionally well trained, polite, respectful, accommodating. They went out of their way to please us...and we are NOT demanding customers. We just want to be treated the same as everyone else since we are paying the same green cash as everyone else.

I do have to say that the only disappointing part of our stay was the fact that during our 6 days there we only saw 3 other black families. But all of the families that we met were so friendly. I like the fact that it is a private resort so you keep running into the same families over and over again - on the beach, at the restaurants, the pools..etc. We were calling eachother by names and our children were playing together.

The beaches were GORGEOUS! Clean, uncrowded. Once again, the beach services staff were over accommodating, respectful ';Ma%26#39;am'; and ';Sir';. We stayed at the Links Clubhouse Villas #16 right across from the golf course. Beautiful! Cute little villa...well, not so little, but just right for the 4 of us. Shuttle transportation on the island is free and they arrived within minutes of our call. I could go on and on...but just suffice it to say that we are already planning our trip back next summer!!

Follown up re: my concerns about diversity at Wild Dunes

...I tried to tell ya....

I%26#39;m glad you had an enjoyable stay and I hope you enjoy your next one.

Follown up re: my concerns about diversity at Wild Dunes

We are glad to hear that everything went well.

Floski, is that a picture of you on your posts?

Nope.

But he is a man that I admire and respect a great, great deal.

He is Ruben Greenberg, our Police Chief for about 20 years until last year. He was a great chief, and just a really good person (well, he still is that) ;-)

Hotels with best pools???

I am planning a week-long trip to Charleston with my family which includes my two kids aged 9 and 14. I have been reading a lot and have a pretty good idea of things to do, so now I have to find the perfect hotel. My kids%26#39; only requirement is that it has a nice pool. We considered Folly Beach, but my hubby prefers to get the ';downtown experience.'; Any ideas for a nice hotel with a super-cool pool? Thanks!

Hotels with best pools???

glory, I can%26#39;t speak for the downtown hotels, but the Town and Country Inn, on Savannah Highway about 10-15 minutes from downtown has two pools! One is inside, with a nice workout area with stairsteppers and stationary bikes upstairs so you can still see the pool. I believe there is a juice bar in there as well. The other pool is, I believe, indoor/outdoor - but don%26#39;t quote me on that cause I ain%26#39;t sure.

Hotels with best pools???

The Mills House Hotel, in the historic district, has a lovely pool on the roof. The Inn at Middleton Place (historic plantation, but not in town) has a pool. There may be some B%26amp;B%26#39;s in the historic district that have pools.

Otherwise, you might have to stay in a less historic area to find what your kids are looking for. There is not a lot of space in downtown Charleston for a ground-level, outdoor,hotel pool. A number of the old homes have pools; but, of course, those are private. In public areas, there is more emphasis on gardens and parks.

Don%26#39;t despair. It is very easy to drive into Charleston and park the car for the day. parking lots are cheap and convenient..

Planning a trip to Hilton Head

My family and I are planning a trip to Hilton Head in July. If there are any local experts out there that can tell me about some other beach resorts then I would greatly appreciate it. We are looking at any part of SC except for Myrtle Beach...too busy, we want a quiet, relaxing vacation. So I figure the top two spots are Charleston and Hilton Head??? If there are any other famous beach spots in SC please let me know. Also I guess, if you have any knowledge of Charleston hotels then that would also be greatly appreciated.

Planning a trip to Hilton Head

Hi! I think if you are looking for a quiet relaxing vacation, you have made a great choice in Hilton Head. It%26#39;s pretty much the polar opposite of Myrtle Beach. I don%26#39;t know the ages of your family, but mine just returned from our 4th annual pilgrimage to HHI and that includes my 63 year old mom, 25 year old sister and her husband, my husband and I, who are 42 and 40, respectively, and four of our kids ages 19, 13, 11 and 4. There is horseback riding, dolphin tours, deep sea fishing excursions, day trips by boat to Savannah, over 200 restaurants with every imagineable offering to choose from and miles and miles of bike paths to enjoy. There is one small mall (I think it has 25 or so stores) and several smaller shopping plazas. You won%26#39;t find any neon lights here; I think there%26#39;s actually a law against it. The island is very lush and beautiful and the beaches are clean and have been voted some of the best in the nation. You can stay in one of the plantations the island is divided into, or you can stay at the ';hub'; of activity; Forest Beach. And by activity, we are still talking extremely laid back. Not the ';drive two blocks in 30 minutes'; kind of traffic you get in Myrtle. We have stayed at several spots up and down the east coast and for us there%26#39;s no place like Hilton Head. Stan, the local HH expert has posted several ';stickys'; on restaurants, places to stay, island history, etc. I have found his information and insight right on the money and extremely helpful when planning our visits. Go back on the beginning page of forums and just look for anything with HHIguy attached. I don%26#39;t think you%26#39;ll be a bit disappointed with Hilton Head. Hope this helps!!

Planning a trip to Hilton Head

Kiawah Island is my favorite place in the world. It is relaxing and pristine and has many activities to do such as golf, tennis, nature tours, a spa and a kids camp. I recommend contacting Pam Harrington Exclusives and renting a home ';past the second gate';. This is more private than the rest of the resort and you can feel more like home. They will drop off bikes for you to get around on. Love it!!

My family has vacationed both at Hilton Head and Kiawah.You%26#39;ll certainly have a great time in Hilton Head. HOWEVER, for me, Kiawah wins hands down. The resort is basically the entire island, so it%26#39;s much smaller and much less commercial than Hilton Head. Extremely laid back, yet tons of neat things to do for all ages and interest. Some of the youth and family activities are almost hokey-quaint, like an ice cream social, a capture-the-flag tournament, or an outdoor movie night. But coming from a large urban area, my gang really enjoys this stuff! The golf courses are actually rated higher than the ones on HH. The tennis program (there are two centers) is also nationally known. It really excels in it%26#39;s nature programs. They even ask for volunteers occasionally to escort the baby turtles on their trek from the nest to the ocean! Once you drive into the resort, it%26#39;s basically t-shirts, shorts and bikes the rest of the week.

Obviously there is no night life outside of the bar at The Sanctuary, the new ultra luxury hotel on the island. Charleston though is only a 30 minute drive with all it%26#39;s wonderful restaurants, bars and historic spots.

It%26#39;s great to hear everyone saying nice things about Kiawah, which is our favorite place in the world for a family beach vacation. I can say that even though I grew up in Florida!

On Kiawah you have the uncrowded 12-mile firm sand beach and the unspoiled river and marshes - along with top-rated golf and tennis, if you are interested. As well, you are an easy drive into Charleston for sightseeing or dinner.

The only hotel on Kiawah is the luxurious (and expensive) Sanctuary Hotel. Most families rent cottages, houses, or condos which are availble through the Kiawah Island Golf Resort, ResortQuest, Pam Harrington Exclusives, or Beachwalker. You can also find ';villa'; accommodations by renting from individual owners through sites like www.vrbo.com.

Adjacent to Kiawah, is Seabrook Island, which is also extremely relaxing and laid back. Seabrook has not quite the beach or amenities that Kiawah has, but it is a very nice place for a family vacation.