Moving to Charleston

My family is being relocated to Charleston and are going househunting soon. We have a real estate agent but was hoping to get an ';outside'; opinion on which areas we should explore (she%26#39;s after a commission check, after all). We don%26#39;t want anything suburban, no condos, and would prefer downtown Charleston. We have between 350-500K to spend. Any advice?

Moving to Charleston

Most properties in the main historic district go for top dollar and would probably be out of your price range. An up-and-coming area in the city now is in the neighborhood surrounding The Citadel: lots of rehabbing and tear-down/rebuilding going on. West Ashley is the most economical - yet safe - part of town to be looking in. The trade-off would be that this is a ';suburban'; type area with small houses built in the %26#39;60s or later.

Be prepared (even in outlying communities) for school systems that can%26#39;t hold a candle to Chicago-area districts like New Trier. Unless you%26#39;re willing to shell out the bucks for private schools, comparison-shop the schools and house-hunt accordingly.

Moving to Charleston

I agree with tommyc. The downtown area is top dollar. Even here in my neighborhood (l7 miles from downtown), they are starting townhomes --preconstruction in the $400s. I am not sure they haven%26#39;t raised the price since they put the sign up.

I built a house in Mt. Pleasant (suburban) two years ago from out of state, and housing prices have soared just in that time. West Ashley is a much more economical area. I chose Mt. P because I figured it would be the best investment for a house.

A lot of people here private school their kids. I think most of the schools in Mt. Pleasant in general are really good, but it is suburbia..and with tourism TONS of traffic. The traffic would be the downside for most people. To me the traffic jams are worth living in paradise. I LOVE Mt. Pleasant..but it is definitely not downtown. :)

I am from charleston, and you will have to send your kids to private school. Especially if you live downtown. Living downtown is worth the money so if you can I would go for it. Mt. Pleasant is a popular area however the traffic is terrible and the prices are just wrong.You will be paying for the name more than anything else. My friends parents are all selling b/c the amount people are willing to pay to live over there has just become outrageous. Both James Island and West Ashley have areas with extremely nice, and sometimes gated communities. Plus James Island is close to both the beach and downtown but without the traffic of mt. pleasant. It all depends on how much you are concerned with living in the ';in'; area. Many wealthy locals happily live elsewhere. If you don%26#39;t want suburbia then head downtown...you may have to pay a bit more...make sure that you have parking.

Also, if you can%26#39;t live downtown I would seriously consider looking at houses on the water.....once you get there you will wish you had a dock and a boat!

Good Luck!

I know you want in the city, so I won%26#39;t push Mt. P., but it really is nice. I would do the same thing all over again. I just wanted to be closer to the ocean than some areas. As far as traffic, my neighbors work a lot in North Charleston..which isn%26#39;t too bad to get to.

I drive l7 miles to work, but I don%26#39;t go in during rush hour usually, so it isn%26#39;t bad. My colleagues all ask me how I can stand the traffic. Which does make me laugh. That is why I knew traffic might be an issue to you. The ones in West Ashley think I am nuts. Maybe moving here almost two years ago (it hasn%26#39;t changed significantly to me in that time)..and having lived in Houston and St. Louis, it didn%26#39;t seem that bad.

I just have to defend Mt. P. Moving here. I really do feel like it is paradise. Of course I am four miles inside my subdivision, so there isn%26#39;t much traffic ..and covenants are strict. I even found crawfish in my backyard. :)

I am sure there are lots of great areas. I just wanted to put in some praise for good ole%26#39; Mt. P. You are going to LOVE living in this area regardless of where you choose.

Thanks everyone! I%26#39;ll look downtown, Mt. P, and West Ashley.

I grew up in Charleston and my whole family still lives there. I am 24 and just moved away one year ago. All of the postings I have read have been true. My mom and dad live in a quiet part of West Ashely and love it. Also, it depends on which side of West Ahsley you are looking in. My Grandparents live in the older part and their 1500 sq. foot home is going for 350,000 but my parents 25000 goes for 200000. The traffic is not half as bad as Mount Pleasant and only a ten minute drive to downtown or Mt. Pleasant. Also, the other postings about the school system is true. Your children will have to be put in private schools. I was a private school kid and there are several great ones and now almost all of them have grants or scholarship money avaliable.

What is wrong with the school system that requires private schooling?

Also, is there a bad area in Charleston? We live in a suburb of Baltimore and considered moving to South Carolina because the housing prices are munch more affordable than Maryland. Baltimore City has some seedy areas that fight drugs and violence everyday. Are there areas like this in Charleston?

Also, for the best commute to the city -- would you suggest West Ashly and James Island?

The school system is not as horrific as people make it sound, especially in Mount Pleasant. Just like anywhere, there are good public schools and not so good public schools.

Exactly, gator.

My son is a rising junior at West Ashley High and, other than it being HUGE, it%26#39;s a fine school. I agree that if you are going to live in many places here (downtown being primary), private school is the best choice.

As for Bet%26#39;s question - oh yeah, there are plenty of %26#39;seedy%26#39; areas in the area, and I ain%26#39;t talking farms.

I have heard that Baltimore is horrible for it%26#39;s crime, but all cities have crime. It%26#39;s just a matter of finding where the crime ain%26#39;t; or ain%26#39;t as bad. I wouldn%26#39;t worry much about the crime - just use common sense.