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So at first I wanted to move to somewhere rural but where I want to work and being close to the college MB it is. I like it because i can still drive to a rural town and do some exploring ANYWAYS I will be living (hopefully) in the Canterbury apartments 20 min away from the beach.....how insane will the traffic be??
Canterbury Apts are in Carolina Forest which has, what I consider to be, a significant bottleneck getting onto 501. It's much worse in the summer with tourist traffic...not quite so bad in the off season. Many people moving from large metro areas don't consider traffic to be that bad but when you get used to very little traffic here, the Carolina Forest area and 501 is frustrating. The light getting out onto 501 is a 4 minute light...doesn't sound like long until you sit through it when you're in a hurry to get to work, etc. And if you don't make it through when it turns because traffic has backed up, it's another 4 minutes to try again.
I know folks who moved to Carolina Forest upon retiring because it is a nice area and affordable, they come to the beach, the sandy and ocean, almost daily their 1st summer and then never again until summer is over, traffic is not worth the trip, they use the community pool now.
Personally I love the beach yet would not live on it due to insurance costs, I work to hard to give my money away, and I would not live west of the waterway either as I do not wish to be far from the beach.
We just got back from a week in MB. Now, keeping in mind that this is not peak season, and the area was not crowded at all this past week, when we drove into town by way of 501 at around 10:00 on a Sunday morning, the traffic on the opposite side (going out of MB) was bumper to bumper for miles. The entire Carolina Forest area was basic gridlock, and cars were stacked up waiting to get out onto 501 there by the Kroger plaza for quite a ways back. It was even worse when we were down there the week before Easter.
I doubt if we'll ever live in MB full-time, probably just spend the winters at our condo when we retire, which is on the beach but in a quieter section, but I would not, unless I was truly desperate, live anywhere near Carolina Forest. We don't come during the peak summer months, but I can't even imagine what that area must be like in the middle of July or August if it is worse than what I saw last Sunday and especially the week before Easter.
Last edited by canudigit; 05-12-2012 at 11:31 AM..
Living in MB full time is ok if you stay away from 501. We avoid that area completely and feel just fine with the traffic.
Its a matter of not buying where you will have to use that highway. There are some back ways of getting to a 501 shopping area without even going on 501, that is a big help.
I have loved summer here. Great swimming and good times.
Use the newer highways around problem areas. Really it just isn't fun during the summer months in the Carolina Forest area. ( unfortunately)
Many other good and enjoyable locations though.
We just moved here, right off the 501/Carolina Forest area, and have already learned all the back roads to avoid 501 as much as possible. I have to say, it hasn't been that bad, but my commute hours are 5:50am and 7:30pm, respectively.
Coming from a metro area, the traffic here is nothing to complain about. If you're coming from a rural area, it's something to get used to. Like skygirl said, you get to know the back roads and what day/time not to travel a certain road at a certain time. I used to live 3 minutes to the beach at the Jersey Shore and that traffic is bad, this is nothing.
It depends where you're from! Being from Northern Va., we don't think traffic is bad at all...even during "peak" times. If you come from an area away from cities, you may think it's awful. The worst thing is the visitors don't know what the hell they're doing....and will drive like idiots! Left turns from the right lane....stopping in the middle of the block for no apparent reason...tourists apparently don't know they can turn at the next street and backtrack, if they miss their turn!!!!
The new by-passes are great for traveling from one end of the Grand Strand to the other....tourists don't know about it!!!
Just a bit of friendly advice, run as far as you can from Canterbury Apartments. The burgalries, drug dealings, gun calls and fights that go on there nightly make it a very undesirable/unsafe location.
I have lived on Carolina Forest for 9 years and Canterbury has just gotten worse. Get a hold of the Carolina Forest Chronicle Newspaper and read the weekly crime reports. Check with the Hory County Police for the crime statistics.
There are many other nicer Apartment Complex's in Carolina Forest. Do
your research before signing a lease or you may end up very unhappy.
Good Luck
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ANYWAYS I will be living (hopefully) in the Canterbury apartments 20 min away from the beach.....how insane will the traffic be??
Canterbury Apartments
