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The only qualifier I would add to fishfactor's post is that there is a beach between Garden City and Pawley's Island and that's the Huntington Beach State Park. It's an easy drive from Murrells Inlet and a resident can buy a season pass to access the park for much less than they daily admission fee. Dogs are allow at any time during the day/year on certain parts of the beach within the park. We live in MI and that' where we go when we go to the beach.
Murrell's Inlet (especially is you get away from bypass and business 17) is definitely less touristy yet close enough to access the tourist attractions if you want as well as shops, etc. You do have to be careful to ensure that housing is not too close to a flood zone but there are plenty of existing neighborhoods to choose from.
North Myrtle Beach is also nice but we found that the housing selection much more limited plus it's a pretty good drive to the airport if you want to fly out or pick up visiting friends.
Moving from AZ, you also need to be prepared for the humidity. I know it gets pretty hot in AZ but it does not typically include the humidity that we experience here. My daughter lives in Nashville and it gets pretty humid there as well. The other thing to consider in the Nashville area is the threat of Tornadoes. I would not live there unless the house I lived in had a storm cellar or basement. We hold our breath every time bad storms roll through there hoping that our daughter, who lives in an apartment building with no basement, will be ok. And, yes, we have hurricanes in this area, but we always get several days warning of an approaching hurricane....plenty of time to clear out of town. Tornadoes are a totally different animal....no warning and deadly winds.
The only qualifier I would add to fishfactor's post is that there is a beach between Garden City and Pawley's Island and that's the Huntington Beach State Park. It's an easy drive from Murrells Inlet and a resident can buy a season pass to access the park for much less than they daily admission fee. Dogs are allow at any time during the day/year on certain parts of the beach within the park. We live in MI and that' where we go when we go to the beach.
Murrell's Inlet (especially is you get away from bypass and business 17) is definitely less touristy yet close enough to access the tourist attractions if you want as well as shops, etc. You do have to be careful to ensure that housing is not too close to a flood zone but there are plenty of existing neighborhoods to choose from.
North Myrtle Beach is also nice but we found that the housing selection much more limited plus it's a pretty good drive to the airport if you want to fly out or pick up visiting friends.
Moving from AZ, you also need to be prepared for the humidity. I know it gets pretty hot in AZ but it does not typically include the humidity that we experience here. My daughter lives in Nashville and it gets pretty humid there as well. The other thing to consider in the Nashville area is the threat of Tornadoes. I would not live there unless the house I lived in had a storm cellar or basement. We hold our breath every time bad storms roll through there hoping that our daughter, who lives in an apartment building with no basement, will be ok. And, yes, we have hurricanes in this area, but we always get several days warning of an approaching hurricane....plenty of time to clear out of town. Tornadoes are a totally different animal....no warning and deadly winds.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
