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We currently live in PA. We moved here about 2 1/2 years ago from VA and we really don't like it. I don't like the cold. We live about 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia and the people are rude. The pace of life is frantic.
We are thinking of relocating to North or South Carolina. I had looked into Wilmington, NC, but my hubby really loves the Myrtle Beach area. I am a little worried about how busy it will be in the summer. I would want to live in a smaller town outside of Myrtle Beach. Any suggestions? We vacation in Surfside Beach and love it there? How about Georgetown?
Also how are the schools? We have three kids, ages 9, 5, and 1. I have checked housing prices and they are very reasonable compared to what we pay here.
Any info about living in the area would be greatly appreciated.
There are a few nice towns/areas between Georgetown & Myrtle Beach. Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, Garden City, Socastee and Surfside are all decent with decent schools. Pawleys & Murrells are part of the Georgetown County School District and students would attend the Waccamaw schools. My kids go there and I have been quite pleased with them so far. http://www.gcsd.k12.sc.us/
Garden City, Socastee & Surfside would attend the Horry Schools. I'm not quite familiar with them but from what I've heard & read they are pretty good in that area.
My personal experience with Surfside is that it is nice but gets a resort/transient feeing during the summer much less than the other locations I mentioned.
Georgetown is a nice, historic, quaint town that looks like it may be next "in-place". Has some nice restaurants & art shops popping up along the river. The high school is so-so but there are some decent elementary schools. I like the Maryville & Belle Island sections... looks like a good family atmosphere.
We just moved from NJ to Myrtle Beach, the area we are in is called Carolina Forest, we are about 10 minutes from the beach. I love our community and we had a new house built. It was cheaper then buying one that was built already. There are many homes that are affordable.
My son is 7 and is in lst. grade. The school he attends is brand new and right outside of our development. The school is way ahead of where the our school was in NJ - he is learning things he was even expected to learn in lst. grade in NJ.
We have been to the beach already in March. I understand it will get busy by the beach area, but we are in Carolina Forest it shouldn't be that bad. Everyone has told me I will learn when to go to the stores that may be busy.
Thanks for the info. Do you recommend living further from the beach because of hurricanes? I am not familiar with this at all. Do you live on the other side of the intercoastal waterway?
Also is the area diverse as far as different cultures go? We would like to be in an area like that. One of our children is adopted and is from Africa so that is important to us.
Thanks again,
Jen
Quote:
Originally Posted by baylovers
There are a few nice towns/areas between Georgetown & Myrtle Beach. Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, Garden City, Socastee and Surfside are all decent with decent schools. Pawleys & Murrells are part of the Georgetown County School District and students would attend the Waccamaw schools. My kids go there and I have been quite pleased with them so far. http://www.gcsd.k12.sc.us/
Garden City, Socastee & Surfside would attend the Horry Schools. I'm not quite familiar with them but from what I've heard & read they are pretty good in that area.
My personal experience with Surfside is that it is nice but gets a resort/transient feeing during the summer much less than the other locations I mentioned.
Georgetown is a nice, historic, quaint town that looks like it may be next "in-place". Has some nice restaurants & art shops popping up along the river. The high school is so-so but there are some decent elementary schools. I like the Maryville & Belle Island sections... looks like a good family atmosphere.
Thanks for the info. We actually are not far from NJ. Where did you live in NJ, if you don't mind me asking? House prices in NJ are even worse than they are here. Have you found the people to be more friendly in SC than in NJ? My husband has started applying for jobs in the Myrtle Beach area. He is ready to leave here. We would love to move this summer so the kids won't have to switch schools mid year.
Thanks,
Jen
Quote:
Originally Posted by GJM
We just moved from NJ to Myrtle Beach, the area we are in is called Carolina Forest, we are about 10 minutes from the beach. I love our community and we had a new house built. It was cheaper then buying one that was built already. There are many homes that are affordable.
My son is 7 and is in lst. grade. The school he attends is brand new and right outside of our development. The school is way ahead of where the our school was in NJ - he is learning things he was even expected to learn in lst. grade in NJ.
We have been to the beach already in March. I understand it will get busy by the beach area, but we are in Carolina Forest it shouldn't be that bad. Everyone has told me I will learn when to go to the stores that may be busy.
We moved from Long Island to the Pawleys Island Community (not to be confused with the incorporated Town of Pawleys Island, which is quite expensive and mostly summer homes) and have not had problem as far as fitting in. There are folks from all over here, particularly NY, NJ, PA, OH, VA, CT. The Southern Hospitality is contagious and it seems the transplants can be as nice as the locals! Our community is full of kids, close to the Elementary & High School and several of the churches, so it was very comforting to me.
My house is in Pawleys Retreat (www.pawleysretreat.org) is just about equal distance between the ocean & the intracoastal ... 1.5 miles in either direction. I was not required to have flood insurance but I am not sure how high above sea level I am. I did purchase the flood insurnace anyway, it was only $500 a year. My homeowners is about $3500 but hoping it will go down if there is another year of minimal storms. We haven't been here for a major storm but many of my neighbors have been and survived.
Proximity to the beach is all relative to your desire of convenience. You could live in Conway and be a half hour from the beach and feel that it is close enough. I grew up along the beach most of my life and "need" to be close... there is a certain attitude with people who live along the coast, those who have saltwater in their veins. Y'all know, like a Jimmy Buffet type personality! I would wear flip-flops and smell like Hawiian Tropic all year long if I could!
I would say that the area is diverse as far as black and white. There is not a big Hispanic or Asian population. The Gullah Museum is right down the street from our cummunity. Racial breakdown for the Waccamaw Elementary school is (taken from http://www.schooldigger.com/go/SC/schools/0228000480/school.aspx): (broken link)
2005 White: 690 African-American: 234 Hisp: 24 Asian: 14 Amer. indian: 0 Total: 962
The middle school & the High school is similar ratios. The elemenary school is the most crowded and they are in the process of building a new intermediate school (5-7 grade) to alleviate future overcrowding.
Something I would recommend to anyone moving to anyplace is to subscribe to the local newspaper for a few months before choosing an area. It will give you a feel for the areas main concerns, what the people are like, the school, crime and housing issues. You will also get a taste of the local shopping & amenities through the advertisements.
I lived in Saddle Brook (Bergen County) in NJ. The people here are very friendly probably more then NJ. You can drive down the street and people wave to you.
My flood insurance is $300 per year, we didn't have to get it but I did. Our homeowners insurance is $1300 per year, that is more then NJ but car insurance is cheaper then NJ.
Thanks for all the info. That is a big help. How are the taxes there? Do you have school taxes? Our taxes here are really bad.
Jen
Quote:
Originally Posted by baylovers
We moved from Long Island to the Pawleys Island Community (not to be confused with the incorporated Town of Pawleys Island, which is quite expensive and mostly summer homes) and have not had problem as far as fitting in. There are folks from all over here, particularly NY, NJ, PA, OH, VA, CT. The Southern Hospitality is contagious and it seems the transplants can be as nice as the locals! Our community is full of kids, close to the Elementary & High School and several of the churches, so it was very comforting to me.
My house is in Pawleys Retreat (www.pawleysretreat.org) is just about equal distance between the ocean & the intracoastal ... 1.5 miles in either direction. I was not required to have flood insurance but I am not sure how high above sea level I am. I did purchase the flood insurnace anyway, it was only $500 a year. My homeowners is about $3500 but hoping it will go down if there is another year of minimal storms. We haven't been here for a major storm but many of my neighbors have been and survived.
Proximity to the beach is all relative to your desire of convenience. You could live in Conway and be a half hour from the beach and feel that it is close enough. I grew up along the beach most of my life and "need" to be close... there is a certain attitude with people who live along the coast, those who have saltwater in their veins. Y'all know, like a Jimmy Buffet type personality! I would wear flip-flops and smell like Hawiian Tropic all year long if I could!
I would say that the area is diverse as far as black and white. There is not a big Hispanic or Asian population. The Gullah Museum is right down the street from our cummunity. Racial breakdown for the Waccamaw Elementary school is (taken from http://www.schooldigger.com/go/SC/schools/0228000480/school.aspx): (broken link)
2005 White: 690 African-American: 234 Hisp: 24 Asian: 14 Amer. indian: 0 Total: 962
The middle school & the High school is similar ratios. The elemenary school is the most crowded and they are in the process of building a new intermediate school (5-7 grade) to alleviate future overcrowding.
Something I would recommend to anyone moving to anyplace is to subscribe to the local newspaper for a few months before choosing an area. It will give you a feel for the areas main concerns, what the people are like, the school, crime and housing issues. You will also get a taste of the local shopping & amenities through the advertisements.
Same question to you. How are the taxes? Our taxes here are really bad. Thanks for all the help.
Jen
Quote:
Originally Posted by GJM
I lived in Saddle Brook (Bergen County) in NJ. The people here are very friendly probably more then NJ. You can drive down the street and people wave to you.
My flood insurance is $300 per year, we didn't have to get it but I did. Our homeowners insurance is $1300 per year, that is more then NJ but car insurance is cheaper then NJ.
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