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My husband and I live are in our early 30's and live in MD and are considering moving down south for a better quality of life and not as much of a rat race feel. We want a better cost of living than MD and hopefully have me be able to work part-time so I can spend more time with my 18-month-old son. Both of our commutes are 45-50 minutes, so we hardly see our son, yet alone each other. Working part-time is not an option where we currently live because we can't afford it[.
]My hubby would have to work at the VA Hospital if we moved to Charleston. It seems everyone mentions Summerville & Mt. Pleasant as good places to live if working in Charleston. However, it looks like the commute from Summerville or Mt. Pleasant would mean a long trip through the city for my husband (more than 45 minutes?). Are there any places south of the city that fit the criteria below or places that would make it so he has less than 30 minutes commute to the VA?
We want a safe place to live with good elementary schools. We do not like city living. We prefer suburban life, although we're okay with more rural settings as long as shopping and doctors are fairly close. We currently live on MD's Eastern Shore (Kent Island) which is only about 20 minutes from Annapolis, has everything you could need within 5 minutes, but has a lot of farmland and parks. It's the best of both worlds where we live; it's just too expensive and contributes to our long commutes. Thank you for your responses.
Last edited by MelbaToast; 04-21-2009 at 06:50 AM..
Fits most of what you are looking for. The schools are not the best in those areas, I think West Ashley has the better schools of the areas I have listed. Others who actually live in those areas could answer that question better.
Last edited by OleTomCat; 04-21-2009 at 08:23 AM..
Reason: Sorry missed the 'not'
Are those areas really expensive? Coming from MD, house prices are crazy, so what seems expensive in Charleston doesn't seem so to us! We are hoping to spend between $200 and $350k max (although I don't know what this gets you in those areas). I'm just guessing based on other info. We would ideally like a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with at least 1/3 acre.
I would still recommend Summerville. For what you want to spend on a house, you'll get the best schools and most house for your money. My 4 bedroom, 3 bath home on 1/3 acre lot is listed at at just under $320 in a very stable, in-town Summerville location. When we originally bought in the Charleston area, we found S'ville to be the best value and the best schools. With your housing budget, I suggest sticking to Summerville. I'm not sure about commute times or public transportation or carpooling options. But they are worth investigating.
If you are looking for good public schools based on test scores, Johns Island might not meet your requirements.Most of the homes in the Charleston area are on relatively small lots. If you want to stay under $350,000 for a 4 bedroom home on at least 1/3 acre and be within 30 minutes of the VA Hospita,l your choices will be much more limited than if you would consider a home on a smaller lot. A quick mls search of 4 bedroom homes on James Island and close in West Ashley turned up a few older homes(cir. 1959-1968) in the 1500 sqft. to 2400 sqft. range.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MelbaToast
Are those areas really expensive? Coming from MD, house prices are crazy, so what seems expensive in Charleston doesn't seem so to us! We are hoping to spend between $200 and $350k max (although I don't know what this gets you in those areas). I'm just guessing based on other info. We would ideally like a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath house with at least 1/3 acre.
I do not believe Mount Pleasant to be a 45 minute to the VA hospital. I make the trip down town often with the am traffic and it is more like 25 minutes. I recommend looking into Mount Pleasant.
Does anyone know what the commute to the VA Hospital is from Summerville?
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