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My husband and I are originally from Chicago and moved to San Diego, which we fell in love with. So many eclectic cafes and organic shops, the freshest produce, tons of patio seating, the restaurants are amazing, plenty to choose from, urban and chic shopping galore. The beaches are fantastic and the hills in the background cant be beat. How does this compare to Charleston, SC? Is the ocean warm? Are the beaches clean? How is the atmosphere of the town--old country or urban, or anything in between? Please help! My nerves are fried by how anxiously uncertain I am!
My husband and I are originally from Chicago and moved to San Diego, which we fell in love with. So many eclectic cafes and organic shops, the freshest produce, tons of patio seating, the restaurants are amazing, plenty to choose from, urban and chic shopping galore. The beaches are fantastic and the hills in the background cant be beat. How does this compare to Charleston, SC? Is the ocean warm? Are the beaches clean? How is the atmosphere of the town--old country or urban, or anything in between? Please help! My nerves are fried by how anxiously uncertain I am!
Charleston is about as close to southern California that you will get in South Carolina! That said, it's not the same, but you're not comparing apples to apples either. San Diego is much bigger than Charleston, the only comparison could be that they are both tourist destinations.
The ocean is warm, one can generally swim in it from early May through early October. Most public beaches are in pretty good shape.
Charleston to me anyways has a pretty hip & vibrant feel to it, very cultural yet has kept it's historical roots and prides itself in them. I don't live there, have only visited numerous times, so I'm sure others that actually call it home will have much more info to offer, but that's my 2 cents!
My husband and I are originally from Chicago and moved to San Diego, which we fell in love with. So many eclectic cafes and organic shops, the freshest produce, tons of patio seating, the restaurants are amazing, plenty to choose from, urban and chic shopping galore. The beaches are fantastic and the hills in the background cant be beat. How does this compare to Charleston, SC? Is the ocean warm? Are the beaches clean? How is the atmosphere of the town--old country or urban, or anything in between? Please help! My nerves are fried by how anxiously uncertain I am!
I have spent a lot of time in San Diego love it. If I didn't live in Charleston, it would be on top of my list. As stated in the previous post, it's smaller so there will be less of some things.
Regarding the specifics you mentioned:
Charleston has some good cafes (not as many or diverse as you will find in a big city), good produce, excellent restaurants (again not as many or as diverse. I think the food diversity in SD is amazing and you will not get as wide of a variety, but you will find excellent food.)
You will find the same with shopping - some good stores and not as many as a big city.
We have nice beaches, but they're different from San Diego. We do not have the blue water and our sand is more gray than the white sand. We do not have to worry about runoff after it rains, and our water is warmer than San Diego. There are no hills.
Regarding urban or old country, I would say not really either. It's a small to mid-sized town with a slower, quaint, southern feel and look with some better nightlife and cultural options than most towns its size, but again - smaller than San Diego.
My husband and I are originally from Chicago and moved to San Diego, which we fell in love with. So many eclectic cafes and organic shops, the freshest produce, tons of patio seating, the restaurants are amazing, plenty to choose from, urban and chic shopping galore. The beaches are fantastic and the hills in the background cant be beat. How does this compare to Charleston, SC? Is the ocean warm? Are the beaches clean? How is the atmosphere of the town--old country or urban, or anything in between? Please help! My nerves are fried by how anxiously uncertain I am!
I don't mean to be confrontational, but it seems that San Diego has everything that you want - why consider a move? Just an honest question. For a new job or to be closer to family? Or the romance of finding something better? Most of the time, the grass is not always greener on the other side.
That being said, we love Charleston even with the humidity. It's only gotten better in the last few days/weeks.
Sounds like it's a cross-country job transfer situation. I think once you have the time to visit for a weekend Dsobo, most of your worries should be alleviated. Charleston has some terrific places to make a new start, it's not as big as San Diego but who knows...you might even love it more.
no worries about being confrontational.. i need all the input i can get It would be for a job, and the possible move across the country scares the crap out of me! especially a couple weeks before the holidays!
i lived in chas...my husband loved it through college (CofC), but eventually we all got sick of the:
- conservatives
- high cost of living (maybe not compared to SD)
- CofC idiots (i am one of them)
- terrible drivers
- heat (i mean hot, really hot(
- humidity (100% in summer)
- traffic
- tourists
- bums (they are all over downtown)
- lure to drink (everyday)
What we loved (before kids, obviously)
- parties (everywhere)
- Folly (still have a condo there)
- friends (the one's who managed to grow up)
all in all, we moved back home to asheville and have learned to appreciate the mtns.
We moved here from Kansas a few years back. My husband works for Boeing and we aren't "rich" or "high class" but we aren't poor either. However, when we first moved here we were in serious culture shock. I myself am (moderately) tattooed and pierced, your typical artsy weirdo. We're also young parents of 3 small girls, so meeting moms in Mt Pleasant and downtown chucktown who are well within their late 30s and early 40s, who obviously had a lot of money, was kind of offsetting for a long time (about the first year) and I felt very out of place, haha. However, I found out quickly that not everyone who has money is stuck up, and although Charleston in general isn't as much of a melting pot as where we came from, it has plenty of perks.
-Fresh produce (farmers markets galore in Mt Pleasant at least)
-Laid back atmosphere
-Numerous outdoor activities throughout the year (everyone is always outside doing something, running, fishing, kayaking, just taking a walk, biking, etc)
-Southern Charm is everywhere-Spanish Oaks, winding roads, marshes, basket weavers, authentic southern food
-Nightlife (when we get the chance) although be prepared to dress to impress, heels and dresses
-Clean, less crowded beaches (or so I've heard from CA friends). Sullivan's is great for kids, IOP is most touristy but it and Folly are both great for surfing/boogie boarding
-Weather: as long as you can handle humidity, overall it's a really mild climate here. Humidity sucks, sure, but the 85ish temps in the summer makes it tolerable to an extent and the warm winters, imo, are worth it.
The one thing I'm not so impressed with is food (Aside from southern style). But then again, I'm not a fan of seafood. ;]
I live in Charleston but work quite a bit in San Diego. There are some similarities in that both places seem pretty laid back, but there is definitely a different vibe between the two. Hard to explain, but I just think Charleston is more casual, and a bit easier going.
We moved here from Kansas a few years back. My husband works for Boeing and we aren't "rich" or "high class" but we aren't poor either. However, when we first moved here we were in serious culture shock. I myself am (moderately) tattooed and pierced, your typical artsy weirdo. We're also young parents of 3 small girls, so meeting moms in Mt Pleasant and downtown chucktown who are well within their late 30s and early 40s, who obviously had a lot of money, was kind of offsetting for a long time (about the first year) and I felt very out of place, haha. However, I found out quickly that not everyone who has money is stuck up, and although Charleston in general isn't as much of a melting pot as where we came from, it has plenty of perks.
-Fresh produce (farmers markets galore in Mt Pleasant at least)
-Laid back atmosphere
-Numerous outdoor activities throughout the year (everyone is always outside doing something, running, fishing, kayaking, just taking a walk, biking, etc)
-Southern Charm is everywhere-Spanish Oaks, winding roads, marshes, basket weavers, authentic southern food
-Nightlife (when we get the chance) although be prepared to dress to impress, heels and dresses
-Clean, less crowded beaches (or so I've heard from CA friends). Sullivan's is great for kids, IOP is most touristy but it and Folly are both great for surfing/boogie boarding
-Weather: as long as you can handle humidity, overall it's a really mild climate here. Humidity sucks, sure, but the 85ish temps in the summer makes it tolerable to an extent and the warm winters, imo, are worth it.
The one thing I'm not so impressed with is food (Aside from southern style). But then again, I'm not a fan of seafood. ;]
You sound like exactly the type of family we would want to be friends with, in fact my wife is originally from Kansas City. Thinking of moving next year from Seattle. Can I ask where in Mt. Pleasant you live or in your opinion which subdivision is the best fit for you and your family? Cheers.
PS. The beaches in Southern Cali are nothing special IMHO and the water is still fairly cold even in the summer. The waves are also not small child friendly, ever. The wealthy folks from California have second homes or vacation on Maui for the nice beaches. From what I can tell in photos at least, Charleston beaches seem nice enough and more practical and if they are less crowded then all the better. Will be staying at Wild Dunes shortly and will know soon enough I guess.
Last edited by bluehorseshoe; 06-06-2013 at 04:22 PM..
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It would be for a job, and the possible move across the country scares the crap out of me! especially a couple weeks before the holidays!
