Should we move to South Carolina?

In My Humble Opinion
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My Dear Husband has decided we can’t keep living in California. We are retired (at age 61 and 62; lucky us) and it is expensive here. Also, the quality of life seems to be declining (we live in the LA area). The city seems to lack funds for basics (fix streets, hire cops). Graffitti is getting worse. Our neighborhood is not an upscale one and we certainly can’t afford to move to a more upscale one even tho our house appears to be worth triple what we paid for it 14 years ago. I personally love living here and do not want to move anywhere. But now! he’s decided the place to go is Aikin South Carolina. An entire continent away. I think this is way way too far. He says, ok you find a place then. So I am consulting the experts.

I did see a thread about where to live from a few months ago (Cities/States With Prettiest Scenery - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board) but that OP had different criteria. We too want not too expensive, but don’t care about mountains, and do care about climate: must not ever be cold! College town would be good. Must have Starbucks; would prefer Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s (how in the world am I going to leave LA???). Some percent of liberal thinkers would help. (I lived for 2 very long years in a small town in Georgia and did not enjoy that experience…) Any suggestions? Anyone from Aikin or environs want to pitch in? Of course since I don’t really want to move I will be picky, but I am really trying to be open minded about this. All ideas greatly appreciated.

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. . . ’ Some percent of liberal thinkers would help. (I lived for 2 very long years in a small town in Georgia and did not enjoy that experience…) "

Then you don’t want to move to South Carolina. Let me tell you a story.

I was raised outside Washington, D.C. Lots of culture, etc. My husband is English. We were living outside London for a few years and his company, which has a branch in Charlotte, NC, asked if we wanted to be transferred there. I was tired of the constant rain and chill, the lack of sunlight, the high prices, etc. In short, the charm of Merry Olde had worn off.

In addition to DC, I have lived in Michigan, Ohio, California (born there), and I’ve visited many places around the world. I’d also been through the south on vacations, and I thought “Sure, why not? People are people, right?”

Wrong. After we had moved into a very nice (and ultra cheap!) huge house on an acre in SC just south of Charlotte, I realized I was in hell. The natives, almost without exception, were hostile and rude. I was calleed a “Yankee” in what was obviously an insulting tone so many times I can’t tell you. I got so sick of seeing yahoos driving around with t heir dogs nearly spilling out the backs of pickups. The accent drove me crazy, and I’m someone who’s used to accents. The bouffy 80s hairdos, the long fake nails, the complete and utter moronic attitudes. . . .this is the Bible belt. These are republicans who will always be republicans but who don’t have a clue what it means to be a republican.

South Carolina is consistently one of the lowest scorers in educational testing, and I believe NC isn’t far behind. Since most people don’t leave the state they’re born in, you see what you end up with. Charlotte has all the stores you mentioned, but the people in them will drive you crazy.

I’ve travelled all over South Carolina, from Greenville to the coast. Believe me when I tell you if you want intelligent conversation, people who know how to get things done, and good old fashioned politeness, you do not want to move there.

[The above is just my opinion.]

The most horrendous bumper sticker I saw when I was down there (plastered between rebel flag stickers): “Teach a Yankee to drive and point him north.”

Southerners are still fighting the civil war, which no one told them they already lost. The south will never “rise again” because it never stood up in the first place.

Oh, and the reason I have this attitude? Southerners gave it to me.

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SoCal to SC would be culture shock.

All the stores you mentioned should be available in any sizeable city in the US.

Maybe the Flordia Keys? Trouble with Florida is a lot of weird people, thunderstorms, and hurricanes.

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I live just down the road from Aiken, and it’s not a bad place. The cost of living is low, and you can afford probably three times the house you have in SoCal. It’s a retirement community, as you know, but is 20 miles or so from Augusta, GA, a decent-sized city. The metropolitan area encompasses several counties within SC & GA, and nearly 500,000 people call the region home. Aiken itself has only around 20,000 or so residents, and it a fairly quiet hamlet. There is not a Barnes & Noble nor Whole Foods in Aiken itself, but both are in Augusta, along with a lot of other decent stores. Crime rate in Aiken is low, and Augusta is not bad for a city of it’s size. Aiken is a Polo town, and signs of the equestrian population is everywhere.

Aiken is quickly growing, just opening it’s second Wal-Mart last month. There is a Home Depot, Lowe’s, and several nice grocery stores. In terms of restaurants, there is a Fatz Cafe, O’Charley’s, Ruby Tuesday, Outback, Applebee’s, and Red Lobster, along with the usual run of fast food. Across the river in Augusta, there are tons of places from which to choose. Aiken has almost everything you need, and the rest is a short drive down the road.

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Oh, and forgot to mention. There is a Starbucks located within Kroger, but not a full size stand-alone store I don’t believe. There is one or more in Augusta. It does get a little chilly at times, but rarely gets below 25 or so in the coldest times (although it did hit 14 one day last week, but that’s rare.) Annual snowfall is less than a inch, but we get occasional 2-3 inch storms every few years. There was a freak storm in 1972 I think that dumped a foot or so, and that’s the record snowfall. It does get hot, however.

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I am from Myrtle Beach. My part of the state is a bit more liberal than the inland but it is still quite conservative. I have not lived there in 18 years but still visit often. I also have family in Greenville SC. If I had a choice about where to live in SC I would probably pick Charleston.

How on earth did he arrive at Aikin?

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We’re glad you took the suggestion. The bumper sticker is actually “Save the south, teach a Yankee to drive.”

Beaufort, SC is very charming and literate. They have a thriving film industry (The Great Santini, Prince of Tides & Forrest Gump were all filmed there) and Pat Conroy was my friend’s english teacher. A very cool historic district and waterfront area. It is a bit small though, so I doubt it would have a Whole Foods.

Also, there are several military bases so you’d better like “the sound of freedom.”

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Thanks for the answers so far. scdad, what’s it like in the summer? Someone in that other thread indicated it was pretty nasty in August (as in humid & hot).

bannerrefugee, he said he found it on some lists of best places for retirees to live, I think.

MonaLizaT, I have no big objection to the “sound of freedom.” However, I am a Yankee; will the natives be trying to run me out of town?

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While I agree that parts of SC and NC can be backward (“God’s country,” they call it), I think that Sprockets post does a disservice to the majority of southerners. I think that most are far more gracious than other parts of the country.

I was a consultant to the DoD for a number of years and Beaufort and Charleston were favorites. MCRD Parris Island is located in Beaufort (boot camp for Marines) and it is near Hilton Head (same county) which has a large retirement/vacation population. (Don’t believe the Sun City *Hilton Head * name - it’s really Bluffton.) But alas, yes, Beaufort does suffer from hot and humid summers. Its climate is similar to ours in Jacksonville, FL. Give the Shrimp Festival a try this July, though. It is a very water-oriented community.

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How do you feel about humidity? South Carolina is considerably *steamier * than SoCal. My wife and I lived in North Carolina before we moved to L.A… We had a BIG back yard that backed up to some woods and we almost never spent any time in it because it was so freaking humid and buggy.

If you’ve already lived in a small town in Georgia and didn’t like it you might think twice about moving to South Carolina. Some people really like the small town southern vibe but my wife and I couldn’t get out of North Carolina fast enough. We never really made any close friends, probably because we were liberal atheists who weren’t interested in basketball or lawncare. I’m not trying to be snotty or elitist here. Our neighbors were nice people and clearly very happy. We tried to make friends with them and they tried to make friends with us, but the overtures never went anywhere beyond a friendly nod at the mailbox. We just didn’t have much in common with each other.

As you can imagine, we feel right at home in L.A… :smiley:

If L.A. is too expensive you might consider looking for a cheaper place to live that’s still out west. The climate will be better and the culture shock won’t be so great.

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Oh believe me I have thought twice; I don’t want to move to SC. HE (DH) wants to. I love LA. (I too am a liberal atheist, altho I do like basketball and gardening–lawn care, not so much.)

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Aiken has a fairly large equestrian population, if you are into that.

Why not Asheville, NC? Oh yeah, it gets cold. But it is lovely and more liberal than much of the south.

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I’ll weigh in. As my name suggests I’m a transplanted northerner. I live just south of Charlotte, in NC, but 5 minutes from the border of SC.

Compared to the weather in NY/NJ, this is a dream. I’ve been here 3 winters now and I’ve seen snow twice. Both times it was just a dusting that was pretty to see but melted on its own within hours. It was 70 here yesterday. It does get down into the 30s on occasion however, but not often and not for long.

Charlotte it growing fast and has most of the amenities I need (including Trader Joes!) I live 20 minutes from the city but I’m surrounded by horse farms. I have 3 acres of land and a 3000 Sq. Ft. house and my property taxes are $2200 year. In NJ, I had .25 of an acre and my taxes were $11000.

Aiken is obviously smaller, and I haven’t been there, but overall, we love living in the South. Sure there are some adjustments, but mostly they are charming and quirky, as opposed to true obstacles.

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It’s hot and often very humid. In my part there are swarms of mosquitos if it’s not winter, I’m sure Aiken is not much different.

Go visit the area, also visit NC. I am familiar with the Winston Salem, Salisbury and also the outer banks of that state. All strike me as nice.

NC seems somewhat better educated, more affluent and more urban then SC. The weather is a little colder but still quite nice.

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I couldn’t have said it better myself. I had the same experiences in NC. I was never so happy to see a state in my rear view mirror.

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To be fair, I can tell you I had identical experiences there. Yankee go home, blah blah blah. Was it everyone? Of course not. Was it a LOT of people? Yes, yes it was. That’s not even opinion, it’s actual fact. When I lived there it was clear that I was not welcome as a “Yankee” and a NY liberal. Gracious? There were certainly some very gracious people, but the overall attitude I personally received was “We don’t want you here. LEAVE”. I gladly did so and have never looked back. Living there was a terrible, hateful experience. I wouldn’t move back if someone gave me a house for free.

*cue southerners shouting “GOOD!! WE’RE GLAD!!”

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A lot of the reason for hostility towards Yankees is they come down South to get away from the hustle and bustle of the North, then start complaining that there’s nothing to do down here. Then they start wanting malls and Starbucks and shit. I like fields and trees personally.

Anyway, your average Southern person isn’t going to be hostile towards you unless you make an ass of yourself or act like you’re better than them.

I’ll third North Carolina, I swear every time I talk to a customer from NC they are very polite and friendly people.

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I say go for it, if it will keep 2 more Californians out of Nevada! :smiley: You all have nearly wrecked the joint already.

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I, too, lived in South Carolina just minutes from Charlotte, NC (Rock Hill, SC), and that whole Piedmont area is very different from what you’re used to in California. Plus it’s hot and very humid. I’ve also lived in Asheville, NC, and I second that it’s a great town- I loved it.

You’ll probably end up moving here- all you old farts do, eventually. Sigh.

:wink:

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OP, you and your husband should try the questionnaire on http://www.findyourspot.com . You feed in all your criteria about what you want in a new city or town, and it will give you several options, geared toward the things that are most important to you.