Leslie

Fascinating woman with an incredible mind and will.

FWIW I think you should buy a white plantation house and drink mint juleps and iced tea all day. You could go around saying, "I do declare," with a British accent. If you're eccentric enough they'll probably elect you mayor.

Sally Redux

I love it

Married2abrit

I was born and raised in Charleston and the vacinity, so I will try to give a bit of information. I would really recommend a visit to the area before committing to any job offer.

1) state has a $829 million dollar budget shortfall already for this fiscal year.
2) we have elected Nikki "crazy eyes" Haley (a tea party candidate) as our governor.
3) we have had double digit unemployment for a while now. I personally have a Master's degree (I usually work with the disabled population) and I'm currently working part-time in a shoe store making $7.50 per hour. It took me over a calendar year to find this job.
4) we are a "right to work" state as well as an "at will" state.
5) average income for Charleston area in a recent article is $30,000 to $35,000 per year.

SC is very much a bastion of the Republican party (my husband and I are democrats). People will look at you like you have 3 heads if you mention equal pay, work unions, health care, or rights for GLBT individuals.
Charleston has had Mayor Riley (or King Riley as he is sometimes called) for over 35 years, he's not going anywhere anytime soon. Summerville's mayor has been in that position for over 30 years. It's very much a "good ol' boy" network down here. There is racism-- sometimes overt and sometimes just the "undercurrent" of racism. This state has no hate crime legislation. In Newberry (mid-state) a black man was dragged behind a car until he died (last year). It will not be treated as a hate crime, just a "normal" homicide.

Schools will vary depending on where you live. Mt. Pleasant has good schools for Charleston county, most others are failing. Summerville (in a neighboring county) has one of the best school districts in the state (Dorchester District 2). It is quite a commute due to very heavy traffic. A trip of 16 miles to Summerville from North Charleston will take you over an hour. We have a very poor quality public transportation system. When my husband would visit from the UK it would take him 3 hours on the bus system to get to the mall literally 5 miles from our house. Busses run about once per hour and then most transfers take place downtown even if your going in the completely opposite direction. Our "rush hour" starts around 4:00pm and goes until around 7:00pm.

North Charleston (where I live, but it's a big area with lots of "different vibes") has 13 known gangs. Mayor Riley (for Charleston, not North Charleston) brags about his city's crime statistics, BUT he does not include MURDERS or RAPES as violent crimes-- can you believe that ??? You did mention that a millionaire offered the job to your husband, so you will see for yourself the great divide between the "haves" and the "have nots" in this area of the country (my husband posted on his observations as a brit living down here a year or so ago; his "handle" was RJHayes000 if his posting history still shows from that long ago). Weatherwise it will be around 90 degrees for about 9 months of the year (also factor in the humidity and this will give heat indices of over 100 degrees very frequently).

I hope this information is helpful to you. I hope it isn't perceived as negative, but I feel you should have a realistic view of life here and not what is hidden from the tourists. Take care and be well.

S Folinsky

De nada. I have found that literature can give a feeling for a place -- on Charleston, you might want to read Pat Conroy's novels -- Prince of Tides or Beach Music.

Brit3964

Sadly a lot of what Married2abrit said is true for SC. It is staunch Republican territory. MB has 9% sales tax which is higher than NJ! So much for the claim of a low tax State. I doubt it'll improve under "Crazy eyes" Hayley either.

Part of the reason for the budget deficit is because they relied heavily on indirect taxation, such as property taxes to fill in the gaps in (lack of) public funding. When the crash of 2008 happened, house prices fell and so did the property taxes. Then there was the $800m+ giveaway Boeing tax breaks.

If you look up the definition of corruption, SC would be it IMO.

Domnnicki

I also live in Myrtle Beach SC, the summers are WAY too hot for me I also miss having the four seasons. On the plus side it is great living so near to the beach

Sally Redux

Thanks everyone. Married2abrit and Brit3964, this is exactly the kind of stuff I am worried about

Ozzidoc

Friends moved there three years ago, from San Diego. He's white Aussie. She's German/Pakistan Australian

They told us that there are about 50 churches within 30 miles. This may be an exaggeration, I dont know.

Within two weeks of arriving in the town they moved into a house they purchased. For the next week there seemed to be a church war, with all sorts of people knocking on the door asking them to come to church, which church they attend etc.

My friend explained that she is Muslim. No-one came back, everyone stayed away...

They are just tying up loose ends for their return to San Diego

Sally Redux

Oh good grief

Brit3964

I had that when I first moved down here (2004). A steady stream of various denominations knocking at my door. To be fair, they were pleasant about it although I remember one girl desperately trying to recruit me (one of the "Happy-Clappy" crowd). As she left she said "He's coming, really He is". I replied when He arrives, let me know and I'll come LOL

Apart from the odd Jehovah Witness visits, I don't seem to attract them anymore. I'm sure I'm marked down as a Heathen

Sally Redux

My husband did mention there was an Indian governor as a positive, didn't realize it was a crazed Teabagger

Happy Clappies would just be the icing on the cake.

LA is looking better all the time, the only problem being his current lack of job security.

nethead

To be fair I think A LOT of urban and suburban areas of the US have that many churches in that area.

So you're not going to be moving to Charleston then Sally?

Sally Redux

Bob

Welcome to BE M2B and great first post!

N1cky

Nice post

Based on this post, I would see all this an advantage (for you Sally) from moving from LA

1) Budget deficit nowhere near as high as California
3) Double digit unemployment also exists in California, not really an issue for your circumstances where if hubby's job changes likelihood of staying in the same state is small.
5) Again average income isn't going to affect you personally, neither of you would be looking for jobs, however houses, cost of living expenses are likely to be MUCH lower than LA

13 Gangs, around a 10th of LA I guess. It will be cooler and you have your air con on all the time anyway, and by your own admission never go anywhere so the humidity won't kill you.