Just received a job offer in Charleston. Anyone here live there? Any suggestions on suburbs or more rural areas to settle down?

Will be making some life decisions in the near future. Would be leaving Cincinnati suburbs.

Charleston is a sprawling area with huge differences in cost of living.

Where is the job etc?

Shop the rental/housing market carefully.  Pricing and crime areas.  Do you like traffic?  Because you will get a healthy dose of bad traffic.  Pinpointing employment area can help us give better advise.

Knowing the region of charleston would be helpful.

We full.

I live in the area.

In general, we are way over full but people keep moving here and they build more housing. That causes even more stress on infrastructure.

Commuting to your job can be the worst part of your day. Traffic patterns and time of day are key. You don’t want to cross the Don Holt westbound every day at 5pm.

The closer you get to downtown, the more expensive it is.

School district can be a factor if you have kids.

From June to September it’s pretty warm and humid. Dew point is typically in the mid 70s.

We need more specifics on your situation to give more help.

Job offer is in Ladson. I'd be looking for a home in that area along with surrounding areas (Monks Corner, Summerville, West Ashley, maybe even a bit more rural).

In general, rush hour traffic moves into Charleston, Mt Pleasant/Daniel Island in the morning, and back out in the afternoons. Ladson is on the fringe of that. Commute times are longer when school is in session.  A Summerville to Ladson commute would be relatively easy, as would be Crowfield area of Goose Creek.

If you live close by, school districts could be Charleston, Berkeley or Dorchester 2.

Housing prices continue to increase, without much inventory to choose from.

Hope that this helps out.

Moncks Corner.  LOL

I grew up there.  

Don't go to the West Ashley for a Ladson job.  Berkeley county is a where you want go, don't live in College Park.  I grew up on the Cooper River in a community called Pimlico.  Look toward that area if you want a bit more rural.

I’d say check out the Ladson/Summerville area. I grew up there.  Summerville is exploding from transplants.  Dad was USAF stationed at Charleston AFB. We move there in 1970.  Summerville schools district is pretty good still from what I hear.
Rural,for the Ladson and Summerville area would be towards Jedburg or Givhans or even as far out as Ridgeville and Holly Hill.  That’s the next little property value boom town.  I’d check it out, but be careful.  I understand gangs are already moving into the area in anticipation of an influx of new blood.

I can't help.  I live NW of Columbia SC and have done so since 1997.  But I can comment.  

I had to work in Dayton and Cincinnati on various gigs back around 1993-1997.  What concerns me the most about Huy Fong sriracha sauce being in limited supply is that I can no longer rub it in my eyes, nose, and butthole to kindly remind myself of the drives from the 'cinn-nasti-Wesside-yo to Sharonville, Miamisburg to downtown Cincy, or Loveland-to-EddieCMoses-Dayton-f*ng-Ohio.  

Any of those drives compared to the current Chucktown, SC?  Let the Pontificator talk you into taking a pepper spray class or just keep a supply of Carolina Reaper pepper at the ready.  

Welcome to the party, pal.  SC is full, but I hope things work out for you.

Lmao

Thanks for the replies, experiences, and insights fam.

If this goes through, one of the next things on the list is finding a range

SC has plenty.

I've got family in MC. the neighborhood they live in is pretty nice and quiet. The downside is that the lots aren't large unless you're on the water.

I sold my house near Santee about three months ago and prices out there aren't quite as outrageous. It's a 30 minute drive to MC from Holly Hill, Vance, Eutawville or Bonneau. If I was working in that area again, that's where I'd look, but I'm not a city person. I need acreage and trees.

All those Yankees you're trying to get away from? They're already here.

Yup, sadly. We've considered leaving Charleston due to the northern turds who have brought traffic, honking, white new balance shoes, dad jorts, and mustaches with them; it's like a cruise liner dropped them all off and they decided to stay.

We'll give it a few years but if the state flips either Scott or Graham or puts that douche Cunningham in the governor's mansion we'll look to head back to family in Arkansas or Tennessee.

I'm originally born and raised in FL. Yes, FL man here lol. Ohio has been pretty good to us, but we're contemplating a move away from the grey winters here. Charleston seemed to be a good mid-way point between all the way back to FL and the SC/NC/TN mountains. Charleston

Hoping ya'll are exaggerating. Can't imagine SC flipping blue soon.

It isn't going blue.  LOL


Charleston is just crowded as fuck because of jobs actually.  It isn't all an escape from the the blue north east.  Charleston has Boeing building 787s, and Volvo building cars within 25 miles of each other.  Those two alone feed the community.  The organic jobs bring supporting jobs which bring people.  There are people fleeing from the blue states but they are FLEEING the BS, we can hope they understand to remain the SC they fled to they must vote red.  

Native here As others have mentioned you'd probably be better off finding a home in the "North" area. (Summerville, Goose Creek, Moncks Corner, etc.) Not sure what your expectations for a house are or if you're planning on renting vs buying but inventory is definitely limited. Your money definitely goes further in Moncks Corner as far home size/ lot size and you'd probably be about 20 minutes or so from your job depending on where it's located exactly.

There are a few decent places to shoot.

This is the local contact for IDPA:

https://www.idpa.com/clubs/lowcountry-shooters-idpa/

As far as Sporting Clays goes there are 2 places I can think of. The 1st is Partridge Creek. It is a private club that I’ve been to before and they have a really nice set up.

https://www.partridgecreekgunclub.com

The other place I’ve never been too but is located in Berkeley County and is called Spring Grove Shooting Preserve.

https://www.springrove.com/huntoptions.shtml

There are a few indoor ranges as well. The best being Palmetto State Armory in Summerville. There is large private club with an outdoor range called Palmetto Gun Club (not affiliated with PSA) located in Summerville. They have 10 pistol lanes, a 200 yard rifle range and 800 yard long range rifle range. There is a cost associated with joining with info on their website.

http://www.palmettogunclub.org

The other outdoor options are in the Francis Marion National Forest located in Berkeley County. These ranges are open to the public. Twin Ponds is staffed by a Range Officer and has a 25 yard pistol range and 100 yard rifle range. The other is Boggy Head and it is a covered 100 yard rifle range that you can set up targets closer for pistol use. It can be a little wild there sometimes since it is unsupervised and I suggest going with at least one other person as you will need to go downrange at times to change targets and wouldn’t want to leave your stuff unattended.

Twin Ponds:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/scnfs/recarea/?recid=47391

Boggy Head
https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/scnfs/recarea/?recid=47389

Another native here...

Like other have said, for a Ladson job, look at Summerville, Goose Creek or Moncks Corner. The "Summerville Area" is pretty big so make sure you take that into consideration. If you buy, most home prices in decent neighborhoods start at $275K. Goose Creek isn't too bad as long as you stay away from Red Bank Road. DO NOT live off of College Park Rd if you can help it. A good realtor can help you there. Give Berkeley County a good look, lots of hidden gems to live in.

Considering the shooting range aspect, most of those previously listed are not too bad. Some private ranges have an extensive waiting list for membership. Go to Boggy Head if you have a suicide wish. Some crazy mofo's at that one.

From the Hanahan / North Charleston area my daily commute to the "Ladson" area is in the opposite direction of the majority of traffic so it's generally not too bad. However the traffic down Palmetto Commerce, Ingleside Blvd. / Northside Drive headed to the East bound side of I26 is ridiculous especially when school is in session.

Keep this in mind when considering living in Summerville, Goose Creek or any place North of "Ladson". The hours you're working will have a big impact on how heavy traffic is, if you're headed to work at 6:30 AM it's a breeze, 7:30 AM brings the suck.

OP - you might consider renting until you get a feel for the area since there are plenty of homes and apartments off of Patriot Blvd or even Broadstone Apts on Palmetto Commerce.

If you are willing to drive an hour north for a shooting range.  Panteo is in Swansea and they go out 600 yards on steel and have 5 open bays of steel pistol targets.  It is a great place to go and get real practice.  It is a hot range, you can draw shoot, rapid fire is expected etc.  You won't find a need for another range if you join there.

Thanks for all this info @slayer1 @Francis_Marion @Clicker58 @RattleCanAR

Really appreciated. After looking at Zillow & Realtor apps for the past 1.5 weeks, I can see how much new construction there is in the Charleston Suburbs. Booming.

@RattleCanAR - thanks for the recent info on the range an hour away. My current range here in OH is an hour away and very similar to your description. You are your own range master (if no one else is there), can draw/shoot/move, etc. That's what I'm looking for.

Maybe I'll see some of you in SC soon...

I've been meaning to make the trip up there, Twin Ponds in the Marion Forrest isn't doing me much good anymore and that's almost an hour drive for me from John's Island.

The crew at Panteao are awesome and the place is great fun. If a membership doesn't appeal to you they sell day passes which are a good deal, I still have a few!

Within ten days of arrival, you must report to the local PSA retail establishment and purchase a green card in your choice of caliber.

Update: bought a house in Summerville. Closing first week of Oct. See you deplorables around in about a month.

[edit]
Nevermind, already stated.

Welcome to the ‘ville. Long time resident. shoot me a message if you have any questions.

Yeah, you can do some good training at Panteo.
They don’t mind a little moving around. In fact, they have a 360 range too. Plus, the cost is very reasonable.
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Awesome!  I grew up in Summerville next door to John McKissick. Guy always bugged me to try out.  Hell no.  Too fat and lazy.