the oil spill has made me consider renting a beachfront house in SC,NC or florida east coast.have been staying at beachfront near Tallahassee for 20 years,but this oil spill will kill the whole coast--an incredibly bad situation for millions of people and wildlife--for 10-20 years.Meanwhile iv got 4 grandkids looking foward to their first beach vacation, so i need an alternative soon.Going in June, we live in atl and would like to keep drive to 6-7hours.Any help/leads would be greatly appreciated.No condos or resort properties,just single homes on beach

Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island, outside of Charleston, SC are beautiful. Sullivan's is more cottage-y and probably more expensive. IOP has many newer, larger homes. Very pretty beaches - but not white sand. Sand sand I think your family would love it. 4-5 hours drive for you.
There are several rental agencies, including http://www.islandrealty.com/
You could even rent on Dewees Is. which is accessible only via boat (from the Isle of Palms Marina) Good luck!

I always use vrbo.com but this may also help w/what you are seeking - check out www.ncbrunswick.com.

You'll really want to keep an eye on the news, because if the oil is picked up by the gulf loop current it could go around the Keys and up the east coast. No way of telling right now. If you do decide on the east coast, I agree that the beaches around Charleston would be a good choice.

This whole thing makes me sick. Our beaches are beautiful-for now.

Surfside Beach, SC...very nice oceanfront homes...10 minute drive to Myrtle (if you want a lot of activities) but Surfside is very nice!!

Hilton Head is a great family beach well inside your driving radius. www.vrbo.com and Sea Pines Realty are good resources.

thanks alot--ive already emailed a few realtors.I have problem using VRBO since i need 2 houses near each other, and since i dont know area, ill need to rely on realtor for help.Ive used VRBO before