Anyone care to comment on Charlotte vs. Charleston?

Apples and forklifts. Do you want to know about relocating?

Not now! : )

Sue is correct. VERY different. Charlotte is a wonderful city for being so large, but feeling small and accessible. We have basically torn down ALL our "history" in the name of shiny new buildings. Good corporate culture in supporting the life of the city. Good museums, particularly in the past 2 years with the addition of the downtown cultural corridor. Really pretty neighborhoods and quality of life. Geographically you can be in the mountains in 2 hours and at the beach in 3--not bad!!

Sue / Anyone else!

How does living differ to visiting?

We have visited 3 times, the latest was a month ago. We stayed on Edisto and went into Charleston frequently, loved it.

After over 100 trips away from Britain, we are sure SC is our favourite destination. We love heat, culture, architecture, eating out, sailing and nature. SC seemed to excel on all these fronts.

Which leads us to the coming years. Our son will leave home in 10 years, we will be 53 and will sell up to retire. Charleston looks so attractive, that's if we qualify through the immigration process which now seems very tough for white, middle aged Brits.

What are the downsides to life in Charleston?

Dickie_Gr: You can read suewoo's explanation above or here


EmilyPost, the most important thing to consider is employment. Jobs can be scarce and everyone and their brother wants to live there now. Traffic can be horrendous, and the politics are what they are. At the risk of sounding mean, and that's not my intent, there are so many people there now "from off" that some of Charleston's gentleness is gone. My best friend here is a real estate agent. Her name is Melinda Mitchell. She is excellent. Google her if you like.

One of the things that has happened on Isle of Palms is people have moved there and want to make things hard for others to do the same. Strange. And locals can be resentful when new people start trying to change everything to make it faster/bigger/like we had it up North.

I guess what I'm saying is that the welcome mat is rolled out quick for tourists and not so much for others. Just be aware. And do visit in August before making that decision

Ummm, I'll add that it depends on how people come into a place that has its "culture" established as to how they may or may not be welcomed. A lot of the Battery homes have been sold to absentee landlords. It changes the neighborhood.