One's bigger and on the water; what are the other major differences besides housing costs? Any insights are welcomed. Thanks!

Off topic since I can't comment on house prices, but I love all three of these places.

Greenville has one of the best small city downtowns in the country: restaurants galore, minor league baseball, festive parks, touring orchestras, shows, country music, at the Civic Center, all in a walkable neighborhood.

My sister and her husband live in a penthouse condo on McBee Street and love it at a price that would make a New Yorker sob.

Mountains, not beach, though.

And a wonderful university and I think a first class museum. I know Charleston also has a university, but I think Furman contributes more to the town in not competing with the historicity of Charleston. And Charleston isn't Mt. Pleasant.
And I believe there is a beautiful retirement community there, if that is the aim also.

Thank-you, both.

Are you comparing these location to NYC or CT? I think where you are moving from will have an impact on which you would prefer. If so, I'd say Charleston over Greenville.

She's only inquired about Mt. Pleasant and the beaches there really.

Charleston is in her title
Based on her previous posts I don't think she will like Greenville

Are you looking for a place to live?

I gave up compare and contrast when I graduated from undergrad. I don't know enough about Greenville to do an A paper anyway. It's a nice town to visit, and I know people who live there. They come to Charleston every chance they get.

Ask specifics at city-data.com if you have relocation questions.

Looking for a smaller city setting. Don't want to be stuck in the suburbs. What are rentals like in Charleston? Where are they? Greenville has an interesting vibe going, little micro-city vibe. Realtors in the Charleston area push for Mt Pleasant, say it has easy access to the city, less expensive real estate, but we don't want to buy, just rent perhaps.

You probably need to trust realtors and not travel people. Sue is great but we don't know "who" you are, where you come from, and for sure Sue probably doesn't know a lot about rentals in Charleston or maybe even Mt Pleasant. Mt. Pleasant is a BIG city--and like any, has "neighborhoods"--just like Charleston--OR Greenville.
Visit and look. Fodor's is a travel board, not a real estate board.

Suewoo knows Mt Pleasant very well.

Greenville has a nice little downtown, but it's a REALLY little downtown. Only a few blocks. It's nice what they've done with it, but there's not much of it...at all. It's not what someone used to a city would call a city. Suewoo called it a town and Greenville really is more of a town than a city. To me, there's less going on than Athens, GA. I was curious and Athens is double the size of G'ville. Then I checked Augusta GA and its 3x the size. Athens is a very cool big town/small city but it's SMALL. The Greenville-Spart area is big...but it's suburban sprawl. Anyway, if you are looking for good restaurants and stuff to do I just don't think Greenville is what most people are looking for. Real estate is a steal, it's a good (conservative) area in which to raise a family and it's easy to zip down to Atlanta for stuff to do or up to Asheville for mountains or down to Charleston for great restaurants and the ocean. But it's not much of a destination town/city...although the renovated downtown is nice enough. I just think relocating to Greenville is a tough relo for someone moving from the Northeast. Charleston has much more going on. Mt. Pleasant is a suburb of C'ton but a nice one. Real estate IN Charleston is very expensive and rents are as well. A family member bought a house in Charleston for the kiddo because it made more sense as an investment and was cheaper in the long run that renting for four years. If you can find a suitable place IN Charleston, that would be great. If you are looking at Mt Pleasant, suewoo knows it well. If you want something on the water, the islands would be good choices. I think you would be bored to tears in downtown Greenville.

My dear BFF is a realtor in Charleston, so I know some third hand stuff about rentals. Google Melinda Mitchell and contact her if you are inclined.

I never felt stuck in the burbs in Mt P, but I was in the old section near the harbor. Everything I needed was close by, and I could be downtown in 20 minutes. If you end up out 17 it might feel burbish. There are new apartments on Coleman (350 unit building in my old hood-made it easier to leave!) that might be what you are looking for. But coastal living will not be cheap. The closer you get to the ocean the higher the price. I sold my house for almost 3x what I paid for it.

I did overstate, and Sue is a great and reliable source. But when moving to a place I do think you have to go and spend time there to understand how things "work".

Thank-you all! The difficulty I'm finding with realtors is that few want to handle a rental rather than a sale. I wondered about how small town Greenville actually was, Starrs thanks a lot. You paint a good picture.
My husband looked at the Elan apts on Meeting St in downtown Charleston but doesn't want to pay $3,000.00 a month for 2 bedrooms or even 2500.00. But, you're right. This is a travel board and I wanted the opinions of those who had traveled to Greenville and I got them.

Anything in the Historic District will cost you. Lots. It's prime real estate.

Look at Beaufort.

My friend has rental properties and is happy to help people find them. But you can usually find them yourself. She stays very busy, and it would be ( I THINK) faster to search on your own.

The best way to find a rental is to come down, drive around and investigate yourself. Seriously.
(A conversation this weekend with friends who needed to do the same)

Beaufort is an excellent idea. A neighborhoody feel, close to lots of things. Excellent choice.

$3000/month in Charleston sounds about right.

How much do you want to be near the coast? When you say you're looking for a smaller city setting with an "interesting vibe" I immediately thought of Chattanooga, TN. I'd certainly choose it over Greenville.

If you want to "try out" an area, monthly rentals of vrbo.com units in Jan-March time frame is always an option.