OK it's looking like I'll be in Charleston after graduation. Everybody says they love this city, but I never talked to anyone who actually lived there.

I'm looking for advice on what part of the city to live in, what there is to do, even specific apt recommendations. Also, how to go about finding roommates or do you think I should go it alone? What does TWW have to say about Charleston?

thanks guys!

4/29/2008 9:26:21 PM

I live in Charleston if you want to PM me and ask any specific questions.

Downtown is expensive, but close to all the bars and stuff. Downtown is kind of a shit hole if you ask me.

Mount pleasant is also expensive, but more high end.

Do you mind if i ask where you will be working? (You can PM me the answer if you dont want everyone to know). Knowing that, I can prob recommend a place to start looking that would be convenient to your work/stuff to do.

4/29/2008 9:41:14 PM

I'm living in Charleston this summer too, on the Isle of Palms.

4/29/2008 9:45:17 PM

Sweet, I just moved down here after graduation in December.

If you are looking to rent an apartment, I highly recommend Mt Pleasant. I live there, and its perfect for the morning commute (you go against traffic whichever way you go), just a few minutes away from the beach (Isle of Palms), and is a nice part of town to be. Stay away from the North Charleston area, it's pretty sketch and is in the top 10 list of worst crime cities in the US. Also, stay away from Summerville. It's a nice place, but the commute is hell. Rush hour on I-26 is worse than to RTP on I-40 I think. I don't know too much about downtown, but I know some places are pretty ghetto while others aren't so bad. It all depends on what part of downtown you're in. Daniel Island is really nice, and has a Brier Creek kinda feel to it...but it is pricey and you will sometimes get a whiff of the paper mill (which is less than pleasant). The other suburbs I don't know too much about.

As for stuff to do, there is plenty. There's your typical historical stuff, which is pretty cool (Yorktown, the Battery, the Market, other downtown stuff, etc). We have two main beaches (that I know of): Isle of Palms and Folly Beach. IoP is the place where all the locals go, as there aren't really any hotels or anything there. There's plenty of public parking, and let me just say, the beach there is awesome. It's really wide and uneroded like many NC beaches. I can't speak for crowds much though yet as it isn't beach season yet. There's plenty of shopping... you got your Mt Pleasant Town Centre, downtown, and a big mall in N. Charleston. The night life is pretty good as well. Tons of bars and clubs downtown. There's a lot of young people here our age.

If you got any more questions feel free to PM me or just ask on here. If you're leaning towards Mt. P for an apartment I can give you recommendations. Good luck!

4/29/2008 10:02:00 PM

^ Pretty much what he said. I lived in Mount Pleasant for ~3 years. I'd move back.

I'd also recommend renting a house in the Avondale area of West Ashley, or out on James Island.

4/29/2008 10:07:44 PM

i used to live in downtown charleston.

if you need roomies you should probably try like the cofc website (they have grad programs so you could get an older roommate prob) or the musc website.

downtown is kind of gross; you can find nice spots but you have to be particular about the area you choose. i would stay around cofc. even places by musc and the citadel can be sketch. there aren't a lot of apartment buildings downtown, most of the "apartments" are just bedrooms in old houses or old houses cut up into apartments. and they are (usually) a lot of $$$$ for a tiny amount of living space (at least that was the case when i lived there). plus the places are old so ac/heat bills can be HUGE. there is one "high rise" apartment building that is semi-nice. it is older but it could be promising...sergeant jasper. i had a friend that lived there but it is an older building.

i agree w/ what everyone else says. if you can, live in mt. pleasant.

there's always west ashely too i guess but we used to always call it west nasty so...yea. mt. pleasent for sure. there are tons of nice new shopping centers etc out there.

4/29/2008 10:13:00 PM

Things I was wondering-

Are there any 18+ clubs (it sucks being 20)

Are there any cool culture things like a neat theater?

Is there much on the Isle of Palms, or do you have to drive to downtown for groceries and stuff?

4/29/2008 10:15:25 PM

have family that lives on johns island and they love it.

4/29/2008 10:16:11 PM

fyi, charleston is smoke-free.

4/29/2008 10:37:03 PM

paging aea

4/29/2008 10:37:52 PM

Dunno about 18+ clubs...as me and my friends are over 21 (which is a wonderful feeling btw hah).

Not sure if there's a theater like the Galaxy or whatever in Raleigh. I'm sure there is though. They do have a neat little aquarium and other cultural things. I believe there's a decent local music scene as well.

As for Isle of Palms stuff...not sure. I know there's some good restaurants and I think a bar or two, but beyond that I don't know. If you do have to leave the island for the other stuff, it's not bad at all. If you hop on the connector, it's literally 3 minutes from Mt Pleasant Town Centre which has everything you could possibly need (plus a really good movie theater).

As for Charleston being smoke free....yep...most (not all) bars are smoke free, and I love it. I come home without smelling like shit.

4/29/2008 11:48:58 PM

i lived in west ashley in 2004-2005 and it was ok. lots of apartments. traffic wasn't too bad most of the time.

4/29/2008 11:52:58 PM

there USED to be a movie theater kinda like the galaxy downtown on king st. don't know if it still exists though

4/30/2008 1:03:25 AM

kiawah island

4/30/2008 2:14:22 AM

I will be teaching engineering classes at the Navy base. I believe it's 5 miles or so north of the city center. I don't want to live on the base.

My main concerns are - close to work, avoid traffic, stuff to do. Would like to keep cost to $400-$500/month - is this reasonable? I'd be willing to have roommates. Also an area with young people would be nice!

4/30/2008 9:14:02 AM

Been living in Charleston for almost three years now. Lived downtown for the first two years and on Sullivans Island for the past year.

I'm fairly sure the Navy Base is in North Charleston. Not too much going on in North Charleston...pretty much the worst area of Charleston (which is not that bad, its just the rest of Charleston is great). The least amount of young people are in North Charleston...then I would say Mt. Pleasant is next. Most of the younger kids are in the downtown, James Island, and West Ashley areas. As far as a place that's close to North Charleston that you could live in?? It really doesn't matter too much. James Island would probably be the furthest (I'm guessing this since I don't know exactly where the Navy Base is). There are some affordable apartments in West Ashley. Mt Pleasant is a nice place, but also a little more expensive.

And there are plenty of great places to live downtown...I'm guessing the people in this thread have had bad experiences. There aren't any real "apartments" downtown with the exception of the Courtyard on Mary St (very generic apartments, but in a great location in the emerging Upper King area). However, it would be extremely hard to find a place downtown in the $400-500 range. I got lucky and found a place for $450 when I moved down here...but that's the exception. One bedrooms are usually $700-900. Even when you split it up with roommates, you're usually looking around $600 as a low figure.

And for the person living in Isle of Palms for the summer....try to work on getting a fake ID. Off the top of my head I can't think of any 18+ bars/clubs. There are a couple bars on Isle of Palms. I worked at the Windjammer for half a summer. But you are right next to Sullivans Island, which has a couple really good bars (Poes and Off the Hook). There is a grocery store on Isle of Palms, so you don't have to drive to Mt. Pleasant to go to the grocery store. There is also a really good shopping/movie/restaurant area right over the Isle of Palms Connector (the Towne Centre).

4/30/2008 10:49:59 AM

Well, I was stationed in Charleston from 02-04 and grew up going down to visit my grandparents who live on James ISland.
If you are working at the Naval Weapons Station then it sounds like Mt. Pleasant is going to be your gest bet.
526 runs into North Charleston which will take you to the Navy base without having to live in North Charleston or Summerville which as mentioned earlier is less than ideal.

I would recomend trying to live in one of the apartment complexes off of Rifle Range road, Anna Knapp, or near Shem Creek. There are quite a few nice resturants/nightlife in that area and it will keep you close to 526, the malls etc.

One of my good friends is a Nurse at MUSC and commutes downtown from that area and as someone else said, goes against traffic more often than not.

If you were less concerned about the commute another option which is affordable is renting a one bedroom in the seargent Jasper which is basically the only high rise apartment on the water in downtwon charleston. It is a nice old building with ample parking and zero commute to an amazing amount of beautiful places downtown. I lived there first then moved out to Mt. Pleasant to live with some friends.
It's an amazing city and lots to do.
My best friend Gerald is a bartender/manager at Creekside Bar in grill, on shem creek in Mt. Pleasant. He will be the big tall guy with the NC State hat on or highly visable... good place to watch games!

4/30/2008 10:57:32 AM

I just moved in yesterday, and this city is kinda confusing to get around. Its like they don't believe in street signs.

5/16/2008 12:38:27 PM

i love charleston- moving there in less than a month. I've got a place right on meeting street, just a few blocks from the water

5/16/2008 3:09:54 PM

bttt

11/18/2008 1:00:10 PM

I was offered a full scholarship to Charleston Law and have been considering accepting. Anyone know about the reputation of the law school?

Also, how much would it cost for a decent 1 bedroom downtown?

11/18/2008 1:53:37 PM

i think someone else has a thread exactly like this one. maybe you guys can hang out once you move

11/18/2008 2:39:53 PM

if or whenever new york drives me completely crazy I plan on moving to Charleston.

11/18/2008 3:09:07 PM

^^^ ask jbrick!!!

and a 1 bedroom could be $$$. i lived in a tiny ass 3 bedroom PIECE of a house (not even a whole house) like 2blocks away from cofc and it was like 1500/month (so 500 each plus utilities). and utilities were expensive because the house was so old and not well insulated. and my bedroom was like a closet.

11/18/2008 3:42:07 PM

Ive been here almost 4 years now and love it.

I started out with an apartment in Mount Pleasant, then bought a house out in Summerville. I still work on Daniel Island and yes, the commute sucks sometimes, but isnt super horrible (nothing like RTP). Its 26 miles door to door from my house to work, and it takes me between 45-60 minutes depending on what time i leave the house. If you are on I-26 between 6:30-8:00, you are fucked. I leave the house around 8:15, and it puts me to work by 9 most mornings.

I bought a house out in Summerville because I got a 2600 sq ft home with 4br, a pool, garage, and a nice yard for 175k. You cant get anything like that in Mt. Pleasant. I figure I will keep doing the commuting thing for a while, then look at places in Mt. Pleasant once I have a decent amount of equity in the home I have now.

I didnt realize so many TWWers were in Charleston. Any of you do any fishing?

[Edited on November 18, 2008 at 3:46 PM. Reason : .]

11/18/2008 3:45:31 PM

I really liked Charleston, but it's super collegy. My best friends live there. They rented a place downtown, but it was loud and parking was horrid so now they live kinda inbetween downtown and the suburbs.

11/18/2008 4:02:53 PM

Let's see here....

Recent graduate of the Charleston School of Law, recently passed the SC Bar Exam, and recently been sworn in to the SC Bar (just yesterday actually). Been living in Charleston for almost 4 years now. So that's my Charleston background, and here's my opinion...

I think the Charleston School of Law is pretty solid and is only going to get better. I say "solid" instead of "great" just because it's still relatively young and is still working out kinks. But it is great in relation to the faculty and staff. CSOL has a lot of money behind it and they've spent a lot of that money on its professors. When you combine big salaries with the opportunity to live in Charleston, they haven't had a tough time drawing in great teachers and staff....which is really what makes a law school (and any school for that matter).

The library is adequate...but IMO is kind of a moot point since the online library is top-notch to begin with (especially this day in age when almost all legal research is done on-line). The facilities are getting better each year. They keep acquiring new building space on Upper King. My first couple years they were scrambling all over the place to find classrooms to put us in. But last year they purchased a huge building a couple blocks from the main building and library, which has pretty much solved their "space" problems.

Then there's the perception of the law school....which is pretty good in South Carolina right now. We've been getting rave reviews from the judges where our students are clerking. We've got kids in top firms in SC, NC, Chicago, and NY (just friends I know). I've got friends who got the top jobs for kids coming out of law school at Nelson Mullins, Motley Rice, and Nexsen Pruett. So that kind of goes against the saying that you have to go to a top-tier law school to get the money jobs right after graduation. If you put in the work and get the good grades, you can pretty much pick where you want to practice in South Carolina.

That being said...I'll quit blowing the sunshine up your ass. Law school is still law school anywhere you go. It's very high-schoolish and can be ultra-competitive (although I've heard its much worse at other law schools...it could be the southern hospitality down here). I want to say law school was "okay" for me. I figured I'd get in here and figure out what I'd want to do...but three and a half years later I still don't know. Nothing "grabbed" me and I became pretty much disenchanted with law school rather quickly and it turned into a "means to an end." Although I'm now working for a good friend of mine who's a solo practitioner and enjoying it fairly well. So I guess everybody's different in that regard and you'll figure it out for yourself once you start law school...wherever you go.

As far as Charleston goes...I love it. Can't really imagine any other place I'd rather be right now. Living here is probably what got me through law school. Great and numerous places to eat and drink. Great beaches, beautiful downtown, and a cluster-fuck of hot women. And to someone who said it's "collegy"...I guess it depends on where you hang out. There are a lot of college kids here, but there are a lot of young professionals too. You can easily get away from the college crowd here if you know where to go.

Price of a downtown one bedroom?? I'd say it averages out around $750 to $800...all inclusive. Most people I met who found one bedrooms were usually paying that. But then there were people also paying in the $1,000 range and some people who got lucky and found ones in the $500-$600 range. I don't know if you're set on getting a one bedroom...but you might want to look around. I got accepted before Thanksgiving and had months to look around. Found a great room about a block from campus that charged $450 (which is a steal downtown). I had two roommates...but they were quiet and we got along. I would still be staying there if I didn't find an even better deal/place out on Sullivan's Island.

PM me if you have anymore questions, especially about living arrangements. I bartended throughout law school and have tons of friends that are always moving in and out of places all around Charleston...downtown, James Island, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant.


^^And I do a little deep-sea fishing when I can find a friend who has an open spot on his boat.

[Edited on November 18, 2008 at 4:56 PM. Reason : ^^]

11/18/2008 4:55:24 PM

you're first and last 3 paragraphs is all she cares about. no one cares about your law school mang

on that note, i liked charleston when i was visiting there last summer

[Edited on November 19, 2008 at 10:00 AM. Reason : s]

11/19/2008 9:59:35 AM

This:

Quote :

"Anyone know about the reputation of the law school?"

is a pretty broad statement that makes all the information I gave fairly relevant.

But your post is probably the most useless one in this thread.

11/19/2008 10:15:45 AM

Quote :

"I will be living in Charleston, working at the Naval Weapons Station. TheBullDoza will live with me, and we're looking for a place. We'd like a place in walking distance of restaurants, bars, and stuff to do. Downtown seems best for that, but I don't want to live in the hood. Can anyone recommend nice neighborhoods downtown, or areas to stay away from? A one-bedroom is fine, we'd like rent to be in the $800-$900 range. I'd like any advice on places to live! Thanks guys. "

this thread was bumped to the top for britta as well....

11/19/2008 10:39:13 AM

I'll hit that topic up too I guess...

"Hood" areas in downtown are very spotty. The first two years I lived downtown I was on a strip with all multi-million dollar historic Charleston homes...but one street over was project housing. Unless you're South of Broad St, you're never guaranteed to be completely void of the "hood."

My advice would be to find about 5 or 10 places online, call the landlords, then set a date to come down here and check them out. Or you could just post or PM me the address and I can tell you whether or not it's a sketchy place to live. And you should be able to find a one bedroom in the $800 or $900 range fairly easy.

11/19/2008 10:53:12 AM

Broad st is pretty low.

11/19/2008 10:02:27 PM

I have lived there twice. Hanahan is very nice. I dunno if there are many apartments, but lots of nice houses for rent. I am sure you could find something in your price range if you had a couple room mates. My question is, why is your budget so low? You'll be making quite a bit as an LDO instructor.

11/19/2008 11:46:19 PM

no reason not to be cheap (to a point)

11/20/2008 12:17:13 AM

I certainly don't know her financial situation, however what I do know is she'll be pulling in well over $3000 a month, and that's after taxes. Maybe she is aggressively paying off loans or something, but IMO a Navy officer shouldn't be living like a college kid.

11/20/2008 1:02:55 AM

Charleston's a fairly expensive city to live in, at least in the South...40K isn't going to get you that far. You don't have to live every aspect of your daily life like a college student...but it definitely won't hurt to cut some corners.

11/20/2008 8:13:45 AM

i wish i was making 3000 bucks a month

[Edited on November 20, 2008 at 10:11 AM. Reason : ! ]

11/20/2008 10:10:38 AM

yo im living in charleston right now!!! but im moving in december.

Naval Weapons station is in Goose Creek, which is near moncks corner and what have you.

downtown is fun, most of the bars are on market street or east bay street. there ARE a couple 18+ places... Purple Tree is one of them but it blows for the chicks... We would just stand near the bar and random guys just run up and grind on you and dont know what "no" means. downtown is smoke free, but there are a bunch of places in town on rivers ave that arent. the beach isnt that bad. theres a couple little bars there.

as far as where to live, if youre working in goose creek, theres pretty cheap housing in that area. it may actually be closer to moncks corner or summerville. theres a lot of nerdy navy guys cuz of the nuke school and theres a big air force base here. also, there are lots of coast guard people (yay!).

11/20/2008 5:49:40 PM

Thanks for the replies guys! Things have changed since I first made the thread, now TheBullDoza is living with me and we are willing to split a reasonably sized one bedroom. We don't want to have other roommates.

I won't be living in Goose Creek. I'm an instructor at the power school so it's not appropriate for me to hang out with students, so I don't want to live in the same neighborhood.

11/21/2008 2:38:31 PM

So what area are you trying to live in again??

11/21/2008 6:16:02 PM

You don't want to live in Goose Creek, anyways.

11/21/2008 7:36:07 PM

Quote :

"she'll be pulling in well over $3000 a month, and that's after taxes."

damn, I didn't know a lieutenant in the Navy makes that much.

11/21/2008 7:46:11 PM

I'll be an Ensign, it's pay grade O-1. Lieutenant is O-3. we also make a housing allowance, the amount depends on where you live. For Charleston it's about $900 a month. In the military you can pretty much look at someone's uniform and know how much money they make.

http://www.navycs.com/2008-military-pay-chart.html

11/21/2008 8:42:59 PM

^according to that site, someone with less than 2 years of experience can advance all the way to an e-7?

11/21/2008 8:48:23 PM

No, it takes about 8 years to go from recruit to E7. The reason that pay grade exists is that in some officer programs, college students with no experience can make E6 or E7 pay while in school. NCSU has a nuke officer program that does that.

PS what do you guys think of this house/location. $750 for a 3 bedroom downtown seems to cheap to be true, I'm thinking the house must be shitty or is in the ghetto. Input plz!

http://charleston.craigslist.org/apa/926999122.html

11/21/2008 8:54:21 PM

^^Not in any scenario I can think of. I don't know why they even have those years on the charts.

[Edited on November 21, 2008 at 9:00 PM. Reason : ^ well there ya go. Never heard of those deals...usually it's E-5 pay.]

and 8 years would be a very early advance to E7, at least in the USMC. not unheard of, though. pretty sure that would be very early in the Navy, too, although the Navy seems to vary more by what rate you are than does the USMC with MOS's.

[Edited on November 21, 2008 at 9:08 PM. Reason : asdfads]

11/21/2008 8:58:53 PM

you can only make that much as a nuke if you recruit someone to the program, then they give you a raise. and the high need programs like MDs probably make more while they're in school

11/21/2008 9:01:36 PM

Yeah I should've said that 8 years is the minimum. You'd have to be in a good rate, really on top of things, and pretty lucky. To make Chief takes most people 10-15 years I'd say.

11/21/2008 9:38:13 PM

DO NOT DO SOUTH ST.

Anything between America and East Bay is not where you want to be. You can find affordable places in nicer areas. But yeah...if you find something that is "too good to be true"...then it's more than likely in a really bad area (like South St.).

Seriously....PM me with addresses or post them in this thread and I'll let you know if they're legit. But don't do South St.

11/22/2008 2:15:08 AM

haha i wonder if all south streets suck...cause part of south street in raleigh sucks bad

11/22/2008 3:06:54 AM