South Carolina Peas - question for you!

The low country (Charleston, etc.) or upstate (Greenville, Clemson, etc. area)

IMO, the midlands is not a great area of the state.

I'd actually prefer NC (Asheville area)or coastal areas over SC. I'm definitely a beach or mountains person.

I agree with greenlegume about the midlands.

I'm crushing on downtown Greenville lately. They have done so much to make their downtown a real destination full of shopping, dining, quaint bars, entertainment, and more. The Peace Center hosts great Broadway shows and good concerts. And there's an amazing park with waterfalls right smack dab in the middle of downtown. They just acquired the land to create another park downtown as well that will be even larger. Lots of street festivals, too. (We are about an hour from there.) Greenville or up above it puts you near Asheville, NC too which is an awesome place.

If you are into horses, either Aiken or Camden are good areas. Lots of history in both places and both have a sort of yuppie vibe.

Coastal-wise, I'd pick an area outside of Charleston. The beaches around Georgetown would be my second choice. Personally, I despise Myrtle Beach. I would not want to be anywhere near there. And although Hilton Head is lovely and I've spent many a summer there, I would not want to live there year-round.

Lots of people choose the area right below Charlotte as well -- Tega Cay, Indian Land, and that area. I'd put it lower on my list though than some of the other options.

The Santee-Cooper area is a choice for many who like lake life but be really careful what community you select there, Some of the poorest counties in the state are in that area.

And, hey OP... if you do decide on Greenville, my best friend just happens to be one of the best real estate agents in Greenville (owns her own company). I can get you the hook-up if you need! Lol.

My DS lives in Fort Mill, SC right below Charlotte. I love it. Small town feel with big town Charlotte right around the corner. I would move there in a heartbeat.

Having lived in both SC and NC, I would choose where we are right now over every other place. We are in Hickory, NC. We are only 1 hour 15 minutes from all of these places: Asheville, the mountains, Charlotte, and Winston-Salem. We LOVE it! We don't plan on moving again. This is our retirement home (so I tell hubby). The kids are in college near Clemson (in fact one daughter is dual enrolled at Clemson and her other school). I would personally not choose that area, and they said they would not either. Greenville would be nice but I prefer where we are.

I live in Charleston but I adore the Asheville NC area. We love to camp, on fact we are leaving on Thursday for a weekend camping trip to the Highland NC area.

Charleston has really blown up in population thanks tso Conde Nast naming it the #1 city in the US the past few years, there's great dining, relatively low cost of living and plenty to see and do, and accessibility to the beach. But there's just something to be said about the quiet peacefulness just steps away from Asheville in the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains. we are surfers and not quite willing to give up the beach, but I'd seriously consider moving there.

I love living in Asheville.. but if you need to work bring a job with you!! Its expensive.!!

I lived in Columbia for five years and don't recommend anywhere in the middle of the state. Low cost of living, but not pretty and not much to do. I would live in the Charleston area in SC, or in Asheville in NC.

I live in Rock Hill (just below Fort Mill) and while I like it, it is not a place I would choose to move when I retire just because there isn't a ton to do. But it is a nice place to live if you work in Charlotte! Fort Mill is too and there are a ton of retirees from the northeast but honestly it is growing very rapidly and the infrastructure isn't keeping up. Traffic is awful and they are just building more and more subdivisions for all the people moving there.

We love the Charleston area and I would pick there. Asheville is beautiful but expensive. I haven't been to Greenville but I keep hearing more and more about how wonderful it is so I want to check it out now!

My first job out of graduate school was in Charlotte and I lived in Rock Hill.

You spelled it right! It's a lovely area very close to Hilton Head.

We live in the midlands. I really do not like it here. It is not green enough. If I had to live in another place of SC I would choose around Greenville. I love the mountains and how green it is up there.

For retirement? I'd head to the Beaufort area. There are few places more lovely and peaceful than the SC Lowcountry, in my opinion. I enjoy Charleston for dining and nightlife, but if I were looking for a place to retire then Beaufort is a notch above Charleston.

If you want to be closer to the mountains of SC and NC, then I concur that Greenville is a great area.

If you'd like to be somewhere in the middle of the mountains and the coast and you like lake living, you may want to check out the Lake Murray or Lake Wateree areas.
If you like being in a University area, check out the Shandon or Heathwood neighborhoods of Columbia.

My brother and his family have lived in Greenville since the mid-90s. I also lived there for 2 years around the same time. That area has really grown in the last 20 years. Downtown has been revitalized with lots of shops and restaurants. My fave is Spill the Beans, a coffee shop close to Reedy River Falls.

They live a little northwest of Gville in the Traveler's Rest area. It's gorgeous in the fall with the mountains and changing leaves.

For years, my in-laws had planned to retire to the Asheville, NC area, having chosen it for its beauty and the mild climate. However, when they actually started looking into the details, they ended up choosing Tennessee because of the much lower tax rates.

They are in Crossville, TN - midway between Knoxville and Nashville. Town sits up on the Cumberland Plateau on a higher elevation than Nashville, so they don't get the heat. They have four seasons, but not an extreme of any. I think they call themselves the Golf Capital of TN.