Charleston, SC Reviews


76 Reviews



BestPlaces offers the best, most comprehensive city reports,
with insight into cost of living, crime, climate, and more.
Thanks for Voting!
What BestPlaces Users Say about Charleston

Charleston, South Carolina is a popular city known for its rich history, beautiful architecture, and vibrant food scene. It attracts many visitors each year, but what is it like to actually live there? To gain an understanding of the city from a resident's perspective, I have researched user reviews on bestplaces.net about living in Charleston.

According to user "Riley" who has lived in Charleston for 15 years, "Charleston is a great place to live. The food and the history are amazing and the people are friendly." Another user, "Caroline" shares her experience of relocating to Charleston and states, "I moved to Charleston over two years ago and can't imagine living anywhere else. The city is charming, the beaches are close, and there's always something to do." Both of these reviewers highlight the city's attractive qualities such as its food and history, as well as the welcoming community.

On the other hand, user "Joshua" has a different perspective and expresses his disappointment with the city. He writes, "Charleston is overrated. The cost of living is high and the traffic is terrible. It's crowded and there's not much to do outside of the touristy areas." This review sheds light on some of the downsides of living in Charleston, including the high cost of living and heavy traffic.

Finally, user "Jennifer" shares her positive experience as a young professional in Charleston, stating, "I moved to Charleston for a job opportunity and I'm so glad I did. There's a great work-life balance here and the social scene is lively." She also mentions the abundance of job opportunities in the city, making it an attractive place for young professionals.

In summary, user reviews on bestplaces.net paint a varied picture of living in Charleston, South Carolina. While some appreciate its charm, history, and community, others point out its drawbacks such as high cost of living and traffic. It seems to be a popular destination for young professionals looking for a good work-life balance and job opportunities. Ultimately, the decision to live in Charleston will depend on personal preferences and priorities.

 based on 76 Reviews
Get to know Charleston with the latest comments and reviews from people who live in or have visited Charleston

nice to visit but not to live - 3/3/2008
The good ole boys are very sexist and racist. If you get raped or suffer from domestic violence, the police will tell you that you are the one who did wrong... You should lose weight, dress more sexy, don't go out at night, don't get tattoos as women with tatttoes are soiled doves. We just legalized tattoes and became a free pour alcohol state. They have lots of land but won't let people have decent houses b/c they don't want people moving here. The humidity is terrible...like a sauna and we are #2 on murder under Washington DC and #6 for domestic Read More

Start Your Review of Charleston


Culture - 2/10/2008
Charleston is a lovely historic city. The preservation of the architecture is important to the city and the inhabitants, and this has created a downtown that is both fun to visit and a wonderful place to live. Against the backdrop of this city is a beautiful harbor, one of the oldest colleges in the country and an international arts festival, Spoleto, which brings people from all over the world.

Unfortunately, the beautiful houses and warm winters have brought many newcomers with a lot more money than locals. So the fabric of downtown has changed, since many homes in the historic district are no longer owned and lived in by native South Carolinians. But, all things do change, and that change hasn't cost Charleston to lose its beauty or Read More

Looking to relocate and need real estate advice - 10/20/2007
My wife and I are looking to relocate to the Charleston area. The Mount Pleasant area seems really nice with good schools but might be a bit too expensive. Any ideas on a town in the area that is up and coming? Maybe the "next" Mount Pleasant"?  Read More

Just Visit .... Don't Live Here unless you want to - 8/22/2007
Ah Charleston. You tricky city. You are beautiful, fairly inexpensive to vacation, and have both modern and historical ammenities. But if you are looking to relocate here WAIT! Read this posting and the posting by Brian to get the REAL story. I very briefly relocated to Charleston. I had visited the city several times and was given the impression that it was a very affordable place to live. What I learned is I can live in Charleston if I want to only make an average of $20,000 a year to a job that back home I made $45,000. That was of course if I could find a job. I was in Charleston for over 6 months and applied to over 90 positions and heard from only three employers that took a very long time to get back to you, and then only to offer a salary that wouldn't be even half enough you would need to accomodate the skyrocketing real estate prices there. Do not be fooled--- you do not need to be in an upper class neighboorhood, live downtown, or live by the beach to have soaring Read More

Cost of Living Extreme - 8/12/2007
I've lived in Mount Pleasant / Charleston Area for 2 years now, and the cost of rent / homes continues to amaze me. When you compare what the average citizen makes versus what the average cost of rent or home ownership is, it seems impossible for an average person making an average income to live here, and in fact it is impossible. I do not recommend the Charleston area unless you make a pretty good living, a person making 30 - 40k or below a year will feel like they are making 19K as compared to the average cost of living across the United States. Charleston is a city full of Rich and Poor, there is not a stable middle class. Research and think long and hard before making a decision to move to Charleston, the "Lowcountry Lifestyle" and beach are not so attractive when you wonder how your going to pay rent each month, if you live in a decent Read More

Response to Gay life and any life in Charleston - 8/7/2007
Charleston like many other southern cities is a very conservative, white,
good ol boy's city.

If you are open, enjoy meeting people from other countries, economic groups, with diverse cultural backgrounds (including the gay scene.) Charleston will not be for you. People are very closed and closed minded.

Take this from a northerner who has lived in Charleston and Savannah for seven years. Don't let the beautiful architecture suck you in because the beauty is only facade deep. You will find that it is next to impossible to meet people with any sort or desire to expand their horizons. Whether they are the very rich or not these people meet and travel the world with an ( I am better than you attitude because they are American, white and from the south.)

You will find that if you do meet others who are intelligent and open, their general stay time is about 2 years and then they return to where they find others again who love life in an all Read More

Nice place - 7/27/2007
Living in Charleston is surprisingly cheap. We have one of the lowest gas prices in the nation. The rent and utilities are affordable. You'll just spend all your money on the great shopping and food Read More

chs - 7/8/2007
Been here about 3 years. Charleston is a small city with very nice beaches and a nice historic downtown. Lots of great golfing. There's alot of good restaurants and night life in the city but the burbs are relatively undeveloped.

Very hot humid summers, but mild winters. The seasons generally consist of very short spring and fall periods.

The traffic can be difficult at times but in general is not too bad. City planning for roadworks seems like an afterthought to commercial and residential development, which has been frenetic since I've been here.

On average, public schools are not on par with the rest of the state and the state is in general not on par with the country so very expensive private schools should be considered.

Not a great deal of industry outside of military support, but a burgeoning aero sector should develop over the coming years, with the addition of some key aerospace companies. Medical U also provides alot Read More

Charleston Climate in response to previous post - 6/7/2007
I am a Charleston native, having lived their for 20+ years. While I will agree that Charleston is beautiful, historic with many recreation opportunities, it is hot! The previous post said that temps in Charleston rarely exceed 90 degrees in the summer. Perhaps this person visited during a rare summer cool spell. I can tell you that Charleston is very uncomfortable in the summer. The combination of mid 90 degree temps with high humidity levels make it one of the hottest feeling places during the summer. I now live in upstate SC. We routinely hit 90+ in the summmer, but without the humidity. I just wanted to clarify the previous post and make it Read More

Charleston SC-----best all-around city that we've - 6/2/2007
My wife & I visited Charleston SC in July of 2006.
We were more impressed with Charleston than any other city that we've ever visited.

Why?

-The city (specifically the Battery) is absolutely beautiful
-Multiple nice beaches to visit (Isle of Palms, Sullivans Island, etc)
-Mount Pleasant (nice neighborhood, shopping, and restaurants)
-The weather! Never too cool and (surprisingly) not too hot. We are from Virginia where the temp routinely reaches 90F+ in the Summer...it rarely exceeds 90F in Charleston)
-The people are NICE----very NICE.

We enjoyed our stay very much. We could hear the Summertime buzzing of insects at night as we walked sidewalks in Mount Pleasant----very relaxing/peaceful. Plenty of amenities/conveniences throughout the city & traffic moves very well with I-526 & I-26. (sure beats I-95!!----come spend a Summer weekend in Fredericksburg if you don't believe me!)

There's LOTS to do, Read More

Overview
Compare Charleston, SC
cost of living
Compare food, housing, utilities, and more in Charleston, South Carolina to any other city in the US.


The premier source for comprehensive city data for over 30 years.

© Best Places. All rights reserved.