# Possible move to SC/Ga/N FL



## Vertigo (Jun 3, 2012)

If you're thinking about places to retire and live full time, there's more to consider than good fishing. Although most of us like to think that fishing all day, every day would be the perfect life, the fact is that it's not. Edisto might be great in summer but how about those cold, dreary, rainy days in winter when the area is mostly deserted. Can you enjoy that? Is weather important to you? How about culture, restaurants, shopping, medical facilities, proximity to family and friends, etc., etc. What about local taxes and utilities? Some places are waaaay more expensive than others and this can make a difference when living on a retirement budget. Do you speak Spanish? Would you consider living out of the country? Places like Costa Rica and Puerto Rico offer a lot to the right people, but might be totally wrong for others.

If climate is important to you, you should probably be looking further south. If you need medical facilities or shopping and restaurants, you probably need to be near a larger city. If budget is a priority, then you'll have to scale back on your desire for good weather and culture. Will you or your spouse be looking for a part-time job? Retirement can get pretty boring for some folks and fishing is not always the cure. 

Answer these questions, and you'll probably be able to eliminate a lot of choices and get a little closer to zeroing in on what's right for you.


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## labman1 (Dec 27, 2015)

V, I appreciate your reply. My posed question didn't provide sufficient detail, probably should have couched it as a vacation home. This will be a second home, as we are in contract to sell our lake home and nearby farm and ideally want to 1031 some or all of the proceeds. We are not relocating year round, just looking at various options for a change of pace for 2-6 months a year. The only true requirements are an airport within an hour or two and high speed I-net connectivity(typically solved by sat if nothing else). We both love to fish and hunt and based on prior experience on Edisto, there is plenty of both with an occasional trip to the beach.

Living OCONUS is not an option, love to visit, but no extended stays. Spent plenty of time in Central and South America courtesy of Uncle Sam, love the culture, food, cost etc, but for me the USA is home The recent Bahamian issue gave me pause on purchasing a place in Andros, and we were past the tire kicking stage last summer when that issue cropped up.

Your other observations on medical, climate, culture etc are spot on, but given our age-early 50's are not critical parts of the decision. Savannah and Charleston have good to excellent medical facilities and plenty of excellent dining from $-$$$$, my idea of culture is having a beer at the dock. I always appreciated the small town flavor on Edisto, just curious if there was a similar spot that perhaps offered more of the same.


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## Plantation (Nov 24, 2015)

Vertigo is spot on about living in certain slow places year around. Im thirty and live on Edisto full time, I love it but it is for sure not for everyone. I have to drive to town once a week or so to see civilization. It is way more active in the summer than the winter as you probably know. If you've visited here before during Jan-March it is nice and quiet. But that gets boring after awhile. I've known of many people to buy houses on Edisto after a few wonderful vacations, but then find its not what they want longterm. Even as a place to own a house and come visit often. I love it, but thats me. I live on a place with a few houses and the owners with the main house live downtown Charleston (1 hour away) and maybe come down here 3 times a year and stay a day or two each time. And with that being said its for sale. Not trying to be negative just giving you an idea of what I see. Like I said, I love it, and some people buy places here as a second home and eventually make it there primary residence. Fishing isnt horrible either but there are better areas for fishing. Let me know if I can help in any way or any other questions. -Shorey


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Here goes....We have lived in the n. Ga. mnts for 10yrs after retiring from S. Florida ....we have been "jonesen" to get back to the coast w/o the people and have decided on St.Marys/Kingsland Ga. area. Inshore fishing is great and quick access to Jacksonville airport and medical facilities.
There is no beach in the area so it will not attract the crowds. A boat is a necessity for chillin on cumberland island. Check it out.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Man I live in GA not near any salt water. People in FL want to move further north and people in the North want to move to FL, and do. It sounds to me you like were you at why not rent some places to see how you like them, then decided


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## Dawhoo (Oct 27, 2015)

Like you said Edisto is nice, though it is losing its local charm that made it so nice in years past. Doesn't seem like a good retirement area as it is very isolated.


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## labman1 (Dec 27, 2015)

Topnative, I apologize I missed your post. We have stayed in that area before courtesy of Uncle Sam waaay back in the day. Although it's a great place, not what we're looking for.


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## J-Dad (Aug 30, 2015)

labman1 said:


> Topnative, I apologize I missed your post. We have stayed in that area before courtesy of Uncle Sam waaay back in the day. Although it's a great place, not what we're looking for.





labman1 said:


> Its time to look at possible places for semi- retirement. My wife and I have enjoyed visiting Edisto Island for many years and are familiar with that specific area. Ideally, we'd like some marsh property with water access. Are there other areas in the Carolinas, North Fla, Ga that offer better value, better fishing etc? We're open to any locations, we've always enjoyed the Edisto vibe, great beach, good fishing without the massive crowds that some areas have.
> 
> I appreciate any and all opinions and info!


My wife and I recently visited Beaufort for the first time. Neat little town, and the fishing was good. We did a little scouting around for property, and the prices seemed reasonable.


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## jonterr (Mar 24, 2013)

Plantation said:


> Vertigo is spot on about living in certain slow places year around. Im thirty and live on Edisto full time, I love it but it is for sure not for everyone. I have to drive to town once a week or so to see civilization. It is way more active in the summer than the winter as you probably know. If you've visited here before during Jan-March it is nice and quiet. But that gets boring after awhile. I've known of many people to buy houses on Edisto after a few wonderful vacations, but then find its not what they want longterm. Even as a place to own a house and come visit often. I love it, but thats me. I live on a place with a few houses and the owners with the main house live downtown Charleston (1 hour away) and maybe come down here 3 times a year and stay a day or two each time. And with that being said its for sale. Not trying to be negative just giving you an idea of what I see. Like I said, I love it, and some people buy places here as a second home and eventually make it there primary residence. Fishing isnt horrible either but there are better areas for fishing. Let me know if I can help in any way or any other questions. -Shorey


Plantation!
Don't wanna hijack post!
Would pm you, but I don't know how to on this new format!
Will be going to Edisto end of April!
Give me an idea of a better place to fish!
U can txt 7064993911!
Thanks! Jon


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

A water front home with marsh access and good fishing is cheaper in Louisiana. The winters are great. The healthcare system is meh at best, but the food is so good you'll clog you arteries and die before you need it. The hurricanes are awful. The state government is a mess, but it has been a mess since the Civil War and seems to manage to limp along. It is as close as you can get to retiring to a third world banana republic while living in the US.

Regardless where you decide, have you considered a RV? If you are just living there a couple months a year, it is nice to have something that you can remove from the hurricane zone when you don't need it. Our last camp was flooded during Katrina, so I am hypersensitive.

Nate


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## Dawhoo (Oct 27, 2015)

Plantation... So you might be one of the rare individuals that recognizes the significance of my forum name. While I now live in Florida, I spent every waking second possible on the Dawhoo River and surrounding areas. My family first built on the beach in the1930s, and currently our place is on the 700 block. 



Plantation said:


> Vertigo is spot on about living in certain slow places year around. Im thirty and live on Edisto full time, I love it but it is for sure not for everyone. I have to drive to town once a week or so to see civilization. It is way more active in the summer than the winter as you probably know. If you've visited here before during Jan-March it is nice and quiet. But that gets boring after awhile. I've known of many people to buy houses on Edisto after a few wonderful vacations, but then find its not what they want longterm. Even as a place to own a house and come visit often. I love it, but thats me. I live on a place with a few houses and the owners with the main house live downtown Charleston (1 hour away) and maybe come down here 3 times a year and stay a day or two each time. And with that being said its for sale. Not trying to be negative just giving you an idea of what I see. Like I said, I love it, and some people buy places here as a second home and eventually make it there primary residence. Fishing isnt horrible either but there are better areas for fishing. Let me know if I can help in any way or any other questions. -Shorey


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## YnR (Feb 16, 2015)

I really like the Edisto area but I agree it's starting to lose it's appeal. First the fishing pressure has increased a bunch in the last few years. The increase in guides and seemingly exponential increase in rec anglers has really taxed that system. The fishery is still decent but not what it once was and it's rare to get a quiet day out on the water. Second, the population in that area is going to grow by a lot in the near future which may be what you're hoping for if you're going to sell this home after a while but the area won't be what you've known it as.


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## labman1 (Dec 27, 2015)

WhiteDog70810 said:


> A water front home with marsh access and good fishing is cheaper in Louisiana. The winters are great. The healthcare system is meh at best, but the food is so good you'll clog you arteries and die before you need it. The hurricanes are awful. The state government is a mess, but it has been a mess since the Civil War and seems to manage to limp along. It is as close as you can get to retiring to a third world banana republic while living in the US.
> 
> Regardless where you decide, have you considered a RV? If you are just living there a couple months a year, it is nice to have something that you can remove from the hurricane zone when you don't need it. Our last camp was flooded during Katrina, so I am hypersensitive.
> 
> Nate


Great points on LA! We go to Buras 2-3 times yearly to fish. We have looked on and off at places in LA for years without much luck. No RV for me, I hate pulling a trailer, (a boat is bad enough) driving an RV is painful for me. My wife is emphatic about no trailer living.

If we could could figure out the property ownership of water/marsh etc. in LA, I'd be more interested. So far, its been alot of legalese - it depends and we have a different system here, that makes no sense. Cost wise, I don't believe LA is a better deal than SC.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Buras is tough. I thought everything was inside the levees down there. I like those camps on pylons down at the Venice Marina myself.

I want a camp out west in Hackberry some day. The fishing and the duck hunting is great and I would be pretty close to Lake Charles, which isn't a bad place. Sadly, everything between the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya is eroding out too fast to invest in real estate there no matter how good the fishing is. I've only been gone since 2002 and I can barely recognize the marsh I fished and hunted on the satellite images.

I definitely suspect things are classier on the South Carolina coast though. I am having a heck of a time finding a dive rv park/marina that caters to fishermen and hunters here. I can't afford to keep my trailer at a nice place that caters to snowbirds.

Nate


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## labman1 (Dec 27, 2015)

Nate, I don't know about classier, just different,lol. My wife's from Lafayette, LA, so we really enjoy the Southern LA lifestyle. Unfortunately, there's only 1 family member still living down there, otherwise we'd probably buy something in that area.

The LA coastal/marsh erosion Is definitely a sad commentary on a number of issues in that region. I've fished from Fl to the tip of Tx and without hesitation feel like LA has the best fishing and duck hunting, and imho, there's not a close second.


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

Labman 1 - Strange coincidence - my wife and I started having the exact conversation yesterday. We've been living on The Treasure Coast of FL and we're seriously considering moving a bit further north to get away from the winter crowds and the dying Indian River Lagoon. Doesn't look like FL has any solutions to the environmental crisis and from the PhDs I've talked to, it could be a decade(s) before they fix the problems....not good. I'm liking the idea of trading the East Coast of Florida for more of a Lowcountry lifestyle.

I fish ALOT and need to have quality skinny water near by for chasing Reds, Trout etc. Looking to keep the skiff on a lift at the house or a close marina so water access is important. This will be our winter home from December - May. Hoping to find an area with good architecture, small town vibe and good eats.

We have friends with a summer home on Daufuskie Island and they recommended Blufton, Beaufort, Tybee Island and Kiawah. I've been lucky to have stayed at Kiawah, Amelia, St. Simons and a few other coastal areas for business and it they were all nice. Hoping to take a road trip in the next month and spend a week checking out various areas. Any suggestions are appreciated!


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## labman1 (Dec 27, 2015)

Net 30, I'm far from an expert on Edisto. But for my wife and I, it fits our parameters nicely. Close enough to Charleston for great food and amenities. We really like the small town, laid back atmosphere of Edisto. With the exception of Blufton and Daufuskie Island, we've spent time at all the places you mentioned. Beaufort is awesome, but it's more urban than we're looking for. My b-in-law has a place on Amelia, another awesome spot, just not for us.

5-10 acres in the marsh with a rural feel is what we want. It's a challenge to find that in most places on the SE coast. Plus, the beach is close by which is a draw for us and the extended family..

There are better places to fish, but the competition for water space is probably substantially less there than what is the norm in the IRL. PM Plantation for more info, he's a great resource.

Good luck in the search!! We're heading out that way mid April for a two week road trip tour from Amelia north to Charleston.


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## ratsix (Jul 2, 2014)

We have an incredible redfish population here in N Fla. beautiful marsh and easy access. Enough in the area to not miss a bigger city.


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## Net 30 (Mar 24, 2012)

ratsix said:


> We have an incredible redfish population here in N Fla. beautiful marsh and easy access. Enough in the area to not miss a bigger city.


Where abouts do you live in N FL? I've been to Jacksonville on business and fishing offshore and inlet...

Labman - We're gonna add Edisto to our list to check out...thanks.


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## Dawhoo (Oct 27, 2015)

Before you consider Edisto answer these questions 

1. are you a Yankee?
2. Do you own a golf cart?
3. Do you believe seafood is best fried? 
If your answer is no to all 3 of these... You would be a great addition.


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## WhiteDog70810 (May 6, 2008)

Easy now. As a reformed Iowegian, I know it is possible to recover from being a Yankee as long as you get south before retirement. For instance, I've noticed that Minnesotans in particular make really good Cajuns. Those long winters make them crazy enough to fit in very easily.

However, I share your sentiments regarding golf carts and seafood. If you are too drunk or young to drive, WALK! I like the occasional fried critter as much as anyone, but there are so many other options that I like just as much. If I have another frost-bitten fool wax nostalgically about the glories of beer-battered gopher because he is unhappy that I grilled or boiled shrimp, I might get violent.

Nate


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