Moving to South Carolina: Guide, Tips & Pros and Cons

South Carolina has excellent hospitality, food, a slow lifestyle, and an enjoyable climate. All of its beaches and greenery make it a great place to live a peaceful life. No wonder you picked it as a candidate for your new home. With a population of more than 5 million people and a steady rate of population growth, you won’t be the only one enjoying this amazing state. And surely not the only one that will be looking for good cross-country movers either, so pick fast, and well. Cross-country movers will highly affect your movement process, making it a lot easier. Since you are on this page, you are definitely eager to learn something new. Let’s dive right into what exactly is moving to South Carolina all about.

Drowning in nature

Maybe exaggerating a bit, but South Carolina does really have a lot of nice greenery. People in SC are no strangers to taking long walks and breathing in quality air every single day. This just adds up to living the slow life, enjoying every second of it, and really giving yourself time. Visiting the Congaree National Park is probably one of the go-to’s for moving to South Carolina. A park with astonishingly high and old trees, some of them being the tallest pine trees in the country. Obviously, it’s not just the trees that make this park worth visiting, it’s the sheer amount of land it covers. We’ll give away another little fact, if you visit the park at a certain time (May/June) you might catch some cute fireflies.

Moving on, the Angel Oak is something you probably already know about, but not to mention it would be a crime. Around 400 years old, this beauty is older than most of its surroundings and is more than 60ft tall! You can find the Angel Oak on Johns Island, near Charleston. If you decide to move to Charleston and check out this magnificent tree, be sure to make your life easier by finding some quality Charleston cross-country movers. While we’re talking about tall things, we have to mention Raven Cliff Falls. This gorgeous waterfall, situated in Ceasers Head State Park, is the tallest waterfall in South Carolina.

Beaches to sunbathe in after settling in South Carolina

Moreover, after relocating to South Carolina, you just can’t miss all of the beaches. This state offers over 2,800 miles of coastline, which means that you will absolutely always be able to spend a weekend on the beach. The nice weather just backs this up, so don’t forget to bring your swimming suits! For a more luxurious feel, give Kiawah Island a shot, a barrier island pretty close to Charleston. If you want to spend a little less money, take a walk alongside Myrtle Beach. Which just happens to be one of the happiest places to live in South Carolina. A 60-mile-long beach with a bunch of souvenir stands, grand golf courses, and restaurants. Lastly, Hilton Head also has access to some golf courses and is positioned alongside the Atlantic Ocean.

Experience Southern Hospitality after moving to South Carolina

There is no way we will just skip ahead of this fact. Is it just a stereotype? We are pretty sure you will easily find out that southern hospitality is, in actuality, very real. You might even find it weird at first, how everyone just tends to happily welcome you, even though you are a stranger. Incredible hospitality definitely makes it a lot easier to get along with your future neighbors after you move to South Carolina. And if you are moving to South Carolina for work, your will probably have really friendly colleagues! The fact that Southerners treat strangers so well must also be one of the reasons why about 15.1 million tourists visited South Carolina in 2021. We bet you feel at least a bit tempted to test out their hospitality yourself, give it a try, you might get surprised.

Living Expenses

The cost of living in SC is in total 4% lower than the national average. The housing is an astonishing 15% cheaper, with a median home cost of $170,100. Be careful though, as the housing costs might vary from city to city. The bigger cities will definitely offer a higher price for housing. As an example, the cost of living in Hilton Head Island is in actuality 15% over the US average. So choose an affordable city to live in in South Carolina. Moving isn’t easy, so you probably shouldn’t make your life harder by picking an expensive place.

Don’t Get your hopes up either, since the monthly utilities are 9% more expensive than the national average. While healthcare is 5% cheaper and offers well-qualified doctors, food and clothing are 2% higher than the US average. Do these statistics scare you or give you hope? Did they change your mind about moving to South Carolina or are you as sure as one can be that this is the right place?

Don’t skip any of the annual events!

Combined with great hospitality, South Carolina offers a long list of annual events that you could look forward to while living in South Carolina! We’ll just mention a few that sparked our interest, but you should of course explore a bit yourself. First off, we’ve got The Charleston Beer Fest, since there is no great event without some quality cold beer, right? This fall festival will let you indulge in a solid variety of craft beer, stouts, red ale, and cider. Not to mention you will be drinking beer with some good music and tasty food.

Myrtle Beach International Film Festival (MBFF for short) is an event screening during the month of April. Featuring a film lineup that many people deem to be quite admirable. “If the film screened consider it an award all on its own” is what they state on their official website. Worth mentioning, MBFF has been ranked among the “top 25 film festivals worth the entry fee” by Movie Maker Magazine.

Interestingly, ArtFields is an art exhibition that does not accept any borders. This event turns many of The Lake Cities’ art galleries, museums, restaurants, and even boutiques into art exhibitions filled with memorable art. ArtFields aims to make a large competition each year, where people vote for their favorite piece of art, and art professionals select their own winner. This large event aims to showcase the incredible art of the Southeast in a very unique and charming way.

Our last pick had to be the South Carolina State Fair, a giant fair held for 12 consecutive days in Columbia. Scheduled for October, this is the biggest recurring local event and it attracts its fair share of people each year. That means that Columbia just might be a fair competitor for that move you are planning. Still, you’ll need really good Columbia cross-country movers to make the whole process possible. We highly recommend giving this event a chance after moving to South Carolina.

What food can I try after moving to South Carolina?

Alright, we know, mustard is a big thing in the south. The combinations they tend to make with something as simple as mustard might change your mind, even if you aren’t a big mustard fan. And they do offer other sauces like vinegar, light tomato, and heavy tomato sauce. Moving onto something more exciting, south cuisine will fill your plate with numerous different dishes. A good starting point is the Frogmore Stew, a medley of sausage, potatoes, boiled corn, and shrimp. There is nothing more iconic than this dish, especially if you’ve boiled it in beer, a true Lowcountry medley you can try only after migrating to South Carolina.

Barbecue seems like a really typical food choice, but it can’t get better than the staggering South Carolina recipes. What’s interesting is that barbecue is in fact The State’s Official Picnic Cuisine, who would’ve guessed? Their Carolina Gold Sauce just fits ideally with the go-to kind of barbecue meat, pulled pork. On the other hand, a local tradition of Charleston, Cooter Soup, is a soup made out of turtles. Since there are so many turtles running around these parts, it’s not surprising at all someone decided to make soup out of them. Trying one of these might seem exotic, but never doubt cuisines like these.

Fried foods make for a common appearance after moving to South Carolina. Hush Puppies, for example, are fried cornmeal that is usually served as a side dish. We are not sure how this name came to be, but it’s hard to say no to this tasty addon. If you plan on enjoying all of these nice snacks regularly, you are going to have to move. If you decide to move to North Charleston and try their food, be sure to find good long-distance North Charleston movers to help you out with the cause. Another simple but surprisingly tasty snack is the boiled peanuts bowl that seems to pop up in many places along the state.

Crime Rates

Let’s go back to some statistics that will certainly interest someone that is planning on inhabiting South Carolina. The total number of annual crimes in South Carolina is equal to 169,678. Violent crimes were 27,691 and property crimes were 141,987 of the total sum. The crime rate is calculated per 1,000 residents, therefore, violent crime has a median of 5.41. For a good comparison, using the same calculation method, the national violent crime median is equal to about 4.00. Meaning the SC violent crime rate is higher than the national standard. The exact chance of one person participating in a violent crime is 1 in 185.

If we’re talking about property crimes, the national median is 19.00, but South Carolina has a property crime median of 27.74. The precise chance of one person taking part in a property crime is 1 in 36. Again, keep in mind that some cities are more dangerous than others, similarly, there are many safer cities you could choose to live in. Also worth mentioning is the crime per square mile median, which is 32 in South Carolina (the national average is 26.9). All of the above statistics came from neighborhoodscout.com, worth checking out if you plan on moving to South Carolina.

Alligator Safety

This might be a weird one, but we believe it’s really important to mention it for safety purposes. South Carolina has about 100,000 alligators wandering about the state, this being also one of the local attractions. Now, this might scare you, but don’t worry, there have been only 23 recorded cases of alligator attacks since the year 2000. SC is rather safe in terms of alligators since most of them are controlled or watched. If that’s not the case, that means the alligators in that pond, lake, river or swamp generally stay out of reach from humans. Still, in order to be safe, SC has its own Gator Safety Tips. We’ve gotten through them and will mention some that seem the most relevant, make sure to check them out before your move to South Carolina.

What do I do in order to keep safe?

First off, keep a safe distance away from the alligators. If you happen to stumble upon one coincidentally, keep at a 60 feet distance from it, if it starts hissing, that obviously means you are too close. If you didn’t notice the gator, slowly back away backward. Once again, keep in mind that most alligators are scared of people and don’t attack. Now, if you are in an alligator-friendly space, make sure to be aware of your surroundings, and don’t go too close to the water.

Although this one should be quite obvious, keep your pets and children away from the water. The alligators are not the type of animal that realizes the difference between a dog and food. If you are for some reason stubborn about walking your dog in an alligator-friendly habitat, please be careful. On the other hand, keep your family aware of the danger. A city near an alligator-friendly space might not be the best city for a family in South Carolina. Any kind of noise near the water might seem like a good feeding opportunity for the alligator in the waters. Take this case seriously and make sure to read through some of the guides SC’s official sites offer before moving to South Carolina.

Pros & Cons of moving to SC

So after reading this article, and after our little investigations, let’s go ahead and list all the pros and cons of living in South Carolina. Starting out positively, let’s see what are all the Pros:

• Overall living costs are 4% lower than the US average.
• Cheap housing runs at 15% lower prices than the national average.
• There is so much nature to enjoy your peaceful life in, and also includes all of the sunny beaches you can visit after your South Carolina move.
• Mild weather.
• The well-known southern hospitality, fingers crossed you get a pie from your new neighbors.
• Great doctors, and 5% cheaper healthcare (compared to the United States average of course).
• Tasty food, with a nice variety, everything from seafood to barbecue!

After checking out the positive sides of life in South Carolina, let’s see what the other angle says. Here’s a list of our personal hand-picked Cons:

• Monthly utilities are 9% more expensive than the national average.
• Might not be too big of a difference, but food and clothing are 2% pricier than the US average.
• Crime rates seem to have become higher than before, running a bit higher than the national crime median.
• There are 100,000 alligators roaming the state, and you need to think about alligator safety before moving to South Carolina.

Conclusion

All in all, South Carolina is a pleasant place to live in, with its great climate, beach variety, and a large count of annual events. Except for the alligator safety, you are pretty much good to go, especially if you are coming from a bigger city with the goal of enjoying a slower life. Obviously, there are still cities where you can run along with the faster way of life in South Carolina, but it’s entirely your choice. We hope this article has helped you make your choice of moving to South Carolina easier. Best of luck with the whole moving process!