Lots of people want property in Charleston proper or coastal areas, so the demand is very high. Prices range from the $700,000 upwards to multimillion dollar homes found in Isle of Palms or Kiawah... Summerville, which is about 20 minutes inland from Charleston has a depressed market right now, so you could probably find some great deals. I have found one myself that I'm looking into purchasing for retirement. I don't know about the specifics of the market for the coastal areas right now. I'm sure there is some demand, but I don't know if it's outpacing the supply right now or not, given the economy.

have you considered Richmond or the other cities in Central Virginia? I know we are not "the deep south" but I would say hospitable

I would live on HHI in a heartbeat.

We used to live on Ft. Knox and I grew to love Louisville. It was a lovely little city.

Currently we are in Northern VA. Despite the fact that we are below the Mason-Dixon line, there is very little Southern charm in this area.

Check out Birmingham, Ala. Business is booming...excellent schools in several suburbs...reasonable housing costs. Good shopping, and it's getting even better. 2 hours from Atlanta, and 4 hours from the beach.
I'm close to Huntsville...great area, too...

Ooh, I LOVE Chattanooga! I don't know what it is exactly, but that city has just got a great vibe and it is so pretty :)

Some places in Mount Pleasant can be just as high as Isle of Palms, Kiawah or Sullivans Island. It's not hard to find a home at $500,000. Summerville is growing so fast Dorchester County is trying to put a six-month halt on new homes built. You may also want to try Johns Island (part of it is in the City of Charleston) or West Ashley (which is in Charleston).

The housing market is slowing down her, but hasn't been as bad as some other places across the country.

The Mr and I argue about this all the time. He's from SC. Virginia IS part of the South; he shut up about it NOT being Southern when I pointed out that the capital of the Confederacy was in Richmond. lol.

Northern VA is a whole 'nother beast, lol. There is Virginia and Northern VA, its like night and day. The Tidewater area is nice, too, as someone said (Hampton Roads, Norfolk, etc).

My heart is in the heart of North Carolina, actually. Enough mix of city and country to give you enough of both when you need to escape, good schools, great economy, great University system (GO TARHEELS!!!) and nice people.

birmingham is lovely-the suburbs of homewood and mountain brook are especially nice. franklin, tennessee and brentwood, tennessee are suburbs of nashville and are very nice too.

i lived several years in jacksonville,fl. and it does have southern charm. the riverside and san marco neighborhoods are my favorite.

the research triangle area of nc is well thought of.

southern living magazine always has nice things to say about wilmington,nc. there is an informative article in the april 2008 coastal living magazine.

my sil and her family live in the woodlands, texas, which is a suburb of houston. good schools and nice neighborhoods.

And easy access to the beach and the mountains.

Baci, how old are your kids?

Oooh, me too! We go to a huge family reunion every Thanksgiving at Mr. C's uncle's house and all the neighbors on the cul-de-sac let the Carnations have their houses free. I love that area and even towns close to it...Statesboro, GA is a favorite. Reminds me of Houston, TX before it got so huge.

I also adore Valdosta, GA.:)

In my opinion, I would overlook Myrtle Beach. It's become more run down over the years, and it has a ridiculously high amount of tourists. I lived there briefly, and since it was solely a tourism town, it got on my nerves. It didn't feel very home-y. But that is just my opinion. :)

I agree with a lot of others as well -- I would definite look into Memphis or even Nashville. They are absolutely beautiful cities.

There alot of areas in the South that people forget about about because they are northern "Southern" locations. Baltimore, Maryland, and Louisville, Kentucky are examples of this. These areas are basically Southern in culture, but by their physical location they are barely part of the Southern United States. Richmond, Virginia is likewise in this category. All three of these cities would be great to move to. I personally would love to live in any one of them.

My husband's father's family is from West Virginia. He has always wanted to live there to be by his southern cousins. The only part of West Virginia that I would feel comfortable living in would be Huntington because it is a medium sized city and not far from a bigger one (Charleston). Huntington is right on the tristate border of Ohio/Kentucky/WV. We both have friends or family in Kentucky and Tennessee. He would be close to his family in West Virginia. We could go north into Ohio for its northern culture.

Have you ever lived in the South? You need to consider the cultural differences more than the physical differences. Any new area requires an adjustment and fitting into a new culture takes some time. I have already considered this knowing that someday we may "move on down the road" (Go South). I suggest taking some time to decide just where you want to move to. I also suggest an area where you have access to friends and family. This is an important part of life. Going where you don't know anyone can make you miserable, even if you make friends and join an alumnae club. What areas of the South have you been considering moving to, and what are the reasons that you'd want to live there? :)

Oooh, Barbino-you got any more info on WV?? Because we're moving there in June due to MrRN's job and I have never even set foot in the state. We're looking at homes in the Hurricane/Milton/Teays Valley area-any help is so appreciated!!

You can PM me if you want, to avoid hijacking this thread!!

Go south or west of the beltway, and it gets pretty southern, lol.

I've heard great things about Nashville (got engaged there!) and Chatanooga. Myrtle Beach is getting pretty run down and touristy so I would avoid that city if possible. I've also heard great things about TX in general, despite the weather. Southern Va is nice too, Virginia Beach is beautiful and not too touristy :)

I'm in Raleigh now and I LOVE it!

To the OP: This area (Raleigh/Cary) may not be as much of a culture shock b/c we have quite a few transplants here. I have heard from others that Nashville is an up-and-coming city. Charleston is amazing but I would think it would be a culture shock b/c it is a highly Southern city.