Commercial real estate brokers in Charleston, SC

Charleston, SC, often captures the imagination of those seeking a charming coastal city with a rich history. However, as with any location, there are pros and cons to consider before deciding to move. Whether you are looking to rent an apartment in Charleston, SC, or purchase a home in the city, this Redfin article presents ten compelling factors to help you evaluate whether living in Charleston is the right place for you. Let’s get started.

Pros of living in Charleston, SC

Charleston is renowned for its exceptional weather, which combines elements of a subtropical climate with coastal influences. The city enjoys long, warm summers and mild winters, making it a great place to live year-round. Summers in Charleston are characterized by abundant sunshine. Cooling sea breezes from the nearby Atlantic Ocean offer relief from the heat. Winters in Charleston are relatively mild, with temperatures averaging in the 50s and 60s Fahrenheit. While occasional colder spells occur, they are typically brief and followed by milder periods.

Charleston is celebrated for its vibrant and diverse culinary scene, offering a delectable array of dishes that showcase the region’s rich history and flavors. The city is renowned for its fresh seafood, with shrimp, oysters, and blue crab being local favorites. You can savor a mouthwatering Lowcountry boil, a hearty dish featuring shrimp, corn on the cob, sausage, and potatoes seasoned with Old Bay and other spices.

Another iconic dish is she-crab soup, a creamy and rich bisque made with crab meat, crab roe, and a touch of sherry. For those with a sweet tooth, Charleston offers delectable desserts like the classic Huguenot torte, a layered almond cake filled with raspberry preserves and iced with buttercream.

Despite being a city, Charleston exudes a captivating small-town charm. Its picturesque streets are lined with historic homes, cobblestone walkways, and quaint shops. The city’s rich history is visible at every turn, with beautifully preserved architecture and landmarks that tell the stories of its past, such as the cobblestone streets of the French Quarter or strolling along the iconic Rainbow Row. From lively farmers’ markets to cozy neighborhood eateries and boutique shops, Charleston offers an intimate and inviting ambiance that makes residents feel like they are part of a tight-knit community.

Charleston offers unparalleled beach access, making it a haven for locals. Folly Beach is a popular destination because of its laid-back atmosphere and sandy shores. Isle of Palms is equally beautiful, with its pristine shoreline and gentle waves. Sullivan’s Island, a quiet and less crowded option, provides a peaceful retreat with natural beauty and historical landmarks. For nature enthusiasts, Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island offer unspoiled stretches of coastline, where visitors can enjoy scenic walks, birdwatching, and dolphin sightings.

Charleston has a ton of diverse neighborhoods, each offering a unique character and charm. Downtown Charleston is a treasure trove of history, featuring beautifully preserved architecture, cobblestone streets, and iconic landmarks such as The Battery and Rainbow Row. The French Quarter is known for its art galleries, boutique shops, and fine dining establishments.

The West Ashley area offers a mix of suburban and rural charm, with neighborhoods nestled among marshes and oak-lined streets. Mount Pleasant, located just across the Cooper River, boasts waterfront views and a thriving community, complete with shopping centers and parks. These are just a handful of wonderful neighborhoods that bring charm to Charleston.

Charleston is steeped in a rich and storied history that dates back centuries. Founded in 1670, Charleston played a significant role in the early days of American colonization and was a major port for trade and commerce. The city witnessed pivotal events during the American Revolution, including the Battle of Sullivan’s Island in 1776, where the fort was successfully defended against British naval forces.

Charleston’s role in the Civil War was equally significant, with the first shots fired at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor marking the beginning of the conflict. The city’s historic district, often called the “Holy City,” is home to beautifully preserved antebellum homes, churches, and landmarks that serve as tangible reminders of its past.

Cons of living in Charleston, SC

Charleston is not immune to its fair share of insects and bugs. The warm and humid climate of the region provides an ideal breeding ground for various pests. Mosquitoes, for instance, can be quite prevalent, especially during the summer months. Additionally, biting gnats, known as no-see-ums, can be bothersome, leaving itchy welts and disrupting outdoor gatherings. While efforts are made to control and mitigate these pests through mosquito abatement programs, their presence can still detract from outdoor experiences.

Charleston experiences a notable downside in the form of high humidity levels, which can be a source of discomfort for many residents. The city’s warm and humid climate, particularly during the summer, creates an environment where moisture hangs in the air, leading to a persistent feeling of stickiness and heaviness.

The city is characterized by a relatively flat landscape, which, while offering its own unique beauty, can present some drawbacks for those seeking varied topography or dramatic scenic vistas. The predominantly flat terrain of the area lacks the rolling hills or towering mountains found in other regions. So if you like a varied topography, Charleston may not be for you.

Charleston experiences extreme weather conditions as the region is susceptible to tropical storms and hurricanes, which can bring strong winds, heavy rainfall, and potential flooding. These weather events can disrupt daily life, damage property, and pose risks to personal safety. The hurricane season typically lasts from June to November. In addition to hurricanes, Charleston faces occasional periods of intense heat during the summer months, with high temperatures and high humidity.

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Charleston, South Carolina, has once again charmed Travel + Leisure readers, winning the top spot in the 2023 World's Best Awards' favorite cities in the U.S. category for the 11th year in a row. Last year, the South Carolina city earned a coveted spot in the WBA Hall of Fame.

Readers especially loved Charleston's thriving culinary scene and easy walkability, all doused with Southern charm.

The dining scene, of course, spotlights Southern cuisine, with fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, hush puppies, and she-crab soup as staples. Charleston's must-try dishes include the okra soup at Bertha's Kitchen; biscuits from Callie's Hot Little Biscuits; deviled crabs from Dave's Carry-Out; and crab rice from Hannibal's Soul Kitchen.

The restaurant hype continues to surge with several new openings in the last few years, like Bevi Bene Brewing; Sorelle, which just opened in February 2023 with a wine room and a pizza counter; and Raw Lab, an omakase-style raw bar. Perhaps the biggest restaurant news of this year is the opening of Filipino restaurant Kultura, by Chopped champion Nikko Cagalahan, which just started welcoming diners this month.

Other additions to the Charleston culture scene include the long-awaited International African American Museum in June 2023. The luxury offerings are also on the rise, with a new Soho House coming in next year.

The new hot spots add a fresh perspective to a city steeped in history — another aspect that resonated with T+L readers. Fort Sumter National Monument; Historic Charleston City Market; Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum; Magnolia Plantation and Gardens; Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens; and Rainbow Row all offer a look into Charleston's past. The Charleston Heritage Federation preserves its history through centuries-old homes and museums, while the Historic Charleston Foundation holds an annual Festival of Houses and Gardens in the spring for an inside look at some the nation's most beautiful homes.

In a city obsessed with Carolina Gold, Chris Schoedler is hoping we focus on a different kind of rice: Sake rice.

Schoedler is a Kikisake-Shi, or a certified sake sommelier to the rest of us, and he’s the only one in the state, according to Sake Service Institute of Japan, his certifying organization.

For Schoedler, co-owner of Charleston’s Sushi-Wa, it’s all about the rice. Paying attention to the way rice that originated the sake was treated is the difference between a sake with nuance, and the cheap stuff many order with Asian food. Some people think sake is just rice wine, but Schoedler says there is a world of difference between what most of us are used to and the real deal.

“I used to drink the typical Japanese steak house sake, which I know now is terrible,” Schoedler said. “People drink bad sake and they think all sake gives a hangover. It’s not true.”

Schoedler says he’d “already fallen down the sushi rabbit hole” when he started down a different rabbit hole that led to learning more about sake.

What he learned, after about 40 hours of class time, studying with flash cards and “lots of drinking sake” on the road to certification, was that the sake rice has an outer layer of fats and proteins and a starchy core. The amount the rice is milled determines how much of the fat and protein, which gives a fuller mouth feel, is left. The rice is coated with a rice mold called koji and combined with yeast and water to create a starter like a bourbon mash that, in turn, is fermented and then filtered and pasteurized to kill off excess yeast and mold.

The process is akin to brewing beer with one key difference, besides the grain: beer has a two-step process converting starch to sugar in one step and then sugar into alcohol in another. With sake, the conversions occur simultaneously. Sake will have between 15 to 20 percent alcohol, compared with beer’s 3 to 9 percent.

Each recipe is a bit different, and Schoedler says you can taste the difference, depending on how much of the exterior is left during milling.

“The flavor profiles range from clean and crisp to tropical fruit forward to aged and funky like aged soy sauce and mushrooms,” he said.

Sake quality ranges from Junmai, which has only rice, yeast, koji and water to the Futsu-Shu, which adds distilled alcohol to the mix. Futsu-Shu is regular sake and can use a lesser quality rice, have flavorings like pineapple or lychee, and more of the alcohol, which is what gives the hangovers.

“There are some good sakes made in the U.S., but if you look for premium sake made in Japan, that puts you in a premium category that’s been regulated by purity laws,” Schoedler said.

If you’re used to sake served hot in a little ceramic jug, Schoedler suggests trying it slightly chilled instead. The heating can mask the fruity aromas.

Schoedler isn’t the only one going down the “sake rabbit hole.” The New York Times quotes the Japanese Sake and Shochu Makers Association as saying that U.S. sake imports from Japan have more than doubled in volume from 2012 to 2022, to more than nine million liters per year.

Schoedler says he wants to start a sake bottle club at Sushi-Wa and to build up sake connoisseurs. These would be people who know that sake doesn’t have to be confined to a sushi restaurant.

“The biggest misconception is that you should drink sake only with Asian food,” Schoedler said. “The food pairing possibilities are endless. Compare it to wine: It has a low acidity and a savory component that wine doesn’t touch. I love sake with pizza. It will elevate anything savory.”

There are a myriad of reasons people find South Carolina’s Lowcountry an attractive place to live, which somewhat explains the population boom that has taken place in recent years. One thing newcomers are particularly drawn to is the abundance of waterways and the opportunities they offer.

South Carolina has 3,000 miles of coastline crammed into an area less than 200 miles from border to border; there are more than 8,000 miles of rivers and 460,000 acres of lakes, including such nationally recognized reservoirs as Lakes Marion and Moultrie, better known as the Santee Cooper lakes, about an hour drive from the heart of Charleston.

So it’s only natural that boating is an important part of the Lowcountry lifestyle.

Gettys Brannon, executive director of the South Carolina Boating and Fishing Alliance, points out that one in 10 South Carolinians own a boat; many own more than one. Boating is big business in South Carolina, and sometimes it is hard to separate the business of boating from recreation. They go hand-in-hand, Brannon said.

“In South Carolina, we have a $5.1 billion industry between boating and fishing. Those are directly correlated,” Brannon said.

He added that the state Department of Commerce recognizes 28 boat manufacturers that are headquartered in the Palmetto State. Boating and fishing support more than 23,000 jobs statewide, and the coastal economy relies heavily on boating and fishing.

“I think every boat manufacturer in the state makes some type of fishing boat,” Brannon said. “We don’t have a lot of big cabin cruiser-type boats built here, but (South Carolina boat manufacturers) make some of the finest center console boats in the world.”

Brannon said of the top boat manufacturers worldwide, five to 10 are in South Carolina.

“Scout Boats, headquartered in Summerville, is about to build the largest fiberglass center console in the world in the next year, a 67-foot boat. We have have everything from a 67-foot center console on down. We have something for everybody,” Brannon said.

The numbers bear out boating’s popularity. The tri-county region of Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties have more than 54,000 registered boats and another 3,800 personal watercraft, according to the most recent numbers from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

Horry and Georgetown counties add another 30,000 boats and approximately 3,500 personal watercraft. Beaufort County registrations include more than 12,000 boats and nearly 1,000 personal watercraft.

With the growing interest in boating, particularly for those new to the sport, safety should be a first concern. You can find boating requirements at www.dnr.sc.gov/boating.html. You also can find the location of boat ramps on their site.

While a boating license is not required of adults, consider taking a boating safety course such as those offered by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

Boaters under 16 are required by law to pass an approved boater education course before operating, without supervision, a personal watercraft or a boat powered by a 15-horsepower motor or more.

Brannon pointed out that there is legislation under consideration in the South Carolina General Assembly that will require anyone born after July 1, 2007, to take a boater education course. He said it will be phased in much like hunter education requirements.

A Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device (life jacket) is required for everyone on board and must be accessible. Youth under 12 must be wearing their PFD. Drowning is one of the biggest causes of boating fatalities, and your chances of surviving a boat accident are much greater if you are wearing your flotation device.

If you are looking for ways to access boating and fishing opportunities, Brannon suggests the organization’s website, scbfa.com, and clicking on the toolkit tab. It links to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s plug-in that shows boat ramps, tackle shops and other outdoor activities in a particular area.

Almost every boater in the Lowcountry will attest that finding a place to launch your boat and then park your vehicle and trailer is a challenge. Brannon said the various governmental entities have not built the facilities that can handle the growth of boating.

“We need dedicated funding sources to go toward expanding parking lots and expanding the ramps,” he said.

Brannon said he has traveled the world working with the outdoors industry and his home state has outstanding aquatic opportunities.

The city of Charleston says they are nearing a design agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to build a storm surge protection barrier on the peninsula.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The city of Charleston says they are nearing a design agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to build a storm surge protection barrier on the peninsula.

Chief Resilience Officer Dale Morris said the city has spent the last several years studying to see if it’s possible to build the project. They just wrapped that up and said it is possible to build it.

“This project is essential to the future of the City of Charleston,” Morris said. “There is no doubt in my mind that if we do not do this project, we will have substantial regret.”

There are no official pictures of what the storm surge barrier would look like. City officials said they want it to look like the Low Battery along Murray Boulevard and not a high concrete wall.

“We imagine that being the structure and just like the Low Battery and High Battery, you can walk on top of it as a pedestrian multifunctional facility, not just an ugly wall,” Morris said.

Historic Charleston Foundation Chief Advocacy Officer Cashion Drolet agreed with the city’s choice on design.

“We’re not interested in a monolithic concrete structure that really obstructs what makes Charleston, Charleston,” Drolet said.

Current estimations suggest the project would cost around $1.3 billion. The city would be responsible for around $300 million should it be approved.

“Our drainage systems are compromised. Our tidal management is becoming more challenging,” Morris said. “This is going to require the whole of government, whole city effort to make sure we can stay here. That’s our job is to make sure we can stay here safely, wisely, keep our beautiful city and also keep the economy functioning.”

Morris said a negotiated design agreement with the Army Corps allows the project to come before the council for a potential vote later this year.

If approved and funded, the project would move into the first of four pre-construction design and engineering phases, stretching from the Citadel to the Coast Guard station.

“We have to set the alignment first, so we’re going to review the alignment and make changes to it, make it more rational for us,” Morris said. “Then, we will start working on the design. What it looks like—again, where it goes, what it looks like, how people approach it, what people can do with it and the other benefits we can derive from it.”

Morris said water levels in Charleston Harbor have gone up 13 inches in the past 100 years. It is expected to rise by another 14 inches in the next 25 to 30 years in addition to the storm surge risks.

“We are a 1670s, 1680s city that’s got 21st century problems,” Drolet said.

Morris hopes to have the agreement negotiated around October and to start the pre-construction process early next year.

The city said once that process starts, they will have several mandatory public meetings to get feedback on the project.

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