If you could design the perfect spot to settle down and enjoy life, it would look a lot like McClellanville.

Just off Highway 17, about midway between Myrtle Beach and Charleston, McClellanville is a tiny fishing village on the banks of Jeremy Creek. Residents live in a mix of modern homes and old-fashioned two-story houses with welcoming porches.

Though it is small, it is a town with a big heart. Together, the townspeople survived the terrible wrath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, then rebuilt the homes and businesses that were blown away. Today, local residents welcome newcomers who seek the peace and serenity of small-town living along with the convenience of residing just a short distance from major metropolitan areas.

It takes just a few minutes to drive around McClellanville, but, once you do, you’ll want to become a permanent part of this vital community. Be sure to stop at the business district, in the heart of the village, where you’ll find eclectic boutiques offering clothing, gifts and pottery. For fresh seafood, have a seat a TW Graham & Co., where the locals meet to eat and catch up on the news. The Crabpot Restaurant, on Highway 17, is another favorite stop for residents and hungry travelers.

“ Together, the townspeople survived the terrible wrath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, then rebuilt the homes and businesses that were blown away. ”

Lest you think there’s not much to do beyond a daily walk, The McClellanville Arts Council might change your mind. A non-profit chartered in 1977, the group is dedicated to enhancing culture in their corner of Charleston County. For three decades, the Arts Council has presented hundreds of events and programs, ranging from book signings to batik classes to African dance classes. In 1997, Gov. David Beasley and the South Carolina Arts Council honored the McClellanville Arts Council with the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award.

The Village Museum, also downtown, presents McClellanville’s history, from the rice plantations along the Santee Delta through today’s seafood industry.

Surrounded by the Cape Romain Wildlife Refuge, the Francis Marion National Forest and the Santee Coastal Reserve, the small fishing village of McClellanville is the perfect refuge from the outside world.

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Move to Mount Pleasant, SC

Charleston, South Carolina was recently rated the MOST popular vacation destination in the United States, and it surely must rank among the top places where you’ like to settle down for the rest of your life. If it doesn’t yet, read on and let’s change that!

Visit Charleston once and you’ll discover that it pulls at your heartstrings like no other place in the country. Visit Charleston twice and you just might be looking for your new home!

Is it the delightful year-round climate? The almost-European feel and look of its downtown city streets? The amazing amount of history lurking behind every corner and down every alley? Charleston is truly one of the most cosmopolitan places around, offering a polished dining experience rivaling that of much larger cities and shopping experiences for even the most jaded consumers.

To say that Charleston is built on history is not much of a stretch of the imagination. Other towns and cities have long histories as well, but none is a living museum that grows and changes with the times. Suffice it to say, if you’re a history buff, you will never grow tired of Charleston and the surrounding countryside.

While Charleston itself has no beaches, it is surrounded by water on three sides – if you’re lost, just continue on and you’ll surely run into a familiar river and get your bearings. The most picturesque spot might be The Battery, with its panoramic views of the Ashley and the Cooper, and the Atlantic Ocean. If you love the sights and sounds of gentle waves lapping against the shore, you can reach some of the best beaches along the Atlantic coast in a matter of minutes. If you revere golf, there is no shortage of challenging courses to conquer. If you enjoy walking, Charleston is full of interesting little parks and side streets filled with art galleries and boutiques.

In spite of all that Charleston offers, it maintains a small-town charm you’ll cherish for years to come. You’ll love morning strolls around Colonial Lake and sunset cocktails at restaurants overlooking the water. You’ll come to appreciate the intricate artwork in the wrought-iron gates and the lovely Charleston single style of architecture, designed to catch the breeze on sultry afternoons.

Most of all, you’ll cherish the many new friends and acquaintances you’ll make when you choose Charleston.

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Sullivan’s Island is just minutes from all that historic Charleston and booming Mount Pleasant have to offer, yet it might as well be a thousand miles away. A sophisticated island town, it offers its residents and visitors no flashing neon signs, no shopping malls, no golf courses and not even a stoplight, just a small downtown district that features primarily upscale restaurants and watering holes. And that’s the way the islanders plan to keep it.

Originally known as O’Sullivan’s Island after Capt. Florence O’Sullivan, as Irishman who was stationed there as a lighthouse keeper, the island paradise is drenched in history. The first patriot victory of the Revolutionary War was hatched there on June 28, 1776, at what is now Fort Moultrie. British naval forces led by Sir Peter Parker bombarded the fort, made of palmetto logs and sandbags, for 10 hours. The spongy logs absorbed the British cannonballs, allowing the militia to inflict much damage on the invading fleet and driving it from Charleston Harbor. Meanwhile, the Americans repulsed the efforts of a British force under Sir Henry Clinton to cross from Long Island (now the Isle of Palms) to Sullivan’s Island and attack the fort from the rear.

Fort Moultrie saw action in the Civil War and again during World War II, when its garrison was charged with watching for enemy submarines. The bunkers and battlements remain, facing the sea, and the fort draws many visitors each year. American author Edgar Allan Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie during a stint in the Army in 1827 and 1828, using the island as a setting for his story, “The Gold Bug.” The library, housed in a renovated bunker, is fittingly named for Poe.

The island is home to an unusual lighthouse, a triangular tower of steel and concrete sheathed in aluminum that was built in 1962, replacing the original structure built in 1848 and rebuilt in 1872. The modern, air-conditioned lighthouse is the only one in the United States with an elevator. Originally equipped with a 28-million candlepower light, it was downgraded to a little more than 1 million candlepower, but it can still be seen 28 miles out to sea.

Today, Sullivan’s Island epitomizes the unhurried, casual lifestyle of a beach community. Residents get around on foot, on bikes or in golf carts. When they need to leave the island, they travel across an old-fashioned drawbridge. There are no hotels of any sort and rental properties are frowned upon in this family-oriented, close-knit community.

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It took years of thoughtful planning and vision to make the thriving community of Daniel Island a reality. Not long ago, the island, which is within the Charleston city limits but also in Berkeley County, was nothing but acres of farmland and marshes. Now it is a nationally acclaimed town designed to provide its residents with a true feeling of community–a slow-paced, small Southern town in a modern setting.

Daniel Island’s developers incorporated many historic design features of the neighborhoods of downtown Charleston. The homes are set close to the quiet, meandering streets to enhance the neighborly feel and feature large covered porches, ideal for chatting with neighbors. Wide sidewalks crisscross the island, making walking to stores, schools and parks a practical proposition. Everything residents need, from dry cleaners to dentists, is available on the island.

It wasn’t always so. Named in honor of Robert Daniel, an early governor of South Carolina, the island was at one time made up of several large plantations. Harry Frank Guggenheim bought the island to use for cattle farming and as a family hunting and fishing retreat in 1947. When he died in 1971, the land was passed on to the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation.

Though Daniel Island is a collection of carefully planned communities, considerable work has gone into maintaining the rural feel of the island. Large thickets of live oaks, draped with Spanish moss, and towering palmetto trees remain untouched, giving the newly developed island a well-established look and feel.

Daniel Island features several spacious parks with playgrounds and open grassy spaces and is home to a golf course designed by Tom Fazio that is rapidly earning a reputation as one of the best courses in the area. Each April, the world’s best female tennis players compete in the Family Circle Cup at Daniel Island’s Family Circle Tennis Center. The stadium also hosts Davis Cup matches and is a popular venue for outdoor concerts. Blackbaud Stadium, one of the country’s premier soccer-specific stadiums and the home ground for the Charleston Battery, is also on Daniel Island.

Just minutes from Mount Pleasant, downtown Charleston, area beaches and the Wando River, Daniel Island’s prime location offers residents almost unlimited recreational and cultural opportunities.

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The Isle Of Palms has attained the near-perfect combination of preservation and development, creating an ideal beach resort for visitors and full-time residents alike, just a short drive from historic downtown Charleston.

Located north of Charleston Harbor, the upscale barrier island exudes a feeling of community that most resort islands simply cannot offer. IOP is known for its cool breezes, mild winters and pleasant summers, the perfect setting for people in search of a year-round, warm-weather home.

Throughout the storied history of the area, the island’s beautiful beaches have served as a peaceful getaway for Charlestonians and other residents of the Carolinas. However, few people lived there full-time until the late 1800s. Even after the automobile became the main mode of transportation for Americans, travel to the island was difficult until the Isle of Palms Connector opened in 1993. Today, the trip along the two-mile-long road that links the island community to bustling Mount Pleasant is no problem.

The Isle of Palms Parks and Recreation Department offers numerous activities for residents and tourists, from aerobics and yoga to recreational team sports, and there’s a full-service marina for boaters. On the north end of the island, the spectacular Wild Dunes Resort is home to two world-class championship golf courses. Both The Links and The Harbor Course were designed by renowned architect Tom Fazio.

The island is within minutes of the Charleston area’s many historical attractions, including the downtown district; Fort Sumter, where the Civil War began; and Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island, the scene of one of the first battles of the American Revolution and where author Edgar Allan Poe served during his stint in the Army.

Isle of Palms residents are a short drive from the most complete shopping center in the area. Towne Centre, in Mount Pleasant, was designed to look like a small Southern village and features national department stores and shops as well as locally owned businesses. Also nearby is Shem Creek, home to one of the area’s last fishing boat fleets, unusual art galleries and several outstanding restaurants.

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Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, is a vibrant, thriving community that is proud of its past and looking toward a bright future.

Located across the Cooper River from historic Charleston, Mount Pleasant has played an important role in South Carolina and U.S. history for more than three centuries. The many Colonial and antebellum homes in Mount Pleasant’s Old Village draw tourists in large numbers, inviting them to wander the narrow, oak-lined streets and take a peek back into the town’s proud past. The most well-known of the homes and buildings in this historic district is Alhambra Hall, a former ferry station that overlooks Charleston Harbor.

Originally the home of the Sewee Indians, Mount Pleasant’s first white settlers, led by Capt. Florentia O’Sullivan, arrived from England in 1680. The town’s name was forever etched in history on Sept. 24, 1860, when a public meeting held there produced South Carolina’s first resolution of secession. Shortly thereafter, representatives of seven Southern states met in Charleston to form the Confederate States of America.

As proud as Mount Pleasant is of its past, it’s the city’s ability to look to the future that speaks loudest. The state-of-the-art Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge linked Mount Pleasant with Charleston in 2005, replacing the Grace Memorial Bridge, built in 1929, and the Pearman Bridge, which opened for business in 1966.

Mount Pleasant remained a small town until well into the 20th century, populated in part by Charlestonians wealthy enough to afford summer homes across the Cooper River.

While Mount Pleasant has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade, it also has preserved its heritage and small-town sense of community. Many people choose to live in Mount Pleasant because of the town’s proximity to the area’s beaches and excellent golf courses, its mild climate and nearby state-of-the-art medical facilities. Mount Pleasant also is home to some of the finest shopping in the region. Towne Centre, on busy Highway 17, offers a wide selection of goods from national and local merchants.

Picturesque Shem Creek, which bisects the city, hosts several popular restaurants and one of the last fleets of local fishing boats in the area. Residents take advantage of the fresh off-the-boat seafood sold on the docks.

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