This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kathie Zucker, 57, and her decision to move to Charleston, South Carolina, from the New York City suburb of Butler, New Jersey. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.
I started to seriously look to move to Charleston in the fall of 2023.
Before that, my husband and I would talk about it and drive to different areas. Then we figured out areas we liked.
It’s a hard decision to make. You just say to yourself, “My husband and I are entering the second phase and moving toward retirement eventually. I’m an insurance agency manager. I’m too young to retire right now, but is New Jersey where I want to eventually be?”
And the answer was no.
On top of that was the cost of living in New Jersey. The property tax situation when you retire is still significant. I mean, you’re talking $9,000 a year — just increase after increase.
I’ve been to Charleston extensively to stay with my daughter. She transferred there from another school in Virginia. But it wasn’t really on my radar as a place to retire — more so Florida, or somewhere like that.
But the more I went to visit her and the more I saw of what it offered, the more I could visualize my husband and I retiring there.
We did consider Florida, but we ruled it out. For maybe a quick minute we considered North Carolina and ruled that out. But we definitely wanted something on the seaboard here in the east.
I wanted to be closer to my daughter — and the beach
My family had vacationed in Isle of Palms, which is near Charleston, for many years. But until my daughter went to school there, I never really went down and experienced it. It’s funny that’s where I ended up.
I wouldn’t say my daughter living there was the sole consideration for moving. Out of 10, I would probably have to say it’s a seven. Wanting to be near your adult children was important for me and my husband because she’s our only child. But then I think if she was in a place we definitely didn’t want to be, we wouldn’t move.
If she was in Virginia, where she originally started school, we probably would have looked in that area. But if she was in Ohio, there’s not a chance I’d go to Ohio.
She loves it down there, so it’s a great place for her to call home.
I wouldn’t say it felt like a place immediately that I could live. Being from New Jersey and living outside New York City my whole life, it’s very diverse and there are a lot of different things to do.
While obviously not as big as New York, there are also things to do in Charleston. You can hike, there are cultural events in the city and also outside the city, there’s an area called Summerville that also has those things. I could very much picture myself in there because of the variety of things the area has to offer.
Also the weather — no snow, none of that to deal with. The weather and being outdoors all year round. When I was younger I used to be a winter person where I liked to ski and all that. But now I like being able to enjoy life and be outside and in a mild climate with lots of activities.
Our house in South Carolina isn’t cheaper, but we got more bang for our buck
I was born and raised in New Jersey, and I was in that house for 27 years.
Opendoor purchased the home from me free and clear for somewhere around $493,000. The company then put the home on the market a couple of weeks ago and it was sold within a week to another buyer. (Editor’s note: The Zillow listing says the home sale is pending for $540,000.)
We bought the house for $143,000 in 1997. It was about 1,300 square feet, ranch style, with three bedrooms and two baths.
Our house in South Carolina is in a suburb called Moncks Corner, about 30 miles from Charleston proper. The feel of the town is a lot like Butler, except with beautiful weather and palm trees. There’s a huge, huge lake two miles from where the house is being built. I can get to the beach easily — the beaches are free — and I can get to the city easily.
Obviously it’s not New York City, but it’s still a city and just a more laid-back life. You have great food, and some entertainment.
In general, the cost of living is less there and there are far lower taxes on property and payroll.
But it’s not as much in savings as you would think. That area is really booming. It’s growing and there’s building like crazy.
The house that we bought in Charleston was $433,000, but the square footage is more than we had in New Jersey. It’s a brand-new build in a brand-new development, which goes towards the quality of life. We could not have afforded that build in New Jersey.
Altogether, there are three bedrooms and two full baths on the first floor, and then a lofted area makes it four bedrooms. So if we have guests, or my daughter comes home to live with us, it’s almost like an additional self-contained space away from the main parts of the house.
It’s really nice to have that area of the house that we didn’t have in New Jersey, and the yard is actually a little bit bigger than we had in New Jersey.
Would we have moved here if our daughter was here? Probably not, because I hadn’t been to the area. She’s a senior now and an athlete, so I go down to Charleston at least four or five times a year to see her events and stay with her or in a hotel.
But I’m not so sure if, had I not had those experiences and been down there, that Charleston would necessarily have been on my list.
