Hello all. Just wondering if any Brits has moved to South Carolina or moving? Im hoping with some luck i will be there with my wife to be around August or Sept. I really aint looking forward to the heat lol, gonna be interesting how i cope with the humidity. Im just after any feedback on anyone who is there and how there settling in, the culture difference etc etc.

Cheers

Schnookums isn't here yet
The heat is the thing to kill him too. It was so funny the first time he came over for Christmas. He brought like 9 fleeces and jackets with him when I told him not to, and ended up wearing tshirts the whole time

Things Iain really enjoys about SC:

huge ridiculous portions at huge ridiculous steakhouses that are like half the price of yours
listening to us talk and subsequently making fun of how we talk
how much sloooooower everyone is; it drives me crazy but I guess it's still new to him
how it doesn't rain every single day in that crappy grey all-day-long way
But he loves our terrifying thunderstorms and wants to sit on the porch rocking in a chair going "mm hmm...storm's a comin"
I think he probably likes our side-of-the-road fruit stands and ice cream huts and stuff like that

I could list all kinds of food and things that he likes that you guys don't get. And I could list all the things he likes about my family. That's a big deal I think, that he likes my family a lot and I'm so glad about that. They're pretty different from his so just entertain him or something.
But unfortunately the "in general" list for SC is kind of short when you take out food A big crappy thing is no public transportation really, and most places are very much not pedestrian-friendly :\ But it totally depends where you are. If you're in Charleston there's tons to do, and Columbia's not bad either. And I love that where I live (upstate) it's a short drive to the mountains of NC which are really different and really beautiful.

I'm worried about Iain and you coming over right when a recession starts and gas and food prices are insane and all this fun stuff I don't know how the job market is looking in SC or what Lara does or what you do or how set up you guys are...I haven't hit the real world yet so my fingers are crossed for all of us

I'm sure you'll find lots of things you like It really is a beautiful area, and one of the better places to be in in the US as far as variation and natural beauty and things go. Other practical stuff like economy and crime and whatnot is going to depend on what community you're in.

Bad/weird thing about SC - not being able to buy booze on Sunday

good things - bbq! she crab soup! cheese grits!

Oh, any southern food is good food Fried squash and meatloaf. Omg.

It really DOES all come down to food, but I try to pretend otherwise

Will if Lara's in Charleston you'd better like seafood though. I don't and it's the specialty pretty much everywhere...

Lol, the amount of times i have been on the phone to Lara and i can hear the rumblings of thunder in the backround lol. She just lives outside Charleston in Summerville. She has pre warned me manys a time about the heat index there. She hates it and she's from there. God help it how the hell i will cope. She did say the food there is different than when she lived in Philly, some is better, some isn't. As for work goes, i'm a plasterer and tiler to trade and her brother works for a building firm who are always looking for ceramic tilers. I will probebly work with her for the first few month, just to get my feet on the ground. I'm looking forward to living there as there is plenty Scottish roots in SC. Is there any Scottish pubs near by lol. As for food, i will take anything as long it aint that grits, hate the damn stuff.

Iain hates grits too...I don't get that, they're yummilicious. Everyone eats shrimp and grits here though and gag.

Oh you should be fine if you're in building/construction sort of stuff, yeh absolutely. And if you have family connections that's awesome. I've never stayed in Charleston through the summer but I imagine it gets pretty terrible. Of course it's horrible muggy here near the ocean.

Sometimes when you're on Interstate 26 or maybe other places it's going to smell really awful, I don't know if it's the tides or ships coming in or what. Rotting fish smell And there's these gigantic cockroaches when it's warm too, MMM. Ya'l should move to the upstate it's better up there.


You know I've never seen a Scottish pub anywhere in the US that I can remember...plenty of irish ones though. If you guys ever go to Tommy Condon's which is irish in downtown Charleston, don't order the shepherd's pie. It'll just piss you off. It's a complete ripoff, they do it all wrong Burgers are great though.

Thanks for the advice there. I will take note. Lara hasnt mentioned about any smell hahahaha, i aint going to say anymore on that subject lol. Im really looking forward to the different kinds of food there but i aint a big fan on fast food.

You should come up to Pittsburgh for a Scottish bar. Piper's Pub on Carson Street.

Ooooh, Charleston, SC. Very historic.

We live in OH and my husband can't handle the heat He also can't handle the cold or the snow We really want to go out that way for a trip soon. I want to move out that way in a few years, but he likes it where we are.

The cold dont bother me at all. I would swap the snow for the humidity anyday. We would love to move to New England in the future, but whether that happens is another story.

Hi there, I just moved (back) to SC a few weeks ago. I actually lived here before, about 8 years ago, then lived in Florida, then back in the UK and now moved back to SC for a few months before we move on to Kentucky. We're just outside of Columbia right now.
The humidity in the Summer is pretty icky, it's kinda swampy here. But on the plus side almost everywhere has air conditioning, so as long as you're inside it's ok Everything is in bloom at the moment, very pretty, but the pine trees are driving my husbands allergies crazy.

I mostly like Southern Food, and Cracker Barrel is yummy! I don't like Grits though! But biscuits and sausage gravy are good.

South Carolina is kind of a slow pace of life, it's quite nice. Most people are very polite!

Hi, I live in Myrtle Beach. I'm finding it really strange here - it was ok to visit but to live I'm not sure about it. There are no real jobs except wait staff and hotel staff and the last time I was a waitress I was 16. Also, Charleston office is really slow. We sent the adjustment of status paperwork in November and we are still waiting. I have been for biometrics but not for the interview yet.

Oooo I love the Crack-Whore Barrel! As an American I personally believe that the biscuits and gravy are the best thing about this country and that I hope our next president will give them out to foreign dignitaries as an expression of goodwill between our nation and theirs

Is there still that pub in Charleston (downtown I think), called the Griffon. Kind of a snotty, trust-fund-baby Southern bourbon elite hang out if I remember it correctly (it's been 10 years), but it was a Scottish or British or English pub, I believe.

Myrtle Beach? That's barely ok to visit! Please move! Columbia, nice. Greenville, nice. Charleston, uber-nice.

You are in a low-scale resort town! Of course it is all about wait staff and hotel staff! Myrtle Beach is where people go for tattoos and airbrushed t-shirts.

Sorry about the fierce reaction, but as a native Georgian, I can't imagine living in Myrtle Beach. I love South Carolina, though. Especially Charleston. But prefer Savannah, Georgia, of course, 90 miles down the road.

I can't see how an Englishman could feel out of place in Savannah. It feels like Notting Hill or South Kensington. But more beautiful.

Culturally, many differences, the biggest is no public transport in the South. And of course religion and politics which couldn't be further from London. As a Southerner in the UK, I find the place completely strange. Like the Simpsons when everything is just slightly off. 2 years here, and I still feel "slightly off." Leaving soon. Can't wait to go somewhere completely different or just back home. Brits will probably feel about the same "over there."

My fiance was born in SC. She has lived in other States. She has pointed out there is plus and minus points in South Carolina. Sumter she says is a terrible place to go but Charleston itself has alot of history and culture. She's only been back to SC after living 12 years in Philly. She does see a difference from when she left. The 1 thing she has pointed out that you could live in a really nice area and round the corner there trailor parks lol. Still, im looking forward to it and im sure it will be a culture shock as i live in a very remote part in the Highlands of Scotland.

Oh dear you're in the Highlands...I wonder how thick your accent is. You're doomed xD

Lots of Scots down in the south though, historically or ancestrally or whatever. You might be nagged into the Highland festivals that take place yearly in lots of places around here

As for the Griffin in Charleston, I'm pretty sure I've passed it and know what you're talking about. Is it a pub on Broad street with big wooden tables and wooden bar and everything?...I've actually always thought it looked very nice and like a 'man's man' bar, not stuck up at all. I've actually wanted to go there a few times but I never have anyone to go out with. But yeh if that's the same one it's still there and I reckon it is english though I don't know if they have any of the traditional english pub food or imported beers or anything.

There is a lot more religion down here, you'd better be ready for that. Lots of baptist churches every quarter mile with sometimes obnoxious signs telling you how you're going to burn in hell. But I don't think it's a big obstacle, you can assume most people you bump into are religious but it doesn't like run their lives or anything.

Myrtle Beach does suck but I've heard the suburban areas around it are actually pretty nice. Maybe you should look into those?


and finally...

I cannot begin to tell you how much Cracker Barrel SUCKS and isn't like southern food at all, what's wrong with you all My goodness.

SC here I come too!

My daughter and I move to SC on June 24th Not looking forward to the heat/humidity but so so excited

Anderson is where we'll be moving to, it's where Tommy is.

Dawn.

Yeh...

..there ain't nothing in Anderson xD

Suburban Myrtle Beach might be nice. Don't know anything about it. Just know about the mass of Yankee tourists it attracts that we always made fun of growing up. (Apologies to my northern compatriots.)

Agree completely re: Cracker Barrel. It's not HORRIBLE, but saying it has good Southern food is like saying a Wetherspoon's pub has good fish and chips!!!

If you want good Southern food, just go to the biggest Baptist Church in town on Sundays and follow all the people in their "Sunday bests." You will be led to the best little Southern food establishments known to man. Just thinking of it makes me teary-eyed. Creamed corn, creamed potatoes, fried chicken, green beans (cooked in fatback of course), biscuits and gravy.... waekfjasdlgahsdlfk....

How about a good fish fry? I know my southern relatives in north Texas do those well...nothing like hot fried catfish!

Omg Thomas, yes, THE reason I went to church so many years when I was little (I figured out the taste was worth the evil even then) was for those potluck sunday dinners from all those old people Oh...oh oh oh. Hopefully everyone moving around here has a good family basis to go eat all the food of on Thanksgiving and Easter and whatnot. Everyone's in for it

I think we do fried fish pretty good too...I'm not a seafood person at all though so I can't say. All you fish and chippers should maybe try our fish camps when you get over here Iain was horrified at the idea but I think they're awesome. Partitioned penitentiary plates, big hunks of deep fried and battered fish, chips, slaw, or whatever southern sides you want probably (in the state where mac and cheese is found under the vegetable section ), and of course the very best thing about fish camps is the hushpuppies Mmmmm.

If ya'l are all tea drinkers you have to see how you like iced sweet tea too...it took Iain awhile to get used to it but now he drinks tons of it. But I think every town is going to have it's great southern food place to go to, just it's not going to be a chain and you have to find out by reputation where you're meant to go...like in my hometown it's Wade's, which was started in like the 50's by one little old lady for her husband so he didn't have to eat cold lunches at work, and then the other men wanted in on the cooking, and it grew and grew So cute. And also can't ignore the slightly different also awesome black/cajun/whatever cooking you'll find too. To be honest I'd think they probably do the fish fries and things like sweet potato pie better than the regular southern places.

Good point re: fish fries.

To find the best fried fish in town you:
1. Follow the Church-going crowd in their Sunday bests to the best little Southern food establishment in town (often times its on the main square, but not always...it's really impossible to know. You just have to follow or ask).

2. Go back to the same place on Friday, and pick up all the fried catfish you can eat. Usually fried up on the bone, whole fish. Fridays are traditionally fish fries in the South.

Also ditto re: sweet tea. It's a nectar from the gods.

Re: The Griffon in Charleston...does Broad Street road east to west on the penninsula? If so, that might be it. Kind of a side street. Across from a parking lot if I recall. [Checking the internet.....] HERE IT IS!!!!!! DEFINITELY ENGLISH PUB. WOO HOO. VICTORY IS MINE!!!!!!!!!!!! And it looks like they even have bluegrass on Saturday nights. If that's doesn't bring homesick tears to my eyes, I don't know what.....

http://www.igougo.com/entertainment-review...he_Griffon.html

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF8&...px0fYw&cd=1

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF-8&...=1&ct=image

Oh it's right at Waterfront Park? o_O Wow I have to say I have no idea where/what this place is, doesn't ring a bell...there's a couple hotels and a barber's and really schmancy restaurants just there. Bet it blends in with one of the schmancy restaurants.

I never get to go out

My man is there, I think that's plenty, but thanks for the encouragement

Dawn.

I do believe North Charleston is a bit of a no go area. Apparently it was in the top 10 of most dangerous areas in the USA. Maybe someone else knows more on the matter.

All of South Carolina is a no go area.

Driving from Columbia to downtown Charleston at night can be a bit terrifying. The road's usually abandoned, there's very few exits to stop at for gas, you start seeing a lot of deer and getting scared they're gonna jump out in front of you and you'll hit them and die and no one will find you for hours, or someone will come out of the woodwork with a pitchfork and a hungry look. Kind of Texas Chain Saw Massacrey.

The crime is pretty bad too, I think much worse than upstate SC....I don't know. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me, I mean it doesn't personally affect my life as crappy as that sounds. Most people in downtown won't walk around at night by themselves but I do it all the time. I've never really had much contact with N. Charleston but it is meant to be worse.

Unfortunately I think if you're from the UK you're probably in for a little culture shock no matter where you go in the US. Just because of the gun thing if nothing else. (well I don't know, maybe isn't London kind of bad, too, or Glasgow or Manchester or something?). But yeh our household at least is one of those where you have a gun for 'just in case' stuff though that doesn't really make sense, and then there's my dad's hunting guns, and then my mom keeps a gun in her car because she goes hiking a lot and bad things happen to hikers. First time Iain saw one around he seemed properly freaked out for awhile.

I'm sure it will be a culture shock. It was when i was in Lousiana for 4 months in 2005. The street i lived in there was 3 murders in 1 month. I seen so many guns in that time and i was shocked. It was a scary experience, specially when you get the police rapping on your door telling you to turn the lights out and dont leave the house. Some loony shot 2 women in the head right across the street from where i lived. I couldnt believe what i was seeing. This stuff i only seen on UK tv. One thing i wont be doing when im there is not venturing to far at night. I did it once in the USA and i would never want to go through that experience much.

Waterfront Park. That rings a bell...but yes, the Griffon is very much tucked in and hidden. But it's a must see for a Brit in Charleston. When I used to go I knew very little about the UK....but it seemed pretty English to me at the time.

I used to live in North Charleston. But I also lived on the Old Kent Road near Elephant and Castle in London. Both are pretty much considered "no-go" areas, and have the same vibe...drug dealers and a lot of poverty. You'd have to be an idiot to carry your laptop around after midnight in either area. But I lived there for a few months and lots of my friends at the University of Charleston (The College of Knowledge, love it) used to live there, due to the cheaper monthly rents. Basically they used to say that anywhere north of Calhoun Street was dangerous. I lived near Cannon Street. It was exciting, to say the least!

Oh, by the way, if you are a night owl, the Hardees on Cannon Street used to start serving biscuits at 4am. Heaven on earth.

To be perfectly fair, though, a mugging in north Charleston is likely to include a gun (or at least someone claiming to have one), whereas south London muggings seem to involve (at the moment) knives or fatal beatings.

Seriously though, every city has "no-go" areas where crime is prevalent. One is usually fine if he/she keeps his/her wits about them. Taboos usually do more to perpetuate the poverty and inequality than actually keep "good people" safe.