Great Retirement Locations in the United States
Charleston, South Carolina Retirement
|
|
|
|
Description: |
|
Charleston is the second largest city in South Carolina. The City has been called the “best-mannered”, “America’s Sexiest City”, “America’s Most Friendly”, “the most polite and hospitable city in America” and “second best-dressed city in America” by various publications. |
|
Charleston is well-known across the United States and beyond for its unique culture, which blends traditional Southern American, English, French, and West African elements. The downtown peninsula is well known for its prominence of art, music, local cuisine, and fashion. Spoleto Festival USA, held annually in late spring, is one of the world’s major performing arts festivals. |
|
Charleston’s oldest community theater group, the Footlight Players, has provided theatrical productions of a high quality since 1931. A variety of performing arts venues includes the historic Dock Street Theatre. The annual Charleston Fashion Week held each Spring in Marion Square brings in designers, journalists, and clients from across the Nation. Charleston is well known for its local seafood, which plays a key role in the city’s renowned cuisine, comprising staple dishes such as Gumbo, She-Crab Soup, Fried Oysters, Lowcountry Boil, Deviled Crab Cakes, Red Rice, and Shrimp and Grits. The culture in Charleston differs greatly even from the rest of South Carolina, with British and French elements heavily prevalent. Downtown, horse-drawn carriages share the cobblestone streets with cars. Tourism is among the main contributors to a strong local economy, as Charleston is annually among the nation’s most visited cities, as well as being an enormously popular wedding destination. The city is the site of several significant historical sites pertaining to both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, including Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired by Charlestonian Confederate soldiers. |
|
Reasons to retire here: Historic sites, Plantations, Culture (museums, theaters, music), Festivals (Art, Wine and Food, Antiques, Film, etc.), Beaches, Outdoor activities (boating, fishing, tennis, cycling, etc.), low property taxes
|
|
Weather: Temperatures range from lows in January in the upper 30s to summer highs in the low 90s
|
|
Population: 120,000
|
|
State Income Tax: between 0 and 7%
|
|
Sales Tax: 8.5%
|
|
Property Taxes: approximately .5%
|
|
|
