[StarFan]

Can you be specific when mentioning SC and NC. Looking to buy near the coast with some property/privacy.

[crystalk]

Naw, those coasts have too many hurricanes. Looks like further on down here is better.

[JParris]

You would not like SC at all. Mosquitoes are terrible, taxes are rising every year, democrat govenor, both U.S. senators are old geezers, the people drive too slow and talk funny, the land grant college football team can't get a bid to the humanitarian bowl, the schools are always in a heated race with Miss. for the bottom of the pile, and last but not least there are just too many people here all ready.

[SlickWillard]

Can you be specific when mentioning SC and NC. Looking to buy near the coast with some property/privacy.

Beaufort, NC (not to be confused with Beaufort, SC), is a charming town, and prices are not as outrageous as they are, in, say, Wrightsville Beach, or, God forbid, Corolla. Here's one real estate agent:

http://www.beaufortrlty.com

realtor.com listings for Beaufort and all surrounding communities are here:

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListings.asp?
mlsttl=&frm=bymap&pgnum=1&mls=xmls&js=on&st=nc&ct=Beaufort
&areaid=86696&areaid=49301&areaid=81850&areaid=76322
&areaid=49466&areaid=20693&areaid=38504&areaid=76719&areaid=93704&areaid=30899
&typ=1&mnprice=0&mxprice=99999999&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnsqft=0&pgsz=50&view=2&ss_fthb=n%2Fa&ss_mitm=n%2Fa

This will give you 50 hits at a time; if you have a slow modem connection to the internet and you want fewer than 50 hits in a page, change the pgsz=50 to something smaller, like pgsz=10. Alternatively, this page should give you a map:

http://www.realtor.com/carteretcounty/nbregion1.asp

The trouble with the beach communities (and the mountain towns as well) is that there aren't any good hospitals nearby. If you want healthcare, then you should retire to the triangle area (Durham, with the Duke University School of Medicine, and Chapel Hill, with the UNC School of Medicine). Of course, you pay for what you get - prices in the triangle are pretty high.

An alternative, with fairly good health care, would be Winston Salem, which has the Wake Forest University (Bowman Gray) School of Medicine.

[dhfnc]

In NC - Oak Island is GREAT!

[paul51]

Can you be specific when mentioning SC and NC. Looking to buy near the coast with some property/privacy.

Yup. That's the ticket. I'll be right behind you.

[Stopspin]

The beach property is expensive in SC . The beaches are all great .

The Isle of Palms near Charleston has a gated community which offers "Everything" a retiree could need and most of the things that might fall in the wanted category .

Santee SC is located near the junction of I-26 and I-95 . There are a couple of gated communities in Santee . Golf and boating are great .There are probably 100 golf courses within a 2 hour drive from Santee .Two [or fewer] hours will get you to Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head , Charleston , Columbia , Seabrook Island ,Kiawah Island , Folly Beach , and Edisto Island . Santee sits astride I-95 and adjacent to the Santee Cooper Lakes [Marion and Moultrie]. You can put your boat in the lake at Santee and take a trip to Charleston via the locks at Moncks Corner .

Undeveloped land is available around the lakes and along the Cooper River between Santee and Charleston .