Charleston, South Carolina has many beautiful beaches, each with its own unique charm. Here are some of the best beaches in the area, in no particular order:

Kiawah Island - Located about 25 miles south of Charleston, Kiawah Island is a secluded paradise with 10 miles of unspoiled beach, marshes, and maritime forests. It's known for its world-class golf courses and luxury resorts.

Isle of Palms - This pristine beach is a favorite among families and water sports enthusiasts. It offers wide stretches of white sand, calm waters, and a variety of activities, including kayaking, paddle-boarding, and parasailing.

Sullivan's Island - With its historic lighthouse, quaint beach cottages, and quiet, undeveloped shoreline, Sullivan's Island is the perfect place to escape the crowds and soak up some sun.

Folly Beach - Known for its laid-back vibe, Folly Beach is a popular spot for surfing, fishing, and relaxing on the sandy shores. It's also home to a pier, a variety of restaurants and shops, and the Morris Island Lighthouse.

Edisto Beach - Situated about an hour's drive from Charleston, Edisto Beach is a small, charming beach town with a relaxed atmosphere. The beach is wide and uncrowded, and there are plenty of opportunities for shelling and fishing.

Overall, the Charleston area offers a range of beaches to suit different preferences, from lively and bustling to quiet and secluded.

If you are interested in purchasing real estate in any of these areas please contact me:

Vito Boscaino

Real Estate Advisor

KingOne Properties International

614.571.9054

vitoboscaino@gmail.com

http://www.HomesAndCondosCharleston.com

Good times and good eats abound in this beloved South Carolina city.

By 

Betsy Cribb

 

 

Published on March 7, 2023 

I don’t have to work hard to convince my fiancé to join me for a weekend trip to visit my parents in my South Carolina hometown. For starters (and this admittedly is a biased opinion), my mom and dad are a delight to be around—but they also live in Charleston, which Southern Living readers have named The South’s Best City several years running. At this point, the Holy City requires no introduction or persuasive arguments in its favor: The booming food scene, colorful historic homes, and waterfront views make the case for themselves. It’s easy to fill a weekend itinerary there, and I’m never able to hit all my favorite spots in just one trip. Here are the places that land on my Charleston bucket list whenever I’m home, from the lauded, well-known destinations to the ones that fly a bit further under the radar.

Leon’s Fine Poultry & Oyster Shop

The worst kept secret in the city is hands-down my favorite restaurant to take visitors, especially first-timers. For me, no other place in town captures so well the relaxed ease that seems woven into Charleston’s very DNA. Housed in an old garage and outfitted with warm wooden tables and an art collection that feels like it was passed down from generation to generation until it landed here, Leon’s is the kind of place that feels like it’s always been part of the Charleston dining landscape—a triumph considering it’s a relative newcomer, opened in 2014. Fried chicken and oysters may be the main draws on the menu, but don’t miss the scalloped potatoes either.

Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge

The two-and-a-half mile cable-stayed crossing between downtown Charleston and the suburb of Mount Pleasant is a scenic place to break a sweat. Climb the hilly spans on the protected pedestrian path, and stop at the top to catch your breath and score a bird’s-eye view of the sparkling Cooper River and downtown Charleston, including the many steeples that earned my hometown its Holy City moniker.

Marina Variety Store & Restaurant

In a destination filled with Instagram-worthy diners and boutique-y brunch spots, this casual, teetering-on-unbothered, harborfront joint isn’t appearing in the curated pages of luxury travel magazines. But at breakfast time, its familiar siren call beckons locals in droves. Here, you can count on a well-poached egg, plenty of salt in your grits, and silver dollar pancakes that’ll please even the pickiest tiny eater. 

Croghan’s Jewel Box

When there’s a special occasion to be celebrated in my family, our go-to spot for finding meaningful, heirloom-worthy gifts is this century-old shop on King Street that’s helmed by the third and fourth generations of the same family. Beyond curating an incredible assortment of new and estate jewelry and silver, they also carry the Goldbug Collection, a cheeky, more approachable line of pieces designed in-house and inspired by the city.

Cru Café

Just steps off the beaten path in an old Single House, this Charleston institution (it celebrated 20 years in 2022) serves up a thoughtful medley of flavors in homey surrounds. For a true Holy City experience, snag a table on the porch, and start with an order of the fried green tomatoes, which come topped with sheep’s milk feta, smoked tomato caramel, and pork belly croutons so good that my dad’s been known to order a side dish of just those.

Melton Peter Demetre Park

Only a few miles from downtown, James Island is largely residential without much draw for tourists. It’s where I grew up, and we spent many a low-tide afternoon hunting for sharks’ teeth on the little beach at a place we called Sunset Park. (I’ve since learned that many other locals refer to it as Sunrise Park. Tomato, to-mah-to, I suppose.) For a true locals-only experience, head to the city-owned waterfront spot, where you can picnic with panoramic views of downtown Charleston and Mount Pleasant or cast a line off the 190-foot fishing pier.

Sullivan’s Island

For a quintessential Lowcountry beach day, there’s no stretch of sand more alluring than the pristine shore of Sullivan’s Island, a small barrier island ten miles from downtown Charleston. There’s not a trace of touristy kitsch in this bitty beach town, where historic homes line oak-shaded streets and storybook cottages invite passersby to stop and smell rose-wrapped trellises.

Chez Nous

Tucked in an historic house on a hidden away street, you likely wouldn’t just happen upon this neighborhood eatery that feels like a mini escape to Europe, and that’s half the charm. The cozy surrounds are elevated but inviting, and the handwritten menu of seasonally driven dishes changes daily. It’s fortunate, too, that the menu is so tiny (two appetizers, two mains, two desserts), as it provides a good excuse to order one of each.

Bowens Island Restaurant

Even after nearly eight years in Birmingham, Alabama, there's one thing I still can't stomach: Gulf shrimp. I'll take South Carolina's small crustaceans any day over the rubbery monstrosities they've tried to talk me into eating here. So when I'm home, there's only one place to load up on the good stuff, and that's Bowens Island, a nearly 80-year-old family-owned restaurant perched in a few ramshackle structures on the river. Order a fried shrimp platter with hushpuppies and slaw, or go for the Frogmore Stew (for the uninitiated, that's a shrimp boil), a drool-worthy combination of boiled shrimp, potatoes, corn, and sausage.

https://www.southernliving.com/editors-favorite-charleston-shops-restaurants-7096617

Create a small backyard pharmacy in any size yard. This Medicinal Garden Kit empowers people to take their health into their own hands, while adding beauty and value to any home.

Everyone should have a medicinal garden in their backyard. This way you can easily go and pick the remedy you need at any time. Your backyard pharmacy will be there for you even in times of crisis when pharmacies might be closed or looted.  

Imagine stepping into your backyard and looking at your new colorful medicinal garden. Your backyard will smell of fresh lavender and chamomile. 

You can pick any of these medicinal plants and turn it into the remedy you need. This kit contains all the seeds for 10 herbs, inside the Medicinal Garden Kit. All these seeds have been handpicked from the very best plants, providing nothing less than premium quality seeds. 

With your seeds kit, you’ll also receive a FREE Medicinal Guide that shows you how to turn these 10 plants into tinctures, ointments, salves, poultices, decoctions, infusions, essential oils —all in minute detail so you can follow our guide even if you’ve never made an herbal medicine in your life.

Spring planting season will soon be here. This is an easy home-improvement project that will not only bring beauty to your yard, but offers alternative medicinal options not available at your pharmacy.

For more information on how to plant and use this seed kit, click here:

>>Medicinal Seed Kit<<

What is Charleston’s secret to holding the top spot year after year? A commitment to reinvention. With a new wave of restaurants, hotels, and experiences popping up around every corner, there’s always good reason to plan a visit.

HOME SALES AND BUYER INTEREST CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN THE CHARLESTON REGION

NOVEMBER 10, 2021 (Charleston, SC) 1,975 homes sold in October in the Charleston region at a median price of $365,000 according to preliminary data released today by the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors® (CTAR).

Year-to-date, sales volume is up 13% with 20,345 homes sold thus far in 2021 compared to 17,963 at this point in 2020. Median price is $346,937, a 16% increase from this point last year, when the median price was $299,000.

Inventory data shows 50% fewer homes for sale over the last 12-month period, with 1,982 homes listed as “active” for sale in the CHS Regional MLS database at the end of September—representing one month’s worth of available inventory.

“October’s home sales represent the highest volume of sales we’ve seen since this summer—buyer interest in our market has never waned and we’re seeing that with a consistent year of growth for both sales and pricing” said 2021 CTAR President Rusty Hughes. “Sales are 13% higher than 2020, which was a record-breaking year and median price is up 16%” he said.

Berkeley County
581 homes sold at a median price of $290,000 in Berkeley County in October, 514 single-family homes and 67 condos/townhomes.

Year-to-date, 5,196 single-family homes have sold at a median price of $332,700. Today’s report shows a 29% increase in sales and a 17% increase in median sale price. 689 condos/townhomes have sold at a median price of $228,719 so far this year—a 7% increase in sales and 16% increase in price.

There are currently 519 residential properties for sale in Berkeley County; 462 single-family homes and 67 condos/townhomes.

Charleston County
894 homes sold at a median price of $417,500 in Charleston County in October, 655 single-family homes and 239 condos/townhomes.

Year-to-date, 6,872 single-family homes have sold at a median price of $500,000. Today’s report shows a 3% increase in sales and a 19% increase in median sale price. 2,650 condos/townhomes have sold at a median price of $297,500 so far this year—a 20% increase in sales and 19% increase in pricing.

There are currently 949 residential properties for sale in Charleston County; 692 single-family homes and 257 condos/townhomes.

Colleton County
34 homes sold at a median price of $313,500 in Colleton County in October, 27 single-family homes and 7 condos/townhomes.

Year-to-date, 306 single-family homes have sold at a median price of $260,000. Today’s report shows a 4% increase in sales and a 16% increase in median sale price. 45 condos/townhomes have sold at a median price of $269,000 so far this year—a 13% rise in sales and 12% increase in pricing.

There are currently 71 residential properties for sale in Colleton County; 67 single-family homes and 4 condo/townhomes.

Dorchester County
402 homes sold at a median price of $289,233 in Dorchester County in October, 326 single-family homes and 76 condos/townhomes.

Year-to-date, 3,194 single-family homes have sold at a median price of $310,000. Today’s report shows an 8% increase in sales and 15% increase in median sale price. 575 condos/townhomes have sold at a median price of $226,200 so far this year—a 37% increase in sales and 22% increase in pricing.

There are currently 237 residential properties for sale in Dorchester County; 226 single-family homes and 11 condos/townhomes.

For additional information, please contact me directly:

Vito Boscaino

KingOne Properties International

Mobile: 614.571.9054

Email: vitoboscaino@gmail.com

Website: http://www.HomesAndCondosCharleston.com

The John McCall House Circa 1784. An exquisite home in the heart of Charleston's premiere neighborhood, South of Broad, features an abundance of historic details with modern luxuries. This stately, light filled home was completely restored and renovated down to the studs in 2006-2007. Piazzas overlook the spacious manicured garden courtyard. There is a wonderful outdoor area for sitting and entertaining. The sophisticated, highly detailed interior was handcrafted with heavy molding, wainscotings, and heart pine floors. The main level rooms are grand in scale with elegant proportions. Off of the formal living room and dining room the rear wing has a Butler pantry with a powder room, Scotsman Icemaker, sink and bar. 

The elegant eat-in kitchen includes custom wood cabinets, Calcutta gold marble countertops, Sub-Zero refrigerator, and a Wolf stove, with double oven. Just off the kitchen is the Media room/Den and rear porch. There are rear interior stairs to the ground floor living area of the kitchen as well. The house has seven fireplaces throughout. The second floor has a larger parlor, master suite and dressing area with mahogany built-ins. French doors will lead you to the second-floor piazza. The master bath has double sinks, private water closet, shower, and separate tub finished in marble, glass, and stone. The 3rd floor has a dormered bedroom and full bath. On the ground floor there is a guest suite with a living room/office, two bedrooms, and three full baths, and a laundry room, and many light filled French doors that all open to the private courtyard and grounds, including a large patio with fountain, Lemon and Orange trees and irrigation system. Off-street parking for three vehicles.

Click here for full listing information:  http://www.homesandcondoscharleston.com/property/20027377/

5 Simple Steps for a Better Home Appraisal

If you’re looking to refinance your home or possibly sell, you’ll need a killer appraisal. A bank will not refinance a home for more than it is worth, and a potential buyer will not pay more than the recognized value of the home.

Here are 5 simple steps for a better home appraisal.

Tidy your space Make sure your yard looks well-groomed and the interior of your home is clean clutter-free. It is well worth the investment to have the home professionally cleaned and have your yard serviced.

Invest in the right types of renovations Kitchens and bathrooms are the best types of renovations. They will typically provide 80% ROI. High-efficiency appliances and upgrades that improve the overall efficiency of the home are well worth the investment.

Document your upgrades Provide the appraiser with a list and documentation of all upgrades, renovations, and improvements to the home.

Do your homework Research and provide your own comparable valuations for similar properties in the area. Note your tone. You don’t want to come off as defensive but rather helpful.

Be available but not in the way Be present to assist with the process but don’t be the appraiser’s shadow. You want to appear helpful, not nervous that he’ll find something wrong!

Appraisals can be helpful in increasing the sale of your home or assisting in refinancing your mortgage. Use these tips and you’ll get a better value for your home.

Charleston has picked up one more “best food city” prize to add to its crowded trophy case.

Food & Wine on Friday named Charleston one of “the 10 most exciting cities for food around the world.” The city will be featured in the August issue of the magazine, along with Florence, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Toronto.

This is the first time that Food & Wine has compiled such a list.

Over the past year, Charleston’s dining scene has been celebrated by outlets including Conde Nast Traveler, which put the city atop its list of “Best Food Cities in the U.S.” It finished second to New Orleans in Travel + Leisure’s survey, and also appeared on unranked lists of leading food cities created by Zagat, Food Republic and the Travel Channel, as well as earning Southern Living's title for best city overall.

The only lists of food-showcase cities from major publications that Charleston hasn’t recently cracked are those which impose criteria related to population size or affordability.

To accompany the listing in the magazine, Food & Wine is running a feature on Sean Brock’s favorite restaurants and the heirloom ingredients on their menus.

Though not a record, a secluded Kiawah Island house sold for a hefty sum this week at about half the asking price from seven years ago.

The 15,322-square-foot home at 85 Blue Heron Pond Road on a private, 11.7-acre peninsula in The Preserve neighborhood sold for $15.25 million, according to luxury real estate firm Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International of Charleston. The pricey pad features seven bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a deep-water dock, infinity pool and separate guest house.

The firm declined to release the buyer's name.

The home, designed by world-renowned architects Shope Reno Wharton, was built by Russ Cooper and Associates in 2005.

Full article details: http://www.postandcourier.com/business/kiawah-island-home-sells-for-m/article_0c8e13ec-6d5f-11e7-af3d-238a7c44320c.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share