Charleston South Carolina is the retirement community to consider. If your criteria includes a warm, sunny coastal community with a myriad of recreational opportunities, then Greater Charleston, South Carolina deserves your attention. If size of a city is important, consider Charleston's size - it is large enough to support a diversity of lifestyle amenities like outstanding cultural programs, fine arts museums, spectator sports, world class shopping, etc. and yet it retains lots of small town advantages such as minimal traffic, friendly neighbors and a little bit slower pace of life. Does your ideal place need to be an area that the children and grandchildren can enjoy with you? You can rest assured that everyone in your family will love visiting you in beautiful Charleston. Charleston is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Southeast-and with good reason.

Enjoying your retirement

You and your visiting family will enjoy a carriage ride through the historic district, a trip out to Fort Sumter, a day spent at Patriot's Point and shopping on King Street and in The Market. Your grandchildren will love building castles in the sand and frolicking in the surf at any of the great white sand beaches that line the coast. Opportunities for mature adult involvement in Greater Charleston's volunteer programs are many.

Cost of Living Comparisons in the Charleston Metro Area

Selected Metro Area----All Items Index
Atlanta, GA---------------------------94.2
Charleston Area-------------------99.4
Charlotte, NC------------------------93.3
Columbia, SC-----------------------97.1
Greenville, SC-----------------------92.1
Jacksonville, FL---------------------93.8
New Orleans, LA--------------------106.1
New York (Manhattan)-----------177.8
Savannah, GA------------------------92.8
Washington, DC-------------------138.6

The composite index is based on six components. The component index figures for the Charleston area are as follows:

Components Index
Grocery Items---------------------109.6
Housing------------------------------91.5
Utilities-------------------------------90.3
Transportation---------------------96.1
Health Care-----------------------105.4
Misc. Goods & Services-------105.9
All Items-----------------------------99.4

Apartment Rental
The average monthly rental cost for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, unfurnished apartment, excluding all utilities except water is $891.00

Home Prices
The following is the estimated purchase price for a comparable home in selected metropolitan cities:

Selected Metro Area Avg Home Price
Atlanta, GA----------------------------------$267,548
Charleston SC----------------------------$264,268
Charlotte, NC------------------------------$249,321
Columbia, SC-----------------------------$237,894
Greenville, SC-----------------------------$207,211
Jacksonville, FL---------------------------$208,112
New Orleans, LA--------------------------$272,914
New York (Manhattan)-----------------$1,159,270
Savannah, GA------------------------------$261,155
Washington, DC---------------------------$647,235

Source: ACCRA Cost of Living Index, Annual Report 2009