A Short Visit to Kiawah Island (and Seabrook too)
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
Nov. 14, 2016 — Your editor went on a golfing junket to Kiawah Island in South Carolina’s Low Country recently, and here is our report on what it might be like to retire here. When added together with Judith’s report on her SC visit and our recent “10 Best Places to Retire in SC” article (see bottom for links to those), we’ve given Topretirements Members a pretty good dose of South Carolina retirement information lately. So coming up we will move on to other areas.
This was our first visit here to this island, a stretch of coast just south of Charleston it shares with Seabrook Island. To get a picture of where it is, it’s a little more than half way down SC’s coast, with Myrtle Beach at the top and Beaufort and Hilton Head Island at the bottom. Rivers and wetlands occupy much of the space. Someone asked on one of our SC articles if flooding is a problem here, and the answer is definitely YES, they don’t call it the Low Country for nothing. New homes must be built quite high off the ground to protect against flooding and tidal surges.
There are some places to retire along this stretch of South Carolina’s Atlantic Ocean frontage, but not that many. Around Charleston there is Mount Pleasant and the Isle of Palms. But after you go south from Kiawah there is a fairly empty stretch of coast until you get to Beaufort and Port Royal.
Comments on "A Short Visit to Kiawah Island (and Seabrook too)"
Florence says:
Thanks Mr. Editor for including me in your blog topic. I am still interested in finding out about flood insurance on Seabrook. It is possibly the major deterrent for purchasing there. Any info would be helpful.
Although this might have changed, on a trip to visit Kiawah about a year ago, I was able to access the island by telling the gate staff that I was going to the Sanctuary for lunch. No reservations necessary.
Staci says:
There is a shopping center adjacent to both Kiawah and Seabrook. It contains a Harris Teeter supermarket, a bank, drugstore, upscale specialty stores, Dr.s offices and numerous restaurants. There are also restaurants and shops in the Bohicket Marina on Seabrook Island which are open to the public. There are a lot of dining opportunities in the vicinity. There are numerous restaurants on Kiawah which are open to the public ranging from takeout to Super Upscale. The road from Kiawah to Charleston across Johns Island contains tons of dining options.
Mary says:
My family has been going to Kiawah for over 20 years. I have stayed on Kiawah in the "off season" and even though the beaches are stunning year round, it can be very isolated. I am guessing that the number of full time residents is low. Summer rentals are high. Since most are houses, no high rise condos, it is not crowded like you would experience on Hilton Head Island. It is however, very exclusive and we have experienced some pretentiousness to say the least. The clubs are private and decorum is insisted upon. As with other spots we visited, the early boomers with lots of cash "up sized" when they built their retirement homes. There are now bargains to be had on houses 4000 square ft and above. Finding a smaller house is a challenge. Kiawah has an exceptional master plan and is environmentally conscientious.
Janet Gorski says:
Not sure who is suggesting that the POA Board has ongoing disputes with property owners. Like any community, there are a few 'outliers', but the vast majority are quite pleased with the island's governance and administrative staff. The POA is in excellent financial condition even following significant expenses in cleaning up following hurricane Matthew.