Today I spent the day looking at real estate..for quite awhile now I've been researching the southern US for my retirement spot..I like NC and SC both..looked for houses in lots of cities in both states..when we stayed in Aiken we went to Augusta for lunches and dinners several times..I looked at Asheville and Black Mountain houses today..some had wonderful views..we lived in Napa CA once and I had a friend that lived in Lake Berryessa..half an hour drive up a curvy winding road..the drive made me sick..some homes in Asheville wouldn't work for me..and the growing season is shorter than I want..but it's appealing and I would love to visit..I keep going back to the Charleston area..it would be so exciting to have my own palm tree..

Thank you everyone who answered! A kittle background: My father's family came from France in the 1800's thru Canada, crossed the border to The US and settled in Buffalo. Raised in Western NY, known for its' terrible winters.I remember once school closed for a whole week to get the streets plowed, then the big snow storm of 1977, the October Surprise storm which dropped so much snow so fast on trees that still had leaves and thousands of trees fell and closed many roads, then a few years ago nine feet of snow. My sister's husband was just sick of their winters, hated the snow, the cold and all the shoveling. Their son married and moved to Marshall NC, they visited and liked it so much they decided to buy a home near him after they both retired, and this year it all came true. I do apprecite the wisdom and anecdotes, I am just glad you think my gift is appropriate for a new- Southerner. My sister is a great cook, and loves gardening, so I am sure she will enjoy the magazine. Thanks, everyone, thanks ya'all.

Thank you ladies. I edited my post because we actually head out of NC into SC at or near a little town called Landrum (which did btw have some good antique shops last time we were there). @DLM2000-GW I love real antiques and I love to dig for a treasure but I am not crazy about junk stores. Nice consignment stores would be good too. I see people who find great things at Good Will, etc. but not here near me. My husband and I love to antique and we have been a few times as the pandemic has died down. One good thing is if we go on a week day - there are very few others shopping, so we have felt safe. I know there is the big store still in Asheville, down near the river (I believe it flooded once) and I have found a few things there but that place is HUGE and I get overwhelmed and tired! I'm sure we will find at least a place or two, and we will enjoy the outdoors too and just getting away for a few days! I don't know if any of you are close to Black Mt., but there used to be an antique store there, with quite a bit of items outside. They had a PET ROOSTER, it was kind of their mascot. I am thinking that place has closed though. If you think of any stores let me know! My sis and I and our husbands will visit here or there a couple of times a year I'm sure, but we were trying to come up with some places in between where we could meet up for a couple of days. They enjoy antiques too. I do google before hand when I know what cities we will be in. I'll take a look before we go to see what's left in the area. Thanks.

We've had a second residence in the area for 22 years ~ first, a condo on HHI, then a home in Bluffton. During the first couple years, we kept our big home in WI, and then eventually down-sized to a condo in WI. We feel we would NEVER give up WI so that we always have it for the summers. It's pretty brutal with heat & humidity during the summer season! However, we were surprised to find out that the summer is when all the rental condos are fully booked! ~ In all this time, we have only experienced ONE hurricane! Yes, we suffered $$$ house damage. ~ We had one squirrel manage to find its way into our attic! Palmetto bugs are easily managed with pest control....along with termite control, due to our lush woods, trees, etc. Much to our surprise, the area has armadillos!!! ~ Health care access is important to us, thus there is NO WAY we would be at the beck-and-call of the water taxi! ~ In the current goods shortages and lack of employees, grocery shopping presents its own issues, much less having to "ferry" them. Don't get me wrong, Haig Point and Deffuski is a beautiful area......to visit! We just find we need stronger bases. Speaking of which, storing things gets creative since there are no basements like we have "up North". We were blessed to find the perfect community for us surrounded by like-minded, caring, friendly, welcoming people. We LOVE it. It may rain during the cool winter, but as I often say: "no shoveling involved". I still get to wear my favorite sweaters and fleece. Finding Drs. and a good hairdresser was an adventure!