Charleston, SC Lacks A Soul and Backbone
By Mark A. Leon
The headlines read, “the end of an era” and “progress is upon us”. We have heard those words time and time again over the last two years as more and more legacy businesses have fallen.
This week we learned that on the day a major developer signed the paper work to take over the property of the James Island Carmike Cinema, the theater was closed and all staff were immediately out of jobs. Several companies invested $100M into two apartment developments on Upper King and Spring continuing the expansion North. Nearly $50M has been invested into seven new area storage facilities. The cost of living in Charleston, SC is 31% ahead of the national average and 51% above of the remainder of South Carolina. Is this growth and pace healthy?
Yet with the hundreds of millions of dollars put into the “progress” of the city, the average Charleston driver is spending $1850 annually on car repairs due to bad roads.
At the end of the day, the definition of progress in Charleston is simple: Bring in tourists and revenue and put your own citizens in the corner to suffer. That is where the lack of passion and soul comes to the forefront. We have elected officials that we have chosen to represent us and council meetings that hear requests for zoning modifications and approvals monthly. How many step up and force the hand of our elected officials and say “Stop, we have had enough”? Power in numbers is what drives change and we just aren’t there. We have a responsibility to let our voice be heard and in numbers. Off the cuff comments and unsubstantiated gripes on social while we hide behind our smartphones and desktops will not ignite change.
I recently spent time in Southern California and Lower Manhattan and experienced two vibrant cultures showered in individual expressiveness, warmth and an edgy, yet relaxed sense of comfort. Two places basking in the arts and culture, fired by the loins to take-action and fulfilled with a sense of community support. Both these areas have tourism boards and self-proclaimed proponents of the amenities they offer, yet the one element they lack is the in your face bragging that has saturated the Charleston culture.
In a recent Travel & Leisure piece naming the top 100 restaurants in the world, not one Charleston restaurant made the list, yet we prominently brag of our dominance in the foodie world. It is evident based on the percentage of visual posts on social dedicated exclusively to food. Chefs are celebrities and the prominent wealthy will drop hundreds to say they experienced what is claimed to be the best.
While at the same time, an entire tent city of homeless is wiped out.
Also, when we make it on some digital or print publication’s top list, regardless of whether we are 15, 33, 45 or 80, it is a moment of celebration. I’ve often questioned, at what level on a list is a city worthy of celebration. Then again, do we need to celebrate or can we take comfort in knowing we earned something special?
We claim to have the best Southern chefs in the country; the most promising BBQ scene around and the most creative menus this side of the Mason Dixon. Yet we lack diversity in food in every sense of the word on the peninsula. How many Vietnamese, Malaysian, Korean, Dutch, Brazilian or Peruvian themed restaurants are on the peninsula?
Let us move away from the food topic for just a moment, away from the numerous pop up companies promoting tee-shirts, hats, towels, blankets, Instagram accounts and anything that regards Charleston as “Heaven” and focus on the soul of this city.
Without the benefit of chatter trends, it is clear many have openly vocalized their distaste for increased traffic issues (with the supporters sticking to “It’s far worse in New York, San Francisco and Chicago), population growth and cost of living tsunami that has hit Charleston in the last five years. Yet, how many attend the zoning ordinance meetings that vote on approval of all this new construction?
We want Charleston to remain quiet, historic and full of its “Southern Charm”, yet we don’t use the voice we are given when we elect our city and county officials.
For those of you that have ever been involved in a protest, it has value. It is a collective public voice promoting change. Its core values date back thousands of years and it has served to ignite some of the most important movements in history. It fuels the engine of process. How many protests have you witnessed in your lifetime in Charleston? For those that are going to say the Unity Walk for Mother Emanuel or the Woman’s March, those were events of solidarity and unity, not protests for change. The Charleston Five was a protest and that set a fire that carried all the way to Columbia.
I would like to shift gears once more and look at priorities in Charleston. These are the top priorities as I see them from monitoring trends online:
- Restaurants
- Beaches
- Windows and architecture
- Festivals
- Drinking (We do have the #1 seller of PBR in the US and as many breweries as shopping centers)
- Dogs
- Shopping
I welcome the debate, but I don’t see the following as high priorities
- Education
- Cost of Living
- Roads and infrastructure concerns
- Career opportunities and growth
- Public safety
- Flooding
In fact, we turn our heads to negative as if it doesn’t exist.
At the blink of an eye, we are missing a community that is ready to explode with a creative renaissance and a thirst to promote change in conservationism, the arts, homeless support, coastal restoration and technology. From the thriving theatre district that struggles to fill shows outside the spotlight of Spoleto to the incredible work being done for sea turtle rehabilitation and dog rescue to a poetry scene that has elements of Greenwich Village in the 1960’s when singers, poets and activists united.
Charleston wants to show the world that we care about our planet and all its creatures, have a creative force that could compete worldwide and want to show a community committed to sharing, equal rights and support.
We are desperately missing the boat and we aren’t even interested in trying.
The numbers do not lie. Charleston is one of the fastest growing cities in the South and becoming one of the fastest growing in the United States. The cost of housing is 31 basis points above the United States average index and 51 basis points above the South Carolina average. Classrooms are overcrowded, tourism has taken over as the top priority, yet we mask marketing media around “buy local”. The historic societies fought behind the scenes for over 200 years to keep the peninsula’s rich history and esthetics intact and after one year, we have a mayor that has destroyed this blueprint.
It is fine, because we are Charleston nice. We will continue to say good day to you, nod our heads and smile because that is who we are. Southern charm is alive and well in the South. I just wish we would look in the mirror and try to find the heart and soul to fight for a city we used to love.
Charleston Daily
Charleston Daily is a concept in community. Its mission is to promote, assist, and celebrate in everything Charleston, South Carolina. By partnering with businesses, community leaders, volunteers and events, we are spreading the love that is Charleston. As this city continues to grow and prosper, we want to help spread the message to all about how wonderful this community is. Charleston is about the people, community, water, land, history, heritage and the true southern warmth it brings with each and every day.
Thank you for this. Powerfully written and thought provoking. Charleston … you are at a tipping point. What you do next is vitally important.
It would be a moral obligation to be concerned for the poor, for bringing up education, infrastructure and safety. There should be a report card to monitor…. I sure hope someone makes changes in a direction that builds a better tomorrow.
Well written article. I am from Charleston and I say to my family everyday that our city is becoming another Atlanta or any other city where the thought is let’s build on that corner. I will be moving to a more quiet less traffic kind of place when I retire. This is not the Charleston that I want so I will relocate with fond memories of what was. And wish luck to the people that took a beautiful city and made it look just like any other overpopulated city!?
I am with you. !!! Totally agree. Everything I once loved about here is now gone..
The festivals is what makes it a happy city and one of the major attractions but the drinking can take it out of control so it would be wise to have proper limits and enforcement and the trend of having a dog is amazing it is a city of being dog friendly but some are in apartments with way to many dogs and the trend is large dogs and I have seen 4 large dogs in a small two bedroom apartment with owners just letting dogs out to do their business in the parking area without cleaning it up. When the hot weather comes the smell is horrible. Speaking of smell some of that comes also in the summer from the carraige horses sometimes so bad the enture diwn town smells like a barn. You also missed the fact of the sewer system probable being the oldest in the US, the rodents and roach infestation. The under ground rat population needs to be addressed this is a public health issue that has run amuck. Roaches plaque many properties where landlords only concerns is their bottom line of profit. Ask any student who has lived off campus due to the lack of college housing, they have experienced these issues oh and than there is the rent control that does not exist so they pay unreasonable amounts or house to many in a unit.
Downtown Charleston is a beautiful city with charm but a city that tourists only see the beauty and not there long enough to know the underlying issues. As all large cities grow so does the crime and the greed so be sure to have checks and balances to make sure things are done right and not to line the pockets of the poiliticians. The temporary stayers and visitors witness all of the above but have no real say but the citizens do. Save your city it is worth it!
It’s the never old moral of the fable of The Golden Goose. Not satisfied with one golden egg at a time the little boy guts the goose to dig out the gold only to find the goose is dead and there is no gold.
Charleston’s developers and politicians are greedy and evil.
Spot on!
As a native Charlestonian who moved north 30 years ago, I have watched the gradual decimation of the place I still call home. From the overbuilt and overcrowded beaches to the over-priced and over developed real-estate the city has become a mecca for those wanting to make a quick buck on what used to be a treasured piece of history. The infrastructure has not kept up with development, and it seems the politicians don’t want to acknowledge it. My parents lost their belonging not once, but 4 times due to flooding in the last 10 years. They have lived there since the early 80’s and didn’t have any problems until the wetlands behind them were developed. The traffic is a big problem, but again there doesn’t seem to be any plans to remedy the situation, I dread the drive to the beach or downtown or for goodness sakes, Mt. Pleasant. Yet, the compassionate spirit of Charleston natives still exists and is what keeps me coming back, the Charleston of my childhood my be gone, but the remaining culture fuels my dream of one day coming home for good. I pray that someone will finally step up and stop this so that I will have something to come home to.
Love your passion and while I have only been here about 20 years as a transplant, I can tell you that you are spot on. Charleston is never coming back to what I once loved, and you grew up in. Mount Pleasant is a disaster of epic proportions, with the former town council members running and hiding with millions in their pockets…
The spirit does still have a flicker, but Charleston is now so over run with development I will be moving out of here shortly as well.
I’m willing to bet your parents lived in Shadowmoss in the condos in the back. I have a good friend who has suffered over and over again with the flooding there because of over development.
We are losing our character and beauty. As more and more outsiders move into the city, our local flair is watered down, along with that sweet southern hospitality. This is not the Charleston that I was raised in, nor the city I loved.
The trend is spreading quickly, as we see Mt. Pleasant and Summerville losing their uniqueness, too! It’s all very sad to me. Enough is enough!
Mt Pleasant was SOLD out by people like Ken Glasson and the others on the former Town Council who were eventually kicked to the curb, but the contracts were already in place, pockets lined, and the corruption ensued.
It would be amazing if the photographer for that image at the top of this article was credited.
While I agree with most of the sentiment here, it’s important to remember that with the exception of a few Civic projects, the City doesn’t build. Developers build. Everyone is always attacking the local governments and not a word is spoken ill of the big, often out-of-state investment groups that buy up land wherever the market seems favorable and develop it without concern for the effect on residents. The City of Charleston is a very restrictive municipality – they make development harder than in most places (go to a BAR meeting or chat with anyone who’s dealt with storm water issues trying to develop land). Everyone is under the impression the City is somehow building hotels left and right – or allowing them to be built – but the truth is the City has greatly restricted the area that a hotel can be built and denies to-be hotel projects all the time. Often though the developer can build a hotel ‘by-right’ and any attempt to randomly deny the hotel would absolutely end in a lawsuit, no matter how much public outcry. There are personal property rights that no government can, or really should, be able to strip from people who buy land and want to build on it. Also, the roads are often a State issue, not local governments.
Good article with good sentiments, just remember – local government isn’t always the big bad wolf, and not every development has to go to public meetings to get approved – often it’s their right by all existing laws and regulations. Adding more regulations sounds great – but let’s not forget what state we’re in (regulation in red states is not often met with enthusiasm). Instead of protesting all the local governments, why not find a way to protest ‘New Hotel Group LLC’ out of Iowa with 200 investors around the country who just want a decent return on their investment?. The developments will continue as long as they’re profitable, and it’s not just tourists that make them profitable.
Get involved, but also get educated – the issue is multi-facited and can’t just be solved by speaking your mind at a zoning meeting. The boards of those BZAs and BARs are volunteer members of the public, not elected officials or even government employees.
If Charleston lacks a soul – there’s a lot of blame to go around. Not just the local government.
Awesome points!
Imminent Domain though does allow the local, and federal government to take any land it needs to. And in the last 8 years a new Executive Order has allowed the Federal Government to take anything you own in any account you have, personal possession, or any other item of value for the “greater good” of the nation.
My read of the article is simple.
Stop the growth through action.
ALL growth has to be APPROVED by someone. You simply cannot buy land and put up an outhouse without a permit and approval.
this article is a too little too late joke. where was mark leon or anybody else 20+ years ago when the very few of us were voicing our concerns/opposition to the joe riley regimes money before quality of lifestyle, money before infrastructure, money before reason agenda? now that king rileys shortsighted ego driven agenda has come home to roost everybody is now bitching and moaning about the negative impacts that go hand and hand with it. guess what mark, after 340 years America has finally shown up with their pockets stuffed full with dirty rust belt money after a century of piling up cash while shitting/polluting their own backyards. so now they are abandoning their trashed/polluted cities and showing up here at the beach where the next round of shortsighted money grubbing politicians and the opportunist developers are waiting on them and their dirty yankee money with open arms. Charleston doesn’t have a soul or backbone? mark leon can go to hell. its the politicians and their developer cronys who never had a soul or backbone. and remember, joe ‘the pope’ riley might make the claim but he aint no native Charlestonian.
here! here! Mr. Poulnot!
Mr. Poulnot, I completely agree this conversion should have occurred at the minimum 20 years ago. You are also completely correct the Mr. Riley is not a Charestonian, and I believe the only family in the Battery the are native are the Ravennels. Mr. Riley well, when I hear his name oddly the word carpetbagger always comes to mind. Wonder why? For me all of this hit home when that poor carriage horse…part of the tourism industry mind you, had that awful incident with its hoof and shoe and well it is unspeakable and it really summed up the state of what is really occurring. Mr. Riley, I will be happy to see the back of him and I hope but it is most likely too late as the wheel is so far in motion, let those whose families have been in the area for generations or better said pre shots fired on Fort Sumner decide what is to be done.
Right on, Charles Poulnot!! Spoken like a true native.
SPOT ON!
At a tipping point? Look around… it’s capsized. The infrastructure game was lost years ago. Hospitality & tourism is “now” the number 1 industry? Huh, where were you raised? H&T has been THE driving revenue source in this town for decades. The Tech sector may have finally settled in, but it will soon be over saturated. Manufacturing? Laughable. Corporate entities – both local & foreign – aren’t concerned with sustainable wages. Property values are ridiculous, but elected officials can’t regulate private sellers. Nor should they. Hats off to the little guys who clearly saw the writing on the wall. Look, I know it’s hard to admit defeat, but the quaint city of yesteryear is dead – there is no reverse button.
I have been saying for years that if something isn’t done soon the Charleston of my youth will no longer exist. And now it doesn’t. I am so sad about what it has become but where am I to go?
SPOT ON! Well done, well spoken and SPOT ON
It should be obvious that Charleston’s government became little more than a corporate whore. Corporate profits are more important than quality of life for local residents. It would be interesting to know just many people in government have interests in these developing companies or if money changes hands under the table.
Speaks primarily to architecture but mentions the washing if Charleston’s “character”.
https://youtu.be/PWHTA2O9T2A
what a bunch of crybabies
Mark, how long have you lived here? I go to city council meetings all the time and have never met you. There are actually a lot of grassroots efforts to fight dense, careless development here. Just b/c we don’t always win, it doesn’t mean we aren’t trying. We actually have some allies on city and county councils as well.
I disagree with about 90% of this. Charleston is and always has been a wonderful place to live, at least since I moved here in 1999. You said “tourism has taken over as the top priority.” Well, I have news for you, torurism and hospitality have ALWAYS been our #1 priority, since it’s about 20% of our economy and the area’s largest employment sector, by the last numbers I saw. So this isn’t news for anyone who’s been living here awhile.
And if anyone wants to bitch about growth or traffic here, they should bitch about the 80% of people who don’t vote in the local elections that decide not only who will govern our cities and towns, but also who we will elect to nominate other citizens to the Design & Review Board, Planning Commission, etc. If you’d like to meet more folks concerned about dense development in the City, we’ll be at the one annual city council meeting that’s held on James Island on Tuesday March 28, 5 pm at the JI Rec Center.
Finally, I find it particularly comical that someone complaining about growth causing a southern city to “lose its soul” has actually moved here from New Jersey. I don’t have a problem with folks moving here from anywhere, just folks who complain about other people doing the same. You moved here. You’re making a living off this city’s good name. Why can’t other people?
Lindsay with the mic drop!
Thank you Lindsay. The article is offensive. As a 4th generation Charlestonian, I find most of this to be ridiculous. The numbers quoted are inaccurate, and to say our city is lacking soul is a joke.
Touche!!
https://lowcountrylocalfirst.org
The root cause of the “problem” described by Mark Leon is too many jobs. Without jobs, people wouldn’t come or stay here and no one would build the apartments or buy the increasingly pricey middle class residences. Existing roads would have fewer cars and less bumper to bumper traffic.
If you want to get away from such problems, there are plenty of formerly thriving towns in the Southeastern U.S. with decaying central business districts, shrinking populations, complete lack of opportunity for young educated persons, declining real estate prices and less traffic.
Certainly Charleston’s growth needs to be well managed, with infrastructure spending to support the growth, and corresponding taxes to pay for the infrastructure. And there are many places in the world where high population density goes hand in hand with a vibrant economic, social and cultural environment.
Exactly!! I’d rather deal with traffic and have a good job!
Affordable housing for the Service Industry Workers should be a top priority.
I’d like to make a request, – Let us native Charlestonians not leave OUR HOME TOWN because of this discusting growth without proper management, proper preparation, proper, intelligently well thought out planning over a long stretch of time, etc, etc, etc.
Instead, Lets stay home. Fight for our incredibly, beautiful city that once was so full of warmth and bring the greed thats taken over to an end. Let us bring back our city as we knew it. It CAN happen if we so desire and so fight for. I for one will not leave my city that is apart of my soul.
“It CAN happen if we so desire and so fight for. I for one will not leave my city that is apart of my soul.”……….. Agreed, Amen!
FYI the cost of living is 31% higher than national average…. not 31 basis points which would mean only 0.31% higher.
Try living in Charlotte. Property taxes are two-to-three times higher than here. Traffic is at a standstill during rush hour. I moved here a year ago to get away from the expense and development and find Charleston/Mt. Pleasant a more reasonable place to live.
My husband and I have lived here most of our lives. We have over the decades built our valued community of friends, professional connections, and advisors of all kinds (from doctors and vets to electricians and accountants). But I agree that Charleston as a larger community is in deep trouble for the reasons the article illustrates. I often think about leaving now that Charleston is such a mess, but we’d have to leave important connections behind. Plus it’s our home.
Stupid NIMBY article full of “alternative facts.” Best example; “the average driver spends $1,850 on car repairs due to bad roads.” No they don’t. I’ve spent $0 due to bad roads and I don’t know anyone who has spent a dime “due to bad roads.” Any city that’s worth living in has the exact same problem and has a bunch of similar whiners. Unless you and your parents and their parents were born here you are the “problem” if there is one. If not, shut up and enjoy the place you chose to call home.
“You are the problem!” I love this. Exactly!!! Anyone who has moved here in the last 20-30 years is equally to blame.
My family has been in Charleston for 350 years. You people who showed up in the past 100 years are the newcomers who ruined it.
I grew up in Charleston and just recently moved to New Orleans for work. I respectfully disagree for a couple reasons:
1. I never paid $1850 each year for car repairs? I dont know what these people are doing to their cars. At best I spent $500 a year. The roads in Charleston and SC are amazing compared to New Orleans. Charleston folks need to quit complaining.
2. Charleston has always been a tourist city. The history, the beaches, downtown, all it has always been that way. People in SC need to quit complaining and grow with the city. South Carolina does not have a major city, Charleston is turning in to one.
3. Cost of Living in Charleston is way less than other big cities. For $150,00 you can barely get a decent place to live in New Orleans and to rent is at least $1000 a month. In Charleston for those prices you can get a big 2 story family home or a very nice studio apartment.
Charleston is growing, people that live there need to learn to grow with the times.
Where can you get ANYTHING for $150,000 in Charleston?!? Unless of course it’s completely falling down. I bought my 1400 sqft home in 2005 for $310,000 and that was the cheapest non-fixer-upper around. Now I’m renting a ROOM in a woman’s house that has only one bathroom, and I’m paying $1,100/month. I’m envious of anyone who can find a “very nice” apartment for the prices you’ve found!
To be as brief as possible, this article is very accurate, but not realistic.
Charleston as we know it, knew it and lived in it for the lifetime or last 10-20 years is long gone.
Trees are extinct in Mt Plastic.
You can thank Ken Glasson and the rest of that FORMER Town Council for the ecological and Chicago suburban feel that now has taken over Shem Creek, which was once a quiet little sleepy fishing suburb.
The damage is done. Charleston is NOT coming back.
Rome was not destroyed by war, or plague.
Rome was destroyed because it lost its identity. It was overtaken by outsiders.
Charleston has been over-taken by outsiders.
What you will see next is this:
1) More trash on the roads
2) More boats in the waters
3) More polluted waters
4) Less dolphins
5) Poor water quality
6) Worse traffic
7) Road Rage
8) Eventual collapse of the current housing market (quality of life bursting the market is already well predicted)
9) Tourism coming to an end
10) Collapse of the market and area financially
Charleston is a series of islands… You cannot keep pumping in people without people. There are no other ways to build other than up. Hell, they cannot even manage the funds to make 17 South 6 lanes wide, but they sure as hell found a way to do it in Mt Pleasant.
Corrupt system, corrupt people, and you are simply witnessing the end of days for Charleston South Carolina.
I am getting the hell out of here soon. They simply destroyed one of the most beautiful, historic places on Earth, by voting for, electing and keeping in place people that are, and should go down in history as the destroyers of everything that was once beautiful here.
We could use a Shakespeare in the park festival!!
That would be amazing Nathan.
Paragraph after paragraph of thoughts that in no way relate to one another or deliver a message. Guess that’s why you’re a writer on a blog no one has ever heard of. I look forward to finding more of your articles being made fun of on facebook.
Charleston need not feel so special. It’s like this all over. I live in Murrells Inlet and I experience your pain on a daily basis. Tourism and transplants are ruining the very things they come here for and don’t even realize what they’re doing.
This article poses some very relevant thoughts of the changes in Charleston. So glad it is igniting conversation around how the changes are affecting folks.
I agree on what you wrote, especially on the lack of diversity in the food culture. My family and I were in the Maryland countryside for a wedding, and I was doing my usual yelping to explore the options: Moroccan, Peruvian, Egyptian, southern Indian, and Polish were a few of the ethnic options we found in what we thought was just a rural town! I wondered if there was a way we could squeeze all in on our 2 day stay, since it may be another 5 years before I travel anywhere and eat ethnically again! The food here is good, but it’s kind of the same… we get it, we live in the south, but do we need 500 “top rated” southern restaurants and 500 “award winning” shrimp and grits?
I agree to a certain extent. But we also have Basil, Xiao Bao Biscuit, Short Grain, Butcher & Bee, Leyla, 2 Nixons, Pink Bellies, etc.
OMG, now I want Xiao Bao Biscuit. RIGHT NOW!! yum!!!
It is too late for Charleston. We have been sold out for the almighty dollar. After living here the vast majority of my life, we sold our house on IOP (an hour to get on or off the island is just absurd), started building elsewhere and in a matter of days are leaving Charleston. Going somewhere that resembles what Charleston used to be. I have been a local “destination expert” for a travel site for many years. Most of the time now….I just want to answer….don’t come here and for the love of God, DON’T move here!
Fully agree
I left in 2001 after moving there in 1984.
Sold my house and made 90k.
Never looked back.
Great place to have come from but I like real diversity in my current city much better.
Charleston is still the same in 2021…surprise
It’s the armpit of the south
Had same mayor for years that did nothing.roads still flood regularly.and no forward progress at all..like was said the place lacks a soul
Move to either of those places in Southern California and New York and tell me you like it better full-time. Get real man. Some of your complaints are quite legitimate but most of your comparison to completely moronic.
Joe riley was a epic failure as a mayor ! No plans or vision for the future just give out building permits like candy with no thought of infrastructure .
This article hit the nail on the head! I recently moved back to the Charleston area after being gone since the Base closed in 1994 time frame. I am shocked at the difference from then and now. I did not even recognize downtown Charleston. All the openness and ambiance of the city I used to know was all closed in by office buildings and parking garages and felt stuffy. There are small pockets of the old Charleston, but none that hold enough of the ‘old’ charm to mean anything. I am left to ask myself, “Why did I come back?”
This article is hogwash. All due respect to the author, but if you don’t like where the growth and prosperity of our community is going, then don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. So what if somebody bought property that YOU feel is way overpriced. Bad Roads and cost of car repairs? You must be high on dried banana peels to use that as reason to bash a city. Charleston still has and has always had a strong backbone and an even stronger soul. Not too long ago the people of Charleston were joining hands across the Ravenel in solidarity while other cities were shooting each other and burning their neighborhoods to the ground. Stuff that in your pipe and smoke it! Our corporate footprint with Boeing and other top notch employers is admirable and getting better. We have a new mayor that loves the city with all his heart Being on a list for this this, or not being on a list for that means exactly nothing. For every reason or list the author uses to throw us under the bus, I can lost 10 reasons why this is the best city in the country. We are not NYC, or SanFran, or Austin, TX for that matter. We are Charleston and if we have to explain it to you, then you wouldn’t understand in the first place. “Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart, when I can hear it beat out loud”! That is all….
I’m so glad this was written and published. You voiced so many of the concerns that run through my mind daily and keep me from being in love with Charleston. Dogs, beer, homogenous restaurants, and historic downtown. This is Charleston to most, even many residents. But schools, cost of living, infrastructure, industry, and community recreation are the things that compose real day to day life and make a city great or not great. We are not great. Is the MAYOR reading this stuff?!?!?!?
I fell in love with charleston 20 years ago and have loved it ever since. I’m a shy person and I find that despite my love of this place, the crowds are so intense that I often elect to hide inside rather than go out. With that said, there are people in the area who have the passion, the time, and even a little money to change things. I’ve read through the posts and wow, a lot of dire thinking and dark foretelling. If this place is so wonderful (which I think it is) then maybe we need some experts to come together who can guide us. I’m sure there are a lot of people like myself who want to do something but don’t even know where to start.
The only thing worse than this author’s commentary is his “poetry”.
So a guy from New Jersey tells us how bad Charleston sucks? Please go back.
You bring up some great points, but I digress after reading about 30 comments I still hadn’t seen one person ask or say let’s get together and protest this growth or over development and so I would like to light that fire and ask how many of you would actually put in the time and effort to show up at such an event? Please let me hear you b/c I’ve got some extra time to devote to saving our wonderful city’s soul and charm!
I look at Charleston, and in particular a lot of the older neighborhoods abs I shake my head. Living on the Westside, I’ve seen good changes but also the bad. Many developers are moving in building monstrosities that do not fit into the neighborhood. They bring in truckloads of fill dirt causing flood waters to enter into the houses of long time residences. But the City and the developers don’t care.
If I could talk my wife into leaving, I’d leave this train wreck of a city behind. There are way to many beautiful cities out there who have not ruined their city scapes and neighborhoods.
As I enter the final days of my great life in Charleston, I can say we have no one to blame but ourselves for the building frenzy. The key element here is not the welfare of Charleston but the welfare of most of our “politicians” lining their pockets. In my 75years here(born),I have seen most all the changes & the spiraling growth at my expense. I know we are in a massive building frenzy that’s out of control. This I see in my area (James Island) & it is literally changing everyday,”yes”,everyday. I personally can not believe all the “condos”, “apartments”, “seasonal rentals”, just to mention a few. The realtors are not realtors, they are “pocket liners” at anyone’s expense. Without proper regulations in place, we are “doomed” for failure. This is where “you” & “I” come into play. We “must” put people in office who are for the best interest of our community & that comes about by going to the “polls”.
Another big problem I have but won’t get into detail about is the lack of effect the Charleston police dept. is having in these areas. When I see them (on the clock) sitting in a shopping center parking lot using their laptop & “riding” the clock that you & I are paying for, then there needs to be a change in management. I travel Folly Road everyday & see motorist that need to turn in their driver’s license as they have no earthly idea how to operate a vehicle & if they would put that “smartphone” down for one minute,they would lose their minds. I don’t know how it is elsewhere,but it is against the law to “text” & “drive” here. “HELLO” ,Charleston CITY & County Police. Well as someone on a local TV station says, “THAT’S MY TWO CENTS WORTH”.
I wouldn’t complain. Yes, the development and traffic are getting a little crazy but most places around the country are as well. Charleston is still a great place to live! I’m so grateful to live in such a fun and beautiful town!
The Lowcountry is being ruined. Overdevelopment and overpopulation are destroying the entire tricounty area, and it’s absolutely disgusting. Greedy developers and politicians have been happily lining their wallets while we watch more and more of our greenspace being cleared for more apartments, or another hotel, or another neighborhood for the nonstop influx of transplants. Bitterness has extended beyond the developers and politicians to the transplants. So many of the people I know, as well as myself, have a growing animosity towards the transplants that keep coming. They’re like roaches, and I would love to find something that would repell them.
I would like to talk with you about this. I am the town manager of Provincetown, MA and your talking about many of the same issues that we have , and your talking about very differently than we don, so that greatly interests me. I would like to learn more if you have a moment. Dpanagore@provincetown-MA.gov
Thanks
This is the most publically corrupt state I’ve even been to. The FREEMASON MAFIA swindles any newcomer they can of everything they have, and then have their criminal LE facebook buddies put up a blue wall for them , while said criminal pigs trash your paid for properties (with deputy escorts). There is storm coming to this UN-Holy city.
ps: Scottish rite Freemason Pig…Pray to Lucifer, your god, that the one true God , Adonay, has mercy on your pathologically lying, pathetic, and corrupt ass….or leave the lodge for the sake of your soul..
The little barrier-island beach town of Emerald Isle, NC is having similar issues with the added twist of politicians potentially having conflict of interest with regard to contracts and land ownership/development. Sure, time marches on, but controlled growth to match the infrastructure and local citizens input is paramount.
I moved here from Texas because of orders from the military and I was excited to move here with my family. I’ve been here for about a year and I’m sorry but it’s not for me. My family and I feel out of place and we’ve tried visiting the hot spots – beautiful views but traffic is horrible. It feels like the roads are congested all day and evening, maybe I just have bad luck. I’ve tried to fall in love with Charleston, but I keep feeling empty. People are nice but I’ve experienced nice people back in Texas and other countries – so, to me this isnt a motivation to stay or retire here. I’m sorry if I offended anyone, that was not my intention.
No you didn’t! I completely agree with you. Well said!
Spot on. Charleston will never be the same. But not sure why it’s consistently voted the best place to live? I’ve lived all over and there is better out there. Education here needs to be addressed..complaining won’t do any good. The growth is going to continue.
Hi there, I read through a few of your articles here.
I did have a question though that I hope you could answer.
I was wondering, When police officers are off duty, do they, in general, like to
carry their own personal firearms? I’m training to become a cop right now and I also concealed carry.
I would really appreciate any help you could give me!
It’s shocking how ignorant these comments are with regard to the causes of these issues.
None of y’all seem to grasp that density is the solution to these problems, not the cause of them.
Ironically, the “solutions” outlined here, of stopping development, will make Charleston FAR more expensive than it is now. Development is the only tool that exists to make Charleston more affordable.