2023 Best Places to Retire in South Carolina

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 4.69 out of 5  32 reviews

Current Resident: Murrells Inlet is a beautiful quaint coastal town, with southern charm. It is a tourist destination located south of Myrtle Beach. The area has grown tremendously as well as the population in my lifetime. With this growth the roads, housing,etc cannot keep up and traffic is now a huge problem. The cost of housing is unaffordable for our younger generations to continue to live here.... Read 32 reviews

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• Population 9,695

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.44 out of 5  9 reviews

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• Population 10,600

• Town in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.88 out of 5  59 reviews

Current Resident: Hilton Head is an amazing place to be. I live here but see many tourists visting and enjoying their time. There are many different booking options like hotels, houses, apartments, and condos. The beaches are beautiful and stretch almost all the way around the island. There are many different bike rental companies here. Local businesses and restaurants are great to check out. Surge is a group that owns a bunch of different restaurants on the island and many of them are water front and have great reviews!... Read 59 reviews

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• Population 38,068

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 4.05 out of 5  21 reviews

Current Resident: Living in little river is quite interesting since we are basically a part of north myrtle we get all of the tourists that come down because we live on a beach. The town always gets filled up with people that do not live here and the traffic gets so bad you have a schedule of when the rode's are okay to drive on. The town is nice since we live on a beach but I always wonder if I'd like to love somewhere else that isn't so touristy. Maybe it will change once I go off to college and I'll get a new experience, and I might love it.... Read 21 reviews

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• Population 9,929

• Suburb of Charleston, SC

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  Rating 4.4 out of 5  5 reviews

Current Resident: Great community! Family focused; lovely beaches; peaceful and not crowded; extremely well run city; lots of unique housing to choose from; committed city council, DPW, low property taxes, limited rules and govt, great police dept.... Read 5 reviews

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• Population 4,318

• Suburb of Charleston, SC

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  Rating 4 out of 5  6 reviews

Current Resident: Folly Beach is a beautiful area with welcoming people. The scenery is gorgeous, the beach is clean and plastic-free, and the dining options are varied to meet most tastes and budgets. Traffic in the summer months is horrendous, no joke. I would advise tourists to try visiting one of the MANY other beaches available throughout the lowcountry during these months when traffic to Folly is at a standstill... it's a great beach but I'm not sure that it's quite THAT good, haha!... Read 6 reviews

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• Population 1,035

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 4.52 out of 5  21 reviews

Current Resident: The best thing about Surfside Beach, is it's people. Friendly, kind & respectful. Helped make it feel like a home. The negative, most of the town board. Not business friendly. A permit, for everything. A good business, can't afford to invest here. It's costly, when you need to renovate your last home. They really need to have people that work with you & realize that it's an improvement, to this community. If a company doesn't live in this community, they must get a new license, for each job. Very not fair, to retiree's or families. Please, find good & fair people.... Read 21 reviews

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• Population 4,155

• Town in South Carolina

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  Rating 4.21 out of 5  33 reviews

Current Resident: I have lived in North Myrtle Beach for 17 years and it has been a wonder place to grow up. Not only do we have the beautiful beach, but there are also numerous attractions that have kept me intertained. Our schools are some of the best in the county and really care about their student's well being and education. Since the town is a popular tourist attraction, there are always new people from all over the world to exchange conversations. North Myrtle beach is not only a wonderful place to raise a family and start a career, but also a wonderful place to retire and relax.... Read 33 reviews

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• Population 18,502

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• Population 975

• Suburb of Charleston, SC

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• Population 2,220

• Suburb of Columbia, SC

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  Rating 3.26 out of 5  19 reviews

Niche User: Only complaints are that everything is spaced out just far enough so that you can't walk/bike everywhere, and that quality of living isn't consistent across the area--there are very poor places, average places, and very rich places.... Read 19 reviews

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• Population 15,561

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.5 out of 5  2 reviews

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• Population 3,840

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.8 out of 5  5 reviews

Current Resident: I've recently moved into a house in this neighborhood. I've lived in several neighborhoods through out my life and I can confidently say that this is a great one! All the neighbors I have met are very friendly and never fail to wave as you pass by! The atmosphere here is also very good and I feel like I am living in a safe, family friendly neighborhood.... Read 5 reviews

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• Population 7,256

• Suburb in South Carolina

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• Population 1,969

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.66 out of 5  35 reviews

Current Resident: It’s a small community with a lot of hidden gems to find. It’s getting bigger every day with new developments and other stores, offices, etc.... Read 35 reviews

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• Population 24,657

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 4.33 out of 5  33 reviews

Current Resident: In the eleven years that I have lived in Tega Cay, it has grown a tremendous amount. It has expanded beyond the peninsula and it has grown as fast as the Fort Mill/ Tega Cay area will allow it. I grew up playing recreational soccer at Turner Field, going swimming at Windjammer Park, and attending concerts at Runde Park. Now as I have grown to become a senior at Fort Mill High School, I have been able to see Tega Cay expand past the peninsula on Lake Wylie along with the safety that the town provides. Tega Cay is also one of the safest towns in South Carolina along with Fort Mill. The Tega Cay Police Department ensures the safety of Tega Cay citizens, and the TCPD is incredibly kind and understanding. Tega Cay is a lovely town, but it is also a bit older. With the town being older, some of the houses on the peninsula are a little bit messier/run down looking, along with most of the recreational buildings at the parks.... Read 33 reviews

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• Population 12,336

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 4 out of 5  11 reviews

Current Resident: Pendleton is a wonderful place to live. It is full of history, past and present. John C. Calhoun's wife visited several plantations in her lifetime via horse and buggy driven by Jack Washington (Daddy Jack) who was not only her driver but a fiddler who grew up on the Calhoun Plantation as a slave and later lived there until he married Ada Arial who lived on Woodburn Plantation. They raised all their children there and my grandmother lived there after she married and had five children there. They moved into the city limits while she was pregnant with her sixth child who was born in the city limits of Pendleton. There are two historical plantations still available for the public to see for a small fee; Ashtabula Plantation and Woodburn Plantation. Fall Festival is coming to town and is being loaded with pumpkins and scarecrows everywhere.... Read 11 reviews

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• Population 3,447

• Suburb of Charleston, SC

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  Rating 4 out of 5  12 reviews

Current Resident: Hollywood is a quiet town located in the rural Lowcountry of South Carolina. Culture in Hollywood is based on community, hospitality, and charity. In the town of Hollywood, agriculture/farming is at the core of the town because most vegetables are sourced and bought locally due to farmers in the area. One thing I would like to see change is infrastructure, Hollywood is a relic of the South and I would like to see it become more modernized by allowing more businesses to establish themselves in Hollywood.... Read 12 reviews

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• Population 5,319

• Suburb of Charleston, SC

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  Rating 4 out of 5  163 reviews

Current Resident: I have been very fortunate to grow up in Mount Pleasant. I enjoy the small community atmosphere where everyone is a neighbor. Southern hospitality is shown for sure. There are a lot of things to do whether it be fishing from the Mt Pleasant Pier in the Cooper River, walking the Arthur Ravenel Bridge from Mount Pleasant into downtown, zipping over to one of the local beaches or enjoying some of the award winning restaurants and exquisite shopping in the area. Safety is also a number one priority for the entire community. If there was one thing I would like to see addressed is the infrastructure in Mount Pleasant. With the exponential growth of people moving to the area, as well as new business openings, the Town of Mount Pleasant should continue to make improvements in that area.... Read 163 reviews

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• Population 88,900

• Town in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.94 out of 5  106 reviews

Current Resident: It is such a beautiful place to live. The weather is nice and always sunny. Even on the rainy days it’s not a bad day. The people are polite and you feel like you can relax here. It’s like a vacation everyday. There is always something to do and the community is always active. There are yummy food shops. My favorite is loco pie! It’s a pizza place and boy do I love pizza. Bluffton is not too far from the beach, so it’s nice to be able to visit whenever you would like. My favorite part about bluffton is how it is growing. The town is waking up. There is a mini golf currently being built and I am excited for that to open up. It is going to be the new hot spot for kids. The bowling place is also fun to be at. They have food and they have an arcade. It is everything you could want and more here! Downtown bluffton has beautiful spots , it is nice to have quiet time by the May river. Or you can go visit the historic church! All in all I love bluffton! This will be and is my forever home! Yes... Read 106 reviews

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• Population 27,596

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.81 out of 5  133 reviews

Current Resident: Well let's start with the reason for the five star rating I just gave! It's for five star corruption, you know the people that rule in the circle of Aiken, they destroy good peoples lives for their own personal gain. I laugh at them, I say to them look where you are living within ( In a circle with corrupt people) As James Bond once said "Well enjoy yourself" If that's possible, The people you dwell with within your circle are just like you, no way you can let your guard down, it's like a circle of rich zombies!... Read 133 reviews

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• Population 31,516

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 3.43 out of 5  7 reviews

Niche User: Some concerns but generally very safe near campus.... Read 7 reviews

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• Population 16,060

• Suburb in South Carolina

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  Rating 4.5 out of 5  2 reviews

Niche User: I am glad that their are police at the school to make everyone feel better and protective because of the police... Read 2 reviews

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• Population 4,092

• Suburb in South Carolina

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• Population 3,292

• Suburb of Columbia, SC

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  Rating 4.27 out of 5  11 reviews

Current Resident: I love living in forest acres, easy access to downtown and to Fort Jackson. I really enjoy living in my neighborhood. It’s a good sign you when your neighbors can enjoy an evening stroll and feel safe.... Read 11 reviews

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• Population 10,621