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Another Charleston thread. Questions.


amo_mea_filiis.
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North Carolina seemed promising until i started making some calls. Ds will not have access to services if we move to NC.

 

I moved the search down to South Carolina (Charleston area), and it looks much better. All ABA agencies i called accepted the insurance we'll have, none have a wait list, and all work with older kids as well as young. MUSC children's hospital looks good from what i can tell (no clue about ds's path yet, but if needed, musc has an epilepsy center).

 

I looked up fair market value on a 3bdrm rental and the best i can find is around $800, so that's my rental price guide. We're on housing assistance and that severely limits my area choices, but the whole point of the housing choice voucher program is to stay away from the bad areas. I'll be calling the Charleston county housing authority on Monday for more information on portability and rent guides.

 

Eventually I'll be able to work. I'm an EMT.

 

Knowing we need to stay semi-close to MUSC, as well as areas with activities (martial arts, music lessons), what areas would you recommend i look at?

 

What's the simplified version of hs laws in SC?

 

:)

 

This move depends on two gigantic things that are out of my control. While I'd love to get out of here before fall of this year, it may not happen. :(

 

 

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When I was there Goose Creek was okay for housing. Summerville was a bit more expensive. North Charleston housing was okay, but I can't say much else about it because I rarely visited the residential areas. Mt. Pleasant is an option. That area has grown up to have pretty much everything. It is closer to MUSC than Goose Creek or Summerville. I don't know much about the West Ashley area, driving through there is always looked nice.

 

The whole area has everything you need. Probably the furthest out you want to be is Summerville. That is about 45 minutes from MUSC. But depending on where you are in S'ville you would only be 15 minutes from N. Charleston. And S/ville was only an hour from the islands.

 

There are lots of museums, history, parks, live theater, festivals. Being here in this cultural wasteland I miss that having gotten used to having it so much of my life from living in the Charleston area.

 

If I were looking to move back there I'd start looking in Mt. Pleasant. Then down the list would be:

 

S'ville

W. Ashely

N. Charleston

Charleston (but it is expensive)

Goose Creek

 

I never homeschooled there since when we lived there with dd she was only 2.

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In general rents are higher near downtown and the medical school and near the base for houses. I'm in goose creek and near the weapons station and homes for rent are at minimum $1000 a month. I'm only about 20 minutes to MUSC except in rush hour. There are some rent controlled/lower income places on Daniel Island and in Mt. Pleasant. If you are interested in that option I can connect you that route.

 

 

Homeschool laws are fairly simple. Option 1 you go and get approved with the school district and it requires testing. Option / you go through SCAIHS (correct acronym?) and it's pricey and requires testing. Option 3 what most folks I know go through requires you to join an accountability group. The group does not have to be local to you. Costs vary as do services they offer (some will do grades/transcripts and others only keep your information as part of their records) but only if the group requires testing do you have to test. SC requires you to teach the basic subjects in elementary and then composition in later grades. You should also keep a portfolio of your child's work.

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Thank you both!

 

45 min isn't bad for MUSC as long as other stuff is more local.

 

I'm looking into crossfit for the kids in place of occupational and physical therapies (ds has made more therapeutic progress in drums than he has in 6 years of OT!). When I'm looking at rentals, I'm keeping activities in mind. If i can figure out how to budget activities, i have to be very careful of gas.

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Thank you Jillian!

 

I have to be very careful with areas that are predominately lower income. In theory it's simple; find a landlord of any property willing to accept the housing authority's rental agreement. I've found (from experience in this area) that the more common rental assistance is in an area, the more likely the LL is renting illegally. I can't afford to rent illegally! I wouldn't, but if i could afford to rent illegally, i wouldn't need housing.

 

I'd love to find a 4 bedroom with a LL willing to rent as a 3 so we have a therapy room. A 3 bedroom is a minimum for housing standards, but a well laid out 2 bedroom is also doable. I'm approved for a 3 because housing can't make boy and girl share or a parent share with a kid.

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Downtown Charleston is really expensive. If you want to live in charleston, I would look at the west Ashley area. If you have to go to MUSC often, then Goose Creek and Summerville are pretty far.

 

Daniel Island is expensive and you'd have to drive into mount pleasant or charleston for certain activities. Mount Pleasant offers tons of shops and activities, as well as close beach access. There can be a lot of local traffic and it is more spread out than one would think. It might run up your gas bill. I don't know anything about less expensive housing options. It is a fairly expensive place to live.

 

The epilepsy center at MUSC is amazing. One of the doctors there is the reason we homeschool. He was so encouraging!

 

Be sure you do your research! It is a really expensive place to live. It has tons of opportunities and amazing field trip sites, but they aren't free or cheap!

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I totally understand about the landlord issues. The lower income housing that I know of has a friend of mine working there they do the paperwork and such and determine if you are eligible. They are non profit and even have family only housing. The best rental areas are near the bases, by best I mean a good selection. I'm about 15 minutes with traffic from the weapons station in goose creek and love being here. We are close to lots of places, there is lots of shopping and martial arts classes, gymnastics, dance and so on there is also a great moms group here that I'm a part of. Feel free to message me. Fwiw we go to MUSC ever 3 months to the pediatric rheumatology department.

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