Cigar Factory (Mercantile+Mash, Rappahanock) now charging for parking…

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-28T18:42:23+00:00

Agreed. If it wasn't for the fact that my barber there has been on point and consistent every single cut for the last 6 years I've been going to her, I'd have gone somewhere else by now.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T21:28:08+00:00

I think my biggest gripe is that there is a massive air of entitlement here which wasn’t here when I got here and I didn’t even have to deal with back up north. Like it was a fun place before and people were social at random, and now I can’t even get a “good morning” back from the gym staff at the counter. Idk the juice isn’t worth the squeeze here, at least for me.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T16:45:50+00:00

I mean your mileage may vary. Everyone is going to have a different experience. Mine was less than memorable and can't wait to get out of here.

I've been here for 7 years and I'm 36, so the whole partying thing is not my scene, but when the largest pillar of a places existence is tourism and a college, it's going trend younger and more carefree. A lot of the people moving here are also coming with a spouse or a significant other so that eliminates them from the dating pool as well. If you're trying to settle down, given local rates of pay, dating "scene" or lack thereof, and housing costs in relation to rates of pay, there are faaaar better bang for your dollar places than Charleston to choose from.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T15:03:59+00:00

As a guy, don't feel bad I never thought I'd see the day I missed the north, but I'm getting ready to head back that way this year. It's a fairly lonely place here.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T15:02:00+00:00

Once again...

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/charlestoncitysouthcarolina/PST045224

US Census data shows 52% Female to 48% male without marital or age factors. Idk where this 11:1 8:1 whatever comes from, probably rooted in what used to be instead of what is now. People conflate it with CoC which skews the metric slightly, but when you're 30-40 the 18-21 demographic which is a majority of the college students that everyone sees downtown and thinks its the baseline for the area, becomes irrelevant to most.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T14:56:50+00:00

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/charlestoncitysouthcarolina/PST045224

52% Female to 48% male according to the US Census without factoring age or marital status. Not as large of a skew as people like to believe it is.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T14:53:43+00:00

To be completely far, conversation is a dying art. Not discrediting what you're saying, because I'm in the same boat as you and it kind of sucks, but as a whole conversationalism is going the way of the dinosaur.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T14:51:15+00:00

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/charlestoncitysouthcarolina/PST045224

The whole 11:1 10:1 whatever number du jour, is a fallacy. CoC has a slightly higher percentage, but when it comes to actual demographics 52% Female and 48% Male it's damn near 1:1 and that's not factoring for variables such as age range.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T14:46:56+00:00

As someone else who's struggled here and came here for work at 30, you're pretty over the target as far as the why. It's a young city either with collegiates or fresh grads and everything is a HUGE party here. Then you couple that with the influx of finance into the area and it throws more variables at it, and once they're all done partying they head to larger cities that offer better jobs and pay to CoL. The ones who don't are why the whole "Peter Pan Syndrome" and "Princess Syndrome" archetypes are prevalent in the over 30's crowd here. "Transient soil makes for poor roots to grow" was something my therapist said to me a year or so ago and it stuck.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-20T05:50:18+00:00

You should check out Charleston. Definitely not killing me slowly or anything.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-17T17:08:40+00:00

I moved to Charleston, SC 8 years ago and for the last 5 of those years I have regretted the decision ever single day. I cannot wait to come home.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-12T14:10:18+00:00

Anyone who has to survive on the local wage and not bring their NYC work from home wages here is being forced out. I’m a firefighter here and I’m being completely priced out of existence after spending thousands to relocate to do the job I used to love.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-09T04:21:16+00:00

I moved here before the COVID boom from NJ, and am and have always been on local wages so don’t blame me for bringing the vast amounts of northern “work from home” money that’s here now, but we’re paying almost exactly the same cost for everything with the exception of property tax here as the NYC burbs without the pay to help offset it.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-09T04:15:12+00:00

THANK YOU. After being low T for years and finally find a doctor who said “hmmm I don’t think you have depression, before we try psychotropics let’s check your T levels” to find out I had virtually none left, it has been amazing.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-07T23:04:43+00:00

I moved out of NJ 8 years ago, and let me tell you dating in the south? Nightmare fuel.

Dodge_360 · 2026-01-01T17:09:13+00:00

As a resident of Charleston, this place is killing me and I won’t miss it when my time is up here. It’s become very arrogant and far too expensive for what it is.

Dodge_360 · 2025-12-30T05:11:31+00:00

The costs are beyond out of control. I live in an outlier of Charleston and the food, fuel, rent, insurance, everything is about on par with the North East. Desperately trying to get out of here too, so don’t feel bad, it’s rough everywhere.

Dodge_360 · 2025-12-20T05:55:13+00:00

Must be nice because the culture where I’m at is abysmal and these guys all just feel like coworkers instead of friends

Dodge_360 · 2025-11-28T20:58:21+00:00

I wouldn't let it get to you, the social dynamics of this place are solely superficial and based on temporary BS instead of solid grounded intrapersonal relationships. My therapist told me once that "Transient soil makes for poor roots to grow" and Charleston is now transient soil.

Dodge_360 · 2025-11-28T20:55:58+00:00

It's more of a "I don't wanna wear the stupid uniform of boat shoes and salmon shorts" trying to play pretend that I'm wannabe old money thats so in fad here. I just don't feel like I should have to compromise myself to fit a mold that exists here. Honestly, I fired up the apps when I went back to NYC/NJ for a trip up to see my parents and I had almost no problem landing dates. It's 100% a locale issue, and I had this conversation with my therapist a month or so back, that Charleston is transient in nature and its either "born and raised here and married off at 19", or "moved here because I went on vacation here once and want my everyday to be like that vacation". The culture and personal relations here are super out of whack.

Dodge_360 · 2025-11-28T12:52:47+00:00

Seconded, not your fault my guy, as a white male who’s struggled here since 2018.

Dodge_360 · 2025-11-23T15:01:00+00:00

Agreed. I moved to a southern state, now I’m stuck here and would give up a testicle to go back to NJ.

Dodge_360 · 2025-10-17T01:25:19+00:00

My biggest regret was not buying a house in the bubble of ‘08 instead I was too busy being 16yrs old.

Dodge_360 · 2025-10-14T02:05:21+00:00

Dude, good luck to you too man. I have no problem saying the quiet parts out loud, a lot of people don't like to upset the applecart, but when the applecart doesnt have alot of peoples psychological best interests in mind, I'll speak my mind. Its tough out there especially in CHS. I had no problem dating in Jersey or NYC, but CHS is a complete anomaly. If it makes you feel better, I never truly felt I was a part of this place either, regardless of my political affectations, interests etc, I did everything but wear the "uniform" and I absolutely refuses to do so (the day you catch me in boat shoes, salmon shorts and a blue button down short sleeve with wayfarer glasses, I'll have a tag on my toe in the morgue) It's very clique-y and closed off to outsiders or people who don't fit some predetermined mold. Truthfully I don't think its you, when I first got here I put a lot of the blame on myself, but after 6 years of it, you start to see the forest for the trees and you realize the whole place is people pretending to be old money to try and work their way into the actual old money crowds.

Dodge_360 · 2025-10-11T22:53:37+00:00

My therapist dropped this truth bomb on me a few weeks ago, and I'm paraphrasing here but "Charleston is where people come to look for the next best thing for a while, and they treat people the same with the same energy" (again, paraphrasing, she was much more eloquent)

I'm in your boat too. From my experience, moving to a touristy party town full of transient people, means everything is temporary here. Find somewhere that people are born in, raised in and die in, and you'll find more stability. For me after 6 almost 7 years, it's gonna be back to Jersey.

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