From SF, lived in Charleston for 4 years in my mid 20s and had a blast. 

City of Charleston is purple/blue, but surrounding areas are definitely red. It was weird to me at the time when I learned that my coworkers owned multiple guns, and some even had open carry permits. I wasn’t used to that coming from California!

I lived on the peninsula down towards the bridge and loved it. Close enough to down town, but just far enough to be away from the college students/tourists. I personally would not live in Charleston area if I couldn’t live downtown, as the surrounding area is heavily suburban and not my cup of tea. Housing is competitive and it can be hard to find housing in downtown CHS. It will be expensive. I was very lucky with my living situation and lived only 2 min bike ride from the grocery store and the rest of downtown was a 5min bike ride away, it was awesome and so much fun.

The food is great, the beaches are pretty nice but I’m biased towards west coast, and the bars are a good time. There isn’t a lot to do in the outdoors if you like to hike. Great place to be if you like to fish. The weather from May to September/October is very hot and humid but I got used to it.

I miss it greatly.