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Guide to Best Places to Retire in South Carolina
Best Places to Live & Retire in South Carolina
Ideal-Living offers a free comprehensive service that begins with helping you find your Ideal Lifestyle. Until you know how you want to live, you can’t know where you want to live. We offer a wide array of tools to help you get answers to the questions that are keeping you from moving to your ideal destination. That includes finding the best place to retire in South Carolina.
We have nearly 40 communities within the state of South Carolina from which to choose, and if you know South Carolina, you know there are plenty of great places to retire to. From Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head to Charleston, we have information on, and can put you in direct contact with representatives from, the top 55 communities in South Carolina. And don’t forget other great locations, such as Greenville, Bluffton and Beaufort. Besides its natural beauty, warm climate and great retirement communities, South Carolina is one of the most tax friendly states for retirees and seniors. The tax benefits of living in South Carolina include:
- No tax on social security benefits
- Limited taxes on retirement income
- Very low property taxes
- Senior homeowners qualify for homestead tax exemption
Idyllic Communities in Ideal Locations
South Carolina is a lowcountry destination known for culture, art, and food. Many people love it for the weather, while others enjoy the coastal palms and scenery. Maybe it’s the food scene and history. It’s easy to see: South Carolina’s got a charm that’s hard to resist.
Prospective residents should choose a community that best fits their lifestyle. Some neighborhoods are only a short walk or ride away from bustling city centers. Others are closer to quieter, small-town shops.
Our free Digital Choose Your Ideal Place Guide and Ideal-Living Magazine offer an abundance of information on which states, towns and cities are the best for retirees, vacationers and second-home buyers.
Sample Communities to Discover
Woodside
Enhanced by the region’s lucrative cost of living, mild climate, stunning natural beauty, and charming
Southern hospitality, Woodside’s 3,000-acre community is ideally located in one of the Southeast’s best-kept secrets, Aiken, SC.
Meticulously designed from concept to creation for discerning active-active adults, downsizing retirees, and anyone else with a taste for the finer things in life, Woodside’s location in one of Southern Living Magazine’s “South’s Best Small Towns” offers residents walkable access to the best of both worlds. On top of Woodside’s world-class amenities, including 4 championship golf courses, 2 clubhouses, more than 60 member-led social groups and clubs, 2 resort-style pools, a state-of-the-art fitness center, over 21 miles of hiking and nature trails, 7 landscaped parks and green spaces – including a Certified Butterfly Park – Woodside residents enjoy 10-minute access to downtown Aiken’s Gilded-Age avenues filled with exceptional local restaurants, designer boutiques, art galleries, and more.
Whether you envision yourself perfecting your swing on our Nicklaus Design course, dozing by the pool,
or creating new memories with friends you’ve yet to meet, life at Woodside is designed to deliver you a
home that extends far beyond your property line!
K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons at Hilton Head Lakes
Discover the epitome of resort-style living at K. Hovnanian’s® Four Seasons at Hilton Head Lakes, a stunning, amenity-filled community of new single-family homes for sale in Hardeeville, SC, set among breathtaking, preserved open spaces and wetlands. With available wooded homesites, these new-construction homes feature spacious floorplans and interior Looks. Enjoy living just a drive away from incredible Hilton Head beaches, charming Beaufort, and vibrant Savannah.
Each of our new-construction homes is finished in one of our designer-curated Looks — Loft, Farmhouse, Elements, and Classic — so you can achieve the interior of your dreams. Breathtaking Lowcountry scenery awaits within and just beyond the community. More than half of K. Hovnanian’s® Four Seasons at Hilton Head Lakes has been preserved as open space, and a quarter of the community is home to picturesque wetlands. Many homesites are nestled among wooded surroundings for those seeking an enhanced connection to nature or a more private setting. Enjoy more nature and outdoor recreation just outside the community at Sergeant Jasper Park, which features fishing lakes, trails and boardwalks, a playground, and a nature preserve.
Luxuriate in endless amenities —opening winter 2027— K. Hovnanian’s® Four Seasons at Hilton Head Lakes offers a charming and intimate neighborhood feel with luxurious amenities that offer many ways to relax, keep fit, and socialize. Our on-site lifestyle director creates a calendar of events, so you can get to know your neighbors, make lifelong friends, and feel immersed in an incredible community. Challenge your new neighbors to a game of pickleball, then bring your four-legged friend to the dog park to meet friends of their own!
Living in Hardeeville means living in one of the state’s fastest-growing cities. It also means you’re within 30 miles of four amazing towns and cities. Venture out for an afternoon in the sun on the Hilton Head Island, ranked the #1 island in the U.S. by Conde Nast Traveler. Explore local history and take in the amazing architecture in Savannah, Beaufort, and Bluffton. Shop at one-of-a-kind boutiques, dine at renowned restaurants, and enjoy picturesque southern charm that will have you venturing back again and again.
Clarendon County SC
Clarendon County is the hidden gem of the Palmetto State! Ripe with nature and full of possibilities, you’re sure to fall in love with our area. Home to Lake Marion, the largest lake in South Carolina, we are an outdoor enthusiast’s dream destination. Fishing, boating, hunting and golf are just a few favorite pastimes found in our county. We are centrally located, just a quick drive to Columbia, the state capital, historic Charleston and pristine beaches from the Lowcountry to the Grand Strand. Historic 301 makes its way through our county, and we are conveniently located on the I-95 corridor.
Our area is home to several active lifestyle communities that display the best parts of “Lake Life Living.” Examples include: Wyboo Plantation, a gated community home to the signature Player’s Course at Wyboo with your choice of houses along the course or on the shores of Lake Marion. Or, Hunter Quinn Homes’ Gregory Pointe, a new community with single-levels homes that bring a modern, Charleston design to the heart of South Carolina’s lowcountry. Please take time to explore our county and be prepared to be impressed with what you discover! Community Product and Pricing
Get Started
Finding and choosing the right active adult community can be a daunting task. This is where ideal-LIVING can help. Sign up below to receive our complimentary relocation package, which offers tips on how to find a community that suits your needs. In this guide, you’ll discover the top communities in Tennessee, as well as what you can do to get started. Sign up for this free package to take the first step in your exciting journey.
Free Package includes:
- ideal-LIVING Relocation Guide
The ultimate guide to find your ideal destination, life and home. This annual guide contains more than 15 state maps, a location-based cost of living and climate comparison chart and discovery travel packages.
- ideal-LIVING Magazine
Quarterly print magazine features the best places to retire and/or purchase your ideal second home.
- ideal-LIVING E-Newsletter
Receive our digital newsletter, two to three times a month, highlighting communities around the country and abroad.
- Tickets to ideal-LIVING Live Events
The ideal-LIVING Resort & Retirement Show has helped retirees and second-home buyers find their ideal community and home for more than 30 years.
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