Was it a work relocation?  No, my San Diego firm allowed me to work remotely, and now I’m retired from the practice of law. Did you move here for family? No, my family is located in Virginia and California.  Did you move here because of friends? No, my only acquaintance when I arrived was my real estate agent, who was recommended by a work colleague. Was it for the weather? No, I relocated from Del Mar, California, which has a climate comparable to the South of France. At this point, people look at me skeptically, perhaps doubting my sanity.

Told in full, it’s a long story. This is the abridged version. Five years ago, I was “living the dream” with a view of San Clemente from my Del Mar coastal hilltop home, which I had remodeled from the ground up.  But I hardly ever saw it because I was working 12 to 18-hour days at my law firm. That left very little time for enjoying life. 

At some point, I began to think about an exit strategy. Truth be told, more than a few Californians entertain such thoughts. My friends often discussed where we would go if we wanted to leave California, but we never could come up with a viable alternative. One evening, I was at a party and was dragged across the room by my friend to meet a friend of theirs. The “exit strategy” topic came up, and she asked me if I had ever been to Charleston. I hadn’t, and she encouraged me to put a trip on my bucket list. When I next had a break between cases, in April 2017, I took a trip to Charleston. I stayed in a bed and breakfast downtown and explored the city on foot. I had found my exit strategy, thinking, maybe ten or 15 years down the road.

Then COVID hit.  When the lockdowns ended, Del Mar was no longer an idyllic beach town- more crowds, more crime, angrier. I also had gotten to the point in life where I wanted to find a real community. Perhaps I was just exhausted by the lockdowns. My blood pressure was steadily rising.  And I had just resolved a situation with an investment property in Orange County, California, which my broker told me was the closest thing to the movie “Pacific Heights” he had seen in his 40-year real estate career. That was the last straw; it was time execute my exit strategy.   

Like many, I initially looked for property downtown. On the way back to San Diego after selecting a property in Harleston Village, the Uber driver asked me why I was in town. I told her I was looking at property, and she said, “Ma’am, did you consider Mount Pleasant?  That’s where you should look.”  When I got the inspection report back from the property I had selected, the suggestion of the Uber driver rang in my ears, particularly after doing more due diligence on Mount Pleasant. I located a realtor through a lawyer friend, and he started the search. My property in I’On soon appeared on the MLS, and my agent took a look. He told me it needed “a lot” of “updating,” but had, as they say, “good bones.”  I asked him what I’On was. He said it was like Downtown without flooding and bad electrical. I said, " This sounds right to me". My agent sent me a set of the original plans, and I was able to figure out how to reimagine it remotely. I closed escrow without setting foot in the house, I’On or even Mount Pleasant. My Del Mar property sold in one day, and I was on my way. Me, two dogs, and three enormous suitcases boarded a red-eye flight to Charleston. All my other possessions went into storage. People said, “South Carolina? You’ll be back.”  My firm was so certain I would be back; they suggested I work remotely for a year, “in case it doesn’t work out.”

Everything did work out.  After a one-year remodel (when I lived in my FROG), my house is perfect. Equally important, it has a place for the baby grand piano I purchased after I arrived here. I never played as a child, and learning to play has been on my bucket list for a very long time. I take lessons from Cathy Mooney in I’On, and it has become an obsession. I love my garden and walks with my two Papillon dogs, and everything about I’On. I have found community here, and I have made many friends. Adding to my musical endeavors, I also sing in the choir at Christ Our King parish and the Charleston Symphony Chorus.  

Everyone asks me the same question – “Do you miss San Diego?”  No, I’ve never looked back. This is home.