...and his parents moved back there after living in Richmond for about 10 years. I went to visit them with my friend probably 15 years ago, and I thought it was a pretty cool place. I'm not a big fan of Myrtle Beach, but I liked Pawley's Island because it was quiet and not commercialized like Myrtle. I grew up vacationing at Hilton Head with my parents, who "discovered" it on their honeymoon in the 70s before it became popular and developed, and I kind of imagined that Pawley's Island is kind of like a smaller version of what Hilton Head was like in the 70s. I haven't been to Pawley's since ~2005, so I have no idea what it's like now, but I think you should definitely go check it out. It would be a shame to write it off as a candidate without experiencing it yourself.

We love Charleston, too - I was born there and I've always loved visiting, but like you, the cost of living, traffic, and growth scare me away from considering it as a living destination. One of my other best friends lives there and called me about a potential job opportunity there about a year ago, but after giving it some thought, decided it was too risky to seriously consider. My wife and I both have good security in our current roles, and the thought of moving out of state to a place with a high cost of living was too much for me. In hindsight, I'm really glad I decided to not pursue it, because we would have been trying to move in the middle of the pandemic had I been offered the job.