Moving to S.C.

Well, we finally got an assignment, and are headed to Shaw AFB in South Carolina sometime in May 2013. So if any of you out there have any hints, tips, tricks or information about that area, I'd really appreciate hearing it, as we've never been stationed on the East Coast before. I'd also like to know who from here lives out there, and what the good roads are, as well as what roads to avoid are. Thanks!!!

 

You are in the perfect spot in SC to enjoy both the Mountains and the beach. SC is not a bad state at all IMO. You can make a day trip to the Dragon and back (a long day) but it can be done. Welcome back to the world.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll definitely be checking it out, as I've heard quite a bit about the Dragon!

 

I live in Florence SC, <1hr from Shaw. From either town, you can be in the mountains in less than 3 hrs or the beach in a little over an hour. I prefer the mountains and ride up there frequently. Once you get moved in, hit me up and we'll ride. BTW, people in SC are HORRIBLE drivers(except me of course:wink so be warned.

 

culture shock upcoming, I think. Blue Ridge pkwy is close enough, lots of great riding from there.

 

Hey Doug.

I was stationed there for 18 months. ACC was the #1 reason I retrained.

You will be 1.5 hrs to Myrtle Beach, 1 hr to Charleston, 3 hrs to Asheville, 3.5 to Atlanta. The area around Shaw sucks, there is no way to candy coat so there it is. I recommend living off base since base housing on Shaw sucks or at least it did when I was there. I lived in a tiny town called Rembert, population of about 350. Columbia has a pretty good scene around the 5 points area. Charleston is awesome. There is a Honda dealer on Broad St, Honda of Sumter. Sumter lays claim to one of the largest per capita mobil home dealer area in the nation. You can get a double wide on 1 acre for less than $80K. The Chicken Shack in Dalzell has the best fried chicken I've ever had. I lived down the road from a peanut farm so I could get fresh out of the drum peanuts for $1.50. Like everything, living there will be what you make of it. The best advice I can offer is to get away from the base as much as possible.

If you need some in depth info, shoot me a pm.

KC-10 FE out...
lane: :usa2:

 

Thanks, I'll definitely do that!

 

We're preparred for the culture shock, as we've been in Germany for almost 7 years now! It will be interesting to see how it goes though...

 

I've spent the majority of my time in the AF in ACC, so that's no issue, I think PACAF, especially Osan was probably the most demanding time, just because of all the exercises. We're looking to live closer to Ft. Jackson, as the houses and schools seem to be better over there when compared to the Shaw and Sumter area. We're definitely looking forward to getting back to civilization, and a common language. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed our time in Germany, but we also miss the States, and being on the same continent as the majority of our friends and families. Plus, I'm about 3 years away from retirement, and we'd like to start looking into buying a house, and settling down. Not saying that's going to happen there, but we are keeping an open mind about it.

 

Douglas, You get moved to SC yet?

 

I have. I live in the N.E. portion of Columbia, and work at Shaw AFB. Slowly trying to get my VFR together after the move, as I took it apart to prevent damage during shipping.