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Hi, I tried the search function but posts are from 2018 or older...so hoping to get some updated insight into Lake Murray.
My wife and I are empty nesters (except for our two pups) and looking at retiring to a lake in ~2 years. We currently live on a small lake in NH and are looking for a larger lake where we can boat to restaurants, etc. Like others before us, we are looking for a milder winter climate. I am active and take the pups for off-leash trail hiking almost every day here in NH.
We spent a month on Kiawah this winter and loved it (very dog friendly), but we can't live around gators with the pups. It is also expensive.
Our plan is to use the next couple of years to check out places that we could move to on a recreational lake. We have looked at Lake Norman but prefer S. Carolina, but open to other suggestions.
Any suggestions that only someone from the area might be aware of? For example, we learned that having waterfront that faces the West for sunsets is preferred.
I think Lake Murray has the best of what you're describing; the other two I would check out are Lake Wylie on the NC-SC border (check out Tega Cay, SC and Lake Wylie, SC) and Lake Hartwell on the SC-GA border (check out Clemson, SC and Reed Creek, GA).
The upside of all three is that they are near cities but have lakefront access and boat-up restaurants and bars. Wylie is probably pricier given its proximity to Charlotte, but has all that comes with being near a larger city, and Hartwell is part of the Savannah River, which gives you a lot more range to explore. Murray though seems to have the best vibes as it has a very active boating community that biases slightly more toward retirees than young families (Wylie) or visitors and college students (Hartwell).
It is very, very costly to own a home directly on the water as in has it's own dock. There are developments where the homes overlook the lake and share a common dock.
I think Lake Murray has the best of what you're describing; the other two I would check out are Lake Wylie on the NC-SC border (check out Tega Cay, SC and Lake Wylie, SC) and Lake Hartwell on the SC-GA border (check out Clemson, SC and Reed Creek, GA).
The upside of all three is that they are near cities but have lakefront access and boat-up restaurants and bars. Wylie is probably pricier given its proximity to Charlotte, but has all that comes with being near a larger city, and Hartwell is part of the Savannah River, which gives you a lot more range to explore. Murray though seems to have the best vibes as it has a very active boating community that biases slightly more toward retirees than young families (Wylie) or visitors and college students (Hartwell).
Thank you, this is a very helpful post! Good to hear at least one confirmation of our focus on Lake Murray, and we will check out the other two places.
Thanks for taking the time to post, much appreciated!
What about Lake Monticello or Lake Wateree? They seem way less developed, more rural, but you still have reasonable access to Columbia or even Charlotte
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