Section 01

🌊 The Florida Exodus

The numbers are stark. In Sarasota and Naples, homeowners insurance on a $450,000 home can now run $6,000 to $12,000 per year or more — and that is before flood coverage, which is separate and required in many coastal zones. Some carriers have exited the Florida market entirely, leaving homeowners on state-backed Citizens Property Insurance with limited coverage options.

In Horry and Georgetown Counties on the Grand Strand, homeowners insurance on a comparable non-oceanfront home typically runs $1,500 to $3,500 per year. Even oceanfront and ICW properties, which carry more exposure, rarely approach what has become routine in coastal Florida. That difference alone — $4,000 to $8,000 per year in insurance savings — changes the retirement math meaningfully when compounded over 15 or 20 years.

Beyond insurance: Florida property taxes reassess to market value on every sale, which hits buyers in appreciating markets hard. South Carolina’s 4% primary residence assessment rate and the homestead exemption for residents 65+ provide structural cost advantages that persist year over year. We have had buyers do the side-by-side comparison and find they would save $8,000 to $15,000 per year on total carrying costs by choosing the Grand Strand — before accounting for South Carolina’s income tax treatment of retirement income.

Section 02

💰 Cost of Living Comparison

Section 03

🏠 What Your Money Actually Buys

At $350,000–$500,000 on the Grand Strand in 2026:

Section 04

📋 Taxes & HOA Fees

On a $450,000 home in South Carolina, a 65+ primary resident pays property taxes on a 4% assessment ($18,000) minus the $50,000 homestead exemption — effectively assessed at $400,000 fair market value at 4% = $16,000 assessed value. Local millage rates vary by county, but effective annual property tax bills for primary residents in Horry and Georgetown Counties typically run $800 to $2,000 on homes in this range. That is among the lowest property tax burdens for coastal homes anywhere on the East Coast.

Florida’s Save Our Homes provision protects longtime homeowners from rapid reassessment — but it only applies to existing owners. New buyers in Sarasota or Naples face full market value reassessment in the year of purchase, which translates to property tax bills of $6,000 to $12,000 on homes in the $450,000–$600,000 range. Add insurance and the carrying cost gap widens significantly.

HOA fees on the Grand Strand vary widely by community — resort-style 55+ communities like Del Webb run $300–$500/month; master-planned communities like Waterbridge and Barefoot Resort run $80–$200/month. In many Florida communities, particularly those that sustained hurricane damage, HOA fees have increased sharply as associations rebuild reserves and fund deferred maintenance. We have seen buyers come from Florida communities where HOA fees doubled in three years. That has not been the pattern on the Grand Strand.

Section 05

🏥 Healthcare Access

The healthcare picture on the Grand Strand is meaningfully stronger than it was 10 years ago and continues to improve as the permanent residential population grows. Tidelands Health has multiple locations across Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Georgetown, and Pawleys Island. Grand Strand Medical Center is a full-service acute care hospital. Specialty practices — cardiology, orthopedics, oncology — are increasingly available locally rather than requiring a trip to Columbia or Charleston.

For buyers who need access to top-tier academic medical center care, the proximity to MUSC in Charleston and to Duke and UNC in North Carolina (2.5–3 hours north) gives the Grand Strand a stronger regional healthcare network than many comparable Florida coastal markets. We recommend that every buyer researching retirement on the Grand Strand do their own due diligence on specific specialty access for any known healthcare needs — but for the typical healthy active retiree, the local healthcare infrastructure here is genuinely competitive.

Section 06

☀ Year-Round Grand Strand Life

The objection we hear most from buyers who haven’t been here in the off-season: “Isn’t it dead in winter?” No. The permanent population is large enough to sustain a full local economy year-round. Restaurants that would be overrun in July are enjoyable in January. Golf courses are uncrowded from November through February. The beaches are empty and beautiful. Fall and spring are genuinely ideal — warm enough for the beach and the water, cool enough to want to be outside all day.

The summers are hot and humid — there is no honest way to avoid that truth. July and August temperatures regularly reach the low 90s with high humidity. For retirees who spent decades in the Northeast or Midwest, this is an adjustment. But most who live here year-round tell us they handle the summer the same way Floridians handle it: they use the air conditioning, they beach in the early mornings, and they plan their outdoor activity around the heat. And they’d take a Grand Strand summer over a Wisconsin February every time.

Hurricane risk is a real consideration and should not be minimized. The Grand Strand sees less storm frequency and intensity than the Florida Gulf Coast historically, but significant storms do occur. Buyers should research flood zones, understand elevation certificates, and build insurance costs into their budget honestly — which is still materially lower than Florida, but not zero.

Section 07

🧭 How to Start Your Grand Strand Search

We work with retirees comparing the Grand Strand to Florida regularly and the conversation we always want to have is a practical one: here is what your budget actually buys in each market you’re considering, here is the honest tax and insurance math, here is what year-round life looks like in the specific communities that match your lifestyle. No pressure, no sales pitch — just the real numbers and the real picture.

We can help you understand the difference between a community like Del Webb at Grande Dunes (resort 55+, active social scene, full amenity) and a community like The Farm at Brunswick just across the state line (lower price point, quieter, strong value) and a waterfront community in Murrells Inlet (marsh views, restaurants walkable, distinctly South Carolina). These are very different experiences at somewhat similar price points. Knowing which one fits how you want to live is the most important decision in the process — and it’s the one we can actually help you think through before you make a trip.

Talk to Our Team — No Obligation

Frequently Asked Questions

💬 Grand Strand Retirement: What Buyers Are Actually Asking

Yes, with context. Myrtle Beach proper is a resort town and has the character of one — heavy tourist traffic in summer, a commercial strip that is built around visitors. Retirees who live here year-round tend to settle in specific residential communities that are somewhat removed from the tourist corridor: the Grande Dunes area, the communities north of 48th Avenue, or the Del Webb 55+ community. Many buyers who come thinking they want “Myrtle Beach” discover that communities in North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, or Conway better match how they want to live. The Grand Strand is 60 miles long — “Myrtle Beach” is one part of it.

It depends on the lifestyle. For resort-style 55+ living: Del Webb at Grande Dunes in Myrtle Beach. For amenity-rich community living without the 55+ restriction: Waterbridge in Carolina Forest or the Barefoot Resort area of North Myrtle Beach. For quiet waterfront character and walkable dining: Murrells Inlet. For value-oriented community living with a real downtown: Conway. For true beachside living: the Garden City and Surfside Beach area of the southern Strand. We can walk you through all of them once we understand what matters most in your day-to-day life.

Home prices range from approximately $285,000 in Conway to $434,000 in North Myrtle Beach as median values, with luxury waterfront properties extending well above that. A comfortable retirement budget on the Grand Strand for a couple in a mid-range community typically runs $4,000–$6,000 per month for housing (mortgage or rent), insurance, HOA, utilities, food, and routine spending — significantly less than comparable coastal Florida markets and well below the Northeast and Midwest metros most of our buyers are coming from.

Yes. Del Webb at Grande Dunes is the flagship 55+ community in Myrtle Beach — resort amenities, Intracoastal Waterway proximity, and the Del Webb active-adult brand. Myrtle Trace and Myrtle Trace South in Conway are established 55+ communities at lower price points. There are also a number of non-age-restricted communities on the Grand Strand that attract a predominantly retirement-age population: Waterbridge, Barefoot Resort, Wild Wing Plantation, and Shaftesbury Estates are all examples.

South Carolina offers genuinely favorable property tax treatment for retirees. Primary residences are assessed at 4% of fair market value — not the full value. Residents 65 and older receive a homestead exemption that exempts the first $50,000 of fair market value from county property taxes. Effective annual tax bills on a $400,000 primary home for a 65+ resident in Horry County typically run $800 to $1,800 — among the lowest effective rates for coastal homes anywhere on the East Coast.

In many respects, yes — especially in 2026. Florida still holds an income tax advantage for retirees with substantial pension or IRA income above the SC exemption threshold. But South Carolina’s lower insurance costs, favorable property tax structure (including the 65+ homestead exemption), exemption of Social Security income, and significantly lower home prices in comparable coastal markets create a total cost of ownership that frequently beats Florida for buyers in the $350,000–$600,000 range. The honest answer is: run the numbers for your specific income and budget. We can help with that.

Mild. Average January high temperature is approximately 55°F; average low is around 35°F. Hard freezes occur occasionally but are not routine. Snow is rare — most winters see little to none. December through February bring cool, dry, pleasant days that are genuinely enjoyable for outdoor activity. The beach is walkable year-round. Golf is playable year-round. Spring (March–May) and fall (October–November) are the best months — warm, low humidity, uncrowded. The summers (June–September) are hot and humid with highs regularly in the low 90s. That is the honest trade-off versus coastal Maine or coastal New England — and most of our buyers consider it a very favorable one.

Start with a conversation about your lifestyle priorities and your budget. The Grand Strand’s seven distinct markets — Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Pawleys Island, Conway, Little River, and Longs — each have a very different character and price profile. A good local agent can narrow your search considerably before you spend money on flights and property tours. We work with out-of-state buyers regularly and have a straightforward process for doing a first-pass virtual consultation that saves people significant time. Reach out at thecoastalcarolinagroup.com and we’ll set up a no-obligation call.