Charleston

Charleston is located on a peninsula
where, as the local saying goes, the
Ashley and Cooper Rivers meet to
form the Atlantic Ocean. Charleston's
incredibly preserved historic district
(where the hostel is located) is a
delight to bike or walk through. The
'Holy City' is reknowned for its cuisine,
shopping, art galleries, profusion of
churches, and mannerliness. The
beaches are sultry and not so
crowded.

Links:

Charleston City Paper
Folly Beach surf report
Post and Courier (daily paper)
Charleston BarFly
Charleston slow food

Travel links:

Pirate Haus Inn and Hostel,
St. Augustine, Florida

**We're working on a bigger, better,
more informative page on life in
Charleston due to repeated
questioning of hostellers interested in
moving here.

After all, Charleston's a nice place to
visit, but I'd rather live here.

What does it take to be a happy
Charlestonian? First and foremost,
you must be very heat tolerant. It's
really really hot in the summertime,
and as someone in the hostel is
bound to remark at least once every
day-- "it's not the heat that's so bad; it's
the humidity." In the summertime,
humidity is often 100%. This sort of
climate is very good for your pores.

Charleston is home to about 200,000
folks, mostly white and black (60/40 is
pretty much the breakdown. ) The
different parts of Charleston are
downtown (peninsula), Mt. Pleasant,
James Island, West Ashley, and the
beaches of Sullivan's Island, Isle of
Palms, and Folly.

Charleston's main industries are
tourism, hospitals, and schools. If
you're interested in a career in
banking or publishing, this may not be
the best place for you. It's easy to find
a job in the hospitality industry-
waitron, cook, tour guide, etc. The high
season is from April to September,
and it's more difficult to find jobs
outside of those months.