Choose Charleston

Introduction 

There is a distinction in the local parlance between the come’yuhs and the bin’yuhs. Should you be a bin’yuh, your ancestry may well stretch back to the time of the original walled city of Charles Towne, fortified against attacks by the Spanish, to the time of Northern Aggression, or perhaps only to the early to middle years of the twentieth century. Come’yuhs did exactly that: they came here after being born somewhere else.

I am a come’yuh, just so you know.

This is fine by me because it has, over the last 17 years, allowed me the joy of discovery.

The American South exerts a powerful, at least cinematic if not outright mythic, pull on the imagination. Is it any wonder that brides consistently choose Charleston as one of the most popular destination wedding sites? The semi-tropical coast, barrier islands scattered along its length, is a place of salt marshes and live oaks, Spanish moss slung from the languid dark branches like a lingering image from a half-remembered dream.

Travelers from around the world are drawn to the architectural grandeur and hand-detailed craftsmanship of Southern mansions. Fascination with the history of the plantation system and the war between North and South grabs hold of them and then wild-caught shrimp from local waters, Carolina Gold rice, and sweet tea does the rest.

Little wonder that many a new resident to Charleston, Beaufort, Savannah, or the islands in-between tells a tale of having visited many times, each time lingering a little longer, until finally deciding to pack up their belongings and come here to stay.

Each time you visit, you find a little more to savor.

And I’ll be sharing exactly that, post by post, with you in the days ahead.