SC has one of 10 best places to retire in Southeast and it’s not Charleston, Travel+Leisure says

One South Carolina community made Travel + Leisure’s list of 10 best places to retire in the Southeast and it wasn’t Charleston.

It was Litchfield Beach, 80 miles north of Charleston and 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach.

Nestled between Huntington State Park and Pawleys Island (actually just across an inlet), Litchfield is an unincorporated community of about 10,000 people that swells with vacationers in the summer.

With 2 miles of oceanfront, Litchfield offers homes as well as condos and other lodging, golf and tennis and restaurants from seafood to BBQ.

Travel + Leisure noted the median home value in Georgetown County is $262,300, compared to Charleston’s $650,000. The magazine also said a benefit for retirees is there are 27 hospitals and 165 health care facilities in the surrounding area.

Travel + Leisure used data from Investopedia, an online financial services research company, to look at the cost of living for two adults, average monthly taxes, additional state-level tax regulations, distance to a major airport, climate risk, health care facilities, and local arts and culture opportunities.

The southern region was identified as Delaware to Florida and west to Arkansas and Louisiana.

Litchfield Beach was also named one of America’s top 10 beaches in 2020 by TripAdvisor.

It was ranked ninth. The website called Litchfield South Carolina’s “most stunning stretch of coastline in a quiet setting.”

Litchfield was established in 1978.

“Soft sand and sea oats take center stage as beaches are more sparsely populated here,” Visit Myrtle Beach said on its website. “Thus, a long walk along the shore is a perfect way to erase all of life’s cares.”

Also named by Travel + Leisure as best places to retire were Waycross, Georgia; Danville, Virginia; Wheeling, West Virginia; Natchez, Mississippi; Tryon, North Carolina; Alexandria, Louisiana; Sebring, Florida; Paducah, Kentucky and Paris, Tennessee.