Things I Miss Most About Charleston

It was my home for four years and where I made some of my best memories. Every time I see someone’s Facebook update about something happening in Charleston, I think I die a little inside. The fact that Charleston in summertime is the best anywhere is especially painful as I am typing this on my laptop from a cold and rainy Sydney.

Restaurants

Oh the restaurants. I seriously melt when I think about my favorites. By now there are probably a fair amount of new and exciting spots. I can’t even talk about them without wanting to cry, so I’ve made a little list of them, with random descriptions of each and links to related blog posts.

• Bowen’s Island Restaurant: fresh seafood, no frills experience
• East Bay Deli: real sandwiches! Delis don’t exit in Australia…
• Santi’s: Mexican food and super strong margaritas
• Groucho’s Deli: more sandwiches, but with homemade potato chips and sauce
• A.C.’s Bar and Grill: greasy brunch, chicken and waffles
• Marina Variety Store Restaurant: creamy grits, Ashley River views
• The Taco Spot: BEST PLACE I’VE EVER WORKED! Mexican beer, amazing fish tacos
• Fat Hen: Best-ever brunch, cheesy bacon grits
• D’Allessandro’s Pizza: pizza, beer and wings in the hood, the perfect college dive
• Five Loaves Cafe: cute cafe near my house, good soups, salads, sandwiches
• The Glass Onion: more amazing grits, daily specials like shrimp po boys, catfish and quail
• Poe’s Tavern: best fries in town, huge burgers
• Moe’s Crosstown: sports bar with cheap beer and big burgers
• Jack’s Cosmic Dogs: vintage style hot dog joint with sweet potato mustard

History

I like to brag to people that my alma mater was founded before America was even a country. And definitely before good ole Captain Cook landed on the shores of Australia in 1770. It’s got nothing on say, Rome, but I loved living in a house that was at least 100 years old, despite the constant need for repairs. There are also founding fathers and signers of the Declaration of Independence that walked the same cobblestone streets as me.

Walkability

I complained about not having a car when I first got to college, mostly after a long walk to Harris Teeter for groceries, but it’s a very walkable city. And while there has been controversy about the safety of bicyclists throughout the city, I always found it easy to walk to any destination downtown. The only reason I owned a car was to get to the beach and to work.

Scenic Drives

I love the days I spent driving to Edisto, Wadmalaw or Johns Island for no apparent reason. They’ve got beautiful Spanish moss hanging from the trees and make you feel like you’re in small-town America, even though you’re only 45 or so minutes outside the city.

Community

Charleston is like a city mixed with a small town. You can easily run into someone you know, or don’t want to see, on the street even though the city has some 100,000 residents. The Farmer’s Market is a perfect example of the city’s sense of community. Along with this is the friendliness of the people. It may be a Southern thing, but when I walk past someone on my street or someone stops to let me pass, I smile or say hi. My neighbors here look at me strangely.

Architecture

Everything is just so old and beautiful. There’s the classic Charleston single house, skinny in the front, long in the back, sort of like a mullet. I miss the porches that were ideal for drinking, tanning and studying. I also loved going to school in buildings older than our country.

Late-Night Options

Sydney is not the most late-night friendly city. Unless you want to drink, there’s not much to do past 12 p.m. I miss late-night runs to Pita Pit, Early Bird Diner and even Waffle House.

Events

Being a SCENE reporter for the Charleston City Paper was one of the most fun jobs I’ve ever had because I essentially got paid to go to parties. In my stint there, I covered everything from gay pride prom to fashion week to wildlife expos to mustache competitions. It was never a dull moment, to say the least.

I will also admit that there are a few things I don’t miss about the Chuck.

Floods

Every time a drop of rain would fall on my head, I would fear for the worst. Charleston has seen some nasty hurricanes and since many of the streets are very low lying, cars can quickly become victims of floods. Mine was one such unlucky vehicle. It’s not uncommon to see College of Charleston students surfing or kayaking down flooded streets.

Noises

Being right off the main street, I was woken by everything from car alarms to drunk coeds to homeless men going through my recycling bin. Getting a good night’s sleep becomes a major challenge.

Meter Maids

Parking tickets, meter maids and tow trucks were a pain in my side for all four years I lived there. I could park somewhere for two seconds while running into a store and the meter maids would always find me. I would be that one person who got a ticket first thing in the morning, again an hour later, then gets their car towed before 8 a.m.

Humidity

A temperate climate is one thing, but summers in Charleston can be downright painful. Walking down the street takes twice as long, since you want to stop in every store to soak up a little bit of the air conditioning. It also makes your hair unmanageable and is best kept pulled back.

Palmetto Bugs

In the rest of the world, we call these nasty critters cockroaches. Take one step in Charleston at night and you’ll have one scattering next to your flip flop. Try to swat them away and they’ll fly at you.

Charleston Shuffle

No, it’s not a dance move, it’s what happens when you have hundred-year-old streets. The cobblestones begin to buckle under years of feet, humidity, tree roots and earthquakes, causing lazy feet draggers like myself to stumble after every step.

I also miss my dear friends, life at the College of Charleston (aka College of Knowledge), running into people I know on the street, Thirsty Thursday at Riverdogs games, drinking on porches, sea breezes, crazy roommates, bars within walking distance, shopping on King Street, Saturday morning crepes and laying out in Marion Square, but I had to end this post somewhere under 2000 words!

Have you been to Charleston, South Carolina? Why not?