It’s funny to think about how we end up in our current locations. Almost twenty years ago I graduated from Bishop England High School, just two years after it’s campus moved from downtown to Daniel Island. Daniel Island was still a construction zone at that time with no shops or restaurants and just a few pockets of houses that had been built. In my high school mind, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would ever live on this undeveloped island.
Fast forward fifteen years and my husband and I were planning our move from Chicago back to Charleston. Long story short, my husband found office space on Daniel Island. And even though it’s the last place we looked for a house, just a couple of hours spent exploring the island convinced us that it seemed like a great place to live. Three years in, I’m so glad we moved to this space. It”s been the perfect transition place for our family and while it’s hard to narrow it down, here are five reasons why I love living on Daniel Island:
The Small Town Feel
It’s true, this island town has a small town feel. Case in point, just yesterday I went to my physical therapy appointment, dropped off a package at UPS, picked up my dry-cleaning and popped into the new local boutique and all of this took about an hour. In mom time, this ability to run errands so quickly and without traffic is a huge stress reliever. We made a decision this past summer to plug in even more to this island town, so we switched churches to one down the road and we put our kids in the local elementary school. The amount of connections and relationships we have made has increased so much and we love getting to know the other people who live here.
Concerts and Events
Starting in late spring, the island hosts concerts in the park. We love to pack up our wagon with a picnic dinner, drinks and chairs and relax while the kids run around with their friends and we enjoy the company of our neighbors and friends. It feels nice to have events like that that are so close to home. Another favorite, we love the annual tennis tournament and all the concerts the venue hosts each year. We’ve walked, biked, and caught rides in friends’ golf carts to a few concerts and they are always favorite times of ours.
The Ease of Walking and Biking
As a one-car family coming from Chicago, we loved the idea of not having a second car. My husband bikes to work and so far it’s worked out great. His commute is less than ten minutes and his commute home includes a stop at the local Crossfit. Last month, when he took the girls to a Father-Daughter dance, my son and I decided to bike up to our favorite pizza place, grab dinner to-go and come back to watch Star Wars together. As a family, we love walking to the pool, the parks and to our neighbors’ houses. There’s so much beauty and stress-relief from just getting outside and Daniel Island provides many ways to do just that.
Access to Nature
I’ll be honest, I may have grown up in the Lowcountry, but the beach has never been my favorite place. I’ll go if I’m meeting friends or if my beach-loving husband requests a family outing, but marsh views and deep water? I’ll take that any day. And Daniel Island is full of those views. Down the street from our house is a boardwalk with gorgeous views and sunsets. And just past that is a little island that my kids love to explore and run around. The Wando River is down the street from my husband’s office and we’ll go meet him to take a stroll down to the dock. The massive and mossy live oaks that line the street add to the charm and peacefulness we feel on this island.
The People
As with anywhere you live, the community you surround yourself makes the biggest impact. We have loved getting to know our neighbors and our neighbor’s kids. Watching my kids run around each day after school and enjoy being outside with their friends is one of the biggest joys I get out of our time on Daniel Island. People seem to embrace the laid back feel and it’s a treat to get to know people from all over the country who have made Daniel Island their home. This place is certainly something special and I’m so thankful to call Daniel Island my home.
