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An Introduction to Hilton Head
Retirement |
Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and Okatie
are among the best places in the United States to retire. A world-class
selection of planned and gated communities with luxurious recreational
amenities is set among stunning natural beauty. Residents experience a
captivating social environment with a history of Southern charm and
hospitality.
Hilton Head retirees live a relaxed but active lifestyle. The area’s
semi-tropical climate is favorable for outdoor walks, golf and tennis
all year long. Many gated communities have indoor swimming pools and
luxurious fitness centers. You won’t shovel snow on Hilton Head because
there isn’t any!
Friendly and fascinating people retire to Hilton Head from all over the
world. These include many accomplished business leaders, educators and a
large and growing community of artists. It’s easy to make friends on
Hilton Head Island because residents share a bond of living in an ideal
place for retirement. You can choose to retire in a community that is
unrestricted by age or you can live in one of the area’s seniors-only
communities. To learn more about why Hilton Head Island, Bluffton and
Okatie planned and gated communities are excellent places to retire, see
the Gated Communities Features and Benefits section of this website.
You will enjoy a great general convenience when you retire to Hilton
Head. The beaches, entertainment, stores, restaurants and hospitals are
all close by. Learn more about the area’s comprehensive medical
services, hospitals, assisted living and continuing care residences and
find links to their websites in the section of this website entitled:
Questions and Answers About Hilton Head Retirement.
Travel in and to this area is easy. Savannah, Georgia and Beaufort,
South Carolina are one hour away from Hilton Head by car; Charleston,
South Carolina is 2 hours away; Jacksonville, Florida is 3 hours away;
Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta Georgia are 4.5 hours by car. The
Hilton Head Airport support has private planes and commuter flights. The
Hilton Head-Savannah International Airport has large jets, many more
flights and is just a 45-minute drive from Hilton Head Island. All of
the drive times stated are 15-30 minutes less for residents of Bluffton
or Okatie.
Questions and Answers about Hilton Head Retirement
Answers follow these frequently asked questions about retirement in
Hilton Head:
1) Should you live on or off-Island?
2) Should you buy a house or a villa?
3) What kind of recreational and social amenities
are available?
4) What does it cost to retire on Hilton Head or
Bluffton?
5) Should you have a car?
6) Do Hilton Head and Bluffton have good hospitals,
medical care, assisted living and continuing care?
Should you retire on or off-Island? Hilton Head Island, Bluffton,
Okatie, Hardeeville and Ridgeland all have communities that will meet
and exceed your retirement needs. A difference in the areas is that
Hilton Head Island has beaches and marinas while the other areas do not
have marinas but boat ramps and private docks. If your priorities
include being closest to the beach and marinas, retire on the Island.
Should you buy a retirement house or a villa? The typical low
country house is one story (no steps) with limited outside maintenance
required, including yard maintenance. Because there is a large selection
of homes suited for retirement on Hilton Head and Bluffton, The Gated
Communities Specialist™ recommends that you choose a house, not a
condominium, with the size and features you want in a good gated
community with the recreational amenities you want. The trend over time
is to downsize your residence but this does not mean that you have to
buy a villa right away (condominium and villa is the same thing). As
your needs change, you can always change your residence to a smaller
house or even a condominium.
If you choose a condominium, the condominium association will take care
of your exterior maintenance, buy your insurance and provide other
services for you like trash pick-up, pest control and security.
Condominium residents must obey rules and regulations that should be
reviewed for your satisfaction with special attention to whether your
pet is allowed. Condos are joined to each other above, below and side by
side. To avoid steps, a first floor location may be best if there is no
elevator. For the same reason, you may prefer a flat to a townhouse
floor plan. Condominium owners sometimes pay special assessments for
capital improvements that exceed the association’s budget reserves.
Recreational amenities and social environments vary greatly by
community. A related question is: Do you want to live in a seniors-only
community? The Gated Communities Specialist™ recommends that you live in
one of the areas fine gated communities because they have the best
recreational amenities and social environments. These may include
walking paths, private and semi-private golf, indoor and outdoor
swimming, clay court tennis, equestrian centers, marinas and clubhouses.
Use our Compare Community Amenities chart to quickly find which
community has the amenities you want.
The cost of retirement on Hilton Head and Bluffton depends on the
home and community you choose. Prices vary widely from inexpensive
condominiums that begin at about $125,000 and homes in good areas that
start from about $225,000. Homes in gated communities on Hilton Head
Island start at about $350,000. On Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton
there is a large selection of homes, communities, amenities at a wide
variety of prices. Start with an idea of how much you want to spend for
your home and pre-quality with a lender before you shop. Typically
retirement buyers pay cash or make a substantial down payment to keep
their monthly payments low. Talk with your accountant to see if there
are benefits for you to carry a mortgage and if so, how much. In
general, the cost of living on Hilton Head Island is only 3.6% higher
than the national average. For details
click here
Some specific costs of retirement
for Hilton Head or Bluffton are:
1) Annual Property Owners’ Association Fee (POA or HOA) varies but is
approximately $1,000 per year. For a complete list of annual association
fees, click here. Most club memberships and specific activities are an
additional fee.
2) Annual County Property Taxes. In 2008, South Carolina residents will
see property taxes fall by at least 20% to be offset in an increase in
sales tax from 6 to 7%. For primary residents in 2007, this was $1,414
per $200,000 value of your house on Hilton Head: $1,596 for Bluffton.
Car taxes were $212 per $20,000 for cars on Hilton Head; $240 for
Bluffton.
3) Income tax. South Carolina’s income tax follows Federal income tax
laws and is calculated from the Federal taxable income with many of the
same adjustments, exemptions and deductions. For a good summary of South
Carolina taxes
click here. Find other answers to your tax questions at the South
Carolina Department of Revenue web site:
http://www.sctax.org/default.htm
4) Utilities: The energy in Hilton Head Island and Bluffton is almost
entirely electric and provided by our non-profit company, a,
Palmetto
Electric Cooperative. Your electric bills should be no more and
probably less than what you pay now. Many gas ranges,
fireplaces and some swimming pool heaters throughout the area are fueled
by propane available from several area vendors. Homes in Sun City Hilton
Head and some other residences in Bluffton are heated by natural gas
provided by South
Carolina Electric and Gas
You will want to have a car when you retire to the Hilton Head
area. Most places you want to go are close by and within a ten minute
drive but Hilton Head and Bluffton are decentralized. You won’t want to
rely on taxi cabs and there is not a mass transit system in the area. A
garage is optional but recommended. There are many car dealership and
repair centers in the immediate area. Seniors who stay in assisted
living residences will have transportation
provided as part of the services they receive.
The Hilton Head and Bluffton area has outstanding hospitals and
medical services. Tenent Healthcare provides a full menu of services
at the Hilton Head Regional Medical Center, the Coastal Carolina Medical
Center in Hardeeville, the Bluffton-Okatie Outpatient Center and they
operate other primary and urgent care centers in the area. The
Outpatient Surgical Center at Indigo Run opened in January, 2005. On
Hilton Head Island alone there are more than 30 specialties and
sub-specialties offered at the hospital campus from the Women’s Center
opened in 2001 to a 12-bed intensive care unit to six new surgical
suites and comprehensive cancer services, including a new breast center
and physical rehabilitation facilities. In addition, there are award
winning hospitals nearby in Beaufort and Charleston South Carolina and
Savannah, Georgia.
Links to some of the areas hospitals
and services are:
Hilton Head Regional Medical Center Hilton Head, SC
Hearing Healthcare Hilton Head, SC
Beaufort Memorial
Hospital Beaufort, SC
Coastal Carolina Medical Center Hardeeville, SC
Memorial University Medical Center Savannah, GA
Medical University of
South Carolina Charleston, SC
The Outpatient
Surgical Center at Indigo Run
Hilton Head Health
Institute (Weight Loss)
Special home care
Volunteers in
Medicine
Younger retirees who live in the area will be near their parents who
choose for one of the area’s assisted living or continuing care
providers. There is an excellent selection.
Links so some of these provider’s
websites are:
Indigo Pines Hilton Head Island, SC
The Seabrook
Hilton Head Island, SC
TidePointe Hilton Head Island, SC
The Cypress
Hilton Head Island, SC
The Hawthorne Inn
Hilton Head Island, SC
Palm Meadows
Village Hilton Head Island, SC
Palm Meadows
Court Hilton Head Island, SC
Many people dream about living on Hilton Head Island from the time they
first visited the area. Please, come and join the community of satisfied
area residents who are retired. The Gated Communities Specialist™ will
help turn your plans into reality.
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