HOLD ON. I've lived in South Carolina for almost TWO YEARS. I can't believe it! Everyone is always asking me how I like living here, so I've come up with my Top Ten as well as my Not Top Ten. Enjoy!

SOUTH CAROLINA TOP TEN

10. RESTAURANTS. Lendrum and I can't afford to eat at all the fancy restaurants here, but the few that we have tried have been delicious. We can now say that we have eaten the country's best macaroni and cheese (it's a real thing...like people voted and stuff). 

9. CHURCH FAMILY. I have loved serving and worshiping in the Mt. Pleasant ward! These are some of the very best people. I love working with the youth in the YW presidency. I love that our relief society has a book club and a supp club. I feel very welcome and so blessed!

8. TRAVEL. Being on the East Coast means that I have had the chance to travel to more states.  Lendrum and I have traveled to Washington DC, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It has been fun exploring this side of our country and we hope to continue to travel when we can.

7. DOG FRIENDLY. Seriously, everyone has a dog here! I am constantly gushing over someone else's pup. In South Carolina, dogs are pretty much allowed everywhere. They even have dog happy hour. You can see them at the beach, restaurants, downtown, and every morning and evening out walking.  

6. THINGS TO DO. There are always things to do here! Free movies in the park downtown, farmer's markets, arts festivals, plays, tours, museums, exploring, picking your own fruit, visiting the beach, shagging on the pier (still need to try that!)...the list goes on. I really love that I can have fun without spending a fortune.

5. THUNDERSTORMS. I have lived here for almost two years and let me tell you I never get tired of them. I turn off all the lights and watch out the window and listen to the pounding rain and clapping thunder. 

4.DOWNTOWN. I love history, which makes downtown Charleston so unique. I love taking walks through the charming streets and sampling the pralines. I love seeing the local art on market street. I love the live music on the weekends. 

3. BOILED PEANUTS. Love them. And I never thought I would. In fact, I crave them! 

2. NATURE. If you know me, you know that I am a nature lover. I love to be outside and I love animals. Since living here, I have been able to see all kinds of animals that I had never seen in the wild before. Gators, egrets, herons, dolphins, turtles, deer, possums (still creepy though), to name a few. And they're right in our backyard!

1. WATER. My favorite thing about living in Charleston has been being so close to so much water. The beach is here, along with several rivers, and dozens of tidal creeks and marsh. I don't have to travel far to be next to water here and for some reason, it just speaks to my soul. My favorite place to be is sitting on a dock looking over the water, or exploring the waterways in my kayak. And I love that I don't have to spend money to access this scenery. It's all right here. The awe and beauty of the water has never faded. And I don't expect it to. 

SOUTH CAROLINA NOT TOP TEN

10. BUGS. The worst. Spoiler Alert: I included this one twice because I hate them so much. More on this subject later. 

9. RESTAURANTS. Wait, didn't she already mention restaurants in the Top Ten? Well, yes I did. There are some amazing fancy, fine-dining places to eat here in Charleston. However, if I want to spend $10 on a meal that was a little nicer than fast food, I don't have many options here. I miss my Cafe Rio, and Zupa's. I feel like there aren't very many "in between" restaurants in Mt. Pleasant. It's either fast food or you pay $20/plate. I'm open to suggestions! 

8. MUSTARD BASED BBQ SAUCE. Ehh, it's okay. Not my favorite. 

7. NO REDVINES LICORICE. Nowhere to be found over here!

6. FAR AWAY. I miss my family and friends out West! Sometimes, I just feel really far away from them. And then I look at a map and remember that, well, I AM really far away. 

5. RENT $$. I am really missing our $650/month Utah rent! 

4. TRAFFIC. Disclaimer: not as terrible as California. However, if there is an accident on any of the bridges, you're doomed. 

3. HUMIDITY. Can't describe it. I remember asking Lendrum's grandfather (from SC, but lives in UT now) how long he thought it would take me to get used to the humidity. He thought about it for a second and then said, "Three years." I then asked him how long it took him to get used to the humidity even after living his whole life in the South. He paused again and then said, "Three years." I have thought about that conversation a lot over the past two years haha. His point: you don't really "get used" to the humidity. You just kind of learn to deal with it. The good news though: everyone else is dealing with it too. 

2. CCSD. I LOVE my job. However, I do not love my school district. My frustration with CCSD began way before the recent budget shortfall of 18 million dollars, but that doesn't help either. I came from an amazing, supportive, and highly motivated school district in Utah. It is really a shocking contrast to what I experience here in Charleston. But that's a whole different rant for another time. 

1. BUGS. MY NIGHTMARE. All of them. Cockroaches (sometimes referred to as "Palmetto Bugs" by well-meaning Southerners), spiders, gnats. But the very worst is the mosquito. Now, if you are my husband, then you have no such worries. You can go outside at any time of day without bug spray and return unharmed. I am not that kind of person. I will take my dog to the bathroom for 30 seconds and end up with a mosquito bite. I will walk to my car, open the door, accidentally let in a mosquito, and arrive at work 15 minutes later with clusters of bites on my legs because I wore a skirt. I will put on long pants, spray them with bugspray, go on a walk through the park, and end up with a mosquito bite under my pants. And my future babies will probably all have Zika virus. If I know I will be spending a small amount of time outdoors, I spray on that icky, stinky, bug spray and I hate it. But I hate getting bit even more, so I deal with it. 

So there you go! A few of my favorite and not-so-favorite things about living in South Carolina. I have loved exploring a new state with my fun and adventurous husband. Here's to many more fun years in the Palmetto State!