If you are a Summer person, you should absolutely visit. You will find your kind of people here in droves. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a Summer person, so after I retire I plan to only visit in months that contain an "R" in their names.
In late September, when all areas of South Carolina that are NOT located in the Lowcountry start showing off their gorgeous Autumn colors, Charleston blooms again.
If you can keep your plants alive through the unrelenting summer heat and humidity here, they will bloom and/or bear fruit (or vegetables) again when the lows finally start dipping down below 80, usually around mid-to-late-September.
Azaleas, roses, actually all the summer flowers that stopped blooming in the heat, will put on a show again just like Spring.
Tomatoes will bear again. I've actually picked tomatoes off my vines to serve for Christmas dinner. The one frost we usually get in January or February will zap them, but otherwise they will bear until they are too old to live any longer.
When I first moved to Charleston in 1995, I didn't mind the weather so much. Back then my breathing problems had not yet developed, so I could better deal with the heat. Having flowers bloom 12 months out of the year was exciting and beautiful.
After about ten years or so though, I started missing the colors of Autumn. The brisk breezes. Campfires. Coats, sweaters, and mittens. Breathing that icy clean smell of winter's first snow. Hearing the hushed quiet of naked sleeping trees, but what I missed most was no mosquitoes or fleas for half the year.
Charleston is green all year long. The live oaks here with their hanging Spanish moss have two sets of leaves every year. They shed their leaves as they are growing new ones in the Spring and again in the Fall, but they are always green and beautiful. You do end up raking a LOT of leaves though. The tall and lovely Magnolia trees drop their leaves and grow new ones constantly, but their blooms are sure gorgeous.
For those of you who love to travel, Charleston is a lovely place to visit. Steeped in history, charm, and mystery, it is one of the most romantic cities in America. When I retire and move away, I hope to visit Charleston at times, when the weather is nice and the beach people have all flown home for winter. That is when I love Charleston best.
November to March will be my chosen times to come, when it is good walking weather. I just love to walk and window shop in Charleston. Maybe explore all the art galleries and little shops before a wonderful dinner and live music or a play. Yes. Charleston is a lovely place to visit. I plan to return to see my friends and enjoy the "winter" weather here now and then. That will be nice.
I honestly can not wait to retire!!
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