I live in Charleston city but in a city part (Daniel Island) that is in a nearby county--Berkeley. So I pay taxes to both, but Berkeley and Charleston County taxes are close to the same. Boat tax in both counties is obscene. Had a 2000 (year built) sailboat valued around 230K and the boat tax in either county (Charleston and Berkeley) was the same--way over 5K annually. The state/counties get the USCG Documentation database. My boat was never in SC waters--never even below Norfolk--but every year I had a two month fight with the county tax office before they agreed I did not owe them a boat tax. Same lady; same battle; same result. What was galling was that on the website of the State Department of Revenue it clearly states boats are taxed where they are primarily anchored.
SC taxes most pensions to include its own civil service/teachers, cops. etec. Military pensions are now exempted. VA benefits are not taxed. The state taxes federal pensions and other state pensions and MRDs from IRAs. The rates of income taxation are not high (technically between 5-7% but it seems to be lower), and the deductions are fairly generous, but only military and SSAN pensions are entirely exempt. The state does not tax Social Security income. Property taxes are low in most counties. Home insurance along the coast is very expensive. Hurricanes and flooding.
Winters on the coast are very mild. We have had four nights below freezing this winter in the Charleston area. The river/ocean temperature does not go below 50F, so winterizing is not needed unless the boat is on the hard or has water in a very tall superstructure.
I like to walk the docks in the Charleston harbor area on Sundays after breakfast and talk to the owners. We always have a huge number of vessels transiting for a day or two going south to FL for the winter and heading north for the summer. But I have noticed an increase in the number of vessels whose owners choose to winter here. We have good airport and highway connections, colleges with good lecture series, good symphony, good theater, top notch food and restaurants, collegiate sports, superb medical care, low or no crime, and outside of the awful boat taxes (just do not stay over 6 months), a great palce to winter over.