How's your Internet?
Hi there! Scroll down to skip the backstory, this is long-winded me trying to ask a simple question.
I am a 22 year old CS graduate currently living in a very expensive city on the East Coast. I have never visited Charleston, but have already learned a lot about it from reading other posts here and other sources on the web, and find myself considering a move. This would be for financial and career reasons: I may lose my job imminently, and thus be forced to move out of my current apartment later this summer. I have some workable savings ($15k), and have a plan to stretch this out a long ways while I improve my resume (online tutoring, freelance software development, and potentially YouTube). In order to do this, however, I need a place to land that is:
- As cheap as possible (particularly in regards to rent, which is by far my largest expense)
- Walkable or bikable to groceries and other stores
- Has a usable local bus network
- Connected to other parts of the country by adequate train or bus service
- Has reliable Internet to allow me to work remotely
- Has some limited dining / entertainment options (even if that just means public parks or something)
Charleston seems to check most of those boxes (to varying degrees, maybe, I don't know), and based on what I've seen I'd be happy to try living there for a year or two. Like I said, I've not been to Charleston, but I have visited Huntington a couple times, and I recall that being a surprisingly charming and attractive city. What I don't know about, however, is #5.
Can anybody here attest to the Internet speeds / reliability in the city? I get that Charleston is the largest city in the state, but it is also a very small one in a very isolated area, in a state that is notorious for its poor infrastructure. Do you guys have fiber yet? Is there anyone who has done remote work of any kind from Charleston that can confirm it's viable?
Hoping for some good info / advice. Thanks for reading and take care!