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If you live in Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Emmaus, or anywhere else in the Lehigh Valley
and you’ve started Googling “homes for sale in Myrtle Beach” at 11 p.m. after another gray
Pennsylvania winter, you’re not alone — and you’re not wrong to look. A steady stream of
Lehigh Valley families in their 50s, 60s, and 70s are making the move to the Grand Strand
every year, and once you line up the numbers side by side, it’s easy to see why.
This guide pulls together everything a Lehigh Valley resident actually wants to know before
making the move: taxes, cost of living, healthcare, weather, flights, insurance, golf, lifestyle,
and the local economy. Think of it as the master reference — we’ll be publishing shorter
posts over the coming weeks that dig deeper into each topic below.
Property Taxes: The Difference Is Not Small
Let’s start with the number that surprises Lehigh Valley transplants more than any other.
Lehigh County’s average effective property tax rate runs in the neighborhood of 1.7%–2.0%
of assessed value, with the median homeowner paying somewhere around $4,000–$4,500 a
year. Horry County, South Carolina — home to Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Carolina
Forest, and Pawleys Island — has one of the lowest effective property tax rates in the entire
country, generally cited between 0.33% and 0.43%. That’s roughly a quarter to a third of
what you’re used to paying in Lehigh County, on a percentage basis.
It gets even better for owner-occupants. South Carolina assesses primary residences at
just 4% of market value (second homes and rentals are assessed at 6%), and homeowners
65 and older can claim an additional $50,000 homestead exemption on top of that. On a
typical $400,000 primary residence in Horry County, many owners land in the $1,200–
$1,800 per year range for property taxes — compared to $4,000+ for a similarly priced
home back in Lehigh County.
That’s real, recurring money back in your pocket every single year you own the home —
money that can cover a chunk of a golf membership, a couple of flights home to see the
grandkids, or just breathing room in retirement.Home Values: A Fair Trade, With an Upgrade
Here’s the part that tends to surprise people the other direction: home prices in the Myrtle
Beach area and the Lehigh Valley are, broadly speaking, in a similar range. You’re not
getting a mansion for the price of a rowhome. But the trade you are making is a meaningful
one — the typical Lehigh Valley home was built decades ago (Allentown, Bethlehem, and
Easton all have large inventories of homes 40, 60, even 100+ years old), while a huge share
of Grand Strand inventory is new construction or built within the last 10–15 years.
That means for a comparable price, you’re often trading an aging roof, an original 1990s
HVAC system, knob-and-tube wiring concerns, or a coal-cellar-turned-basement for a
home with modern electrical, energy-efficient windows, an open floor plan, and a builder’s
warranty. When you factor in the far lower property tax bill on top of that, the overall value
equation tilts clearly in Myrtle Beach’s favor.
Cost of Living: 15–20% Further Than Your Retirement Dollar Goes in PA
Beyond property taxes, South Carolina’s overall cost of living runs meaningfully below
Pennsylvania’s — commonly cited in the 15–20% range when you add up housing, utilities,
groceries, fuel, healthcare, and entertainment. A few reasons this shows up so clearly on
the Grand Strand specifically:
No state tax on Social Security income in South Carolina, and the state offers a
generous retirement income deduction for other retirement income once you hit 65 — a
meaningful difference from Pennsylvania’s tax treatment of retirement income.
Lower utility costs in a state with a milder climate overall (no furnace running six
months a year) and competitive electricity rates.
Grocery and dining costs that track close to or below the national average, versus the
Northeast’s persistently higher grocery bills.
Fuel costs that are typically lower than Pennsylvania’s, which carries one of the higher
state gas taxes in the country.
Entertainment and dining out that’s genuinely cheaper here, partly because the local
economy is built to serve a huge volume of visitors rather than a smaller, higher-cost
year-round population.
Put simply: the same retirement nest egg or the same fixed income stretches noticeably
further here than it does in the Lehigh Valley.Healthcare: A New Hospital Just for This Corridor
Access to quality healthcare is often the single biggest hesitation for people 50+
considering a move away from an established network of doctors. The Grand Strand’s
answer to that concern got a lot stronger this year.
McLeod Health Carolina Forest, a brand-new $56 million, four-story, 48-bed hospital,
began admitting patients in January 2026, with full opening — including the emergency
department — targeted for fall 2026. It’s the first new hospital built in Horry County since
2011, and it sits right in Carolina Forest, between Conway and Myrtle Beach, in one of the
fastest-growing parts of the county. It joins Grand Strand Medical Center (a 403-bed Level I
trauma center in Myrtle Beach), Tidelands Health’s hospitals in Georgetown and Murrells
Inlet, and McLeod’s other coastal facilities in Loris and Little River — giving the Grand Strand
real depth in cardiology, orthopedics, stroke care, and general surgery, all within a short
drive of most Grand Strand neighborhoods.
Weather: All Four Seasons, No Snow, and Cooler Than Florida
This is where a lot of Lehigh Valley residents assume Myrtle Beach means “basically
Florida.” It doesn’t — and that’s a good thing.
Coastal South Carolina genuinely has four seasons. Winters are mild — you’re looking at
daytime highs typically in the 50s and 60s, with essentially no snow to shovel and no black
ice to worry about on the drive to church or the grocery store. But you still get an actual
spring with azaleas and dogwoods blooming, and a real fall with cooler evenings — seasons
that increasingly don’t show up the further south you go into Florida.
And summers here are more comfortable than Florida’s. Florida’s summers have been
trending hotter and more humid nearly every year, with heat index warnings becoming a
near-daily summer occurrence in much of the state. Myrtle Beach sits far enough north on
the Atlantic coast, with consistent ocean breezes, to stay noticeably more comfortable
through July and August than Central or South Florida — while still delivering the beach-
town lifestyle you’re moving south for in the first place.
Closer to Home Than Florida — By a Lot
If grandkids, siblings, or old friends are staying behind in the Lehigh Valley, distance
matters. Myrtle Beach is roughly 500 miles from Allentown — call it 8–9 hours by car —
compared to 900+ miles and a full day-plus drive to most of Florida. That’s the difference
between a doable weekend road trip a few times a year and a trip that basically requires
flying every time.
Speaking of flying:
Direct Flights from ABE — No Connections Required
Allegiant Air flies nonstop from Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE) directly to
Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR), with multiple weekly departures and a flight
time of under two hours. That means grandkids, friends, and family back home can hop a
direct flight for a long weekend without the hassle of a connection through Philadelphia or
Charlotte — and you can do the same heading north. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International
Airport (AVP) has also offered seasonal nonstop Myrtle Beach service, giving Lehigh Valley-
area residents a second regional option depending on the time of year. For a market this
size, having true nonstop service between your old hometown airport and your new one is a
real convenience most transplants don’t expect.
Homeowners Insurance: Easier and Often Cheaper Than You’d Guess
A lot of people assume any coastal Southern home means brutal, Florida-style insurance
premiums. Myrtle Beach doesn’t carry that reputation — for good reason. South Carolina’s
insurance market, particularly outside of the immediate beachfront zone, has stayed
considerably more stable than Florida’s, which has been rocked by insurer exits and
skyrocketing premiums in recent years.
For non-oceanfront homes in the greater Myrtle Beach area — the vast majority of the
inventory, including most of Carolina Forest, Market Common, The Legends, and inland
Pawleys Island communities — homeowners insurance premiums frequently come in lower,
on average, than what Lehigh County homeowners are currently paying. Beachfront and
oceanfront properties do carry higher premiums and typically require separate flood and
wind/hail coverage, which is normal for any coastal market — but for the large majority of
buyers looking a few blocks or a few miles off the beach, insurance is generally
straightforward to obtain and reasonably priced.
Golf, Twelve Months a Year
If golf is anywhere on your retirement wish list, this is the section you’ve been waiting for.
The Myrtle Beach area is home to roughly 100 public and semi-private golf courses —
one of the largest concentrations of golf in the world — and because the climate stays
playable essentially year-round, you’re not putting the clubs away for four or five months
like you are in the Lehigh Valley.
Off-season (typically late fall through winter) brings some of the best values of the year,with championship-caliber courses offering rounds for as low as $25, and many courses
offering senior discounts and resident/local rates that make a golf membership or regular
tee times genuinely affordable — not the once-a-summer splurge it can become up north.
Tennis and Outdoor Living, Year-Round
The same mild climate that supports year-round golf supports year-round outdoor tennis,
pickleball, and just plain walking. Instead of six months of usable outdoor season, Grand
Strand residents get something closer to twelve — daily walks, morning tennis, evening bike
rides along the beach — without a Pennsylvania winter shutting it all down every year.
Real Shopping, Not Just Beach T-Shirt Stores
Myrtle Beach has grown well past its old reputation as a strip of souvenir shops. Today the
area offers a genuine mix of shopping: big retail centers like Coastal Grand Mall, upscale
boutique shopping at Market Common and Barefoot Landing, and two major outlet centers
— Tanger Outlets — for serious bargain shopping. Whatever the equivalent of a Lehigh
Valley mall trip looked like back home, there’s a Grand Strand version of it, usually within a
short drive.
A Local Economy Propped Up by Tourists, Not Homeowners
This ties directly back to those low property taxes. In 2025, roughly 17.8 million visitors
spent $13.3 billion directly in the Myrtle Beach area, with total economic impact exceeding
$26 billion. Visitor spending accounts for close to 60% of all sales tax revenue collected in
Horry County, and hospitality and accommodations taxes paid overwhelmingly by tourists —
not residents — fund a meaningful share of local schools, roads, and infrastructure. In plain
terms: millions of vacationers every year are subsidizing the public services you’ll rely on as
a homeowner, which is a big part of why the county can keep property taxes so low without
straining its budget.
Bonus: It’s Genuinely Fun When Family Visits
There’s a lifestyle upside to living in a tourist destination that’s easy to overlook until you’re
living it: when your kids and grandkids come to visit you, it isn’t just a obligatory trip to see
grandma and grandpa in a quiet neighborhood — it’s a vacation. Beach days, mini golf,
boardwalk rides, live shows, deep-sea fishing charters, and dozens of restaurants mean
family visits turn into the kind of trips your family will actually be excited to book again and
again, rather than something they check off once a year out of duty.Every Kind of Neighborhood, Not Just One
The Grand Strand isn’t a one-size-fits-all market, which matters a lot to buyers coming from
the variety the Lehigh Valley offers. You’ll find:
HOA communities with amenities, shared upkeep, and consistent neighborhood
standards
Non-HOA neighborhoods for buyers who want full independence and no monthly dues
Gated communities for added privacy and security
55+ active adult communities with resort-style amenities built specifically around a
retirement lifestyle — clubhouses, pools, fitness centers, and planned social calendars
Whatever your version of “the right neighborhood” looks like, there’s very likely a Grand
Strand equivalent of it.
World-Class Seafood, Every Season
Living on the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas means fresh, local seafood is a year-round
staple, not a summer-vacation treat. Shrimp, flounder, mahi-mahi, oysters, and blue crab
show up on menus and at local seafood markets throughout the year, sourced from Carolina
waters rather than shipped in. For anyone who’s spent decades treating “the shore” as an
annual trip, having that seafood culture as part of everyday life is one of the quieter joys of
relocating here.
A State Economy That’s Genuinely Strong Right Now
South Carolina isn’t just a nice place to retire — it’s one of the strongest-growing state
economies in the country. BMW recently completed a $1.7 billion investment across its
Spartanburg campus and new Plant Woodruff facility, where the all-electric BMW iX5 is set
to become the first fully electric BMW ever assembled in the U.S., with production starting
in late 2026. Scout Motors is building an entirely new American vehicle brand in
Blythewood, outside Columbia, with a roughly $2 billion investment and more than 4,000
permanent jobs targeted. In Greenville, GE Vernova is investing over $160 million to expand
gas turbine manufacturing that supplies energy infrastructure worldwide.
That statewide economic strength matters even to buyers who have zero interest in
manufacturing jobs, because it underpins population growth, in-state migration, and long-
term home value stability — the kind of durable economic base that gives you confidence
your investment here isn’t riding on tourism alone.A More Moderate Political Climate
For Lehigh Valley residents used to Pennsylvania’s often sharply divided political
environment, Horry County and the broader Myrtle Beach area tend to have a more
consistently moderate, business-friendly local political climate — one more focused on
tourism, growth management, and infrastructure than on the kind of partisan gridlock that
can dominate local Pennsylvania politics. It’s a quieter, steadier backdrop for day-to-day life.
Putting It All Together
Line up the pieces — property taxes at a fraction of Lehigh County’s, a 15–20% lower overall
cost of living, newer construction for a comparable home price, a brand-new hospital,
genuinely comfortable four-season weather without snow or Florida-level summer heat, a
direct flight home in under two hours, insurance that’s often cheaper than what you’re
paying now, twelve months of golf and tennis, real shopping, and a local economy built on
tourism dollars rather than homeowner tax hikes — and it’s easy to see why so many Lehigh
Valley families are choosing the Grand Strand for the next chapter.
If you’d like to talk through what any of this looks like for your specific situation — your
timeline, your must-haves, your current home’s value, or which neighborhood fits your
lifestyle — reach out anytime. We’ll be publishing more in-depth posts on each of these
topics in the coming weeks.
Call Phil Riola with Real Brokerage Inc. and Phil Riola Homes today to discuss more
about why we love South Carolina! Cell: 610-428-6730 [email protected]
