By: John FisherThe day Sue and I met Tom Kapp and had our very first look at Edisto changed our lives! It was the day after Thanksgiving, 2001, and we had come down to Charleston from our home in suburban New York looking for a place we could retire to in a few years. We also hoped to find a property on Edisto we could invest in, enjoy on vacations, and cover its carrying cost by renting out by the week. A good friend of ours who had been coming to Edisto on vacation with his family for 25 years urged us to give Tom a call, which we did a few weeks before we headed down here. We’re so glad we did.
We drove out here that Friday, and Tom spent pretty much all day showing us the island. It took us about an hour to fall in love with this beautiful, unique place. Its unspoiled nature, simple, relaxing lifestyle, bountiful wildlife, and breathtaking scenic beauty were exactly what we were looking for . . . and more. Years later, having retired and moved here full time, our appreciation has only grown, as we’ve begun to assimilate with a rich fascinating culture and gather a growing circle of the friendliest, most generous and interesting friends we’ve ever had.
We didn’t know exactly what we were looking for that first day - only that we wanted to be on or near the water. Tom heard us, including what our financial limits were, and it meant a lot to us that he didn’t try to push us beyond our means or any other hard sell. We looked at at least a dozen properties that day and found Tom gratifyingly forthright about what he saw as the strengths and weaknesses of each. We ended up buying a wonderful house on Jungle Shores Road with a beautiful marsh view and short 2 block walk to a beach that we never found crowded or less than pristine.
Tom and his crew at Kapp/Lyons made renting out our new vacation house a breeze. Not only did we make some welcome income after paying all our taxes, insurance and maintenance, but, whenever we had any questions or needed something attended to from 800 miles away, all we had to do was call, and it was taken care of. Being rental property owners for the first time, the numerous hints and suggestions we received were invaluable. We always felt as if we were in good, trustworthy hands.
Within a few years the value of our house had substantially increased, and when Tom showed us a deep-water property with a view that took our breath away, we sold that first house in town and decided to build the wonderful home we live in now. Building from a distance entailed more than a few visits from up north, and, again, it was always a pleasure to deal with the gang at Kapp/Lyons, who always seemed to have exactly what we were looking for in a rental.
We thought we’d be renting out our new home for several years before moving here, but the allure of Edisto got to us very quickly, and we decided to make the big move to retire and move here in the summer of 2008. Having done that just as the financial world and our retirement funds were falling apart, we’ve been very grateful at how well this huge change in our lives has gone. We’ve found that we can live amazingly well here for far less money than we’d initially budgeted. Not only is there great bounty in the creeks and land, but we find our dollars go much farther here. We hear from the friends and neighbors we left behind how stressful life has become for them, and we have to be careful not to gloat about how stress-free life is on Edislow.
We initially had some concerns about moving from a suburban environment to one so much more rural, but those concerns took practically no time at all to dissipate. We’ve been thrilled at how many wonderful new friends have whole-heartedly welcomed us into their lives and at how full our days are with so many different, intriguing and fulfilling things to do - from a variety of volunteer activities to exploring and enjoying the land and creeks to spontaneous sailing or clamming expeditions to taking advantage of the rich cultural activities less than an hour away in Charleston. We joke with our friends that we’re going to need to go back to work to find more free time, but, believe me, we’re not complaining. We still have a little cottage in upstate New York where we’d planned to spend 2 to 3 months every summer, but we’ve come to realize we couldn’t stand to be away from Edisto for more than a few weeks at most. There’s just too much going on here that has quickly become ingrained in our lives . . . too much to enjoy to allow being away for very long.
We drove out here that Friday, and Tom spent pretty much all day showing us the island. It took us about an hour to fall in love with this beautiful, unique place. Its unspoiled nature, simple, relaxing lifestyle, bountiful wildlife, and breathtaking scenic beauty were exactly what we were looking for . . . and more. Years later, having retired and moved here full time, our appreciation has only grown, as we’ve begun to assimilate with a rich fascinating culture and gather a growing circle of the friendliest, most generous and interesting friends we’ve ever had.
We didn’t know exactly what we were looking for that first day - only that we wanted to be on or near the water. Tom heard us, including what our financial limits were, and it meant a lot to us that he didn’t try to push us beyond our means or any other hard sell. We looked at at least a dozen properties that day and found Tom gratifyingly forthright about what he saw as the strengths and weaknesses of each. We ended up buying a wonderful house on Jungle Shores Road with a beautiful marsh view and short 2 block walk to a beach that we never found crowded or less than pristine.
Tom and his crew at Kapp/Lyons made renting out our new vacation house a breeze. Not only did we make some welcome income after paying all our taxes, insurance and maintenance, but, whenever we had any questions or needed something attended to from 800 miles away, all we had to do was call, and it was taken care of. Being rental property owners for the first time, the numerous hints and suggestions we received were invaluable. We always felt as if we were in good, trustworthy hands.
Within a few years the value of our house had substantially increased, and when Tom showed us a deep-water property with a view that took our breath away, we sold that first house in town and decided to build the wonderful home we live in now. Building from a distance entailed more than a few visits from up north, and, again, it was always a pleasure to deal with the gang at Kapp/Lyons, who always seemed to have exactly what we were looking for in a rental.
We thought we’d be renting out our new home for several years before moving here, but the allure of Edisto got to us very quickly, and we decided to make the big move to retire and move here in the summer of 2008. Having done that just as the financial world and our retirement funds were falling apart, we’ve been very grateful at how well this huge change in our lives has gone. We’ve found that we can live amazingly well here for far less money than we’d initially budgeted. Not only is there great bounty in the creeks and land, but we find our dollars go much farther here. We hear from the friends and neighbors we left behind how stressful life has become for them, and we have to be careful not to gloat about how stress-free life is on Edislow.
We initially had some concerns about moving from a suburban environment to one so much more rural, but those concerns took practically no time at all to dissipate. We’ve been thrilled at how many wonderful new friends have whole-heartedly welcomed us into their lives and at how full our days are with so many different, intriguing and fulfilling things to do - from a variety of volunteer activities to exploring and enjoying the land and creeks to spontaneous sailing or clamming expeditions to taking advantage of the rich cultural activities less than an hour away in Charleston. We joke with our friends that we’re going to need to go back to work to find more free time, but, believe me, we’re not complaining. We still have a little cottage in upstate New York where we’d planned to spend 2 to 3 months every summer, but we’ve come to realize we couldn’t stand to be away from Edisto for more than a few weeks at most. There’s just too much going on here that has quickly become ingrained in our lives . . . too much to enjoy to allow being away for very long.
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