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For Jason Hughes, it did not take long to decide to move to Horry County for college instead of going to school closer to home in New York.
"It's basically the weather," said Hughes, 19, who is studying golf management at Coastal Carolina University. "I'd be wearing sweatshirts and golfing up there, and [here] it's 70 degrees today."
Hughes was one of thousands who moved to the Grand Strand between July 2006 and July 2007, according to population estimates released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Horry County, the 63rd fastest-growing county in the nation, posted a 4.2 percent growth rate. The county added 10,000 people for a population of about 250,000.
Georgetown County posted a growth rate of about 0.8 percent, adding about 500 people for a population of 60,500, according to the estimates.
Brunswick County, N.C., the 17th fastest-growing county, grew by 5. trend, experts said, is nothing new. Retirees and others from the Northeast are moving to the Grand Strand and Brunswick County, N.C., for the weather, the beach and lower property taxes. The region's tourism economy is also attracting people looking for jobs.
"We were getting slammed with high property taxes in the Northeast," said Joseph Urso, 42, who is originally from New York and moved to Carolina Forest in Horry County about a year ago. "It's a better life here."
Some said growth rates could slow this year, as potential migrants have problems selling their homes in the Northeast because of the housing slump or delay the move until the economy strengthens.
"There's a lot of things that might make people wait to make a move," said Michael Macfarlane, the S.C. state demographer. "We won't know until next year what that effect is."
But Steven Neeves, the government affairs director for the Coastal Carolinas Association of Realtors, said growth would probably continue. Real estate inquiries are higher now than they were six months ago, he said.
Most people first come to the Grand Strand on vacation, attracted to the region through marketing campaigns funded by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Neeves said. Some eventually decide to stay.
Brad Dean, the director of the chamber - which receives local, state and private funding - said $15 million will be spent on marketing the region in the Midwest and the Northeast this year. That's up from about $2.2 million in 2003, he said.
"We still have the sunshine, we still have the ocean, people are still going to want to be here," Neeves said. "This is still a great place to retire."
Continued growth means local governments must pay for more public services and infrastructure.
In Brunswick County, for example, call volume has increased for the Calabash Fire Department about 10-fold in 10 years from 120 calls in 1997 to more than 1,200 in 2007.
Horry County is considering imposing an impact fee - an additional charge on new homes - that would help pay for some infrastructure. The county has commissioned a state-required study to determine the charge for any fee.
Georgetown County has an impact fee that pays for fire services but has also commissioned a study to determine how to expand the fee to pay for other expenses, said Boyd Johnson, the county's planning director.
Staff writer Jason M. Rodriguez contributed to this report.
moved to Carolina Forest about a year ago from New York
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