Hi! We’re Samara and Kyle Hart. Not too long ago, we relocated from Southern California to South Carolina, where we knew almost no one and had no idea how life might be different for us and our four children; aside from the humidity (which is no joke)!
Before we moved, friends and family couldn’t really seem to understand why we would want to relocate. We were told all sorts of things about “The South” and what to expect – mostly by people who had never been here for any period of time over a day or two — and most of what we were told was negative.
We left California at the very end of 2018 and found it difficult to find a house in the area we were hoping to move to, but finally in mid-2019, we purchased a home and moved in. Before we even had a chance to really even learn how to get around, COVID hit and delayed any opportunities to get out and explore the state or even our local area much. However, I will say that the interactions we did have with people and businesses were mostly positive, even through extremely trying times.
By 2022, we started getting out and found ourselves fascinated by the beauty, history, and culture to be found in the South. We are discovering everything here with fresh eyes. And as relative newcomers, we hope to offer a perspective perhaps not seen elsewhere. You know the first time you lay eyes on something or experience something new — those moments are not able to be reproduced. Such is human nature, that we tend to take things for granted which we see often or that are easily obtainable. We hope that if you’ve already had an experience or visited a place we’ve gone to, that perhaps we can give some new insight, a fresh perspective, or just a simple appreciation for these things.
First impressions, as they say, can’t be taken back. Our hope is to offer our first impressions and share all of the research leading up to it with you.
A word on research – Kyle is an avid planner and I am maybe a little over-the-top, when it comes to researching places to visit. We like to know what we’re getting into and make the most of our time while we’re visiting. You will find that the places we explore have a great deal of detail associated with them — this is just our process of figuring out what to see and when to see it, that I hope you will find useful. We take our own advice and only include information we’ve been able to verify first hand.
Our hope is that you will find this website a helpful guide as you Discover the South.