The Honest 62+ Buyer’s Guide
A 62+ buyer looking at Horry County usually starts with the beach and ends with a spreadsheet.
Carolina Forest, Longs, Conway, and North Myrtle Beach are the four places that conversation lands most often. They share the same county, the same Social Security tax break, and the same homestead rules. They do not share the same monthly cost, flood bill, drive to the ocean, or daily rhythm.
This guide is for people who intend to buy and live here — not for a one-week vacation search. It is built as a listicle so you can scan it, and so search and AI tools can pull clean answers.
Quick takeaway
- Carolina Forest: newest suburban convenience, HOAs almost everywhere, 15–20 minutes to the beach, stronger insurance profile than oceanfront.
- Longs: newest construction value on the north side, more house for the money, still a drive to sand, retail still catching up.
- Conway: lowest typical prices, real downtown, hospital and university town, extra city tax if you are inside city limits.
- North Myrtle Beach: actual beach-and-golf town, highest location premium, city millage, flood and wind matter on the wrong street.
1. The 60-Second Comparison Table
| Factor | Carolina Forest | Longs | Conway | North Myrtle Beach |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Large unincorporated planned suburb | Fast-growing north inland corridor | Historic county seat + new subdivisions | Incorporated beach city |
| Vibe | Retail, medical, golf, HOA neighborhoods | New-build streets, Highway 9 | Riverwalk, downtown, college town | Beach towns + Barefoot golf |
| Recent price band (typical) | Mid-to-high $300s; SFH often ~$400k | High $200s to low $300s; ZHVI ~$286k | High $200s to low $330s | High $300s to $400k+; ocean/golf much more |
| Drive to a usable beach | ~15–20 min off-season | ~15–25 min to NMB beaches | ~20–30+ min | Minutes, or you already live there |
| Flood story | Mostly milder; pond/wetland pockets | Parcel-by-parcel; inland advantage | Inland advantage; river/low spots exist | Ocean, canals, marsh can be expensive |
| HOA | Almost always | Common in new builds | Mixed (low downtown / high in golf) | High in condos and resorts |
| City millage | No (unincorporated) | No (unincorporated) | Yes if inside city | Yes (~45 mills recently) |
| Healthcare access | Strong (501 / Seacoast corridor) | Improving; drive to NMB or Conway | Conway Medical Center close | McLeod Seacoast / NMB clinics |
| Best 62+ fit | Convenience without oceanfront pricing | Warranty home + budget | Value + small-city life | Beach identity + golf |
Numbers move with product mix. A Carolina Forest townhome is not a Barefoot golf villa. Compare like with like.
2. What Each Place Feels Like After You Unpack
Carolina Forest: the “I still want services” suburb
Carolina Forest sits west of Myrtle Beach along the 501 / International Drive / Carolina Forest Blvd corridor. It is not a town with a main street. It is a cluster of planned neighborhoods, shopping, medical offices, and golf.
Daily life:
- Grocery, pharmacies, restaurants, and specialists without a beach-road crawl
- Newer floor plans, garages, and HOA lawn standards
- Mixed ages — families and retirees share the same pool calendar
- Beach as a trip, not a front porch
Tradeoff: you will have an HOA. Traffic on 501 in season is real. You will not hear the ocean.
Communities people actually tour: Waterbridge, Plantation Lakes, The Farm, Avalon, Berkshire Forest, plus golf-adjacent pockets.
Longs: the value corridor between Conway and North Myrtle Beach
Longs (29568) is the north-Strand answer to “I want a new house I can afford.” Highway 9 is the spine. National builders have been busy. Sales volume in the Loris/Longs area has been one of the county’s growth stories.
Daily life:
- New streets, builder warranties, similar floor plans
- Lower entry prices than Carolina Forest or NMB
- Quiet nights
- A drive for the full restaurant and specialist menu
Tradeoff: retail and medical density still lag Carolina Forest. Some sections feel unfinished. You are choosing house and payment, not a walkable downtown or a beach block.
Names in rotation: Tupelo Park, Forest at Black Bear, Village at Longs, Cypress Ridge, Waterside, Indigo / Preserve-area builds, plus older rural parcels.
Conway: a real city that is not the beach
Conway is Horry County’s seat. It has a historic downtown, the Waccamaw Riverwalk, Coastal Carolina University nearby, and Conway Medical Center. Some national lists have ranked Conway high for South Carolina retirement on value metrics — that is about cost and services, not oceanfront.
Daily life:
- Coffee and errands in a downtown that exists in January
- More house or lot for the money
- Mix of 1920s bungalows, golf communities, and new tract homes
- Beach as a planned outing
Tradeoff: inside city limits you pay Conway millage. University-area traffic exists. Low-lying river and swamp edges still need a flood map.
Retiree magnets: Myrtle Trace / Myrtle Trace South (55+), Wild Wing Plantation, downtown historic streets, and new construction on the edges.
North Myrtle Beach: beach town first
North Myrtle Beach is Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill, plus Barefoot Resort and Barefoot Landing. It is the only option in this foursome where “we live at the beach” is literally true.
Daily life:
- Sand, pier, shag clubs, golf-cart pockets
- More restaurants without driving to Myrtle Beach
- Summer crowds on the ocean blocks
- Higher purchase prices and a municipal tax bill
Tradeoff: flood, wind, and condo HOAs can erase the “we bought the dream” feeling. West of 17 and some golf sections behave more like suburbs that happen to be in a beach city.
3. Home Prices: What a 62+ Budget Actually Buys
Use bands, then price the address.
Carolina Forest
- Townhomes / smaller product: often high $100s to high $200s
- Typical single-family: often $340k–$470k depending on community and year
- Amenity / lake / custom: $500k–$1M+
- Recent neighborhood-level medians have clustered near $350k–$400k all-types, with single-family running higher
You pay for newish construction, amenities, and the 501 location — not for sand.
Longs
- Builder entry homes: often low-to-mid $200s
- Most active new communities: mid $200s to mid $300s
- Typical value indexes in 2026 have sat near the high $280ks
- ZIP 29568 recent sale medians have been near the mid-to-low $320ks
This is where a paid-off Northern house often turns into a larger, newer Horry County house with money left over.
Conway
- Broad market medians often land in the high $200s to low $330s depending on whether the snapshot is sold vs listed and how much rural stock is included
- 55+ Myrtle Trace listings have recently clustered near the low $300ks
- Wild Wing and golf product runs higher
- Historic downtown is a different product: character, older systems, walkability
Conway usually wins price per square foot and lot size.
North Myrtle Beach
- Condos can start well below the single-family median
- Livable in-town and golf homes commonly live in the high $300s to $600s
- Canal, ocean-row, and Barefoot premium sections leave that range quickly
NMB wins lifestyle. It rarely wins the payment if you insist on a view.
62+ rule: A $70,000 cheaper house in Longs can beat a Carolina Forest house. A $70,000 cheaper NMB condo can lose if HOA plus flood is $8,000 a year.
4. Property Taxes: Same County, Different City Limits
All four are in Horry County. The state rules do the heavy lifting.
Rules that matter at 62+
- Legal residence (4% assessment) on your owner-occupied primary home. Second homes and rentals are typically 6%. Apply or you overpay.
- Act 388 exempts owner-occupied legal residences from school operating millage.
- Homestead exemption at 65+ (also disabled or legally blind): first $50,000 of fair market value off the legal residence. Apply with the Horry County Auditor.
- South Carolina does not tax Social Security. There is a retirement-income deduction for qualifying 65+ residents. Confirm the current dollar amount with a CPA.
Where the four towns diverge
- Carolina Forest and Longs: mostly unincorporated. No city millage on a typical parcel.
- Conway: incorporated. City residents pay city millage on top of county. Confirm city limits — “Conway address” is not the same as “inside the city.”
- North Myrtle Beach: incorporated. Recent municipal levy has been in the 45 mill range.
A second home in any of the four loses the 4% ratio, the school-operating break, and homestead. Snowbird math is a different product.
5. Insurance and Flood: Why Inland Often Wins After 62
North Myrtle Beach
Ocean blocks, Cherry Grove canals, and some marsh edges can require flood plus heavy wind. Combined coastal policies of several thousand to $7,000+ a year are not a shock on the wrong lot. West of 17 is often a different conversation.
Carolina Forest
Overall flood risk is minor compared with the beach towns. First Street-style snapshots have put roughly 12% of properties in a 30-year severe-impact path — not zero. Ponds and wetland lots can still be AE. Pull the parcel map.
Longs and Conway
Inland is the insurance advantage that makes the drive worthwhile. That advantage dies if you buy a low lot on a drainage easement or a river-adjacent parcel. Still get two quotes before you waive due diligence.
Three policies to price on every house
- Homeowners
- Wind / hail
- Flood if mapped — and often if you sleep better owning it
Roof age and wind-mitigation credits matter in all four places. Hurricanes do not stop at the city limit sign.
6. HOAs: Predictable Dues vs No One to Call
| Area | HOA reality |
|---|---|
| Carolina Forest | Assume an HOA. Often $50–$200/month. Amenities and architectural rules are the product. |
| Longs | New communities almost always have HOAs. Dues are often modest vs ocean condos. Read rental and truck rules. |
| Conway | Downtown and many older streets: little or no HOA. Myrtle Trace and golf communities: structured dues and lawn packages. |
| North Myrtle Beach | Ocean condos can run $300–$700+/month. Barefoot and planned golf: amenities priced in. Some cottages: no HOA, full maintenance. |
At 62+, a $150 HOA that mows and funds a pool can be cheaper than hiring a lawn service and a roof later. A $500 condo HOA with thin reserves is a future assessment.
Ask for budget, reserve study, master insurance, and three years of special assessments.
7. Healthcare, Driving, and the “Tuesday Morning” Test
Healthcare
- Carolina Forest: medical offices and the Seacoast / 501 corridor are a core reason retirees land here.
- Conway: Conway Medical Center is the local hospital advantage.
- Longs: plan on a drive to NMB or Conway for most specialists.
- North Myrtle Beach: clinics in town; McLeod Seacoast is the northern hospital conversation.
If you already have a cardiologist, map that office at 10 a.m. and at 4 p.m. in June.
Driving
- CF to beach: workable most of the year; 501 clogs in season.
- Longs to Cherry Grove: short on a good day; Highway 9 is the habit.
- Conway to ocean: longest of the four. Fine if the beach is weekly, not daily.
- NMB: shortest sand trip. Airport is still a southbound drive.
Tuesday morning test
Where do you buy coffee, see a doctor, and get home before noon without getting angry?
If the answer needs a beach, start in NMB.
If the answer needs a Target, a lab, and a garage, start in Carolina Forest.
If the answer needs a new house under a number, start in Longs.
If the answer needs a downtown and a hospital, start in Conway.
8. 55+ and Age-Targeted Options in This Foursome
- Conway: Myrtle Trace / Myrtle Trace South is the established value 55+ play — lawn package, clubhouse, golf-cart access to Burning Ridge, close to 501 services. List prices have often sat near the low $300ks.
- North Myrtle Beach: Del Webb North Myrtle Beach, Barefoot-area active adult, and golf communities with an older buyer mix. Higher amenity and higher price.
- Carolina Forest: fewer formal age-restricted walls; strong de facto retiree pockets in amenity neighborhoods. Some buyers prefer no age restriction so family can inherit or visit long-term.
- Longs: more age-targeted new construction than true classic 55+ campuses. Read the CCRs. “Active adult feel” is not the same as an enforceable 55+ rule.
9. Neighborhood Shortlist for Week One
Carolina Forest
- Waterbridge
- Plantation Lakes
- The Farm / Avalon
- Berkshire Forest
- A pond-lot vs a high lot (insurance lesson)
Longs
- A current national-builder community (warranty, known HOA)
- Forest at Black Bear or similar amenity package
- An older non-HOA parcel for contrast
- Drive to Cherry Grove at 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Conway
- Myrtle Trace
- Wild Wing
- Historic downtown walking streets
- One city-limit house and one unincorporated “Conway” house (tax lesson)
North Myrtle Beach
- Barefoot Resort (golf, less strip)
- Ocean Drive core
- Cherry Grove interior vs canal
- West of 17 (the payment sanity check)
10. Who Each Place Fits at 62+
Choose Carolina Forest if you want
- Newer home, garage, HOA predictability
- Doctors and grocery close
- Beach as a 20-minute habit
- Mixed-age neighbors
- Lower flood odds than ocean-row
Choose Longs if you want
- Maximum new house for the money
- North Strand access without NMB pricing
- Builder warranty
- Quiet streets
- Willingness to drive for “the nice dinner”
Choose Conway if you want
- Lowest typical payment
- A downtown that is not seasonal theater
- Hospital proximity
- 55+ structure at Myrtle Trace
- Or acreage / no-HOA control
Choose North Myrtle Beach if you want
- To live in a beach town, not near one
- Golf + sand in the same week without a plan
- Walkable ocean blocks or Barefoot amenities
- Acceptance of city tax, crowds, and insurance math
11. Who Should Not Buy Where
Skip Carolina Forest if you refuse HOAs or need to see the ocean from the driveway.
Skip Longs if you want walkable restaurants and hate watching retail catch up to rooftops.
Skip Conway if a daily beach walk is non-negotiable or you dislike a college-town pulse.
Skip North Myrtle Beach if the budget is tight after tax + wind + flood + HOA, or you want the largest house per dollar.
12. Decision Framework (Write This Down)
- How many days a week must I stand on sand?
- Is my number the price or the all-in year?
- Primary residence (4% + homestead path) or second home (6%)?
- Do I want a lawn service baked into an HOA?
- Which hospital system will I actually use?
- What is my hard cap on insurance + HOA?
If 1 is “most days,” start in North Myrtle Beach.
If 2 and 6 dominate, start in Longs or Conway.
If 4 and 5 dominate, start in Carolina Forest or Myrtle Trace.
If 3 is “second home,” rerun every tax example before you fall in love with a porch.
13. Due Diligence Before You Offer
- Flood zone and elevation certificate
- Two insurance quotes
- City limits (Conway and NMB) vs unincorporated
- Legal-residence and homestead timeline
- HOA docs, reserves, rental rules, assessments
- Roof, HVAC, wind mitigation
- Drive times in season
- Builder warranty remaining on new construction
- Whether the “Conway” or “Longs” listing is really in a flood pocket
14. FAQ
Which is cheapest for a 62+ buyer?
Usually Conway or Longs on purchase price. The winner after insurance and HOA is often an inland primary residence with homestead, not the cheapest list price.
Which has the lowest flood insurance?
Most of Carolina Forest, Longs, and Conway beat ocean-row North Myrtle Beach. Pond lots and river edges can still surprise you.
Can I avoid an HOA?
Easiest in parts of Conway and some older Longs parcels. Hardest in Carolina Forest. Mixed in NMB.
How far is Carolina Forest from the beach?
Typically 15–20 minutes off-season. Longer on 501 in summer.
Is Longs too far from everything?
It is too far if you want a nightly beach walk. It is not too far if North Myrtle Beach is your Saturday plan and you like a new house.
Does Conway feel isolated?
Not if you use downtown, the hospital, and CCU-area services. Isolated only if “everything” means Ocean Boulevard.
Is North Myrtle Beach worth the extra money?
Yes if the product is the town. No if you will drive to the beach twice a month and pay ocean insurance all year.
Do all four get the same South Carolina tax breaks?
Yes on Social Security, retirement-income deduction rules, 4% legal residence, and homestead — if you qualify and file. City millage is the local extra in Conway and NMB.
15. Bottom Line
This is not a ranking of “best town.” It is a ranking of fit.
- Carolina Forest = convenience suburb with amenities and a milder insurance profile.
- Longs = new-construction value on the north side.
- Conway = small-city value, hospital, downtown, optional 55+.
- North Myrtle Beach = beach-and-golf identity at a location premium.
The right house is the one that still works after tax, wind, flood, HOA, and the Tuesday-morning drive are on the same page as the listing price.
