Why Are Retirees Leaving Florida for Myrtle Beach / Horry County?

Florida is still a retirement magnet. It is also no longer a one-way door.

In 2025, Florida’s net gain of people age 65+ shrank to roughly 800 people — arrivals and departures nearly canceled out. South Carolina, by contrast, posted one of the country’s strongest net gains of seniors. Mover-company data has also ranked the Myrtle Beach metro among the most inbound markets in the country.

People are not fleeing palm trees for poetry. They are adding up insurance, HOA special assessments, property-tax surprises, heat, and the all-in monthly cost of a paid-off house.

This guide is for anyone comparing a Florida address to Horry County (Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, Socastee, Little River, Conway, Murrells Inlet). It is written as a listicle so you can scan it, and so search and AI tools can pull clean answers.

Honest Story: Florida still wins on zero state income tax. Horry County often wins on the bill that arrives every year after you buy the house.

1. The 60-Second Answer

Retirees leave Florida for Myrtle Beach / Horry County because:

1. Homeowners and condo insurance in many Florida counties still runs multiples of a comparable Horry County house.
2. Florida condo / HOA special assessments after storms and reserve laws shocked fixed-income owners.
3. Florida’s homestead Save Our Homes cap protects long-time owners and punishes new buyers on the same street.
4. South Carolina does not tax Social Security, deducts a slice of other retirement income, and assesses a primary home at 4%.
5. Horry County still sells a $300k–$450k livable house that is not a 1980s condo with a $40,000 assessment hanging over it.
6. Four seasons, less year-round heat, and a shorter hop back to the Mid-Atlantic (“halfbacks”) matter more than brochures admit.

Stay in Florida if you have a large taxable IRA draw, a locked-in low homestead assessment, and insurance you can actually bind.

2. The “Halfback” Is Not a Myth Anymore

“Halfback” used to mean: retiree leaves New York/Ohio for Florida, then moves halfway back to the Carolinas.

That pattern is now measurable:

• Florida 65+ in-migration and out-migration in 2025 were nearly even.
• South Carolina led the nation in net 65+ arrivals in that reporting cycle (several thousand).
• United Van Lines-style inbound shares have put Myrtle Beach near the top nationally (around 80% inbound in one widely cited annual study).

Horry County is catching two streams at once: Northeast/Midwest first-timers and Florida second-timers who already learned the insurance lesson.

3. Reason #1: Insurance Became the Second Mortgage

This is the reason people say out loud.

State-average homeowners insurance comparisons in 2026 still put Florida at the top of the country. Published averages vary by methodology — some statewide figures land in the $3,800–$6,000 range for a typical policy with wind; other compilations print even higher statewide means. South Carolina statewide averages often land closer to the national pack (roughly $2,800–$3,000 in several 2026 roundups), with inland Horry County usually cheaper than ocean-row.

A Florida Office of Insurance Regulation figure cited in 2026 put an average Florida homeowners premium (including wind) near $3,815 — and that is an average, not Miami-Dade waterfront.

Horry County is not “no hurricane.” It is “a different insurance market and a different roof-age conversation,” especially inland (Carolina Forest, Conway, Longs, much of Socastee).

Buyer rule: Compare quotes on two specific addresses, not state slogans. A Garden City peninsula house and a Carolina Forest ranch are not the same South Carolina.

4. Reason #2: Condo and HOA Math Broke the Florida Dream

Florida’s post-Surfside reserve and inspection rules were necessary. They also mailed five-figure bills to people who thought they were done paying for housing.

What Florida condo owners ran into:

• Master-policy spikes passed through as dues
• Special assessments for concrete, roofs, and reserves
• Buildings that became uninsurable or unmortgageable
• HOA insurance costs that are still among the highest in the U.S.

Horry County has condos and HOAs. Barefoot Resort, North Myrtle high-rises, and Garden City buildings can surprise you. The difference is scale and frequency. A $350,000 house in The Farm or a Socastee ranch with a modest HOA is a different risk stack than a 1978 Florida oceanfront association.

If you are leaving a Florida condo, do not automatically buy another high-rise on the Grand Strand. Buy the product that fixes the problem: often a single-family house inland of the dunes.

5. Reason #3: Florida Homestead Protects the Person Who Already Lives There

Florida’s homestead exemption plus Save Our Homes caps annual assessment growth for the current owner. That is a gift to someone who bought in 2009.

It is a trap for someone buying in 2026. Two identical houses can carry very different tax bills. The new owner resets to market.

South Carolina’s structure is simpler for a new full-time resident:

• 4% assessment on a legal residence (vs 6% on a second home)
• Homestead exemption at 65+: first $50,000 of fair market value off the taxable base
• Horry County millage with no city tax in Carolina Forest, much of Socastee, Longs, Conway
• City millage if you buy inside Myrtle Beach or North Myrtle Beach

On a typical $400,000–$500,000 Horry primary residence, many full-time owners see property tax in a band that still looks low to someone leaving coastal Florida — often cited in local guidance around $1,500–$2,000 on a $500,000 legal residence, address-dependent.

Second-home buyers in Horry stay on the 6% path. Do not move here “for the tax break” and keep Florida as domicile.

6. Reason #4: The Income-Tax Talking Point Is Incomplete

Florida: 0% state income tax on everything.

South Carolina (2026): There is a state income tax. Rates have been cut and the bracket design has been in flux (sources in 2026 describe a top rate in the low-to-mid 5% range after reform). What matters for most Horry retirees is the base, not the slogan.

South Carolina:

• Does not tax Social Security at any income level
• Fully exempts military retirement
• Allows a retirement-income deduction plus an additional age-65 deduction (commonly discussed as a combined shelter of about $15,000 per person 65+ on non-SS retirement income — confirm the current SC1040)
• Has no estate or inheritance tax (Florida doesn’t either)

A couple living on Social Security plus a moderate pension can owe little or nothing to South Carolina. A household pulling $200,000 from IRAs may still prefer Florida’s zero.

Do the household math, not the Facebook math.

7. Reason #5: The House Itself Still Costs Less Here

Horry County is not 2012 cheap. It is still cheaper than many Florida coastal metros for a livable detached house.

Realistic 2026 shopping bands:

• Socastee / Longs / parts of Conway: often $250k–$380k for a usable 3-bed
• Carolina Forest workhorses (The Farm, similar): often $300k–$450k
• The Parks / newer planned: often $400k–$500k+
• Barefoot villas: $210k–$400k; Barefoot SF $400k–$800k+
• Ocean-adjacent NMB / Garden City / Surfside: beach premiums and flood premiums

Florida’s “we bought a condo for $280k” story falls apart when the assessment and insurance hit. Horry’s “we bought a garage and a yard for $360k” story is why people stay.

Regional price-parity figures have also shown South Carolina below the national index and Florida above it. That is groceries, services, and housing together — not just the sticker.

8. Reason #6: Heat, Crowds, and the Drive Home

Insurance gets the headline. July gets the second thought.

Florida summers are longer and hotter. Horry County still has a real winter (mild) and a spring that is not just “less humid August.”

Halfbacks also want I-95 / I-26 / I-77 between them and grandkids in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and North Carolina. Myrtle Beach is closer to those living rooms than Fort Myers.

Tourism is real here too. That is why many Florida refugees choose Carolina Forest, Conway, Longs, or Socastee instead of Ocean Boulevard.

9. Reason #7: Healthcare and Daily Life Are “Enough,” Not Miami

Horry County is not a Tampa medical metro. It is good enough for a large share of healthy-to-moderately-complex retirees:

• McLeod Seacoast (Little River / NMB side)
• Conway Medical Center
• Grand Strand Medical Center
• Tidelands / Georgetown County for the south Strand

People with transplant teams and weekly tertiary care should map the specialist before they list the Florida house.

Daily life: HTC/Spectrum internet, 501 retail, Barefoot Landing, Market Common, and a grocery store that is not a 40-minute barrier-island crawl.

10. Where in Horry County Florida Refugees Actually Land

Do not buy Barefoot because the villa is $239,000. Buy it because you will use the courses and the cabana.

11. Who Should Not Leave Florida

Stay put, or stay in Florida inland, if:

• You have a Save Our Homes assessment you would be foolish to give up
• You draw large taxable account income and the SC tax is real money
• Your doctors cannot transfer
• You need year-round warmth for a medical reason
• You were going to buy oceanfront Horry and recreate the same insurance problem

Moving 400 miles to repeat the mistake is not a strategy.

12. The All-In Cost Worksheet (Use This, Not a Slogan)

Before you list the Florida house, fill this in for both addresses:

1. Principal and interest (or $0 if paid off)
2. Property tax at the correct ratio (FL new-buyer assessment vs SC 4% or 6%)
3. Homeowners / wind / flood
4. HOA + any known special assessment
5. State income tax on your mix of SS / pension / IRA
6. Utilities (Florida electric in August vs Horry gas/electric)
7. Travel home to family

If line 3 + line 4 in Florida exceed line 3 + line 4 + line 5 in Horry, you have your answer. If they do not, stay.

13. How to Do the Move Without Creating a Tax Mess

South Carolina only helps if it is really home:

• File as a full-year or part-year resident correctly
• Apply for 4% legal residence with the Assessor
• Apply for homestead with the Auditor at 65+
• Move voter registration, driver’s license, and the center of life
• Sell or convert the Florida homestead so you are not pretending to live in two states

Florida and South Carolina both notice fake domiciles. So do insurers.

14. FAQ

Are retirees really leaving Florida for Myrtle Beach?

Yes, as part of a wider halfback and cost-of-housing shift. Florida still receives tens of thousands of 65+ arrivals. The net gain collapsed. Myrtle Beach is one of the inbound metros absorbing people who want the Southeast without Florida’s carrying costs.

Is South Carolina cheaper than Florida for retirees?

Often on housing + insurance + property tax. Not always on state income tax. Run the household.

Does South Carolina tax Social Security?

No.

Will I save on insurance in Horry County?

Usually inland. Not automatically on a Garden City canal lot or a waterway tower.

Is Horry County safer from hurricanes?

It is still the coast. Buildings and distance from the dunes matter more than the state name.

What price can I expect?

Many full-time retirees land in the $300,000s to $400,000s for a practical house off the sand. Beach-adjacent and Barefoot luxury are different markets.

Should I buy a condo here if I fled a Florida condo?

Only after you read the reserve study. A house is the usual correction.

15. Bottom Line

Retirees leave Florida for Myrtle Beach and Horry County because the annual cost of owning the house stopped matching the brochure.

Florida still wins the income-tax argument.
Horry County often wins the insurance + assessment + new-buyer property tax + house price argument.

The right move is the one that still looks smart after those four lines are on the same page — not after a Facebook comment about “no state income tax.”