The city limits of Charleston extend across the Ashley River to an area known to locals as West Ashley. It’s a highly desirable location for residents who want to be close to downtown Charleston as well as centrally located to North Charleston via both major Interstates 26 and 526.

West Ashley is home to Charles Towne Landing where the English colonists established the first permanent settlement in the Carolinas in 1670 along the banks of the Ashley River. Today the site is a 664-acre park with self-guided tours, an interactive museum, Charleston’s only 17th-century replica sailing ship and a natural habitat zoo.

Also, Highway 61 – also known as Ashley River Road – runs through the area. The highway is home to Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation and Gardens and Middleton Place – historic plantations situated on the Ashley River. Each offers tours of the hundreds-old plantation homes and gardens.

Many of the West Ashley neighborhoods closest to downtown Charleston feature charming brick cottages while established neighborhoods wind through hundred-year-old live oak trees, with some home sites that feature sweeping views of the marsh or access to the Ashley River.

Neighborhoods are conveniently located to shopping areas, malls and restaurants. A newly thriving area of West Ashley is Avondale, a hub of shops and restaurants that offer an eclectic vibe and make for a great place to unwind on a Friday night.

Students attend Charleston County Schools. Residents also are close to Porter-Gaud, an Episcopal, coeducational, independent school.