Not long ago, locals went to Savannah or Charleston for entertainment and specialized health care. Restaurants and grocery stores have mushroomed, and Beaufort Memorial Hospital jumped from 98 beds to 160. Cancer screening and treatment are available, eliminating commutes elsewhere. Meanwhile, parental involvement has spurred a renaissance in public education, Mr. Cato says. Teachers are winning awards and a private foundation helps provide laptop computers to students.
People come from across the state for street dances, rowing competitions and boat parades.
Those kinds of people are coming here and becoming Beaufortonians. Fortune magazine put Beaufort in its top 10 list of affordable places to retire. Which brings us back to Elaine and Jack McDonnell. They've been here one year and don't plan to leave. Their friends and family don't want them to, either.