South Carolina Primary

All eyes of the nation are focused on South Carolina this weekend, which is holding the GOP presidential primary. With news that Rick Santorum may have actually beaten Mitt Romney in the Iowa Caucuses, Newt Gingrich gaining ground in South Carolina, and Rick Perry leaving the Republican race all together, all bets are off on who will win the South Carolina primary.

Despite the media storm that shows up in South Carolina whenever there is a presidential primary—it is the first Southern state to cast a presidential primary ballot—residents will tell you that South Carolina is a great place to live.

While none of the current Republican presidential candidates hail from South Carolina, plenty of famous people, celebrities, and even politicians have called South Carolina home.

As far as politicians go, according to Biography.com, here are some famous faces from government that were born in South Carolina:

• John C. Calhoun
• John Edwards
• Andrew Jackson
• Strom Thurmond

A number of celebrities have second homes in South Carolina. Those with celebrity houses in South Carolina include:

• Actor Bill Murray, who has a house in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, which is located on the Atlantic Ocean near Charleston Harbor and Charleston, South Carolina
• Athlete Isaiah Thomas has a beachfront celebrity home in Hilton Head, South Carolina, a popular golf destination
• Actor Tom Berenger lived in the port city of Beaufort, South Carolina for many years. Tom Berenger is best known for his Oscar-winning performance as Sergeant Barnes in the movie "Platoon."

It's not surprising that that these three celebrity homes are located near or on South Carolina's coastline. South Carolina has 187 miles of coastline, much of it called the Low Country or Lowcountry, depending on which South Carolinian you ask.

To get a sense of the different kinds of homes available in South Carolina, you should plan a trip to Charleston. Charleston, South Carolina has many different styles of homes, including Federal, Greek revival, and Victorian. In my opinion the homes in Charleston are reminiscent of the homes you might find in New Orleans' French Quarter, but the Charleston homes are on a grander scale.

One more fact about Charleston, South Carolina: it is home to the College of Charleston, which happens to be the oldest college in South Carolina and also south of Virginia.