Of important note, Kiawah Island is also a town of artists. Kiawah Island has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Kiawah Island’s character.
One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 44.20% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.
Another notable thing is that Kiawah Island is an extremely popular vacation destination. A significant portion of the population is seasonal. During the vacation season, the town experiences a large influx of people who take up residence in second homes they own in the area. As the vacation season ends, the population drops again, leaving behind a substantially quieter and smaller town.
In addition, Kiawah Island is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are people who are both educated and wealthy, and thus tend to be older, richer, and more established than young professionals. "Urban sophisticates" is not just about being educated and well-off financially: it is a point of view and state of mind, one that you might call 'urbaneness'. But such people can and do regularly live in small towns, suburbs and rural areas, as well as in big cities. They read, support the arts and high-end shops, and love travel.
It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Kiawah Island has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Kiawah Island has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Kiawah Island than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Kiawah Island may be for you.
Kiawah Island is also nautical, which means that parts of it are somewhat historic and touch the ocean or tidal bodies of water, such as inlets and bays. Quite often, nautical areas such as these attract visitors and locals who come to enjoy the scenery and various waterfront activities.
One downside of living in Kiawah Island, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.29 minutes every day commuting to work. However, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.
In Kiawah Island, a lot of people use taxis to get to work every day though Kiawah Island is a relatively small town. Those that ride taxis are primarily traveling out of town to good jobs in other cities.
