Anne and Steve Schmitt may be some of the newer residents at Dataw, but they've already made their new house a home.
It doesn't hurt that Anne has already aced Dataw's Cotton Dike number 12 either.
After leaving their more than 200-year-old home in the Beacon Hill section of Boston , the Schmitts moved to Dataw Island officially on October 28, 2008. Less than three months and a couple of lessons from assistant golf pro Jason Cochran later, Anne got her first hole in one on January 12, 2009.
“I'd just started taking lessons from Jason,” said Anne. “Right after the second lesson, we went out on the course and on the 12th hole, it was almost like the ball was on a magnet straight to the pin.”
Finding Dataw was just about as easy for the Schmitts as Anne's hole in one. Both retired, Steve from the advertising photography field, and Anne, a Harvard administrator, found out about Dataw through a friend's recommendation.
“We were both retiring and kept asking ourselves, ‘Where do we want to go?',” said Anne. “We have a summer home in Connecticut , and at the time, we were not targeting the South Carolina Lowcountry as home.”
The Schmitts had been renting a home in Kiawah Island during the Christmas season over the course of the last few years, and in 2007, took their friend's advice to check out Dataw.
“We arrived unannounced and were able to see about 15 properties because we happened to stop in during a broker's open house,” said Anne. “On this day we met our future realtor and neighbor, Bob North from ERA Evergreen Realty, who showed us around Dataw and Beaufort. From there, Steve and I fell in love immediately.”
“After our day trip to Dataw, we went back to Kiawah and then back home to Boston . From there, we had great follow-up and were immediately contact by Silvia Lalinde (the director of marketing and membership) with information about the island's Experience Dataw package, which allowed us to come back and visit for a few more days,” said Anne.
This was in April 2008, and it didn't take long for the Schmitts to make up their minds about moving to Dataw.
“During our second visit, we played golf with our future neighbors through Dataw's Ambassador Program, had dinner and cocktails, took tennis lessons and went bike riding every day,” said Steve. “One evening at sunset, Anne and I took a walk, which was magical. It was at this point we realized that this life could be ours.”
Now living in a home with a lagoon view of Hillfield Lake , the Schmitts agree that their favorite part of living on Dataw Island is the people.
“Dataw is an island of individuals that have a common purpose of having a decent life with one another,” said Steve. “Everyone is very neighborly.”
“A round of golf and dinner afterward is common,” said Anne. “Dataw is the perfect place and we love it. Being here feels like it was meant to be.”
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