JESSICA AND MATT PERKAL
NEW YORK, NY

Where are you from?

Matt: I grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and then Rye, New York, for high school.
Jessica: I’m from Charlotte, North Carolina. 

How did you meet?

Jessica: Matt’s cousin went to school with me at Duke. I told her I was looking for a new job, and she suggested I meet her cousin. So I met Matt for an informational interview and started interviewing for his firm. But we wore blazers! It was very professional. It was not a date.

Was it love at first sight?

Jessica: We were just friends for a while, and I moved to Washington, D.C. Almost a year later we had brunch with some mutual friends and started dating long distance.

When did you first come to Kiawah?

Jessica: I was probably ten the first time we visited. My parents ran the Kiawah [Island Golf Resort] Marathon, and we rented houses. So Matt’s family vacationed here, my family vacationed here, and his sister got married here. It was a place we’ve always loved.

When did you move here?

Jessica: We were living in New York, and I was pregnant with Ralph when the pandemic hit. We got in the car and drove to Kiawah. We rented a house at first. So did my parents and Matt’s parents, and all our siblings came. It was like a big family reunion. 

Matt: We figured it would be two or three weeks. 

Jessica: But we just kept renting week after week, and we kept getting grandfathered in. Then we started looking at property. We bid on a house on Ocean Marsh, and we’ve had it ever since. We rented a house in Charleston and enrolled Charlie at Ashley Hall. Eventually we bought a house downtown. But we spend most of our weekends on Kiawah, and almost every holiday and the entire summer.

What do you like about living here?

Jessica: We love the lifestyle here. We love the sunny weather and the spontaneity. If it’s a beautiful day, we can go on a bike ride or go out to dinner. Everything is a little bit more relaxed. We still spend a lot of time in New York, but this is just a better fit for our family.

What about Kiawah fits your family so well?

Jessica: We can walk to The Beach Club and have become so close with the staff there. And GoKiawah is amazing!  

Matt: Family. We have so many family traditions that revolve around being outdoors. We love to bike to The Sanctuary or to the Ocean Park Treehouse. 

Jessica: And we always go to Marsh House on Sundays for live music. We have so many friends who are from all over the country that we look forward to seeing here. They come in at different times and so it’s refreshing. And there is a small contingency that comes from Charleston. 

Tell me about your children.

Matt: Charlie is five and she goes to Charleston Day. She just started kindergarten. Ralph just turned four and he’s at Ashley Hall, and Niyah is two and she just started Ashley Hall this year as well. We just officially adopted Niyah a couple weeks ago. When she first started staying with us, it was on Kiawah. So really that’s the place she associates with home. 

What do you love about the Club?

Jessica: They make every holiday special. We almost always go to Rock the River! And we do the Polar Bear Plunge and the Easter Egg Hunt. The Club staff is amazing. They’re so good with children and always know our names. They’re so generous and kind. 

How do you think your time here affects your children?

Jessica: Everyone in our family prefers to be at Kiawah because we’re more relaxed here. And when we’re relaxed, they’re relaxed. We’re outside more. Everyone is happier.