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Just wondering what everyone thinks about the area from love it to regret it and why? What do you like about it? What do you dislike about it?
(When I say recent, it can be 1 day ago to 2 years ago)
I'll start first. We moved here 2 months ago. So far we like it. We find a decent amount of things to do. Where we live in Taylors, we are conveniently located to everything for the most part. I did notice it does take people time to open up to you but for the most people aren't rude. In other words, most people tend to keep to themselves and aren't as outgoing. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing. If you're willing to strike up a conversation, they will talk to you. I'd like to meet some friends with similar interests. It's nice to be close to the mountains. I do miss the beach though but there are plenty of lakes with crystal clear water. All in all, it's not a bad place to live.
We're not there yet but will be soon! I would love to have someone to do some walks with (used to be a hiker but can't do more than 5 miles now). Hubby loves TV more than I do; I like to get out!
I've been here on and off for nearly two years while I build our house. My wife recently got a job, so we are a family once again! We are north of Travelers Rest, near Tigerville, and love it out here. I have found people to be very friendly, casually striking up a conversation while standing in line at the market, for instance. Much friendlier than we are used to in FL.
I got involved with a church right away, and it has been amazing. When I installed my roof trusses, several men from the church showed up to help. One of the ladies even brought lunch! Likewise, when we moved our household a couple weeks ago, the men showed up and unloaded a big truck in 1 hour! We've been made to feel very welcome by our little church community. Our neighbors have been great, showing up with a hot meal from time to time.
We have several acres, which really helps the 'satisfaction' factor. The beauty of nature is all around, and we have plenty of privacy when we want it. The downside to being out in the woods is that there are a lot of nuisance critters- wasps, spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mice, to name a few. Oddly enough, mosquitoes haven't been that bad; I've certainly seen worse.
The weather has been one of the best things, although not everyone would like it. Summers are hot and humid, although not on the same scale as FL. My recent trip to FL proved it; the weather there was really oppressive compared to the upstate. We wanted a 4 season climate, and you truly have that here. The long fall and spring periods are particularly nice. I have found that every month of the year will have decent days to get out and enjoy the weather.
Every place you could live will have its downsides, and the upstate has some. As I mentioned, there are a lot of creepy-crawlies, but that's country living anywhere. TV reception is sketchy, and cable isn't in the budget for now. There are some run-down shacks out here in the boonies, but again, that's rural living. We're not much for shopping or other city amenities, but we go into town once in a while. Woodruff Rd. is a necessary evil that we visit maybe every 2 months to stock up on things we can't get in TR. With the price of gas these days, We're more inclined to shop online anyhow. In 2 years, I've been to the mall exactly once. There are a lot of stray dogs out here, and a lot of gunfire. I don't know how people can afford to shoot so much! I go out and squeeze off a few rounds myself once in a while. While I'm complaining, there is a lot of litter alongside the rural roads. I wish people wouldn't trash their own neighborhood like that.
All in all, this is the best place I've ever lived. Many years ago, I lived in CT, and it was similar, but the cost of living is outrageous there now. I plan to stay here until they carry me out feet first!
It's nice to hear the stories of how things are going. Glad to hear all the positives. I do agree there are pros and cons everywhere that you live. I do like the seasons as opposed to FL. I still like FL but am enjoying it here as well.
We moved back here exactly 2 months ago (My husband is from Simpsonville, born and raised, but we moved away 9 years ago). We moved down from MN (I grew up in the upper midwest).
We LOVE the milder fall and winter weather. LOVE. That's probably our top reason for the move - the climate in MN is just too harsh, especially the very long, very cold, typically very snowy winter. We're just done with it.
Downtown Greenville is also a huge plus for us. We love it and enjoy spending time there. There's a lot of festivals and family oriented stuff to do around here, also - that's huge for us since we have 2 little kids.
We've found people to be generally friendlier and more open than in the midwest, which we were expecting (having lived both places in the past). We like the more-gregarious style down here, for sure.
My biggest downside is road/traffic/walkability related: I desperately MISS my walkable/bikeable neighborhood in MN. We just took that for granted as a given. Well, as we've quickly found here, walkability is a total joke in many areas. It's just sad. NO sidewalks in many places and very narrow, shoulder-less roads. It's silly: we live probably 1/4/-1/2 mile from TONS of stores, etc, in Mauldin - but it'd be a death wish to try to walk to them or even bike to them. It's a shame and it's impacted our lifestyle/activity level in a negative way.
All in all, we are glad we made the move! So happy to be near some helpful grandparents here in SC, though I do miss my family back in the midwest.
Any time I have mentioned something even remotely negative about Greenville on here I get torn to shreds. Id move if I could. This area really isnt my cup of tea but DHs job is too good to walk away from right now. The only positives I can say are that housing (if you buy, landlords around here get away with murder) is cheap and it's close to the mountains. I have also found GHS to be a fantastic hospital which I couldn't say about mission in Asheville.
For me the one big thing is that almost everything centers around church and if you don't attend you are ostracized for it. Ive never ever lived somewhere that religion rules life like it does here. I also find the schools to be subpar from research and what colleagues with students in them have told me. I will soon have to worry about that as I'm pregnant. I never thought I'd homeschool but its looking like a possibility especially because all the private schools I've found are religion based.
I'm also a big proponent of animal rights and this place is just appalling. I've been volunteering at the shelter for almost a year and between the ridiculous red tape from higher ups and the lack of penalties for animal crime(puppy mill bust back to selling the day he is released?! are you kidding me?!)makes me extremely depressed and angry. On the plus side I feel that Greenville needs more people like me coming from other areas to ever get its act together so I at least feel like I'm helping.
I've been here for about a year. All-in-all I'm ok with living here now. It was a spontaneous move that I'm still hoping works out.
Greenville isn't the best place in the country to live, but it's by far NOT the worst place to live either. Most people are friendly and while the few i've meet have been WAY more conservative than I would prefer, I still manage to enjoy time with them. It's not like we sit around and talk about abortions all day.
The bible-hugging culture is a annoyingly large here, but it doesn't interfere with me in any way. But I will avoid businesses that mention god or the bible in their advertising.
The main draw for me moving here was the decent sized out-door community. Including biking and running. There are WAY more active people here than I ever saw on the SC coast. And it's great to be a part of this, but it feels we're in a constant battle with the non-active (commuters who despise bikers) and local officials on keeping Greenville a known physically active community.
Schools suck here, but it's the south and it's also up to you to help educate your kids. From what I can tell there are a handful of decent charter or magnets schools here that put a good focus on science and math. My child isn't old enough for school yet.
My take-away is that Greenville is a good place to live. The city and county leaders could do A LOT to make this a truly great place to live. It feels like it's teetering on success if only leaders can just have the guts to do the right thing. A great Main Street isn't going to be enough for much longer.
I'm not religious and don't attend church. I've never been ostracized for it either. Love the area. I've been here since 2004. I guess it's all in what you focus on. There are enough like me here that I don't have to concentrate on it.
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