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Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 15 days ago)
732 posts, read 348,083 times
Reputation: 243
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedBeth
There are nice areas nearby, but McCormick itself does not offer much. It is in the middle of nowhere, as someone else said. Other small towns I would think are more appealing, e.g. Abbeville and Newberry, among others. I have nothing against small towns and love rural living. Thankful that we live now on the border of a rural area, and can drive straight to the farm for my produce, as well as enjoying driving on the rural roads and stopping at preserves.
Aiken and Beaufort would probably be the only two SC small towns I would recommend to somebody who put a big priority on downtowns. But I think those people would probably be happier in Charleston, Greenville or Savannah. You can live in rural areas close to those downtowns.
Aiken and Beaufort would probably be the only two SC small towns I would recommend to somebody who put a big priority on downtowns. But I think those people would probably be happier in Charleston, Greenville or Savannah. You can live in rural areas close to those downtowns.
Aiken was a great suggestion, and something the OP should consider as well.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 15 days ago)
732 posts, read 348,083 times
Reputation: 243
There doesn't appear to be an emergency room in McCormick County. Kind of surprising given they put this big retirement community there. You are looking at at least 25 minute ambulance ride to the one in Abbeville and 40 minutes to the Greenwood hospital.
My father had a stroke a few years ago. He lives about 20 minutes from the hospital in Lexington. He'd probably be in better shape today if he had been closer. He basically can't talk and his arm is paralyzed on one side.
He was a healthy 70 year old guy, and played tennis with a guy in his 30's the day before. I'll always live no more than 10 minutes from the ER.
It has never taken me 40 minutes to get from McCormick to Greenwood. I can get from Simpsonville to Greenwood in around 45 minutes. Probably 30 minutes between McCormick and Greenwood driving slowly. It's always less than 30 minutes for me.
Distance to hospitals , medical care...never really all that important until you really need it, right? As a former first responder, I know every minute counts when it's necessary so being 5 minutes away could still be one minute too far. I've never been a "betting man" but we all bet on being close enough when we buy a house, don't we? Under :30 seems reasonable to me (I'm currently just under :20 to three hospitals and, thankfully, it's always been good enough for ours, a pretty healthy family) but I certainly sympathize with your dad's situation and wish him the best, LM. The second part of this is you hope that the hospital that you're closest to is up to par, right? All good material to cover and, as a 63 year old, I appreciate the conversation.
There doesn't appear to be an emergency room in McCormick County. Kind of surprising given they put this big retirement community there.
Another excellent point, and one reason why I didn't steer my Parents there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WeaserP
Will do. Like where the conversation is going here...
I usually ignore threads such as these, because the OP usually drops off shortly after starting the topic. I see your interest however, so...
As a rule, I often keep my thoughts to myself, as other posters might see my comments as incendiary. Such will likely be the case with what I am about to say: I detest promotional guides and articles, which often talk up areas to encourage investment, yet their hype is often not based upon reality: I have wasted a lot of time and money chasing down "hidden gems."
Considering her size, Aiken has a large thriving downtown, which is as much functional as she is handsome. The area has lots of charm in her houses, and the natural landscape is beautiful: trees provide a natural canopy over several roads; it's simply beautiful. There's also a nicely maintained park, which makes for a lovely place to stroll.
The area is older and established, however, and it isn't in the rural setting that McCormick is. McCormick is more of a "throw of the dice;" yes, the area is desirable, and yes, the lake is lovely. But there are other drawbacks which have been already discussed.
Abbeville is a reasonably short drive away, and it's likely where you'd do a lot of shopping: small businesses dot the landscape: there's a local hardware store, and a huge ACE hardware store coming. The single grocery store is an Ingles, and it's large and well stocked. The area has a few nicer restaurants, and a handful of fast food restaurants. Greenwood has big box stores, as does Anderson. If you don't mind driving, Greenville is a surprising small city, with a very diverse food scene, and plenty of shopping options, beautiful natural features, and lovely parks.
Unlike NY, driving here is a non issue: we get snow, but only a handful of times per year, so as much as you'll hear about the need to commute, it's a non issue, unless you don't care for driving.
I can appreciate that, NDL.Not that I'm a huge forum hound but I am a member of a few others (i.e. music, specifically guitar, and golf forums) and have seen the drive-by posters come and go but I came by here for a little more than two or three responses so I do appreciate the efforts.
Given the perspectives here as well as other research that I'm doing, my thought is that McCormick may be a wonderfully quiet little hamlet but it might be just a hair too quiet for us. I've no issue driving an hour or so for entertainment, restaurants, etc but it seems like I would be getting in the car for a :30 minute drive (or more) for much more than that. That said, I still intend on stopping in when I come down that way and, who knows? My mind has been changed before. I still maintain that the SLV community looks beautiful and is very much what we're looking for inside a community. But, outside, I may be looking for a little more. I'll keep looking at the other areas mentioned here and see what happens but the site and y'all (ok, just trying to get into the habit - lol) have been very helpful so, if you're around different area in the SC section, you just may find me again.
On last question or two, if I may. Is any part of SC dry? And would any part of SC be considered their "wine country"? As we're very close to the NYS wine country (the Finger Lakes area) the Mrs and I do visit that area from time to time for various reasons not the least of which is to sample local wines.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 15 days ago)
732 posts, read 348,083 times
Reputation: 243
Quote:
Originally Posted by DSMRE
It has never taken me 40 minutes to get from McCormick to Greenwood. I can get from Simpsonville to Greenwood in around 45 minutes. Probably 30 minutes between McCormick and Greenwood driving slowly. It's always less than 30 minutes for me.
I think you may not be considering the distance between McCormick and the neighborhood. It is hard to see an ambulance doing the speed limit on those rural roads especially at night with all the deer out there. Then you need to factor in time it takes for ambulance to be dispatched, get to the pickup location and get the person loaded up.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 15 days ago)
732 posts, read 348,083 times
Reputation: 243
Aiken isn't a great choice if you want to be around a lake. Horses and golf are the main draws from hobby standpoint. There are horse races there and women come out in their fancy dresses and hats Kentucky style. There's a polo field, think one of the oldest in the US. You may have to yield to horses crossing Whiskey Road to ride in Hitchcock Woods, the largest privately owned urban forest in the world, 70 miles of trails. Hopeland Gardens with oak trees and fountains is nearby along with Fermata Swim Club and historic Palmetto Golf Club.
The downtown wasn't too lively when I lived there 20 years. Many residents go to Augusta's downtown on weekend.
Aiken has better aesthetics than most towns, it has a bunch of trees downtown, even wide area of trees between the road lanes downtown. I can't think of another town set up like that. It makes Greenville's leafy downtown look relatively barren. People generally swoon when they see it especially southern belles.
It has a ton of transplants, scientists and engineers, due to the Savannah River Site, a Department of Energy nuclear site. It's the nerdiest city in SC and perhaps the US. You'll be following the science down there.
There is a cool small swimming lake with a water park, Richardson's Lake with a white sandy beach.
Aiken is more Mayberry than Mayberry (Mt Airy NC)
Last edited by LakeMan45; 07-10-2023 at 07:10 AM..
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