Which town or area is the best kept secret in SC? (Charleston: low crime, home)
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Yes, a broad topic I know. I’ve been looking online for someplace that still has affordable home prices (under 1 mil) nice neighborhoods, low crime, and a sense of community but it seems everywhere I look either the home prices are too high for what you’re getting (not much land/lot size) or the schools are poorly-rated, or there is too much traffic (anywhere near Charleston it seems) or just a general lack of appeal.
I’m actually searching for my daughter and her family as she is busy (a teacher with two small children) so they would like something family-friendly with some amenities and shopping nearby. They wouldn’t mind a semi-rural location (they currently live on a large farm) as long it’s not too isolated and the schools are decent.
Perhaps someone can give me some guidance as far as general areas/regions, where to look/not to look, or any hidden gems that only those living in the Palmetto state would know about! Thanks in advance for your responses!
Rock Hill, Fort Mill, Indian Land. If you prefer suburban Charlotte. Back in the day about 15 years, Indian Land was a best kept secret just past the upscale Ballantyne area of Charlotte. Now it is more crowded and congested. Perhaps other areas of
Lancaster County. Or what about Clover or Lake Wylie areas in York County?
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If you put a lot of weight on school scores, that is going to narrow your search down. Most of the cities in SC aren't big enough for there to be the level of income segregation needed to achieve the highest school scores. The state tries to balance the demographics in the schools.
I think of Hilton Head as being a posh area but the high school school score is 5 out of 10 on Great Schools.org.
Great Schools does have a "equity" component in their ratings so I guess less diversity in the student body is dragging Hilton Head and other schools like Wando down some. Wando High School in Mt Pleasant, across the bay from Charleston, is only 7 out of 10 total. It scores 9 out of 10 for test scores , 9 out of 10 for college readiness but a 3 in "equity".
As far as hidden gems goes, I would suggest considering Aiken, Greenwood, Florence, and the Seneca-
Clemson-Anderson area. People who prefer bigger cities generally don't like these towns which is part of the reason I like them. Greenville and Charleston have been attracting many people in recent years that have a pretentious "to the manor born" personality, in my view. They love downtown Greenville, downtown Charleston, Mt Pleasant, Hilton Head but are generally not happy with the areas outside of those.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 06-17-2023 at 07:18 AM..
If you put a lot of weight on school scores, that is going to narrow your search down. Most of the cities in SC aren't big enough for there to be the level of income segregation needed to achieve the highest school scores. The state tries to balance the demographics in the schools.
I think of Hilton Head as being a posh area but the high school school score is 5 out of 10 on Great Schools.org.
Great Schools does have a "equity" component in their ratings so I guess less diversity in the student body is dragging Hilton Head and other schools like Wando down some. Wando High School in Mt Pleasant, across the bay from Charleston, is only 7 out of 10 total. It scores 9 out of 10 for test scores , 9 out of 10 for college readiness but a 3 in "equity".
As far as hidden gems goes, I would suggest considering Aiken, Greenwood, Florence, and the Seneca-
Clemson-Anderson area. People who prefer bigger cities generally don't like these towns which is part of the reason I like them. Greenville and Charleston have been attracting many people in recent years that have a pretentious "to the manor born" personality, in my view. They love downtown Greenville, downtown Charleston, Mt Pleasant, Hilton Head but are generally not happy with the areas outside of those.
Thank you for your detailed response, especially about the schools. I’ve become skeptical about GreatSchools and their ratings. I emailed them a couple of months ago because the test scores had not been updated since 2018. They got back to me and gave a rather defensive response blaming Covid for the lack of recent data. I also noted they had included new criteria such as equity. I also question the test results metric as being valid.
My daughter is a teacher at an elementary school and she says the test scores are way down but on GreatSchools it shows them as having a 9/10 test score rating as of 2022. This is a school that has decided not to give homework to advance equity and has an odd curriculum. My daughter is always complaining the kids are “behind” academically, to use a euphemism. So you have to wonder what kind of tests they’re using compared to years past, and have they changed the criteria or standards.
Thanks again for your suggestions. They had considered the Clemson area but were concerned about unruly college kids! But I heard there are a lot of retirees in that area, as well. I will tell them to investigate the other towns you mentioned, too. They prefer smaller towns and are not looking for a big city lifestyle.
It claims Greenville is a top 10 best small city to raise a family. Greenville is the most populated part of SC so the small city description is off. You can live in country areas 20 minutes or so from downtown like Travelers Rest and Fountain Inn. They rated the schools 8.5 out of 10.
Greenville's park downtown right off Main Street, Falls Park, has been rated a top 10 park in the country on Trip Advisor. There is a massive curved pedestrian bridge over the waterfall. Don't think I've seen a similar bridge like this elsewhere. Greenville has Paris Mountain, a little mountain, about 10 minutes from downtown with a state park with hiking and biking trails, and a little lake area.
If your daugher likes big downtown festivals, I recommend visiting Greenville in October during the Fall for Greenville festival. https://www.fallforgreenville.net/
Greenville and Clemson-Seneca are good places to live if you like mountains, hiking, waterfalls, lakes and car accesible viewpoints. Lakes Jocasse and Keowee are clear lakes nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge mountains. Perhaps the most pristine whitewater river in the country, the Chattooga, is in western SC. I like to say western SC is as good a location for mountain stuff as Asheville, and better for lakes and waterfalls. Asheville fans give me a lot of grief but the majority of them know very little about western SC. In many cases, Greenville and Clemson-Seneca are as close or closer to big western NC blue ridge attractions, like Whitewater Falls.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 06-18-2023 at 10:43 AM..
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