Hello! I%26#39;m planning to tour Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson later this month to see if any of these cities might be an ideal place for my family to relocate. I%26#39;m hoping to receive from recommendations on what to check out in each city. Greenville%26#39;s downtown sounds like it%26#39;s worth seeing. How about Spartanburg%26#39;s %26amp; Anderson%26#39;s?
I%26#39;m not sure about neighborhoods to drive through either. When I tried to investigate real estate prices in Greenville, I found more listings in Simpsonville, Greer, and Easley than in Greenville. Are these fairly close ';suburbs';?
It seems like Greenville might have more to offer than Spartanburg, just based on my preliminary research. Anderson has a definite ';small town'; appeal and it seems really close to Lake Hartwell. Do people actually live on the lake %26amp; commute to Anderson to work?
I%26#39;d really appreciate any advice %26amp; must see recommendations from any of the three cities. Any other info you might have to offer on the area would also be greatly appreciated. I will be able to find employment in any of the three. I would be working in the medical community. So, I%26#39;d like to live pretty close to the hospitals. Our limit on a home would an absolute high of $500,000. I figure you might need that info to make neighborhood recommendations. I%26#39;ll be looking for an area with good schools or close to a Catholic School.
Thanks so much for any help you can offer. I feel like I%26#39;ll be pressed to see all three areas in a weekend, and any guidance that will make the tour more smooth is priceless in my book.
Planning to Tour Greenville, Spartanburg, %26amp; Anderson
Also, I%26#39;d love to hear your personal thoughts on why one area might be better than the others, etc. Personal opinions definitely matter to me.
Planning to Tour Greenville, Spartanburg, %26amp; Anderson
Forgive the VERY long post but its a HUGE area
I cant give you info on the Spartanburg area since I dont travel there much. Spartanburg is ok but yes Greenville has more to offer- in my opinion, than Anderson or Spartanburg.
The upstate in general is really growing. www.greenvilleonline.com and www.wyff.com are two websites to get a feel of issues in the area.
You can certainly buy yourself an excellent home between the 300,000 to 500,000 range. Actually even below that price point depending on what you are looking for in regards to construction quality and location.
Lots of variety- you can live in a more rural/farm area or closer to more development.
Catholic Schools:
There are 2 main ones that I know of.
1. Saint Mary%26#39;s Downtown: http://www.stmarysgvl.org/
2. Saint Josephs close to 85 and to Mauldin/Simpsonville/Downtown Greenville area: http://www.sjcatholicschool.org/
I have heard positive things about both. Good reputations. I believe there might be some smaller schools but I cant think of them right now.
Downtown:
10-15 years ago Greenville%26#39;s downtown wasn’t safe enough, in my opinion, to walk down the street in daylight. Now, they have done sooo much. The area around ';The West end'; has and is currently undergoing a massive facelift. Downtown is worth a trip- small shops, the falls, art, the new baseball stadium, places to eat... it isn’t overwhelming in size but very nice. Jaded me has actually been very impressed with what the city has done.
Also a small zoo and parks downtown.
You can live actually downtown in a condo but it is very expensive for very little square footage. Houses around downtown are older construction and expensive.
If you are a person who loves the quirks of an old home the area around downtown is a great place. Less likely to find any new construction going on here but there is some.
Area around the hospitals:
Ok so Greenville has 2 major hospital systems. Greenville Hospital System with its five branches (the big daddy of the area) and the smaller Saint Francis which as 2 main campuses. One close to downtown and the woman%26#39;s hospital closer to the Greer side of Greenville and near Haywood Mall and 385.
You can google both hospitals and get info on them.
More rural hospitals exist but those are the main ones for the area.
( ohh there is the other biggie- Spartanburg Regional Medical )
The medical industry is big and growing here. Depending on what you do you should have any problem finding a job.
The Augusta road area:
This where a lot of doctors reside who practice at the main GHS campus . Close to both 385 and 85 the main arteries. This is the older area of town. And not a bad old. Lots of mature oaks and less ';planned neighborhoods'; if you understand what I mean. Property can be very expensive here. Very close to downtown and good schools.
Commuting:
Commuting is basically very easy. I know lots of folks that live in Easley and commute to Greenville or live in Spartanburg commute. You have lots of choices. Find a good realtor to give you the pros and cons of each area. Example, if you live in Greenville city limits you are looking at higher taxes. It all depends on your tastes.
Greenville County is HUGE and has the largest school district in the state. It includes the biggies like Greenville (city), Greer, Simpsonville, and Mauldinto name some main areas.
Easley
In Pickens County- less developed in regards so shopping and such and has a small townish feel
Anderson
Only now starting to expand but not as much as Greenville area. Not much of a medical industry either in Lower quality of life. Not a BAD area but it has parts that are umm country. If you are interested in having a farm its great.
Others:
The area around Clemson is also growing. Near the lakes and mountains. Lots of folks are retiring here. Very pretty. People working for the university seem to either live near Clemson or in Greenville.
Simpsonville/Mauldin area:
A BOOMING area. Lots of NEW home construction. Couple years ago there wasnt much out there. If you lived out there you had to drive 20-35 minutes to get to anything. Now, there is lots of development. Housing is reasonable in that area (but I dont look too often). Still a reasonable drive to Greenville.
Woodruff Road is THE place right now and a stones throw from this area and from Greenville.
Recap of Greenville area
Greenville: more urban/developed
Greer- basically part of Greenville- closer to Spartanburg
Simpsonville- one word Growing, former farm land
Easley outer skirts of Greenville, less urban more rural and in Pickens
Anderson- also growing but more rural than all above.
If you have a more specific question let me know. I will try to help :)
Dressage04
Guess Im pushing Greenville more than anything.
Few more websites
http://www.greatergreenville.com/
http://www.greenvilledrive.com/
Our Lady of the Rosary is another private school but it only goes through 8th grade (I think) .
http://olrgreenville.net/
Wow, dressage! Thank you so very, very much for typing all of that info up for me. You have no idea how appreciative I am. That is exactly the info I needed. Greenville does sound like the best option for my family. I%26#39;m really looking forward to our visit, and now with the information you%26#39;ve provided, I feel like I will know what I should be looking at, rather than just wandering the city aimlessly. A million thanks for all your help!
LOL sorry again about the length and I’m glad it helped. I was taking it easy last night and typed it up during commercials while watching TV. This was a very general posting on the area.
One thing I dislike about this site is I cant edit- but that’s ok. Should have done a little more editing before posting. But yeah… I’m off subject…
For research purposes:
C Dan Joyner (the website is the name no spaces) might be a good starting place for you.
Honestly I don’t know a lot of realtors in the area but I pass one of their offices daily , plus their website is easy to navigate (the reason why I recommend it).
I believe they list houses by subdivision so you can get an idea of the houses in the neighborhoods. If you are going the private school route I would assume you would be less restricted on location- just how willing are you to drive everyday.
Others to note:
Cheryl Teague (her name no spaces.net) has another website for REMAX just another random person I happened to hear in passing
Weichert Realtors (Google the name with the location like Greenville SC and you will get some websites)
The Greenville News has a homes section on Sunday and Friday (I think).
Ohh... we just got a new water park if you have young ones http://www.gcrd.org/ It%26#39;s not Carowinds or anything but it%26#39;s pretty cool nonetheless.
If you are looking for a hotel and need some help let me know :)
Hope you like the area :)
No apologies necessary. Every bit of info has proved to very useful. I checked out the real estate sites you mentioned and I%26#39;ve found them very useful in getting an idea of prices.
As far as a hotel goes, I think we%26#39;ll probably just stay at the Westin downtown when we visit because with our Starwood points we can stay for free. It got decent reviews on here. So I imagine it will work for a weekend scouting trip.
Again, thanks so much for your help dressage! I%26#39;m seriously looking forward to our visit. I%26#39;ve liked everything I%26#39;ve seen about Greenville. I%26#39;d say there%26#39;s a strong possibility we%26#39;ll be living there next year, but I%26#39;ll know with more certainty after we visit in person. You%26#39;ve been incredibly helpful. I can%26#39;t thank you enough!
Dressage hit the nail right on the head. I agree. I live in williamston, a small town right between anderson and greenville. Greenville does have more going on. and anderson does have more of a small town feel. Plenty of people live in anderson and work in greenville.
Greenville hospital is more of a teaching hospital than anderson.
Anderson is growing but in greenville something is going on all of the time with festivals and the theatre and the sports if you are into that.
My pleasure ksutie76. I hope you like the area and if not that%26#39;s ok too :) Definitely try to hit a couple different areas… they can vary a lot. There are lots of little towns outside of Greenville too. I think there should be something you like. Greenville isn’t small but it%26#39;s not Atlanta either (but hey you live close by).
The Westin Poinsett is a good location and since you are using points it should work out fine. Easy walk to everything downtown. Plus it%26#39;s easy to hit 385 to 85 for traveling by car. Or to Highway 123 to get to Easley.
I%26#39;ve heard fairly good reviews about staying at the Poinsett. It%26#39;s a some what newly restored historical landmark in Greenville- so it has a smaller lobby and rooms (from what I hear) than a modern hotel and- I think that is what throws people. Personally, I think they did a wonderful job on the restoration and restoring it to its former beauty. Soooo glad they saved it.
Happy neighborhood shopping!!
One other thing....
I%26#39;m sure you have a list of neighbrohoods to see in G%26#39;ville. However with that said I wanted to mention a few that might be worth visiting and/or researching. These are well established ones.
Near Downtown:
The homes off of McDaniel Ave
Area around Greenville Country Club (located off of Augusta Road going away from Downtown)
Chanticleer is an unmarked neighborhood (meaning no sign) directly across from the GHS and off of West Faris Rd- look for Michaux Drive. Very close to downtown.
Others Picks in Greenville
Spaulding Farms
Thornblade
Sugar Creek or Sugar Mills
Riverwalk
Any of The Cliffs communities (outside of Greenville area towards mountians)
Holly Tree
Holly Trace
Less established
Montebello
Stonehaven
Just to name a few.... lots more too many to add :)
Dressage, Thanks so much for the list of neighborhoods. I%26#39;ll definitely come back on after our visit %26amp; share my thoughts/reviews. I have a really positive feeling about Greenville.
Take care!
No comments:
Post a Comment