Greenville, South Carolina
SperlingViews

Anderson is better - 6/26/2008

Lived in Anderson for 2 years and loved everything about it. Greenville is great to visit and see the sites.[more...]

smoking - 6/18/2008

Is public smoking (restaurants etc.) allowed in Greenville/ South Carolina?[more...]

looking to relocate - 5/29/2008

hi,just a question for anyone who knows greenville....my husband and i want to relocate and think greenville sounds nice,he does heating and air for a living and would be working for himself as an independant contractor,we are wandering if our buisness will be successful in greenville and neighboring places?(he does small repairs to large jobs). thanks alot![more...]

Greenville SC makes #4 in Top 10 Places to relocat - 5/26/2008

As a Greenville native, I can't think of a better place to live than Greenville, SC. Our city is perfectly located between the mountains and the ocean - just a short drive to each. Our downtown is vibrant and full of shops and amazing restaurants; or enjoys Reedy River Falls in the heart of downtown a spectacular water fall that allows for a great relaxing area for all ages. If baseball is your game, check out the Greenville Drive baseball stadium or stroll on a tour of Mice-On-Main: a great walking trail experience for a new comer to the area. If you enjoy art, visit our First Monday's art event on the first Monday of the month, view several open galleries to see our local artist while enjoying a nice glass of wine. If you just love the outdoors, our weather is truly a four season event that will cause you to settle down and never want to leave. Take one visit to our lovely city and you will call it home.[more...]

Looking to Relocate - 4/6/2008

My family and I are considering the Greenville, Simpsonville and/or surrounding areas to relocate to. We've made a few trips there to visit the areas and to check out housing. We've checked into the latest Sparling's Best Places to get some additional information on the Economy, to Cost Of Living and now I am questioning myself. The Greenville area seems like a great place with lots of things to do. We loved the Paris Mountain area and are looking for a spacious home on a large home site, with "trees" or with some property. We seem to be having a bit of difficulty finding even something close to what we would like with knowing very little about the area. My husband's job allows him to live anywhere, so employment for him is not a concern. Since I am a Realtor/Broker in another state, I would be looking to join a firm within the area. We are a copule in our late 30's and early 40's, with one child graduating high school, one still in high school and another that is only 3 years of age. Any feedback about Greenville and it's surrounding areas, the economy, real estate, schools, day care providers, etc. would be appreciated.[more...]

Hard to beat Greenville! - 1/7/2008

I have literally lived all over the world. I was born in Florida but got SICK of the 5 H's...Humidity, Heat, Hurricanes & the Hellish Highways. Besides, its takes you 3 hours to make what would normally be a 20 minute trip. Try to find a lake to fish on, a piece of land to hunt - forget it, its not going to happen. Secondly, try to buy a house for less than 200K? Maybe a plywood shack at the dump might be less than 100K - but I'm not sure! My wife and I moved here after the 2004 Hurricane season when 3 hurricanes criss crossed over us. We have found that this area is Heaven! It does get hot, and it does get cold...but not that long for either of them. The average humidity here in the upstate is about 48% - compared to a NORMAL daily humidity of 88% in Florida (remember, its tropical!). It doesnt snow that often, maybe an ice storm once in a while. All in all, no many places can match the beauty of this area. The best decision I've ever made! [more...]

Greenville, SC - 1/6/2008

To Elizabeth in NY, My husband and I recently retired and will be relocating from Michigan. Can't wait to leave! After vacationing in Florida for many years and being so disappointed by the present situation down there, we have been considering other southern places. After many visits to Athens, Charleston, Raleigh, Charlotte, Ashville & a few others, Greenville keeps coming back to mind. The lack of real traffic and wonderful downtown area feels like a good fit. Being close to the mountains & ocean is great. On the down side, I hear the air quality isn't the best, don't know about health care since there isn't a major university and may lack in music & art not to mention the drive to a major airport. Charleston is great if you can stand the humidity and Raleigh definitely superior but cooler winters and more expensive. I have family ties in NC otherwise I'd probably go to San Antonio since I can't afford the west. Any and all suggestions are welcomed! Also, I have to believe Greenville is good for us gardeners.[more...]

Relocating to Greenville, SC - 12/20/2007

I am a transplant from the Washington DC metrolopitan area. Greenville is a good place to live in terms of very affordable housing, low traffic, cost of living et., but I do not recommend moving here unless you have a job in hand. I had hoped to bring my experience and a high level of skills and education to work a few years in an average job. My expectation that my education and experience will be valued in a growing city based on advertised jobs proved wrong. This state is very limited in job opportunities. Most of the jobs are contracts that have fixed hourly rates without consideration for qualifications or experience. Although research based on advertised jobs is something to go by -- in reality, to get a response to a job application is rare. I have been looking for an average decent administrative job far below the level of my education and experience and cannot find anything in almost two years. Even a job paying $10 per hour is hard to come by. I have given up trying to look for something that values education and experience in the Nation's capital. If looking for employment, don't choose this state. Greenville being one of the better cities don't have jobs for educated people. Only Clemson graduates or networking with Carolinians already in employment works here. Most of the jobs are in the manufacturing industry and managers are promoted from within organizations and not always educated in good management practises was my experience in a few temporary assignments. Even temp work is hard to come by. Employers call for two and three interviews for temp contracts and set you up before getting funds approved and waste employee time only to be told that they didn't get funding. The employment aspect is very frustrating. Some of this shows very quickly and it is refreshing to meet managers who have been well trained. As a retirement city, it is perfect but for someone hoping to find any kind of employment for a knowledge worker, forget this place. Stay in the north, earn well and relocate to Greenville for retirement. I miss the professionalism in the area I worked in and the lack of appreciation for education and experience was a rude shock for me. Of course age could also be a factor but it is to be expected that experience means years added to your work history.[more...]

Just some advise from a transplant - 10/18/2007

For those of you who are thinking of relocation to Greenville, SC. It's tough out here, like some else posted, if recruiters or employers see that you did NOT graduate from Clemson, that you will not be considered for a good job. I relocated here from S. Florida and that's what me and my husband have gone through for the past 1 1/2.[more...]

Greenville is a Great Place to Live! - 10/9/2007

I totally agree with Jonathan from Easley. I lived in Greenville for several years and absolutely loved my experience there. We relocated to NC for an educational opportunity, but now that that's over, we will certainly move back to Greenville if possible. Greenville is a great place to live and not at all "small-town". The population listing is deceptive because that only represents the city population, whereas most people live in the county limits, not the city limits. The downtown area is very small in size, but is packed with fantastic restaurants (everything from pizza joints to fine dining), shops and other businesses. There are lots of nice, yet affordable neighborhoods throughout the city, and the whole area is just beautiful. And the city is situated in a great location, close to Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC, as well as the beautiful western NC mountains. And the coast is only 3-4 hours away! If you enjoy outdoor activities, there is plenty to do and the weather is relatively nice all year round. The people are very nice and friendly, and there is a lot of diversity due to the international businesses that have chosen the Greenville/Spartanburg area as a base of operations. Greenville is an especially nice city for retirement because of its low cost of living and wide variety of recreation and entertainment options. Its a great place to live and I would highly recommend it to anyone![more...]

Areas to live that are safe - 8/4/2007

I am moving from Las Vegas and thinking about Greenville. I miss architectre, greenery and beauty. Would I like Greenville? I'm a bit of a City girl - not into rural or country.[more...]

Question on crime - 7/20/2007

I am reading such glowing reviews about Greenville, then I look at the crime index from this website and it is a 7 which is fairly high! For those of you who have written good reviews about this city; what is your feeling about this? Are you experiencing a great deal of crime or is it isolated to just a certain area, or what?[more...]

Greenville, SC is a good city if you have children - 7/20/2007

Greenville, SC is overall, a very nice city to live in. It is a great place it you choose to raise your family in a nice, safe place. It's a pretty place, although there isn't a lot to do unless you have children, and associate with others who have children. Atlanta is two hours away, Charlotte, NC is two hours away, and the closest beach is about 4 hours away. So, if you want to drive a few hours you can have some fun. But, you will have to drive to go anywhere that really has anything interesting to offer. On the reverse side, although Greenville has come a long way as far as diversity goes, it still has a long way to go. Greenville is in the middle of the "Bible Belt", thus the city government tends to have a heavy hand in trying to keep out events, concerts, establishments that is doesn't feel is 'christian' in nature. Besides, Greenville, SC "IS" home of Bob Jones University. Need i say more?[more...]

Overall a good city to live in IF you have childre - 7/20/2007

Greenville, SC is overall, a very nice city to live in. It is a great place it you choose to raise your family in a nice, safe place. It's a pretty place, although there isn't a lot to do unless you have children, and associate with others who have children. Atlanta is two hours away, Charlotte, NC is two hours away, and the closest beach is about 4 hours away. So, if you want to drive a few hours you can have some fun. But, you will have to drive to go anywhere that really has anything interesting to offer. On the reverse side, although Greenville has come a long way as far as diversity goes, it still has a long way to go. Greenville is in the middle of the "Bible Belt", thus the city government tends to have a heavy hand in trying to keep out events, concerts, establishments that is doesn't feel is 'christian' in nature. Besides, Greenville, SC "IS" home of Bob Jones University. Need i say more?[more...]

Why I choose to move to Greenville - 6/29/2007

Throughout my life I moved around a lot, and I do mean a lot. I've lived in GA, KY, PA, TX, OK, FL, and now SC. On top of that my parents lived in TN, LA, MS, and AR. Greenville has been a town that has brought the family back together. What brought us all here? It should be asked why did it take us so long to get here. I worked in outside sales in Atlanta, and the daily grind of Atlanta traffic was beginning to show it's ware on me. I knew that I wanted to have hair into my 30s, and that wasn't looking like an option the way that things were going. I began to reevaluate what I wanted in the future, and where I had previously lived where I was fond of. I kept coming back to Lexington, KY. The thing is, I hate the cold, and I did not want to miss out on my alma mater's football games. I also wanted to be centralized to be able to do everything from going to the lake, the beach, and the mountains. As you can tell from what I previously wrote, traffic was another concern of mine. I longed for the days when I didn't spend half as much time getting to and from work as I did actually working. My search began, and having had narrowed it down to three cities (Greenville, Greensboro, and Chattanooga) I spent some time visiting each. For me the choice became very clear very fast. Greenville had access to all of the recreational places that I enjoyed, a family feel, a bustling downtown (unlike many other communities founded on textiles it has reinvented itself), and virtually no traffic. It hit the nail on the head. Now I can't say that work won't ever take me away from here, but I do know that deciding on moving here has proven to be one of the best choices that I have made in my life.[more...]

MI to Greenville, SC - An Epidemic? - 6/8/2007

There appears to be a major population shift from Michigan to South Carolina, and why not? Michigan offers unemployment, limited opportunities for professionals, high cost of living, income and property taxes that will tax the miserable state out of existance, snow and Detroit. Ok, maybe a bit of exageration about the taxes, but the point is Michigan has almost nothing positive to offer and South Carolina offers much in the way of quality of life. The real problem could be how the current SC populaton deals with the rather large influx of us Yankees? I would only suggest we come together based on our differences - little as they are. None the less and like it or not, a culture change appears to be under way in the Carolinas, specifically the great state of South Carolina. Being empty nesters (praise God), my wife, sister and brother-in-law are making plans to relocate from Michigan to the Greenville, SC area. To date, there are two "absolutes" that must happen before the move. 1) Must have secured reasonable employment. 2) Must have sold our homes in Michigan. Based on current economic conditions in MI, and my limited research, absolute number two could be a bigger hurdle to over come than number one. Any and all advice and/or suggestions are most welcome. For example, not being able to spend a great deal of time in Greenville, what are some things I should be aware of - good and bad? What are some reasonable expectations in terms of employment, housing, and life in general? Please contact me at daveg2u@sbcglobal.net. Thank You.[more...]

For Lynne_7 - 5/24/2007

Hi! I am also from Michigan and am considering a move. I love everything I have read about Greenville. I was hoping you could give me a comparison of summer humidity, cost of living, etc. between MI and SC. I would really appreciate it. Jennifer ~ michigansupermom@yahoo.com[more...]

5/19/07 - 5/19/2007

Greenville feels like home, though we just moeved here from FL last July! WE have NOT found discrimination, but freindly people everywhere. We live on the East side and it's a great place...LOVE our "patio home" and neighbors. Climaate, shopping, cost of living, services avaliable are all here not to mention the GREAT down town area! What's not to love?? We plan to stay for good and are thrilled to be here!! Best choice of a move we've ever made. We lived in SE Michigan for 27 yrs: done w/snow/cold! You have 4 seasons here, but so mild, it's great! NO REGRETS![more...]

Relocating to SOUTH CAROLINA - 5/15/2007

Hello All!!! My husband and I are considering a move to Greenville in the late summer/early fall. We have visited Greenville in the past and loved the atmosphere. We found some apartments that we really liked but are still weighing our options. We are looking for any suggestions you might have have regarding good areas to live in. (low crime, etc) Also if you have any recommendations on Apartment Complexes we would love to hear those as well. We are late 20somethings who would be relocating with 2 medium to large size dogs....any good places for the dogs to play? Thanks for your help! [more...]

Retirement Living - 5/14/2007

My husband & I live in upstate NY and have had it with snow! We are looking to move south and Greenville sounds intriguing. Any info about retirement living would be greatly appreciated. Thanks[more...]