Definitely not a good place to put down roots.
-
2/14/2021
This may have been a nice place to settle down back in its prime (when the mills were still operating), but these days life in Clinton (and Laurens County in general) is absolutely dismal. The town is full of vacant old buildings that are falling down because there's no call for community revitalization. There's trash on every street because nobody cares enough to clean it up. Drugs and alcohol have taken over and as a result, crime is steadily rising. As for as shopping for daily needs, if you can't find it at Walmart or Ingles grocery store you'll be driving at least 35 minutes - 1 hour into the next county. We've even had to drive out of town just to do our grocery shopping... The grocery stores here are substandard, often leaving expired products on the shelves and long-past-ripe fruits and veggies out for sale. Jobs are scarce, especially if your skills are in an office setting or above a medium experience level. Unemployment here may be down, but it's only because the town's numbers are being propped up by partial employment in low income jobs.
City/County Councils and leadership are absolutely incompetent. For example: Instead of working to revitalize the run down town square area and draw more businesses (revenue) in, they're sinking millions of dollars into a recreation area with the intent of bringing in little league championship games. This is their idea of growth. For dining, you can choose from a list of fast food places (usually 2 or 3 of each) scattered around town, but no decent options for a meal that isn't soaked in grease and warmed under a heat lamp for hours.
The population in the area is slowly but steadily decreasing because the only people that live here are the ones that settled because "it's been good enough for my parents." The younger generations are moving out due to a lack of jobs and amenities, so the town is literally aging itself out of existence.
If you're looking to settle down in a quaint little town in upstate SC, do yourself a favor... Skip past Laurens and Clinton.
Milo | Clinton, SC