Hello,

Looking for some advice here.
Wife and I will be in the Greenville area for a small vacation at the end of this month and to do a little recon.
We are looking for a conservative area as we always vote red. CT is a clown show. (I moved here from Central Europe long time ago, so technically not a Yankee? ).
Just by looking at Google Maps, I narrowed things down to the following areas: Walhalla, Laurens, Cashvile, Woodruff. Google Maps won't show me everything though.
So far, it sounds like North-Western part of the state seems pretty good, but again we have never been there so I will take your advice instead.
I work in IT, but change of career is always a possibility of course. Living within commuting distance of 40-45 miles from Greenville would probably be best bet, since this appears to be the largest city in the area.
The goal is to have a property out in the country, more space, privacy and so I can shoot in my backyard.
What's there to do in Greenville?
What towns should we check out?
What places do you recommend we see while on vacation?

I am going to create identical thread in the Tennessee Hometown. Basically we are looking between NW South Carolina and NE Tennessee.

Thanks

We're full.  Oh wait, noice avatar pic!  C'mon down.  

Sorry.  Don't know much about Greenville.

Your selections are good. Add Belton, Seneca. Note that Walhalla, Seneca get a a LOT of traffic on football weekends (Clemson Univ).

My best recommendation is Pickens.

The one thing I will say about Upstate SC is that there are a TON of HOAs and some are just absurd.  When we were looking here we thought we wanted to be near Woodruff RD and have since learned that is a horrible idea.  Sure there are lots of shopping options, but that congests the area horrible and LIVING near that would make every day suck.

The real question is what is the farthest distance you want to travel to get to where you need to go?  We had once particular location we have to go 5 days a week.  We set 30 minutes of driving from that point and found a home inside that circle.

All the towns mentioned are good choices.  Your budget and how much land and terrain type you actually want will have some say over your choices.  We searched for 9 months before we found the new place we got and we already had roots in Greenville.  We took the time to be picky.  The HOA issue and city limits are 2 factors that will hinder certain uses of your property, such as chickens.  I am also a recent escapee from CT stalag so if you want to talk message me your cell.

Oh, one more bit of advice, plan wherever you end up to not require I-85.  It sucks bad.  Traffic is horrible and congested frequently on there.  I've been told it is because the travel between Atlanta and Charlotte.  Either way, work to avoid it if possible.

Just remember, CT conservative and SC conservative are way different things.

In SC, CT conservatives are referred to as 'Pinko Democrats'.

Thanks for all the replies.

Definitely don't want to live in HOA. I don't like when others tell me what to do.

I don't mind driving 30-40 minutes to places. Realistically, I would need to be within 45 mile distance from Greenville / Spartanburg as this is where I would most likely be able to find IT job. Wife does Healthcare stuff, so hospital, nursing home, doctors office within reasonable distance would be good for her employment.

Our budget is about $250k, maybe $300k, but we are not planning to move until next year. I would expect with interest rates increasing, house prices will go down by then. We are in very early 30's and no kids.

Thanks for the heads up about I-85, I will do my best to avoid it. Wife and I visited Myrtle Beach last year around Memorial Day, and while beach was fun, she now assumes all of South Carolina has traffic like that lol. I need to prove her wrong as we didn't venture away from the beach last year, but that's the assumption she made.

I moved here from Central Europe (Poland), many years ago. Only reason I'm living in CT is because my extended family has been in CT since the 70's. Definitely not a Pinko Democrat haha . I will fit right in.

What are the places we should see while in Greenville area as this is also going to be our vacation? Hiking areas, museums, good entertainment places, etc...

Even tho I don't know much about Greenville, I do know Woodruff Rd sucks ass.  Avoid.  I'd drive to Summerville SC for a "real" PSA store experience vs. ever visiting the PSA store on Woodruff ever again any day of the week.  PSA = Palmetto State Armory, not prostate-related.  

My home base is an abandoned volcano lair outside of Columbia in the Greater Irmo-Chapin Metroplex.  I drove to ATL for work for several years.  Greenville and I-85 traffic sucks so bad that I'd GTFO I-85 at SC-8 southwest of Greenville, head east thru the Pelzers, and rejoin I-385 at Fountain Inn.

My friend lives in Mauldin.  Which is just outside.   But much of that area is pretty nice.  He is a lefty though.  The politics there go both ways. There also is a PSA in Greenville.


downtown greenville is small.  There is a minor league or college baseball stadium. A bunch of bars and restaurants. A crap ton of walking parks. you are close to the mountains as well.

Just be a hipster and move to Travelers Rest.

There’s more hiking and trout fishing in the Greenville/Oconee/Pickens area than a post can detail.

You might also check out the Landrum or Pauline areas. Pretty rural, and maybe a little cooler. Also Travelers Rest

How is the availability of internet connection outside of Greenville, for example in Pickens?
Cable internet with good speeds available or satellite only?

Some of you mentioned traffic issues on Woodruff Rd. Do you recommend to avoid it all together?
I read somewhere else online about people saying it's better to visit one side of Greenville vs. the other side due to traffic. Were they referring to Woodruff Rd or is there something else I need to know?

It sounds like the vacation plan will be to get Airbnb house for a few days in or near Pickens, go to Easley for shopping, check out Greenville, etc...

Stay off Woodruff RD. and I 85. I 385 not too bad. Start checking house prices - they are elevated over the past several years.

I got stuck on Woodruff rd one day trying to pick up a U Haul truck when I was moving Mom out of Simpsonville.  Damn.  Just damn. It was bad.

Downtown Greer is really nice. Lots of nice restaurants and small shops.

Greer is nice.  Their city park is pretty enjoyable.  Not sure about what that is going to be like with the hotels going up next to it, but hopefully it will just become better.

The only good thing about Woodruff Rd is there is a PSA store on it. :D

Woodruff Rd is the Rt. 146, right?

Definitely want to visit PSA and also show my wife all the stores around there. We will go there during the day when hopefully people are at work, so less traffic.

We will check out park in Greer as well.

Woodruff road can be bad, but once you learn the ways around it (parallell parkway/verdae) its not too bad.  And im on it twice a day normally.  

When the fam and I go somewhere on woodruff during the weekend, we plan shopping first thing in the AM.  We leave by 11 or 12 where its just ramping up.  Yes if you go at 4pm on a weekend, your going to be doing some sitting.  

I moved up from the charleston area 8 years ago and you couldnt pay me to go back.  I live in the Lyman/greer area and like it. Would like to be out some more-but going to hang tight on that for a bit.

It's been almost a month since our trip.

We hit Myrtle Beach for couple of days to hangout at the beach.

Then we drove to Travelers Rest and stayed at Airbnb for a few days to get a feel of the area. On the way there, we took longer route from Myrtle Beach, drove through downtown Columbia and Lexington. Fancy dam you got there on Rt. 6 .

We went through Laurens, Woodruff, Simpsonville, part of Greenville and finally made it to Travelers Rest. Afternoon traffic in Greenville area was not bad at all, but maybe we are just used to worse traffic up north.
During our few days out there, we went to Greenville, walked around downtown, falls, etc... It was definitely nice. We hit Woodruff Rd and stopped at Cabelas and PSA so I could drool at display cases .
Drove up the Caesars Head mountain, then we went to Pickens, Easley and Anderson.
We also went to Greer, Spartanburg, Inman and Landrum. Pretty much everyday was spent driving to places.
Once our Airbnb stay was over, we went for a couple of days to Tennessee and stayed outside of Knoxville. Safe to say we liked Tennessee as much as South Carolina. It's going to be tough choice.

Towns we liked:
Easley
Pickens
Spartanburg
Inman
Landrum
Travelers Rest

Each town we liked is within good commute distance to Greenville or Spartanburg.

Drivers in SC are so calm, I love it.

The amount of residential development is scary though. It's expected in Greenville suburbs, but we have seen plenty of HOA neighborhoods being built in rural areas as well .
I would be worried to buy a property outside of town limits, only to get HOA neighborhood built next door.

Thanks for visiting and spending your vacation dollars.

Tennessee welcomes you.

(Actually, fkit.  Try to open a small business in Columbia/Lexington.  Avoid the rape.  I think you'll do better elsewhere.)

I hope you enjoy humidity. Because if there is one thing SC has plenty of is humidity. And dinosaurs that live in the water.

Small Eastern/Central European restaurant serving pierogi's, pyzy and legit Polish kielbasa would be a local hit .

That's okay. I like dinosaurs.

i live in Boiling Springs, inman is on one side and Spartanburg is on the other.
Landrum and Campobello are close
Spartanburg proper has some amazing places, but some really bad ones.
You cant really go wrong in the upstate, Travelers Rest is also VERY nice...and its huge
I dont regret moving here one bit...it really is nice here ( i am from NW NJ)

we have stores called european markets...they have these , legit too

Does it come with hush puppies and BBQ sauce?  Do I get fries with 'dat?  Is there a buffet?  What nights would Bud Light be on special?  Y'all serve it teppanyaki or hibachi style with a flaming volcano?

We just moved to Easley.  Military family that never really had a "home" but this place is definitely it.  If you do decide to settle down here send me a message and we can link up and go shooting or something.

$250-300k and Landrum isn’t a good plan.  We’ve become the land of white board and batton custom builds.  
Also it’s not as rural anymore.    Kinda sucks since its where I live.  

Pauline isn’t a bad option nor is Pickens county

1/8th acre 1300sq in Lyman is around $250k Inman about the same just as a reference from some of my price sheets.

Just a FYI if there is a sign at the front of the entrance it has a HOA.   If there is more than one home under construction by the same builder it has a HOA.
  If you don’t want a HOA then 75-80% of your options disappear 98% if you want new construction.   This isn’t because builders love HOAs but it’s just the reality of “ planned communities”  

  I work in development and construction.
Upstate SC is a hot destination area to move and it’s only going to get crazier.  It is a great place to live just don’t expect any of it to look the same as the years pass by.
   If your looking for a great area that’s one thing. If you are looking for it to stay slow paced and rural not so much.

    I hate to read my own words but I admit I don’t think I’m going to stick around it’s gotten to big for me.