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Thinking of Moving Here!
Ok SC Nesties! The hubs and I live in Chicago and just can't take the freezing cold anymore! It's time for these birds to fly south!...but where?
We're considering Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida... So I need your help!
Why do you love where you live? What city do you live in?
I
am 24 and he is 26, we're looking to move a year from now and have a
great plan in place to save some money so we can buy a house soon after
we get there. We have no kids, and while we do want that eventually,
we're not in a huge hurry - house comes first for us.
We've both agreed that Chicago may be a little *too* big for our
tastes (driving an hour just to have dinner with "local" friends), but
we are not tiny town people. We need a place that has a fairly robust
"downtown" but the benefits of suburbia as well preferably within a
quick drive of each other.
Do you have a farmer's market or a Whole Foods market near you (I love to cook!). Do you know anything about the automotive scene down there? (We met through drag racing). I would love to hear your pro's and con's about where you live.
Thanks so much for your help! I look forward to learning more about your state and towns!
Re: Thinking of Moving Here!
Hello! I am from MI and recently moved to SC this past Fall. I absolutely LOVE it here! I honestly never imagined moving from Grand Rapids because I was so happy there, but my S/O got a great job down here and we're ready to settle down and this is where we ended up. I went home for Christmas and was actually excited to return here afterwards (it was nice to see everyone and have a white Christmas) but the day we flew back, it was sunny and 50 degrees...you really can't beat that!
We live in Lexington, which is a suburb of Columbia. My BFF lives in Chi-town and I have spent a TON of time there, so I'm very familiar with where you're coming from. I did a lot of research before we relocated to find out where we wanted to live; unfortunately it's a little further for BF to drive to work but it's a nicer area, which is what we wanted and most of his colleagues commute in as well. Lexington is so clean and it's very conveniently located to everything. We're 10-15 min. from downtown Columbia, which reminds me a lot of Grand Rapids...there is great nightlife, cultural activities, great restaurants, etc. There is a lot of character downtown and it really caters to all types of people!
Lexington, like I said, is very clean and convenient. We're close to all of the highways, 15 minutes from Harbison (great shopping and restaurants), about 90 minutes from Charlotte, NC (even better shopping/nightlife/restaurants), 90 minutes from Charleston (the beach), a few hours from Atlanta and if you go further north into NC, you're close to the mountains! There is quite a bit in Lexington as well....shopping, restaurants, golf courses, horse farms/riding stables, parks, etc. but it's just scaled down quite a bit. There is no mall, but again, 10-15 minutes away, there are.
We don't have kids either (yet) but Lexington has the best schools in the area (actually state too). We are renting currently because we wanted to become more acclimated with the area and really make sure we like it here before buying. We are planning to buy in the next year or so but are now taking the time to find the neighborhoods we'd like to be in.
This board isn't very active so you may not get a ton of response, but feel free to ask me anything...I'm still new, but learning my way around and will help answer any questions you may have! Feel free to contact me (I am mostly on the WC and D&R boards), PM me or email me at dlgates81@gmail.com.
Sorry, I forgot to answer some of your other questions!
Farmer's markets...not sure, I'm hoping to find one this Spring! There is a whole foods store (actually right around the corner from us) called 14 Carrot; it has a good selection of things to choose from like other Whole Foods.
Automotive....I know that there are a few Nascar tracks close by. I'm not sure about actual drag racing. That may be something you'd have to research. Actually, Charlotte Motor Speedway has drag racing and that's about 90 minutes north of here. We go to Charlotte quite a bit...actually, I'm going tomorrow to go to Tiffany's! Darlington has a track, which is about 90 minutes from here also. Talladega is about 4 hours from here.
I gave you a list of Pro's (so far for us) of the area we're in. As for Cons....the bugs! That's one thing I am starting to get used to. They have bugs here (Palmetto Bugs) that look like cockroaches and they're a common nuisance in most homes! We have little traps/repellents around the house and haven't had any problems since, but it's just not something I ever saw in MI! People laugh at me down here when I complain about them!
I don't like the neighborhood we're currently in, but we're renting, so it's not a big deal! It's just not what I'm used to....no one really talks to you when you're out walking the dog, etc. It doesn't really bother me, but I was hoping to meet some people just being new!
The one thing that may or may not affect you is church. Everyone down here is primarily baptist and I wasn't raised that way. It's not too far off from my religion (Lutheran) but it's been an adjustment getting used to some of their practices. It's not a super big deal, but for me, it has taken some time and I still haven't come to like some aspects of it.
A lot of people have said that the heat is ridiculous here, but I haven't experienced that yet. The seasons are a lot like the Midwest...we have a beautiful Fall (just a little later than up there) and it gets cold in the Winter! It snowed this past weekend and we had an ice storm, but it's gone now (unlike up there). Typically, it averages about 40 degrees in the Winter, but it's been colder here and we've even had some 20 degree days! Again, better than up there and within a couple of days, it'll be back up to 50 degrees!
So far, I haven't really found any cons that make me dislike this place. I actually had to think really hard about them, which is a good thing!
I'm originally from Pittsburgh, PA and moved here 2 years ago. I live in Spartanbrug, SC but from your desciption, I'd say you'd like Greenville. If you live on the outskirts (like Simpsonville), houses are lower cost bc it's not a city and they are BEAUTIFUL!! Also, Greenville has a decent downtown scene and a great park.
Charlotte is only 1.5 hours north of you too, so when you do want the big city, it's easy to get to. Plus, there's Atlanta that's about 3.5 hours and Asheville which is an hour.
It's 'The South', so racing here is big, but I'm not into it so I don't know of any places around here.
And there are Farmer's Markets every Saturday during the summer in Greenville and Spartanburg. Also, there's a Fresh Market (grocery store) with lots of organic stuff. And there are lots of farms around here that sell fresh fruit.
HTH =D
*whispers* It only takes me 2 hours from Greenville.
I love Greenville! I moved here from Fairfax, VA and have not missed it once! There is a whole foods on Woodruff Road in Greenville, and there is a farmers market downtown on the weekends.
You should just take a week and come down and visit all different areas that you may be interested in. If Greenville is too small, you may really love Charlotte, NC.
I'm pretty new to this area, so I can't give you a whole lot of info yet! My DH and I moved here from Boston this past summer (we're coming up on 7 months here!) We moved here because he's getting his PhD at Clemson and we bought a house out by Clemson. The city that we live in is small and not the most exciting place--but I always lived in the city, so I'm used to something much bigger and more diverse! Where we live is very similar to where my DH grew up, so he likes it a lot.
While we live out in the boonies, I work in Greenville. I really, really like Greenville (which is a surprise for me!). The downtown area is great with fantastic restaurants, and people are really much more friendly (for the most part) than they generally are in northern cities. You can not beat the weather too...I could definitely get used to this weather!
The cons for me are that you have to drive just about everywhere. I guess this is more common in the South, but I am used to walking everywhere. You just don't do that here...even my dry cleaner has a drive through. I don't think I ever went through a drive through in Boston! The other con is our location--there aren't many jobs closer to where we live, so I commute an hour each way every day. It's tiring...but on the flip side, we have a great house that I love, and a good amount of land for our dogs. It's definitely a trade off but I am happy with it for now.
On the flipside, if you like to hike or just be outdoors, Upstate SC is beautiful for that. My house is about 90 minutes from Atlanta, so it's easy enough to get there if I need to escape to a big city. I'm also about 2.5 hours from Charlotte.
There is a Whole Foods in Greenville. I've not found any farmer's markets (yet) but I'm sure they're out there. I'm looking forward to trying the local produce once it warms up.
Anyway...I hope that helps! I don't know anything about racing, but it's probably out there
It's a different lifestyle than when I lived in boston, but it's growing on me.
We live in Greenville and love it. It's big enough where it has lots to do, but not so big that it's overwhelming. We don't have kids yet, but the schools are pretty good (some are awesome, and some aren't, just depends on the area). Downtown Greenville has great shopping and restaurants. We have a farmer's market, Earth Fare, and Whole Foods. There's a lot of different churches. Many people are Baptist, but we're Episcopalian and have found a great church to go to. For racing, Charlotte is about 2 hours away. Atlanta is about 2 hours away as well if you need to be near a bigger city. I love how we're a few hours away from the beach, and even closer to the mountains. DH and I love to go hiking on the weekends, and there are some great places here. I really do love it here, and good luck with your decision!
Married 05.24.08
Missed m/c discovered 07.25.12 at 8w5d- Always loving our Peanut
BFP #2 EDD 06.08.13
"For this child we prayed..." (1 Samuel 27)
So excited to meet Amelia Catherine!
We also are transplants to Greenville. I am originally from Ohio, and my husband is originally from Memphis. I've lived in several different types of places (a small and large city in the Midwest, the Northeast, a larger city in the South, and now here), so I have a little bit of a range of expriences to go by, I guess. Anyways, my husband and I both really like Greenville and think that it has a lot to offer. The downtown is great, and has a lot of wonderful restaurants that are really unique, as well as some cute shops. They also have a farmer's market downtown during the spring, summer, and early fall, which is pretty decent. There is a Whole Foods as well.
We also like to do some of the outdoorsy things, so it is really nice to be close to the mountains, and to have the nice weather year-round. We have found a lot of people that run or do triathalons outdoors as well, which I think is helped by the weather.
One of the best things about the area for us that may just be specific to our experience is that we have found so many people, especially our neighbors, that have reached out to us, and have really welcomed us.
I think someone else mentioned religion, and that has been a bit of a change for us. This is the first place that I have ever lived where Catholics have been in such a minority. It is so strange to me! Obviously, we are Catholic, so that matters to us, but if you aren't, you probably wouldn't notice. Also, the driving thing is a factor for me as well, as I have to drive an hour to and from work. I work in a really rural area, though, so living there was really not an option for me.
All in all, this is a great place to live, and I could honestly see ourselves living here for a long time. There are times when I do want to move closer to our families, and sometimes would like to live in a larger city, but living here has been great, and I could absolutely raise a family here.
There is no way in hell we would have moved to FL. GA is nice, but it seems like Atlanta is really the only "THE" place to be. Savannah is pretty, but very small and I can't imagine the job market is great there. I also saw a lot more homeless people in Savannah than in Charleston.
We just moved here this year and like it so far. Not sure it is "home" but we're happy for the time being.
Charleston is pretty small town- it's got 300k people or so, but we are always running into someone we know everywhere we go. It has a small town feel and is spread out without taking long to get to downtown.
Yes, we have farmer's markets and WF.
Pros- friendly people, affordable housing for what you get (we're here from Boston so we would get a lot more square footage for the amount we'd pay for property up there), great restaurants, plenty of history, lots of hospitals.
Cons- humidity, there can be traffic and people here don't drive like they do in the north, segregation (Boston is pretty bad, IMO, but Chas is comparable, if not a bit worse), not a ton of great malls or shopping.
Also check the taxes- income taxes in SC are a bit higher than in MA and the property taxes are exactly the same, which we found pretty surprising.
We just moved here from NJ, right outside Philly but we are both originally from Mass. Property taxes compared to NJ are much lower but income taxes are on everything down here including clothes (in MA and NJ there are no taxes on clothes so that took some getting used to). You can get more for your money down here on houses but it depends on what you want. If you want a "southern style house" they can be pretty expensive. We live in Mt Pleasant which is a suburb of Charleston. We have a Whole Foods and a great Farmer's Market in Mt P and in downtown in the Spring and runs until Dec. There are great restaurants and plenty of bars the shopping is okay. There is great expensive shops and the cheap shopping but nothing really in the middle. There is no Nordies/Macys/Anthro/Sephora/Forever 21 or H&M to name a few stores that I miss. We are really close to the beach. Everyone so far has been pretty nice. I haven't been here for the summer yet but all I hear is that its gets pretty damn hot and humid. But its better than shoveling snow. I don't think its really "cheaper" in the South and the economy as far as jobs go is pretty bad. SC is ranked #3 for unemployment.
I like GA. Atlanta/BuckHead/Savannah. And I like many places in FL but I don't think I would want to live in FL unless its maybe South Tampa or Miami.