Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Greenville, no question. Wins in all categories, including proximity to other cities, lakes, and mountains. The location of Asheville isn't the best. It's also much cheaper to live in SC than NC.
Greenville's downtown personally feels more pleasant and inviting to me than Asheville's does. I also generally like Greenville's location better. The major W's I'll give to Asheville is moderately closer proximity to big mountains (though, not by a ton, one can drive 45 minutes from Greenville to Table Rock, and be at Highlands NC in 90.) and weather, as I would assume the elevation of Asheville keeps things more moderate.
Guys, you're giving Greenville too much credit and Asheville not enough.
I mean yes I would have a hard time with all the non stop drum circle activism of Asheville, but it hands down beats the pants off of the Furman/Bob Jones vibe of Greenville.
Also compare the cityscape and it's no contest which is more urban.
Those are two very different institutions and if there's any "vibe" Greenville gives off related to an institution of higher learning, it would be Clemson easily.
Again, Greenville gets my vote for being more day-to-day livable. And while neither is very diverse, Greenville is notably more diverse than Asheville.
In terms of urbanism, I think Asheville has the edge there with more historic buildings but obviously Greenville is no slouch in that area; downtown Greenville is absolutely booming with good, quality urban developments.
Both are great places and are very familiar with both. Greenville's 1 hour from me and and Asheville's 1.5 hrs. For me personally, I choose Asheville. Love the physical beauty and outdoors activities. Love the mountain climate. If our children were still young, I'd probably go with Greenville. Good choices either way.
i would choose Greenville. warmer winters, less snow, more sunshine. i prefer the rolling hill topography of Upstate SC to the Asheville scenery and it looks less stark in the winter. it is also closer to the beach.
I'd rather be in NC than SC, and I'd rather be in the mountains than anywhere else. That, and Asheville and I have have had a long-standing relationship over the years. If I ever moved back to the SE, AVL- or the surroundings- would be where I ended up.
It's funny, the OP said not to factor in work, though many respondents did. If we were to include employment opportunities, I suspect it would give Greenville more of an advantage in this contest. That said, I'd still figure out a way to make Asheville work because I love the funky vibe.
Now, I do give a lot of credit to Greenville. It's a lot more evolved than most people from other areas would expect. If I had to live in the Piedmont of the Carolinas, I'd probably take it over CLT and the Triad. But if I had a choice, I'd take Asheville in a heartbeat. Ultimately, I'd rather get up every morning in a place I love than a place I was just okay with.
in my view, Greenville is a lot more modern, and more progressive in the traditional sense. It is a major engineering hub in the country, lot of smart people. Asheville has a lot of weird people downtown looking for attention.
Bob Jones is a tiny college, and most people in Greenville have no interaction with it. to say Greenville has a 'Bob Jones vibe' doesn't make any sense. The kids that go there are Christians, there is no reason to fear Christian kids. Furman isn't a religious based school like Bob Jones and the majority of students are probably liberal. they are really big on the global warming thing at Furman. They have solar panels on campus that taxpayers in SC paid for.
it is odd that the guy from Orlando thinks Furman is a similar school to Bob Jones, because he said he lived in Greenville in the past.
i don't see how Asheville's downtown is more urban. Greenville is a larger metro. Greenville's downtown has a lot more sidewalk seating at restaurants, and a better downtown park with a nice baseball stadium right there. Asheville's baseball stadium is away from the business district.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 11-01-2016 at 12:05 PM..
i don't see how Asheville's downtown is more urban. Greenville is a larger metro. Greenville's downtown has a lot more sidewalk seating at restaurants, and a better downtown park with a nice baseball stadium right there. Asheville's baseball stadium is away from the business district.
Downtown Asheville is a bit more fleshed out then downtown Greenville, but Greenville is quickly catching up in that regard.
i disagree. i'm familiar with both, and I live in one of them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
