What is Greenville, NC like? (Raleigh, Durham: fit in, apartments, rent)

[alyssabhc]

My husband and I are looking into moving to North Caroling, but don't want to move right into Raleigh where I hear it is getting over crowded. I have been doing some research about Greenville, NC. Can someone tell me what are the best areas to check out there? I live in a suburb of Buffalo and you can get a fairly nice 3 bedroom, 1 bath starter house for around $125,000....how does that compare to Greenville? What kind of house am I looking at for that price, what about around $200,000? Just trying to get an idea. Also, how far is it to a nice beach on the ocean? And how far to a big city like Raleigh or Durham? Sorry for all the questions! Any thoughts would help!

[mhogan10010]

I lived there for 7 years
Roughly 1 1/2 hour to the beach. 1 1/2 hour to Raleigh. Small city, with lots of chain restaurants. Main cultural outlets associated with ECU. Pitt Hospital good place to work. Still old south tobacco country. Still some anti Yankee sentiment outside the city in the smaller towns. Brutally hot and humid during the summers.
PM me if you like.

[Lithuania]

I have lived in Greenville for 6 years now and have noticed a lot of change in the area, mostly for the better. Mhogan is right, there is a strong agricultural presence, but I think the economy is getting more diverse. Possibly the best thing I like about the area is that it is laid back. I think the people who live here like the laid back attitude - and if you are a nice genuine person, you will be accepted and fit in. This is the smallest city I have lived in and I only get kidded about being a city boy from time to time.

As for houses, $200,000 will get you a decent new house here (about 1,800 SF). Spend up to $250,000, and you will get a REALLY nice home. I would suggest getting on the MLS for Pitt County and do some browsing.

Also, this is a really growing area. There are a lot of chain restaurants, but I have found some independent places that are really good (some have opened since I moved here). A Tavola and Marathon restaurants come to mind. As for shopping, there are a lot of chain stores, but they are spread out through town and not just at one mall. The mall is pretty small but there is a new power center being built of off Memorial Dr.

The summers are hot, but the beach is about an hour and a half away, and there are some nice coastal historic towns nearby (Washington and New Bern). It takes me an hour and twenty minutes to get to Raleigh.

ECU and Pitt Memorial Hospital are both growing like crazy. Pitt Memorial is a nice research hospital, attracting people from all over.

Hope this helps. Greenville is a pretty good place to live - there are some drawbacks, but the cost of living and easy lifestyle are what have kept me here. And that people are generally friendly.

[mhogan10010]

When I was in the area I was a local church minister. Kind of have to immerse yourself in the local culture. I had a lot of Pitt Co. anti-Yankee rhetoric jammed in my face. My wife worked at the Hospital and generally had a better experience than I did.
We finally figured out that we both had too much Detroit, big city left in us to settle down in the South.

[ecuresident]

I am currently a resident at the hospital and have lived here for 4 months, moving from Philly and Chicago.

The Good: The hospital-PCMH is absolutely booming, they are expanding like crazy and have just been named a stroke center and have a new heart hospital. A lot of the attending I work with are from all over including Philly, NY, etc.

Cost of living is pretty cheap. I have the nicest aparment I could find in greenville, and rent is about $650 for a 1 bedroom. Of course your not gonna find any place with granite countertops, etc like in the big cities, but the apartments are decent.

Location-- The beach is only 1.5 hours away, and Raleigh is only 1.5 hours away. That is good and bad depending on how much you like to drive. Greenville also has a local airport with flights contantly running- US Airways only.

Social Scene- This is a college town so there is decent amount to do including the bar scene, football games, and a number of outdoor activities, including being by the beach, and outer banks, a bunch of dirt bike trails, and camping, etc.

I really havent experienced and yankee problems, and maybe thats Becaus I work at the hospital and about half the people that work here are from up north. For the rest of the city I really couldnt tell you.
The Bad
Crime- There is a lot of crime here, esp things getting stolen- If you look at the local newspaper reflector.com you can check it out yourself. But in Spet alone there have been 15 robberies at gas stations, fast food joints, etc, inculding 2 employees being shot. Most of these crimes occur at 10pm and not 2 am! It really depends on where you live, I cant say i dont feel safe, but I live in the "newer" part of town and the aparment complex just a quarter mile away (it is gated, but a college complex) Has had 5 cars broken into in the last month and 2 aparments.

The social scene- im used to big 10 schools, so the bars here absolutely suck comapre to any of them. They all charge $3-5 cover, most of them have lines, most of them are pretty small, and the bouncers have attitudes worse than ive seen in Philly.
Also there isnt much to do besides drinking or going to the beach. There might be a few shows through ECU, but thats about it.

The restuarants- I swear this is the fast food capital of the world. There is more chain restuarants than I have seen anywhere. Basically any thype of chain you can think of, Greenville has 6 McDondalds alone! There is a real lack of indepandant restuarants, but the ones that are here are fantastic. There is an indian, Thai, and Japaense retaurant here, along with many mexican, italian, etc.

Any other questions let me know, and if i think of anything Ill add it later.

[Lithuania]

I'd say ECU Resident was pretty accurate with the description. One of the main attractions for me is the cost of living and ability to purchase a house.

That being said, Greenville could use to be more progressive. Crime seems to be on the upswing, especially the robberies/burglaries. I have never been a victim, but it is a concern. I think crime is higher everywhere because of inflation/gas prices/cost of living versus lack of increase in wages.

Greenville can be a fun place to live if you get out and get to know the community. There are a lot of community events.

I'd like to see more creative development - mixed use, more contemporary stuff...I think it's coming, but still may be few years off.

[Gary Lombard]

Dear Lithuania,
Would you please provide me with the contact number or name of the new power center being built? Thanks

[Gary Lombard]

Would you please provide me with the contact number, or the name of the new power center being built?

[Lithuania]

It's called 11 Galleria - try googling it, you might be able to get some info on it. I'm assuming this is the shopping center you are referring to. So far it has a Kohl's and a Sears.

[BrunetteCarolinaGirl]

Winterville is right on the outskirts of Greenville and offers several nice suburban neighborhoods that are more reasonably priced. The people of Greenville are such a mixed blend that I never felt out of place when I moved there. I really enjoyed the 4 years that I lived there.