Info On Greenville Nc?? (Raleigh, Durham: transplants, sales, real estate)

[jen_p]

Hello everyone
My name is Jen and I am a soon-to-be nurse in Canada who is thiking about moving to Greenville NC. What I would like to know is, what is it *really* like to live there? Websites can only tell you so much. Also, could anyone tell me about things like:
-cost of hydro
-car insurance
-local attractions (any neat bookstores, clubs...etc)
-great local places to eat (BESIDES fast food)
-how bad is the crime rate?
-is it a friendly place (hopefully it is or noone would answer me!)
-best areas to live in/ worst areas in town

If anyone could provide me with some info on living in Greenville that would be most appreciated.
Thank you for your time!
-Jen

[jen_p]

Sorry about replying to my own message here...
I just read on another thread that car insurance was considered 'high'... and that was 58$/yr. When you are paying well over 100$/yr.. thats not so high.
And also, it was said that groceries were expensive. How expensive? are we talking 3$ for a loaf of bread or something?
Your comments would be appreciated
Thanks
-Jen

[Duchovny]

Originally Posted by jen_p

Hello everyone
My name is Jen and I am a soon-to-be nurse in Canada who is thiking about moving to Greenville NC. What I would like to know is, what is it *really* like to live there? Websites can only tell you so much. Also, could anyone tell me about things like:
-cost of hydro
-car insurance
-local attractions (any neat bookstores, clubs...etc)
-great local places to eat (BESIDES fast food)
-how bad is the crime rate?
-is it a friendly place (hopefully it is or noone would answer me!)
-best areas to live in/ worst areas in town

If anyone could provide me with some info on living in Greenville that would be most appreciated.
Thank you for your time!
-Jen

Jen - as a nurse you picked the right field for working in Greenville. Our medical center is the hub of not only the city but the entire region east of Raleigh.

That being said, it depends on your age /goals as to whether you will like it. Greenville is a college town with 25K ECU students + 6K PCC students out of 70K total population. The town offers the typical drawbacks of a college community with few of the benefits. If you like sports (especially college football) it's a great place to live. The town is very youth oriented with lots of fast food places. Too many to count!

Hydro (water/sewer)? is the highest I have ever paid anywhere. Greenville has it's own municipal utility which charges the highest rates of anywhere in eastern NC. If you live in town and own a home you will pay $75-100 per month for water/sewer and that is if you DONT water your lawn.

Car Insurance: about average in cost compared to other areas.

Attractions: good luck! We have one half decent Barnes & Noble and that's it, no independent booksellers to speak of. No decent 'cultural hangouts', very few good restaurants (unless you like franchises), surprisingly little music (if you like symphony/classical). Attractions are the beach (1.5 hours east), Raleigh-Durham (1.25 hours away) -- Greenville sits in the center of the black hole in between.

Great places to eat: Starlight Cafe. Finelli's. That's it.

Crime rate is horrible. In August-September there were 20 gas station robberies in 21 days. In response the police launched a click it or ticket program to crack down on seat belt non-users. Yes, the police force is that inept/corrupt! Lots of gang activity in town. Lots of drug use.

Friendly place: just depends. Working in the medical community you are likely to have decent co-workers so you should make friends quickly. There is a group called 'Northern Exposure' (for new arrivals from parts North of Greenville) that meets regularly.

Best areas to live: depends on what you are looking for. There are some decent condo's in the hospital area (and some lousy ones too). Treybrooke is the only apartment complex in town that I can recommend. All the rest are dominated by crime or 24 hour party people. If you are buying a home Winterville is to Greenville as Cary is to Raleigh (insta-burb).
Worst places to live: too many to name.

Sorry to be so negative, but this is a long term resident who will get out of this place as soon as I can find a job elsewhere.

Oh I assume you know what the weather is like? Winters are mild (you MIGHT see snow flakes once a year). Fall is short (Mid-October until Christmas). Spring is from March to May and summer starts in either May or June and last until Mid-October (TONS of humidity). I have friends who lived in Phoenix and said it was more bearable than the 5 months of summer in Greenville.

Lastly TAXES. Don't be fooled by our "low property tax rates". NC has very high taxes. Greenville property taxes were raised 50-100% in 2004 and are due for re-valuation next year. NC Income Tax is very high. Sales tax is 6.75%. There is a fee/tax for everything under the sun. I have friends from New England who paid less taxes there than in NC!

Hope I answered your questions.

[Duchovny]

Originally Posted by jen_p

And also, it was said that groceries were expensive. How expensive? are we talking 3$ for a loaf of bread or something?
Your comments would be appreciated
Thanks
-Jen

Groceries are ridiculously priced in this town. Cheapo white bread is $2. If you like decent whole wheat bread it is $3 and up. NC charges sales tax on all food sales (another one of this states "hidden" taxes). I have lived in other states that exempted food from sales tax because it impacts the working poor HARD.

Gasoline prices tend to run $0.10 to $0.15 more per gallon in Pitt County than in surrounding counties (I have no idea why)

[Lithuania]

I agree with some of what Duchovny said, but many of his concerns can be said for many communities in NC. Crime seems to be high everywhere in the State, not just Greenville.

I would say that real estate prices in this area are lower than many of the metropolitan areas in NC. As for attractions, there are a few here but I enjoy visiting some of the other waterfront towns in the area that are about an hour or less drive from here (New Bern, Washington). Washington is less than a half hour away, and has a nice waterfront.

Cultural amenities are lacking - it is a small metro, so we don't have much for symphonies or theater. But there is always something going on in the community - charity events, fundraisers. You can find something to do if you get out in the community.

Read in the paper that Greenville's population is estimated now at 75,000, not including the colleges. Growth is pretty steady.

Hope this helps.

[caseyturton]

I moved here about 3 years ago. Most of what the folks wrote in prior posts is correct, but overall it is a good community.

It is very tough to get accepted here as the small town "clique" mentality is prevalent and a common complaint amongst "transplants" like myself. You have to work your way through it and eventually it disappears.

Greenville is a dichotomy. A youthful population surrounded by a farm population holding onto "yesterday" and the "Good Old South."

You have to love fried foods, mostly fried everything for your restaurant fare. European-style eating and restaurants hasn't really caught on here. Can you guess why they have a large heart center here?

Smoking is still allowed in many public places and restaurants. Yikes.

Greenville doesn't seem to have a "vision" for itself as some cities do. No big news regarding new industry other than the university and the med center/school. Park system is mediocre. Bike trails are unheard of. The city elders are not real active in lifestyle-related activities.

From what I understand from owners of employment firms, the 25-35 age population exits the city rapidly due to lack of job opportunties.

Still, it's quiet and like something from a Rod Serling Twilight Zone.

[missymin]

I like greenville and I have lived here for 15 years. It is very nice and has allot of new things coming all the time.

[jerseyj]

Originally Posted by jen_p

Hello everyone
My name is Jen and I am a soon-to-be nurse in Canada who is thiking about moving to Greenville NC. What I would like to know is, what is it *really* like to live there? Websites can only tell you so much. Also, could anyone tell me about things like:
-cost of hydro
-car insurance
-local attractions (any neat bookstores, clubs...etc)
-great local places to eat (BESIDES fast food)
-how bad is the crime rate?
-is it a friendly place (hopefully it is or noone would answer me!)
-best areas to live in/ worst areas in town

If anyone could provide me with some info on living in Greenville that would be most appreciated.
Thank you for your time!
-Jen

Just for everyones' info- "hydro" in Canada is electric power. A lot of Canada is electrically powered by water, Niagra Falls being a major contributor. I grew up hearing my parents talking about the "hydro" bill. Our translation is the "electric" or "power" bill. The water bill is a completely different thing.

[Duchovny]

Originally Posted by jerseyj

Just for everyones' info- "hydro" in Canada is electric power. A lot of Canada is electrically powered by water, Niagra Falls being a major contributor. I grew up hearing my parents talking about the "hydro" bill. Our translation is the "electric" or "power" bill. The water bill is a completely different thing.

IN that case our electric rates (and natural gas) are very high -- again due to having a muncipal bureaucracy running our entire utility system. It has been documented in the local papers that GUC customers pay higher rates for the SAME natural gas and electricity that neighboring counties get simply because GUC marks it up to pay for their bloated bureaucracy. (GUC produces ZERO gas and electricity -- they are merely a re-seller).

The City Government also uses the utility bill as another way to slip in some taxes. You will pay a "run off tax" (average $5-15 per month depending on square footage of your home and amount of pavement in your driveway). The City used to provide garbage pickup as part of your property taxes, about 8-10 years ago they began charging $3 a month added to the utility bill for the same service. That amount has increased yearly and is now over $9.

[caseyturton]

I do agree NC and Greenville nickel and dime you to death with peripheral taxes. Don't get me started about what it's like as a small business owner.

But Jen asked if Greenville is a good place to live and basically it is.

Sounds like she's familiar with the Ontario-New York area and can probably rattle off a ton of negatives with the political structures, taxes, etc. up there in the Rust Belt.

Greenville has lots of blemishes but overall it's a nice place to live.