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Listing a bunch of restaurants doesnt prove anything, sorry. Everything downtown is exactly the same price point, and it is all standard fare. The menus do not change with the seasons, or at all, and all the food is over priced and "pretty decent", nothing outstanding. Again, it isnt that Greenville is so awful, it is just lacking in a lot of character. Drive up to Asheville. Drive down to Charleston. Locally owned restaurants, big ones small ones, cheap ones expensive ones, creative ones and ones that change their menus nightly. Greenville is full of a lot of expensive, decent places, where you can get a predictably decent meal for 150% of what it should cost.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with Greenville. It is a nice place. But if a 27 year old single MBA guy is moving from Boston or Chicago, it is going to be culture shock.
You're under-estimating our young prospective neighbor! I believe someone with his background is well-able to do his own due diligence.
Ummmm....I was a mid 30's MBA that chose to move here after living in numerous large cities. I travel weekly and take clients to the best local, creative restaurants in the largest cities nationwide. Greenville stands with some of the best in the foodie scene.
You're being funny. I didn't just list a bunch of restaurants, I listed their style/cuisine. If "farm to table" doesn't change by the season, then smack my patookus and call me Sam.
Interesting that in your first post, the issue was variety and creativity, now suddenly it is price.....pssss.... a little secret here, downtown is loaded with all pricepoints.
It is clear you have a good deal of learning to do about Greenville. Get out, explore, enjoy and see the wonderful food options that have put Greenville on the national scene.
Great to hear you have an opinion, but on the local foodie scene, fact trumps opinion. I'm sure you know the local chef that is heavily into molecular gastronomy.....would love to hear your review of their restaurant after you eat there next time.
To answer the original question, Greenville is not the best place to find a job for MBA's. It simply does not have the depth of large companies who demand MBA's. Recent economic reviews have suggested that attracting college graduates to increase the education attainment levels of Greenville is a top priority and challenge. Currently, Greenville trails a lot of its "peer" cities in this category and will need to develop the talent pool in order to grow outside of the traditional manufacturing base. Now, if one accepts that and likes the city, then it is not a bad place to live.
As for being a foodie city, not trying to be a "naysayer" here but, Greenville on a national scene as a food city? Sure, there are some nice restaurants in town, as there are in a lot of Greenville's peer cities but, on a national level, no. Even in the Carolinas, many other cities come to mind before Greenville when it comes to food and restaurants, Asheville and Charleston easily being top choices. And, that is without naming the large cities.
There is a nice mix of restaurants in town and there are some that should be moved to the suburbs...Sticky Fingers on Main Street for a national Foodie city?????? On a side note, one of your examples may be closing, the building housing Rio is up for lease on Loopnet.
To answer the original question, Greenville is not the best place to find a job for MBA's. It simply does not have the depth of large companies who demand MBA's. Recent economic reviews have suggested that attracting college graduates to increase the education attainment levels of Greenville is a top priority and challenge. Currently, Greenville trails a lot of its "peer" cities in this category and will need to develop the talent pool in order to grow outside of the traditional manufacturing base. Now, if one accepts that and likes the city, then it is not a bad place to live.
As for being a foodie city, not trying to be a "naysayer" here but, Greenville on a national scene as a food city? Sure, there are some nice restaurants in town, as there are in a lot of Greenville's peer cities but, on a national level, no. Even in the Carolinas, many other cities come to mind before Greenville when it comes to food and restaurants, Asheville and Charleston easily being top choices. And, that is without naming the large cities.
There is a nice mix of restaurants in town and there are some that should be moved to the suburbs...Sticky Fingers on Main Street for a national Foodie city?????? On a side note, one of your examples may be closing, the building housing Rio is up for lease on Loopnet.
That's like saying "I'm not trying to be mean, but...". You seem to have appointed yourself THE authority on the quality of Greenville's restaurant and business offerings.
As for peer cities with allegedly superior restaurant scenes - I can see Charleston perhaps, but in my opinion Asheville is a bit of a stretch. They have a wide variety of cuisines represented, but I'd still put the quality of Greenville's over Ashville's. Any city/metro area with a decent culinary scene should be confident enough to allow Sticky Fingers to coexist with haute cuisine. <gasp!>
To answer the original question, Greenville is not the best place to find a job for MBA's. It simply does not have the depth of large companies who demand MBA's. Recent economic reviews have suggested that attracting college graduates to increase the education attainment levels of Greenville is a top priority and challenge. Currently, Greenville trails a lot of its "peer" cities in this category and will need to develop the talent pool in order to grow outside of the traditional manufacturing base. Now, if one accepts that and likes the city, then it is not a bad place to live.
As for being a foodie city, not trying to be a "naysayer" here but, Greenville on a national scene as a food city? Sure, there are some nice restaurants in town, as there are in a lot of Greenville's peer cities but, on a national level, no. Even in the Carolinas, many other cities come to mind before Greenville when it comes to food and restaurants, Asheville and Charleston easily being top choices. And, that is without naming the large cities.
There is a nice mix of restaurants in town and there are some that should be moved to the suburbs...Sticky Fingers on Main Street for a national Foodie city?????? On a side note, one of your examples may be closing, the building housing Rio is up for lease on Loopnet.
Thank you. Exactly. Greenville is a nice little town with some decent food, but dont bother telling that to the "GREENVILLE IS THE GREATEST PLACE EVER!!!!!!" crowd. You cant even have a constructive conversation about it.
That's like saying "I'm not trying to be mean, but...". You seem to have appointed yourself THE authority on the quality of Greenville's restaurant and business offerings.
As for peer cities with allegedly superior restaurant scenes - I can see Charleston perhaps, but in my opinion Asheville is a bit of a stretch. They have a wide variety of cuisines represented, but I'd still put the quality of Greenville's over Ashville's. Any city/metro area with a decent culinary scene should be confident enough to allow Sticky Fingers to coexist with haute cuisine. <gasp!>
You are certainly entitled to your opinion on Asheville vs Greenville, but in my opinion it is not even close. Asheville is a world class food destination. Greenville has places like Carolina Ale House and Sticky Fingers occupying some of its prime Main St real estate. Nothing wrong with that per se, but as was mentioned, it is not indicative of a "foodie" destination.
You're under-estimating our young prospective neighbor! I believe someone with his background is well-able to do his own due diligence.
He was asking for advice, and I was offering it as a MBA from near Greenville who has lived in major markets and returned. As was mentioned by another in this thread, it is a brutal place to find high level MBA career options, especially ones with opportunities for career advancement.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion on Asheville vs Greenville, but in my opinion it is not even close. Asheville is a world class food destination. Greenville has places like Carolina Ale House and Sticky Fingers occupying some of its prime Main St real estate. Nothing wrong with that per se, but as was mentioned, it is not indicative of a "foodie" destination.
As you are entitled to yours. We'll just agree to disagree.
Thanks for the responses everyone. I appreciate it.
I do think Greenville is the place for me.
Not to be a jerk to the people telling me to look in Charlotte or Atlanta b/c of better job opportunities, with all due respect after working for a few years in finance working 70+ hr weeks slaving away just for money and missing out on life, I think after I'm done with b-school the focus is to increase the quality of my life, ie pick a place I want to live based on the factors I think are important, and the job will come and be there. I think too many people in our society base their decisions on the job first, and everything else is secondary. Only go around once, so I'm gonna make sure I do it right. Is it worth it to maybe make less money in a smaller city but the quality of life is excellent, versus making more money but living in an urban sprawl or cold city with fast paced/stress? For me, I think the answer is yes...
In response to the part of your message I bolded.....
Greenville is definitely for you! After living in numerous larger cities / metros, the quality of life in Greenville is hard to beat.
I agree with DFGSP! I would not exactly call a city with laws that prevent you from drinking on Sunday in any restaurant of your choice and liquor stores that must close by 7 pm a party town. Regarding restaurants...yes Greenville has some nice eating places....but it does not stand up to the restaurant scene in larger cities and how many restaurants a city has should not be used as a criteria to decide whether to move there or not.
The other thing is that unlike Charlotte Greenville does not have a strong corporate finance presence.....as someone else mentioned on here someone with a business degree is going to do a lot better in a place that has more jobs in their field. Money is not everything and quality of life is important....but what kind of quality of life can a person have living in Greenville with a business degree and unable to quickly find work to pay their rent? The answer is none! In an ideal world we would be able to play more and work less and still be comfortable...we don't live in an ideal world.
The plain and simple truth is that in the world of Greenville you better make sure you fit the retired or manufacturing mold before moving there.
The plain and simple truth is that in the world of Greenville you better make sure you fit the retired or manufacturing mold before moving there.
Wow... You agreeing with DFGSP.... Quite a broad brush you're painting with there. Oh that's right, I forgot... You're the OTHER self-appointed expert on Greenville.
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I didn't just list a bunch of restaurants, I listed their style/cuisine. If "farm to table" doesn't change by the season, then smack my patookus and call me Sam.
Quite a broad brush you're painting with there. Oh that's right, I forgot... You're the OTHER self-appointed expert on Greenville. 
