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.
I have been looking for real estate and have considered Spartanburg as another area that may be a possibility to settle down in.
I want to stay close to Greenville though as it is such a nice town and has great shops, restaurants and attractions, not mention a beautiful downtown area.
Is Spartanburg a good place to live?
How far of a drive is it to Greenville from Spartanburg?
The drive from Greenville to Sparkle City (Spartanburg's nickname) is a bit shorter than to Anderson, I'd say 20-ish minutes from the I-85/I-385 interchange.
I like Spartanburg fine - they're really trying with their downtown and there is a collection of eateries and other establishments there, as well as the (relatively) new Chapman Cultural Center.
S'burg has some nice older neighborhoods, like Converse Heights near Converse College and others going out E. Main St. Further out E. Main there is some decent shopping in the Hillcrest area.
Parts of the west side of S'burg can be OK with more "big box" and mall-type shopping, and there are quite nice developments & subdivisions out Reidville Rd west of I-26. You could split the difference between Greenville & Spartanburg by living off Reidville Rd, which has easy access to BMW and on west towards the south Woodruff Rd/Simpsonville areas.
S'burg doesn't have Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, but they do have Bi-Lo, Publix, and a very nice Fresh Market.
I have been looking for real estate and have considered Spartanburg as another area that may be a possibility to settle down in.
I want to stay close to Greenville though as it is such a nice town and has great shops, restaurants and attractions, not mention a beautiful downtown area.
Is Spartanburg a good place to live?
How far of a drive is it to Greenville from Spartanburg?
Spartanburg is a respectable place. They have tried with their downtown and they have had some accomplishments. For a serious downtown scene, obviously you are a short drive to Greenville.
Spartanburg has some wonderful, older intown neighborhoods with lots of mature trees (Converse Heights comes to mind).
The pricing for homes in Spartanburg is slightly less than the prices you would pay for a comparable type neighborhood in Greenville.
The shopping is OK, but for things like Apple, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc, again, a quick drive to Greenville.
I've always liked Spartanburg since I first moved to Upstate. In my mind it has always been sort of a suburb of Greenville, though I learned quickly Spartanburg residents do not view it that way.
I am not a fan of Spartanburg. We moved from Greer to Spartanburg (Converse Heights) for 2 years, and decided we wanted to be back in the Greenville area, so we just moved back recently. The crime is higher, and that was very apparent to us. I found myself driving to Greenville 3-5 times a week. If you do choose Spartanburg, areas like Duncan and Moore are much nicer than the city of Spartanburg itself, and you'd have easy access to Greenville. Spartanburg's downtown is respectable, but nothing like Greenville's, and you can't beat Greenville's dining options. I know some people who are native to Spartanburg, and they like it, but it was not for us. At all.
[quote=FitMom77;18108049] If you do choose Spartanburg, areas like Duncan and Moore are much nicer than the city of Spartanburg itself, and you'd have easy access to Greenville. [quote]
Reidville Road has some nice. newer homes and Reidville Road heads directly into Greenville's Eastside. I guess Reidville Road would be considered Duncan?
With the exception of FitMom's response, I agree with most of the other responses above. She obviously had a bad experience in Spartanburg, and continues to espouse that here. That said, different strokes for different folks and all that.
I've lived in Spartanburg for 19 years, and haven't had any issues with crime, bad schools, or most other things. I've lived on the east side almost exclusively (currently in Converse Heights, which is fantastic). I've not lacked for good dining options (yes, we're not Greenville, which is both good and bad) - if I want other options, then I drive there.
It's all in what you want and can tolerate in terms of commute, cost of living, availability to whatever YOU consider a variety and quality of dining options (my quick $0.02 is that Greenville has more higher-end options - it should, there's a larger population base - otherwise, fairly comparable).
I give Spartanburg - the Hub City (not Sparkle City!!!) - a big, hearty
With the exception of FitMom's response, I agree with most of the other responses above. She obviously had a bad experience in Spartanburg, and continues to espouse that here. That said, different strokes for different folks and all that.
I've lived in Spartanburg for 19 years, and haven't had any issues with crime, bad schools, or most other things. I've lived on the east side almost exclusively (currently in Converse Heights, which is fantastic). I've not lacked for good dining options (yes, we're not Greenville, which is both good and bad) - if I want other options, then I drive there.
It's all in what you want and can tolerate in terms of commute, cost of living, availability to whatever YOU consider a variety and quality of dining options (my quick $0.02 is that Greenville has more higher-end options - it should, there's a larger population base - otherwise, fairly comparable).
I give Spartanburg - the Hub City (not Sparkle City!!!) - a big, hearty
I wouldn't call it a bad experience- I'm just honest about what we saw while we lived there. Converse Heights IS a fantastic neighborhood- that was the one thing both my husband and I liked about Spartanburg. Tons of kids, mature trees, great neighbors, etc. In my opinion, the neighborhood's only negative is that it's a little overpriced. There are many not so good neighborhoods very close to it- that's not my opinion, but fact. Nearly every bank on Main St. has been robbed in the past year, and one grocery store was robbed at gun point. When I was walking into Publix on Main St. one day(not the grocery store robbed at gun point- that was Ingles on Main St.), several managers/employees were chasing someone out the door who had just stolen from them (the person jumped into a waiting car and drove away). It was bad enough to make my husband and I to decide after just over 2 years to pack our house up and move back to Greenville, specifically Greer- moving (with kids) is not an easy task, so it wasn't a decision we made lightly.
All that being said, my problem is with the city of Spartanburg. There are some beautiful areas of Spartanburg County, namely Campobello and Landrum if you like a more rural setting. Boiling Springs is nice, and like I mentioned before, Duncan and Moore are nice and you are still fairly close to Greenville.
As far as dining, we loved Wade's in Spartanburg and CookOut was a great fast food addition. Other than that, we prefer the dining diversity that Greenville offers.
I am a HUGE Greenville fan- but obviously people have different opinions. I don't think anyone can dispute that Greenville offers more dining and shopping options. There are also phenomenal parks, festivals, and other recreation opportunities (Greenville Drive baseball, hockey at the Bi-Lo Center, etc). It's all what you prefer- some people don't care about all that stuff and like the smaller town stuff, and don't care about crime statistics.
I work in Spartanburg with a few Spartanburg residents/co-workers who have directly told me they do not recommend shopping at Dorman Centre after dark if I value personal safety.
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.
