The Truths of Greenville, SC From Someone Born and Raised Here (Spartanburg: hotel, job transfer)

[p2y2r7o]

Originally Posted by shadowxx

I have not exaggerated. All you have to do is read the Spartanburg Herald everyday. The mall shooting occurred just a few weeks ago and everything else I said is true. There are at least 5 crimes reported today from yesterday. It was a light day, two robberies, a woman charged with child cruelty, a sex offender not regestering and a person fleeing from the cops when they tried to stop him for a traffic violation. One of our 20 year fire department voulunteers and ex cop was just sent to prison for having illegal gambling machines in his store and this info is just a drop in the bucket of the stuff that is going on here. Just look at back issues of the Spartanburg Herald and you will see what really goes on in the way of crime. We have lived here 14 years and I had no intention of leaving here in the beginning but now I will. The crime has gotten so out of hand that spartanburg is putting cameras in the downtown area to help in catching some of these people but that will only push the offenders to the outskirts of town where there are no cameras. You don't have to believe what I write. Just check out our local paper and tv news stations.

I understand that all of those things happen, they happen everywhere. It's unfortunate, but it happens...try Greenville, we're not far from Spartanburg but I never see things like that. Sure, you hear about it every now and then but it's nothing that happens every time you're out. Anyways, you can go wherever you want but it's not going to get much better if you move to a city of the same size or larger.

[tcar509]

Ms. Christine...why the profanity???
tcar509

[motonenterprises]

Please read my post in "Is crime Really this high in Greenville?" Some of you may benefit. It has more to do with mindset than race. Just go over there and read my brothers and sisters. That means everyone! If you blame someone or something else for you problems you can't fix them, but if you realize you are the root cause then you can.

[ru-bare]

Originally Posted by sojones

Greetings,

I saw the post about 'did you regret moving to Greenville, SC" and decide to reply to that thread with my own.

First, I have lived in the smallest places of GA to Greenville, SC and also lived in New York City (Astoria, Manhattan) / Jersey City

I decided I would make a comparison of how living here has been and currently is changing.

<center>Lets Start With The Cons:</center>
1) Greenville, SC is not very diverse. It's not a well cultured city but there are a lot of different cultures inhabiting the metro.

2) Professional Jobs for minorities lack heavily in my eyes. Yes, you can get a good job but but a glass ceiling can be hit easily as theres' still a lot of racial tension here. (For instance; There's a Klu Klux Klan shop right around the corner in Laurens, SC that the state of South Carolina is allowing to operate and make death threats to people of african and latin descent in newspapers without action taking against them. That's huge in my books)

3) For kids there is low entertainment. I'm still young and grew up here. If you're a minority there's very little for your child to do here and I would reccomend 2nd thinking moving here on a whim or a small financial improvement for the simple fact, most minorities here will end up in or around some negative situations. HOWEVER, it is improving but for lack of a better word "its gangster" out here. And I'm just being blunt. I've seen some really good people come here and there children went from honor roll to felons/prison inmates. However, I've seen a many of people progress and go forward to move out to other areas as well so don't think you can't keep your child out of that crowd. Hey, I made it but still, even then, I've got a few skeletons in the closet

Until they get entertainment here the youth will be violent. I've never been to a club here that's for the 'urban crowd' that had a positive vibe and went without a parking lot shooting or stabbing / beating....... it was/probably still is quite the norm. I can't really attest to those for the 'pop' crowd but usually if it's mixed, it's pretty racist. Clubs like "Sportys", formerly Game Time told me I could not enter their club b/c I had on a basketball jersey and jeans but allowed a white guy with the same thing on, who i happened to recognize, in before me............ Gators has managed to keep it pretty classy for minorties however from what i knew. It's not really that entertaining though. Dance floor is like 20 square feet It's really moreso a bar I guess?

4) Relgion, Schooling, and Politics are scandelous. BADLY. VERY VERY BADLY. Churches are (from my view) forcing major entertainment venues and businesses to keep them quiet to move into the area and that kills the city's entertainment value once again. Unless you like fishing all day and mountains (some of my hobbies), I mean... the only thing to do here is workout @ gym (first 24 hour gym just opened here in the last few months), maybe go bowling but you will come out smelling like a pack of cigarettes, ughh.. Frankie's fun park (a quaint fun park for kids.... nothing for people in college level+ imo)

But back to Politics... Tax dollars here are very badly misused. WE've had roads under construction for 5 year periods and the city would swear we were paying for it each year. Not to mention we had a bridge they knocked down one time nad just left it down. lol After taxes supposedly paid for it.

School board operators are taking money. End of story. There's one guy, I won't mention his name but he came from one area then came to the Upstate hopping school to school and money went missing at each. He resigned eventually after a tragedy struck.

Oh and last but not least, the city will try to horrendously overcharge you for car taxes if you dont' call them in the month your taxes are due, and have an affidavit or something similiar form a car dealership disputing the hiked-up price they claim your car is worth.


5) SCHOOLING: Anybody who knows what real schooling is will not sit here and say SC has the best schools in the United States. We are rated with high drop out rates (which i can attest to living here) and have scoring stats show we are one of the lowest performing states in the nation.

Without culture, you can not have education. I had a Spanish course in high school that taught you how to speak spanish.... wrong.. not completely but a lot of error was in it.

Not to mention, in having friends from NYC who discuss education, the basics have a huge gap. Mainly in culture/history studies however. There's a lot SC can't teach without a portion the white community getting upset (open honesty) and they seem to have influence in school politics. Everyone here should know this. The schooling for people that are on or below the poverty level is good and bad. Southside high school is in a predominatly African and Latin descent community and they have a "IB" program that is awesome. However, no other school in the city is like that on a sad note; that i know of.

Mauldin, Hillcrest, and Southside high school ... FOR STUDENT LIFESTYLE... is probably the most culturally diverse and acceptant schools in the Greenville Metro.

College wise, Spartanburg, SC has some pretty good colleges for minorities but Greenville has a horrid history of racial tension at schools. Especially Bob Jones University. I think the best kept secret that does have some diversity, great for your resume, and they really focus on the student's results and not race is Furman University. It's pretty diverse and accomodating on the campus.

Clemson's lacking majorly for it's size but if you can get it, should be ok.


6) Independant networking / marketing / business for minorities suck! The Palmetto expo center, I came from NY trying to host an urban & Hip Hop fashions how with guests from Michigan, NY, PA, and other places in attendance. Celebrities performing. This racially-biased company intentionally did things to prevent people from entering. I had a call to the VP of the company over it who's in PA (a much more culturally aware and actively acceptant state) and he couldn't believe what happened either.

I feel like it's very hard for minorities to run independent business here b/c of the lack of well paying employment to other minorities. If you depend on networking with them, how can you profit? That simple


7) Breaking down culture! Before I left, it was pretty much a black / white area. And let me help you understand things here.... If you're of anything Afro-descent, you're black. Don't get me wrong, you might know you're Dominican, Cuban, Gullah, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Hatian, etc BUT they don't separate, embrace, and celebrate culture here.

As I've come back however, a lot of things changed. As many of you may know, The African-descent community is strongly linked when you speak of Dominicanos, Cubanos, Gullah, Ricans, etc and we all know this but you still have seperate cultures that we can celebrate and come togethor for our african heritage / understanding one another at the same time.

Greenville has definitely had a lot more culturally aware people move here... You see the flags of pride in cars and on chains a lot of places now which I personally find refreshing and love to see it! It can't be so racially one way forever.

I miss being able to goto Cuban restaurants in NY for the dumplings and Rice. Or what about the REAL pizza moms and pops restaurants. You can't really get that here.

8) GROWTH here is pretty phenomenal (sp?) at this point. A lot of jobs are opening and these companies are more culturally diverse so I expect to see more change but it has not quite hit yet. I see a lot of culture coming into the area but not in the form of celebrated business. There's things here like Thai, Indian, Mexican, but so much more is missing........ if you've lived in a major city outside of the south (excluding Florida), you understand me!

9) POLICE here ...... good and bad.. I was pulled over here 3 times in less than 2 months for what I call DWB. One time a police over hunted me down through cars after seeing me drive by, only to have her ticket dismissed in court and she didn't even show; She had no reason to chase me down when i was driving the speed limit and had already weaved through slower traffic. The only thing she could have seen is my face and then ran my tag after catching up approx 5 mins later. I've had some good experiences too though where guys waived my tickets and were friendly but still the fact I felt i was pulled over for DWB is unsettling

At minority 'hang outs' they do pick on the teens a lot. They will make minorities move if they stop to talk to one another. I'm not sure since when a mall can be so racially biased but if you're a minority at a mall out here, i don't know if the rule was lifted by SIMON, but you could onot be under 18 without supervision. I admit, there's a lot of problems but you can't take the kids money and minorities money but then single them out like that. That's horrible morally.

Judicial system, it was great for my family court case however! The judge was really leniant and helped me. The same with my ticket the police officer previously gave me. I'm not sure what it would be like to be in some other shoes b/c i'm pretty positive but from my experience, judges here were great. No racial bias felt in my 2 situationslol


10) Travel / The AirPOrt;
Greenville-Spartanburg Airport has GOT TO BE ONE OF THE WORST AIRPORTS I'VE EVER LIVED TO USE. They only allow one cab service I believe to run free business at the airport and they charge rates around 3 times the costs of those in NY. A 10 minute ride cost me $35 ............................ each time i hit the airport.

To park your car in the decks , it's another ridicilous fee. Just google the airport's name to check rates. They are higher than Charlotte, a MUCH BIGGER airport.

Cost to travel in and out of the airport are horrible. Luckily I'm self-employed and not based in SC so I can travel freely and go based on the best deal offered. But if you're planning trips, the airport in Greenville, from my experience, on average will charge you double or triple the rates of those in Atlanta, Charlotte, NYC and that's why most people drive to those places to fly out.


11) The dating scene here.... hahah.... I went from Dating models and classic females regularly to having to scour pretty hardly to talk to educated minority females of anything afro or latin descent. They are hidden out here i'm sure but WOW. IF ever the term drought applied to dating, this city for a minority with educated interests, is a drought like no other! Lol But i'm Ok b/c I have a son and travel.... Just a forewarning to the bro's out there b/c my friends from NY say they won't touch a step here b/c of that lol







THE PRO'S:
1) Cost of Living / housing:
Lol You can buy a house / townhome out here at a wonderful price. If you live in NYC and want to move your family to a nice environment for a great price... this is great. But be cautious of area you pick and try to move into an area that has people from other areas to save yourself some unwanted vibes

2) Nature:
If youre into the nature scene... You can go on some beautiful nature traiils up in the mountains and state parks. Fishing here is pretty good. Lots of lakes for water skiing, fishing, swimming, etc. Beaches aren't too far either

3) Location:
Granted the city itself lacks entertainment, you're not far at all from Atlanta or Charlotte. I Drive to Charlotte (about an 1:15 away) to see some Bobcats games and hang with friends in Atlanta (about 2 hours away) about once a month to each if i have the free time. Nice discounted shopping outlets along the way in each direction.

4) Fashion /Shopping in Greenville Sc... ahhaa.... don't make me laugh! Bannana Republic and American Eagle.. and ughh... the gap... etc.. are the hot spots.... it's not a trendy city ... I work in fashion..... there's some eccentric here that pull it togethor though but it's not ready access. On the up side, I'm very athletic and love the outlets in Gaffney, SC (about 30 mintues out)

5) Community / Friendliness:
A lot of people here a friendly. I feel most are not sincere but ofr what it's worth, when a lot of communities here are built off of people migrating from other places.. you find very pleasant environments. Old ways exist in a lot of long-existing community.

Friends who move here from other cities say they do feel a lot of 'cliques' exist here to forewarn you.

6) If you're a positve person who's open to a lot of things Greenville might be able to entertain you with the right group of friends and famliy surrounding. While entertainment is low, the common things like bowling, cafe hangouts, lounges downtown, and the bridge downtown (for lovers only loL) are quite soothing. If you need the night life, which most younger people appreciate, might have a hard time staying out of depression.. But again, LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT... but i understand the need for things you're previously accustomed to for those moving in.. I have fun taking my son to the Hollywild animal park here, it's great for kids under the teen years

7) While I say i miss the cultural food.. there's some good local food eateries too but it's hard to be health concious here. Transfat and fast food are VERY VERY Dominant here! But there's still some very good places! A lot of friends of mine are trying to bring culinary arts and culture to the city. I expect more in 2 years!

8) the job market in 2 years here will allow for great expansion! There should be a RUSH OF PEOPLE coming here. If your'e looking for a job just check out the "Millenia Campus" on google.. if not spelled that way try "Millenium Campus of Greenville" .

9) The beaches of SC are awesome........ NEVER shall i stop falling in love with Edisto beach..... one of the significant places for my people of Gullah Culture like I

10) oh, the Cherokee Casinos. It's about an hour away from here i believe. It's really nice for a family outing to add to entertainment but not technically in Greenville or just a short ride so I made it another point!

11) Religon... if your'e an overly religous christian or catholic person this might be for you.

12) Parks ........... plenty of them here.. probably one every mile here in Mauldin, SC I love going out there with my son, playing basketball, kicking the futbol around, ect

13) Woodruff Road ......... If you can live near it.. haha.. it's the place to be! Everything you need is accessible here just about and the location is premium to interstate and good schooling


well.. that's all I care to right 2nite. Hope you all appreciate the honest/blunt information from someone who's lived here most of his life and lived in New York City (and elsewehre) for years. I understand both perspectives and thought I'd share

Hey I like your post.

School board operators are taking money. End of story. There's one guy, I won't mention his name but he came from one area then came to the Upstate hopping school to school and money went missing at each. He resigned eventually after a tragedy struck.

This is a major problem in SC and especially in black areas and residents are swindle. I hope you're around to give updates from time to time.
Even the recent lottery is being investigated for lack of funding for the schools it said it would enrich.

I still dont see a professional expansion for many residents especially black high school grduates of south carolina and see more stuck in non professional but growing service jobs. It sometimes brings tears to my eyes to see young people in SC being shortchanged.

I hope you are still around to continue updating this.

Thanks.

[kd222]

Well, I got on this thread about 2 hrs ago. after reading most of the thread to get some clear information on Greenville now i feel like i got to a party too late. based on sojones initial post and the massacre that followed i did have a few ideas. I could move there and start a mexican, thai, indian or homemade pizza place. if you see a void....fill it. I could possibly work security at the Spartanburg mall where ppl are getting shot weekly. seriously though...if what you say is true..and i believe you about the racism...wouldnt some educated minorities get together and get a foothold with some businesses and network together? Leaving isnt going to change a thing.


I was wondering a few things though
is there a local place in greensville that has concerts...like national band concerts? is there a hard rock cafe or house of blues or does this all take place in Charlotte? How about upscale eateries? is this all in the burbs?

thanks for a responce.

[jmarquise]

they have the bi-lo center. it's a nice convention center so I would imagine that big bands play there. where else are they going to play in south carolina? greenville is by far the largest area in the state. they have some really good places to eat downtown and some good places outside of town.

[g-man430]

Originally Posted by kd222

Well, I got on this thread about 2 hrs ago. after reading most of the thread to get some clear information on Greenville now i feel like i got to a party too late. based on sojones initial post and the massacre that followed i did have a few ideas. I could move there and start a mexican, thai, indian or homemade pizza place. if you see a void....fill it. I could possibly work security at the Spartanburg mall where ppl are getting shot weekly. seriously though...if what you say is true..and i believe you about the racism...wouldnt some educated minorities get together and get a foothold with some businesses and network together? Leaving isnt going to change a thing.


I was wondering a few things though
is there a local place in greensville that has concerts...like national band concerts? is there a hard rock cafe or house of blues or does this all take place in Charlotte? How about upscale eateries? is this all in the burbs?

thanks for a responce.

I don't like it when people call it Greensville over Greenville, but i'll let it slide. The Bi-Lo Center and Peace Center downtown along with the new amphitheater in Simpsonville all play hosts to national concerts. The Bi-Lo Center is the most popular and biggest with 16,000 seats. Greenville isn't big enough or touristy enough to have a Hard Rock Cafe or House of Blues unfortunately. However, there are many local places around town including the Handlebar downtown that are just as good IMO. The majority of upscale eateries are located downtown. There are a few out in the suburbs mostly located on Woodruff Road.

[Jammie]

Moderator cut: This thread is closed pending review by Yac

[Yac]

We say goodbye to DRELIK who was such a wonderful perso, but unfortunately we had to let him go. He went back under his bridge and hopefully will stay there.

Everybody, please - next time you see a troll, report! This will be taken care of much quicker.

Thread re opened.
Yac.

[SCSKier]

Thanks Mod's he was killing a good thread.