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Hi all! We are relocating to the Belton area at the end of the month and would love all of the information we can get. We are a married couple in our 40s with a 10 year old son who is in the 5th grade. We are also looking for senior housing for my 76 year old mother, who will be moving down a few months after we do. If anyone has some time, please direct message me. Thank you so very much!
As a Belton resident, I would recommend you proceed very, very cautiously.
Belton, as with most SC towns under 10,000, offers very little. There is one medical practice, one grocery store, two drug stores (for now), no hardware stores, few industries, etc.
School District Two has one high school serving Belton and Honea Path areas with a middle school and couple of elementary schools in each. Five independent school districts in Anderson Co.
Be very careful of housing prices. Many are overpriced because they are in "prestigious" areas. Maybe they were 50 years ago, but not now.
Population has decreased in every census for past 30 years, maybe more, and is a little over 4,000 now.
Most people go to Anderson or Greenville for medical treatment, shopping, restaurants, automotive care, etc.-just about everything. Actually no good restaurants in town anymore. One outside of town and one in Honea Path.
Very hard to find service people for electric, plumbing, HVAC, home repairs, etc.
Mayor is 81 and median age of city council is about 70. No city administrator.
There is no senior housing in Belton. Best bet would be Anderson or perhaps Easley area. Easley is in Pickens County, but much of its suburbs are in Anderson Co.
I suggest you visit for a few days and walk the streets, particularly Town Square and the two "shopping centers." Also observe condition of houses, properties, streets, sidewalks, etc.
Lots of through traffic on SC 20 and US 76/178, especially motorcycles for some reason. Unfortunately it is mostly people going through Belton to get somewhere else.
City residents pay the highest taxes in Anderson Co. when you combine high city and high school district taxes.
If you haven't committed to buying a home in Belton, I would recommend checking out the Anderson area. It's only 10-15 miles away from Belton, yet as Cid mentioned it has a lot more in the way of amenities (shopping, restaurants, health care, better schools, etc.). If it were just me, I'd have no qualms with living in Belton, as it does offer a slow pace of life. But with a family in tow, including a school-age child, you might do better to check out Anderson or, alternatively, the Powdersville area of Northern Anderson County.
Personally, I'd recommend just outside of Belton city limits - you're close enough to Anderson, don't have to deal with the city taxes, but are close enough that it doesn't feel like you're REALLY out in the middle of nowhere. My parents live just outside of Belton and I have already "claimed" a spot on their 110 acres for my dream house when I win the lottery. (guess I need to go buy some tickets)
I vehemently disagree that it's hard to get quality contractors - but I would say that I wouldn't recommend any coming to that area for "free estimates" because most of them would be driving from Greenville. They most certainly will come, however. I told the roofer that I got for my parents house that I'd be shipping him up to Michigan when we needed a new roof. The plumber he recommended was equally as fantastic, according to my parents.
That being said, if you haven't already purchased a home, do your research. I've been studying prices and lets just say it's funny. I'm not sure who to blame - the homeowners who think their houses are worth a fortune or the real estate agents who list them at the sky high prices, but some houses haven't moved in years and also haven't come down to a realistic price. It's obvious the real estate agents with these properties either have another job or a spouse that supports them, because they aren't making money on the listings.
The Ingles in Belton is better than the closest Kroger here in Michigan and El Titanic has better service and food than any of the commercial Mexican restaurants in Mexicantown. House of Pizza also has pretty decent pizza - far better than the chains, although I admit it's not as good as the Italian bakery down the street from where we currently live.
While I homeschool our third grader, if we were to move to Belton this year, I would actually look into public school - from what little I've heard of district 2, it's far better than others.
As long as you don't mind driving 15 minutes or so to Anderson (or 30 minutes or so to Greenville) for "big things", you'll love it. My parents do much of their shopping in Anderson, belong to the YMCA and have met many friends at water aerobics. The drive to Anderson or Greenville is really a non issue, especially if you're coming from a larger metro area.
Don't get me wrong. Belton needs young families and would love to see you move here. But you need to know what you are getting into. Agree that House of Pizza has great food, but you can't get beer there and dining room is not that great. El Titanic does serve alcoholic beverages and has excellent food and nice dining area. But how many times can you eat Mexican or Pizza and what about breakfast other than fast food?
I commuted from downtown Belton to downtown Greenville daily and still drive it frequently. It takes 35 minutes NOT during rush hour. It takes about same to get to main shopping/dining/recreation areas in Greenville. Have to allow 30 minutes to get to Anderson as almost all shopping, restaurants, recreation, etc. are on north side of Anderson and you have to go through a lot of traffic, even using backroads.
Having been in this area for many, many years and doing extensive rennovations and upgrades almost annually to an old house, I know the real difficulty in getting contractors. Major jobs, not so much of a problem. It's the small ones that are really difficult or expensive. Even with major ones, you may end up with only one bid on the job - take it or leave it. Other problem is the guy you use this year will not be in business in 5-10 years when you need him again.
Best restaurants in area are Chadwicks in Honea Path and Four Seasons outside of Belton. BTW, there is a sign for Four Seasons on the Town Square, but that is used for private parties only.
School Districts One (Powdersville) and Five (Anderson city mostly) are rated higher than School District Two. Of course, it all comes down to which tests the school districts decide to cite when bragging. SD Two is good though.
Also, don't know where you are coming from, but this is a very conservative area. Very little regulation re: property uses outside the cities and towns. The zoning that exists in cities and towns is limited and often not enforced. County does have "land use regulations," but they are a joke.
Bottom line. Proceed cautiously as you will be making a major committment for a long time.
Again, would like to see you here and to get involved.
Best restaurants in area are Chadwicks in Honea Path and Four Seasons outside of Belton. BTW, there is a sign for Four Seasons on the Town Square, but that is used for private parties only.
Grits and Groceries gets a lot of publicity, but most people I know who have tried it never go back. Been three times. Not going back. But you may like it. IMO, Chadwicks and Four Seasons have much better food and at much better prices.
I live not too far from Belton. It's a very rural area. You will have to drive at least 20 minutes to get to decent stores and restaurants. If you are used to living in the country that's not a big deal. The good news is that you are very close to the new shopping district in Anderson on Clemson Blvd which has a mall, stadium theatre, a new Super Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and about billion restaurants. If you can't get what you need in Belton, Anderson is only a short drive away.
The people in the area are VERY welcoming. Don't let a lot of these threads about "yankees vs Locals" put you off. The only people that seem to have a problem down here are the ones that come down with unreasonable expectations or prejudices and act like they are better than everyone else. It is not uncommon to meet transplants from other areas on any given day so you will not stand out. I have neighbors from New England and the midwest and they are VERY happy here. People may question your accent or ask where you are from but it's just part of making conversation. people are more outgoing down here and you can expect complete strangers to talk to you in the stores and on the street like they know you.
I also disagree about being able to find good contractors. The key is to ask around. Ask your neighbors or your real estate agent for a recommendation.
I don't have any experience with Senior Housing but there is a very nice looking facility near the intersection of 81 and Concord Rd that you might want to check out. It appears to be new and very well maintained.
Belton has more of a "Southern" feel to it than the city of Greenville is so you will find more Southern hospitality then you would find in the city. Though it is a more conservative area, people really don't care what your politics or religion is as long as you are nice and a good neighbor.
We tend to be very community oriented down here so it will be a good idea for you to get involved with a church, club or some type of volunteer organization if you really want to "fit in" and make lots of friends. Feel free to PM me anytime with any other questions or concerns. Best of luck to you!
Ugh, G&G has to be the most overrated place ever. We also haven't heard of anyone who will actually go back. I'm not a morning person and can count on one hand the number of times I've gone out for breakfast in the past decade so breakfast type places are usually far off my radar. The only thing there isn't one of anywhere that I know of the area is a good bagel place.
As to contractors being expensive - I guess it depends on what you're used to and your expectations. No, they weren't cheap, but experience (and professionalism) comes at a cost. They are certainly more affordable than mediocre ones here. Even in a metro area of a couple of million, in an area where a huge percentage of people don't have ANY money to hire contractors right now, you're lucky to get one out of 5 to show up for an estimate and for small jobs, forget it or expect to be charged a full days work because said contractor knows he wouldn't be able to get another job that day to make up for having to do that small one. That's the nature of the industry, no matter where you're located.
The other tip, Holliday's Flooring on the square carries Porter paint (yay!) but don't expect them to color match another brands paint chip you bring in. The woman looked at me like I had grown another head when I presented her with the paint chip to a Pratt & Lambert color and then told me they "only carry Porter" and I'd need to pick out one of those colors. Never had I experienced a store that does paint completely unaware of matching paint - I could have seen if she just said she didn't think she could get it exact but to not even know that it was something that could be done kind of blew my mind. I had almost as much fun at one of the only places I could find Pratt & Lambert paint in Simpsonville, where I was having to tell the guy the colorant formula to use to take the yellow of of the white. I'm really spoiled by my paint store guy, I guess.
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Over rated
