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.
My best friend and I (possibly fueled by a few too many reads of the "Little House on the Prairie" series) have been searching for 'our dream' for as long as I can remember: living in a farmhouse on some acres on the edge of a great small town, rural, with a close-knit community...wholesome...a place where people know each other, help each other...small-town parades, bake sales, etc. (eye rolling yet? My husband got a job at Clemson recently and we're moving soon. We drove out last month to check things out and spend 2 days driving around.
Really liked the little town of Clemson, but not many housing options for what we want (a little acreage). We mainly focused our search in Seneca and Walhalla. I especially loved a house in Walhalla, and it was only a 20 minute drive to Clemson, but people that we talked to seemed to think that we'd be too isolated there. The house is right by the downtown strip and in a neighborhood. It's just 10 minutes from Seneca. (Note: we aren't big shoppers and wouldn't plan on going into Greenville more than once a month, if that much. We love the outdoors and plan to spend a lot of time at Keowee, Jocassee, and the state parks). I wasn't exactly sure how it could be considered 'isolated'. It seems like it's close to everything we need: Seneca, Clemson, and the outdoor stuff. The isolation must have to do with the people...the inference seemed to be that we'd be isolated from people because we were so far out.
It got me wondering: what is small-town life like in a little place like that? Walhalla has a population of 3000 and Seneca, 8000. If these people are 'isolated' from the other small towns (although being 10 and 20 min. from a town doesn't suggest isolation to me - I drive 20 minutes daily to my gym here in the city without a second thought), do they become an insulated community - i.e. my close-knit fantasy community outlined above??
Any thoughts? Note: I'm not just an obsessive planner...my degree was in Sociology and I'm honestly intrigued by this puzzle!
I've never lived in Walhalla, but it does seem most appropriate for you. I would love being so close to the beautiful mountains, lakes, and my favorite getaway in North Carolina.
I would not exactly consider that isolated with all of the places you are planning to go. Lake Keowee, state parks etc. There are several clubs you can join in Seneca (new comers, garden, etc) that would allow you to meet people.
being from the midwest i've always had this image from experience of what "small towns" look like. walhalla fits the bill. having only ever been there twice it is gorgeous. ninety six is very nice IMO. some of the small towns around here like Piedmont are just so dumpy or in the case of Greer (not dumpy) just too suburban. same with simpsonville. liberty is ok, pickens is alright. not a huge fan of seneca.
walhalla and ninety six are where you wanna be IMO.
I'd like to put forth Westminster as an option, too. It has everything you've asked about. Walhalla is nice, but driving to Clemson from Ninety Six everyday would be brutal.
Uh oh...brutal in what way? Just wondering...I drove it several times in 'rush hour traffic' (which wasn't much, compared to what we are used to!) and it took exactly 20 minutes to get to Clemson. The house we're looking at is just barely in Walhalla and we didn't take a highway 96...we just took hwy 28 straight into Clemson.
We did look at Westminster but that was a little too far out...I mean, the houses that we found all seemed to be on the far west side and we wanted to keep the commute to 20 minutes, if possible!
Uh oh...brutal in what way? Just wondering...I drove it several times in 'rush hour traffic' (which wasn't much, compared to what we are used to!) and it took exactly 20 minutes to get to Clemson. The house we're looking at is just barely in Walhalla and we didn't take a highway 96...we just took hwy 28 straight into Clemson.
We did look at Westminster but that was a little too far out...I mean, the houses that we found all seemed to be on the far west side and we wanted to keep the commute to 20 minutes, if possible!
Ericsinphilly was referring to the commute from Ninety Six (Greenwood County), not Walhalla. Walhalla is much closer to Clemson and the commute should be very easy.
Walhalla, Westminster, Central, and Pendleton are all places to visit and think about. Also, some of the country open space between Clemson and Six Mile might give you the land without being too far out from shopping in Clemson itself.
Seneca and Easley are within your commuting range but neither of those towns seem to fit what you are looking for very well.
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.
My husband got a job at Clemson recently and we're moving soon. We drove out last month to check things out and spend 2 days driving around. 
