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I'm 24 years old (going on 3...JK) and am in college at USC Upstate. I would love to get a career in this area but if I have to move then hopefully it's somewhere close like Charlotte or Atlanta. I love watching this area grow, thrive, and prosper. I love how it's not too small or too large. I love all the opportunities offered from retailers and restaurants to outdoor recreation. I love the friendliness among area residents. I love the forward thinking mindset by city and even now county leaders. I love how there are actually four seasons here. I love being close to the mountains and beach along with directly being between Charlotte and Atlanta.
Hey All!!!
My husband was offered a job in Greenville SC and he is considering the move, but we are nervous because we read a lot of negative comments about GV being unkind to Northerners and minorities (we are both). Being as though we are from Philadelphia, we are used to diversity, and we'd like to raise our sons in the same fashion.. So with that being said..
If you we're given the opportunity to move to relocate to greenville again.. Would you and why??
Also, would you move to Greenville if you were a northern minority???
Thanks in advance!
Having been raised in the 'north' and a minority, I'd say neither really will affect your reception here as much as whatever religious affiliation you have. A much larger portion of your social or lack-there-of life will revolve around that choice.
I've found racism in all its forms everywhere, and by far the most segregated cities are in the North (Upper Midwest and Northeast), far as I can tell (I'm from one). That alone can create friction which really doesn't have to exist to begin with, and it cuts all ways these days. If we didn't live out here in TR we'd live right in the City of Greenville, if for no other reason it (like so many other nice, stable cities) has a lot of great people of different backgrounds and places. After our kids are out of school we plan on doing just that (their school is out this way which is why we live here).
We moved to Greenville before Lehman went under in '08, both of our jobs in Columbia were to be put on the chopping block early in '09 and the place was really grating on us anyway, so we moved to Greenville. We know there was no way in hades we'd find jobs there when that was going to happen. This was the town we fell in love with anyway to begin with when we first looked at SC in early '07, we moved to Cola because my wife spent part of her growing up years there and had gone to USC (OK, that's one reason).
I can't complain and neither can my wife. The only people I hear gripe a lot around here for some reason can't find some path or another for themselves in Greenville, which kinda vexes me however I know we're still in a binder in this country, and not every sector around here is booming or whatever. I work in high-tech manufacturing, and my career has taken off in this place we now call home. So you'll hear people complain about this or that around here and they'll point fingers, but really I can't quite figure out how some of these folks can try to affix blame on whatever they think is screwing up their lives, when there's so much opportunity and growth around here. Other than Greenville the only town I'd consider within 400 miles of here is Raleigh, the the COL there is high compared to Greenville, and traffic is atrocious.
Some guy in the passenger seat of a jacked to the skies pickup truck gave me the stink eye one day because of the NY plates on my Jeep when we first moved to town. Beyond that I haven't had anyone 'call me out' or whatever around here about being a 'Northerner'. If someone did I've got the perfect response At work in Lexington it was a different story, there was a palpable animosity I bore the brunt of from a few of the rednecks from Newberry, Edgefield, and Lexington counties.
I dunno, people around here just generally seem nicer than in most places.
Before moving to Greenville, I lived in Austin and Boulder, two places that are often ranked (for various reasons) as the best cities in the U.S. Out of the three, I actually prefer Greenville. Coming from Boulder, it was important for us to have access to trails and outdoor activities. Greenville has that. We can't ski quite as easily, but that was never our top priority.
I also really enjoy the downtown area. We loved being close to downtown Boulder, so we made the choice to buy a house as near as possible to Greenville's downtown. Although you certainly get less house for your money compared to a place like Greer or Simpsonville, it's been a perfect fit for us. We can walk downtown with 25 minutes and even quicker if we happen to catch the trolley.
Culturally, Greenville seems to be much more religious (Christian) than the other places I've lived outside of the South. However, it's not repressive or overly judgmental. Religion is also not a requirement for finding a group of friends. We do have friends we've met through church, but it's not as if you have to be Christian to find acceptance. There are plenty of other activities in the area that bring people of all faiths together. If you're willing to branch out and get involved, you should be fine.
All in all, I'd definitely choose to move here again.
I'm 24 years old (going on 3...JK) and am in college at USC Upstate. I would love to get a career in this area but if I have to move then hopefully it's somewhere close like Charlotte or Atlanta. I love watching this area grow, thrive, and prosper. I love how it's not too small or too large. I love all the opportunities offered from retailers and restaurants to outdoor recreation. I love the friendliness among area residents. I love the forward thinking mindset by city and even now county leaders. I love how there are actually four seasons here. I love being close to the mountains and beach along with directly being between Charlotte and Atlanta.
What a wonderful outlook on life you have g-man! If this is the kind of young people Greenville produces, it certainly speaks well of your city. But please don't feel like your age is a qualifier for you to have an opinion, let's just say I'm 30-something going on 80-something
Looking forward to raising our girls away from the cynical city life (not that it's all bad here). And of course having two of our dearest friends living in Greer and another couple planning to relocate to Greenville around the same time we're hoping to move helps too.
Best of luck to you when you graduate! With such an upbeat attitude, I'm sure you'll do well wherever you land.
I always wonder where people hear the "horror" stories about Greenville (@OP, please let us know).
Greenville is not the perfect place but it definitely is not bad at all.
Downtown Freenville is really nice, the surroundings are ok. What Greenville really has to offer for me is the proximity to other nice areas (mountains, lakes, the beach somewhat close).
People are people. You'll find very nice people and others will make you shake your head. That's how it goes.
Of COURSE we would! We lived there for 12 years and moved because of a job thing, but we made life-long friends and felt blessed to know some of the most generous and loving people we could ever imagine. I've said it before in this forum, but I am part of a same-gender couple and we were instantly accepted by neighbors, co-workers, etc and made great friends with most of them. For a city its size, the shopping, dining and arts offerings are right up there. No apologies needed!
I was born and raised in Greenville, my family goes back many generations. To answer the question from an "insider", this is a nice place. It is not as great as some make it out to be.........we are not a melting pot of people from all over......we are not an international city......and we are not one of the fastest growing parts of the country/SC, and that is ok. If you live in some parts of Greenville city limits or Simpsonville, you will be surrounded by a higher than average income folks. If you live in a lot of the county, it can get redneck fast. It still is a town that cares very much where you are from, where you attend church and especially how you vote (this is one of the most conservative areas in the US). The town has a lot of the old "mill hill" mentality. You will not see a great diversity of people in the city.
But, overall, it is a good place to live with enough nice restaurants/shopping to be happy. And, it is not far from the beach, mountains or Charlotte/Atlanta for a city feel. It is a nice place to raise a family.
Not sure what type of job you are interested in but, the area is heavily manufacturing oriented.
Hey All!!!
My husband was offered a job in Greenville SC and he is considering the move, but we are nervous because we read a lot of negative comments about GV being unkind to Northerners and minorities (we are both). Being as though we are from Philadelphia, we are used to diversity, and we'd like to raise our sons in the same fashion.. So with that being said..
If you we're given the opportunity to move to relocate to greenville again.. Would you and why??
Also, would you move to Greenville if you were a northern minority???
Thanks in advance!
Own a home in Greenville but would NEVER LIVE THERE AGAIN! Why?? Lack of job diversity (low pay, limited opportunities and a sweatshop mentality towards workers), lack of culture (mainstream history museums are not there....the only museum I saw was one geared toward the civil war) and lack of racial diversity. Keep in mind my idea of ethnic diversity is the type you see in NYC....where every ethnic group that exists on the planet is represented. Other reason I would never live in Greenville again is that it is just growing too slowly. It is perfect for retirees though.
Avoid it....there are other places to live that are growing faster.
Own a home in Greenville but would NEVER LIVE THERE AGAIN! Why?? Lack of job diversity (low pay, limited opportunities and a sweatshop mentality towards workers), lack of culture (mainstream history museums are not there....the only museum I saw was one geared toward the civil war) and lack of racial diversity. Keep in mind my idea of ethnic diversity is the type you see in NYC....where every ethnic group that exists on the planet is represented. Other reason I would never live in Greenville again is that it is just growing too slowly. It is perfect for retirees though.
Avoid it....there are other places to live that are growing faster.
Glad you showed up. Now, keep in mind that not everyone wants NYC style growth. Also, diversity is fine, but you can't expect as much diversity in an area with obviously less volume of population. (find any city in the US with the same level of diversity as NYC) As always, comparisons between NYC and Greenville are ridiculous at best. Why bother?
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At work in Lexington it was a different story, there was a palpable animosity I bore the brunt of from a few of the rednecks from Newberry, Edgefield, and Lexington counties. 
