Greenville to a visitor (Hilton Head Island, Easley: 2014, crime, big house)

[Valien]

I'm 'brown' (half-Asian/White). Been here since 1998. ZERO ISSUES with 'racism' and such. People are soooo PC today. Makes me sick.

Anyways, the 'catch' on Greenville is that it's a nice secret. Like others mentioned here the city and county planners have done a pretty good job on envisioning the city for the future and it's taking root and growing. Downtown is awesome. Greer is awesome.

Like any city growth does have issues. We have crime. What city doesn't? We have racists? What city doesn't? We have both conservatives and liberals. Then again, what city doesn't?

I'm sorry that Art23 has had a bad experience with 'Christians' that have snubbed their noses at him. That's a poor reflection of the Gospel. I'm a Christian and if I ever did that or found out I did that to someone I would be ashamed of myself. Art23 - ping me and let's do lunch if you're ever downtown. I'll even pay.

Anyways, I love Greenville. It's growing. I'm in the technology field and it's starting to grow as well. I work at an Ad Agency and we have tons of young people so again and many are not from this area. So we are attracting young folks.

I will say that in 10 years or so at the rate this area is growing our cost of living won't be as low as it is now...get in and buy while you can!

~V

[USNRET04]

What Art123 said is completely and utterly incomprehensible. I feel that that his remarks is racist and disrespectful. What a shame that someone has so much hate that they feel that way.

I will pray for you Art123 that God will soften your heart and you will not have so much hate and vile inside.

I apologize to the OP on behalf of 99% of the citizens of Greenville who do NOT think the same way as Art123.

[DSMRE]

Art is entitled to his opinion. It just catches my interest because not only have I not experienced such, neither has my biracial teen children. My brother or his biracial children, or my mother or aunt. We all migrated here and love it. My brother and sisters also work with the public. Neither of us have experienced this. To the OP, come to the area and spend some time. Judge for yourself. I think you'll like it. Art, what do I need to do to experience what you have? Being black hasn't been enough.

[Art123]

Originally Posted by USNRET04

What Art123 said is completely and utterly incomprehensible. I feel that that his remarks is racist and disrespectful. What a shame that someone has so much hate that they feel that way.

I will pray for you Art123 that God will soften your heart and you will not have so much hate and vile inside.

I apologize to the OP on behalf of 99% of the citizens of Greenville who do NOT think the same way as Art123.

To the OP, like I said, some of the people here tend to be judgmental, and condescending to boot.

My post is based on

1) Documented facts (crime, school, pollution, etc...) and

2) My experiences.

If you think that's vile, hateful, racist, and disrespectful... well, I'm at a loss. I have no clue how someone to come to those conclusions based on my post.

I think that offering to "pray for you" is often very condescending, and it certainly is in this instance.

You can keep your prayers. Thanks, anyway.

Originally Posted by redcliffe

I'm black and have never experienced these extremes. I've been here a decade and work with the public. Greenville is about 33 percent black. If I experienced this as regular as you seem to I'd probably be gone. But I haven't and I love this area.

Here's a hypothetical situation that has happened probably zero times:

A white guy goes up to a black guy at a party and says, "A rabbi, a priest, and a nlgger walk into a bar..."

Originally Posted by Valien

I'm sorry that Art23 has had a bad experience with 'Christians' that have snubbed their noses at him. That's a poor reflection of the Gospel.

~V

Seems to have happened on the very next post after yours....

Originally Posted by redcliffe

Art, what do I need to do to experience what you have? Being black hasn't been enough.

Maybe if you were a conservative-looking white guy you'd hear a good racist joke or two...

I doubt anyone would tell one directly to your face.

[UsernameAlreadyTaken]

Originally Posted by Art123

Maybe if you were a conservative-looking white guy you'd hear a good racist joke or two...

I doubt anyone would tell one directly to your face.

I can only really remember hearing the n-word used once in my seven years in the Upstate. It was a reference to our president, of course. Granted that was one time too many, but it wasn't something I heard more than I might hear it in any other part of the country.

[Art123]

Originally Posted by Dan In SC

Do you happen to know why this would bother people? Greenville has low taxes, a low cost of living, a low crime rate, and low unemployment (the upstate is the lowest in SC a well below the national average). I'll take that any day over what some of the more liberal cities have to offer.

I realize we are the reddest part of a red state, but I'm not sure why people would be complaining. Greenville is a great success story. My fear is that our success will start to attract a bunch of people from the more liberal areas that have high taxes and high crime. Then once they move here, will start voting for the same kind of people and policies that destroyed their origin and drove them to move here.

When it comes to public policy, please keep Greenville just the way it is!!

You have some factual inaccuracies there.

The unemployment rate in Greenville County is 6.8%. It's 6.3% nationally.

The crime rate here is MUCH higher than the national average. You can look up that data right on this very website, city-data.com.

Greenville, the city, has been very progressive in it's public investments (largely due to the leadership of a Jewish, liberal European-born Democratic mayor) over the past years, using TONS of federal dollars on the way. Despite the rhetoric of local people and politicians to the effect that "we're broke" at the national level, Greenville and SC take in WAY MORE Federal dollars than it contributes. Greenville (and SC) sucks off the teat of the more liberal parts of the country financially.

Given the liberal policies of the City of Greenville, it's no wonder how well the downtown is doing. Public investment pays off.

I think it's the social conservatism (as well as the fiscal hypocrisy) that (some) people take issue with.

[JJFIVEOH]

Thanks to everybody that responded. Getting input from locals is always very helpful. One thing I should point out is that being in the mountains is a BIG selling point to me. Being from SoFL, we have no mountains, we barely have turns in roads much less any hills. But, the only option is western NC and employment there seems limited. Political leanings has been mentioned, I am a Libertarian, but the way a city leans politically means nothing to me. I have looked at areas in the Pacific Northwest, I have also looked in areas around Colorado Springs.

I did note the traffic coming in, it was dense but nothing compared to where I come from. Downtown seemed dense also, but I showed up around dinner time and come to find out Downtown Alive was just starting so that was to be expected. Another thing (don't take offense to this) I gather that Greenville may not get the attention it deserves is the fact it's in South Carolina. Aside from the coast, or Aiken, South Carolina really is a hole. It's just a dirty, nasty place. I'm not going to hold Greenville against that, just an observation. I am really impressed with how Greenville maintains a relatively 'original' layout (the roads need work) in that nothing has been touched. I come from an area where the roads and landscape is manicured on a weekly basis and looks horribly fake. The trees, the landscape, the residential originality around here is tremendous.

I'm a fiscal conservative. Taxes mean a lot when attracting potential new residents. Whether it works or not, it's one of the first things people look to when moving. The fact that Greenville's population growth isn't out of control is baffling to me, based on this. That's not a bad thing, as has been mentioned, rapid population growth is not a good thing. I'm also open to the fact that taxes helps a city in maintaining control, appeal and entertainment. I'm an urban planner by trade, this stuff is the first things that come to my mind when analyzing a city. I'm intrigued by the fact that Greenville maintains a level of originality and new construction. Maybe it's by accident in that there are no plans to improve, maybe not. The fact that many things aren't touched means a lot to me at least. Aside from some major construction work on Church Street, the fact that nothing is touched leaves a sense of establishment to me.

As far as the 'catch' I referred to, almost every place I have checked out ranging from probably 20-25 states, when the home prices are low, there is always a 'catch'. I get daily Email notifications from Trulia.com from places I consider moving to. It's very easy to judge what type of people live in an area based on the decor of a home and also the 'bang for the buck' scenario. This is where the 'catch' comes into play. I have seen home prices that are incredible when it comes to the 'bang for the buck'. Between the taxes, the homes prices, downtown, the atmosphere, the established infrastructure, the weather and the proximity (to me it's not close enough, I want to be IN the mountain) to the mountains............. there must be a catch. Usually population growth rates are an indicator of a town's/city's appeal. The growth rates aren't there, so I'm still searching for that 'catch'. Perhaps I've finally found the one place that is perfect to move to.

[JJFIVEOH]

In terms of the people that want to turn this into a racist/political issue, I completely understand. But where I come from, these issues are minimal. I find that anybody black or white, conservative or liberal, are very happy. Seeing some homes just outside of downtown where people might see whites or blacks conjuring up on the porch might be seen as dangerous where I come from. Around here, I get the feeling that those people are inviting.

[USNRET04]

Originally Posted by JJFIVEOH

In terms of the people that want to turn this into a racist/political issue, I completely understand. But where I come from, these issues are minimal. I find that anybody black or white, conservative or liberal, are very happy. Seeing some homes just outside of downtown where people might see whites or blacks conjuring up on the porch might be seen as dangerous where I come from. Around here, I get the feeling that those people are inviting.

You will find the same situation in Greenville. It just floors me that some people think the way one of our posters does, but like someone said, this is a free country and he can speak as he wishes. The great thing is that you can just ignore him also!

I moved here 10 years ago and love the place. Every person I have met has treated me kindly. You seem to have a bright, open mind, and I think you will also see that Greenville can be a wonderful place to live.

[lyricamphibian]

I just don't "get" the people who say there is too much crime here. There is "too much" crime everywhere. However, I've seen much worse in other places. (For instance, I spent my childhood in Youngstown, Ohio, where crime of all sorts was an everyday occurrence even in the best neighborhoods.) While I don't fit the pattern that one might presume to be the "typical" Southerner with respect to religious beliefs or social or political philosophies, I've been very happy here for nearly 17 years, and I have many and varied friends.

Shortly after I moved into my first apartment, the neighbors across the way introduced themselves, asked whether I was getting settled and then asked whether I had found a church. They mentioned that they were Baptists and said that, if I wanted any further information, I should let them know. They continued to be gracious and warm neighbors, but the subject of religion never came up again. And that's the way it's been for the remainder of my stay here.

I cannot speak too highly of this region nor of the warmth and diversity of the people here.