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I'm in the process of potentially moving to the Greenville area. Right now, it is far and away the #1 contender (with Asheville and Roanoke being 2 and 3). We are at the point where we are looking for land and trying to determine what area of Greenville would be best for us. I'm hoping to get some specific info on specific areas. We won't get to visit until late December and it's really hard to tell how an area is via google maps street view!
My wife is a teacher, so will want to find a job at a school. I will probably work in and/or around downtown Greenville. In terms of a commute, 30 minutes and under is fine for me. Ideally, I'd like to be around 20. We want to get out of crazy traffic, but we are coming from Tampa and I suspect your bad traffic would be considered good traffic to us.
We want to be close to mountains. We plan on weekend day trips to Ceasers Head, Jones Gap, Table Rock and Dupont. We love hiking, biking (road and mountain) and just being outdoors. Swamp Rabbit Trail is a big draw for us due to road biking. We are used to living with all of our amenities very close, but are willing to move to a more 'rural' area. Although, within reason. I'd like to be within 5-10 minutes of a grocery store. Within 15 minutes of some food places and shopping etc. But I don't want to be an hour from the mountains. I'd like to be 30ish minutes to those places.
Also we like having a walkable city, whether that be Greenville, TR, Greer or Taylors. We like to go out to eat and then walk around.
Lastly, we are looking at buying a few acres of land for under 100k (ideally, a fair amount under).
Sooooo.... this is where I'm looking.
East of the X in Travelers Rest. Near Paris Mountain. This seems like it'd be the best area. TR seems to be a nice little downtown area that is up and coming. But really I'd imagine if we wanted to go out in the evening we'd want to go to downtown Greenville, which from that area is about 20ish minutes. Very reasonable.
West of the X in TR. Perhaps near or north of Daucusville? This area is closer to the mountains and just as close to Greenville, BUT it seems like it gets very rural and the houses aren't as nice around there. This is a concern as we want to build a nice home and don't really want to build it in an area where we have the nicest house in the worst neighborhood sort of deal. We also have concerns about amenities being nearby here.
North of Greer or Taylors. (But not to far north) This area seems to have the most amenities and is close to Greenville as well. However, this turns a drive to the mountains into a 45 minute to hour long deal. This is starting to get kinda far for us.
I should also mention high speed internet is a requirement for whatever area we move. And we love community events like festivals, farmers markets etc.
If you reside in or near Travelers Rest, you will have access to retail and dining six miles away at Cherrydale Point. That retail center has retailers, restaurants, and entertainment Greer lacks.
Your grocery options in Travelers Rest include supermarket BI-LO #5653, Gateway Village, 148 Walnut Lane, Travelers Rest, South Carolina 29690-1600, and Ingle's #206, 1500 Geer Highway, Travelers Rest, South Carolina 29690-9204, and hypermarket Walmart Supercenter #5487, 9 Benton Road, Travelers Rest, South Carolina 29690-2168.
Hey and so glad to hear you are considering our area!!! I am breaking down your post to make sure I answer your questions.
"We won't get to visit until late December and it's really hard to tell how an area is via google maps street view!" Since I'm a REALTOR I can't speak to the demographics, crime etc of an area so if you are looking for that you can use LexisNexis® Community Crime Map and that will tell you all you need to know. As for areas where land is prevalent and ready, I would check out the outer areas. Travelers Rest, Piedmont, Taylors, Greer etc. All of those locations are within about 30 minutes of downtown. Furman area and TR is BOOMING. Also depending on the area you could qualify for a USDA loan.
"We want to be close to mountains. We plan on weekend day trips to Ceasers Head, Jones Gap, Table Rock and Dupont. We love hiking, biking (road and mountain) and just being outdoors. Swamp Rabbit Trail is a big draw for us due to road biking." (Travelers Rest seriously is the spot for this!)
Lastly, we are looking at buying a few acres of land for under 100k (ideally, a fair amount under).
"West of the X in TR. Perhaps near or north of Daucusville?" VERY rural area. VERY. Yes it's about the same distance but the amenities aren't half as nice or available
North of Greer or Taylors. (But not to far north) This area seems to have the most amenities and is close to Greenville as well. However, this turns a drive to the mountains into a 45 minute to hour long deal. This is starting to get kinda far for us. Greer isn't as far out as it feels sometimes and lots of options.
If you guys wanted to look at some stuff in December let me know. I'm pretty good at relocation and was a HR and Recruiting Manager for 10 years - with ties to the school district. I'd love to introduce you to some people. WE LOVE NEWBIES! Just Direct Message me.
From what you are explaining, I am going to say Travelers Rest fits the bill the best. It's going to bring you closest to the mountains and all the other places you mentioned. It has a cute walkable downtown, Trailblazer Park and SRT. It's right off 2 2hich takes you into the mountains and Ashveille. Downtown Greenville is not far, maybe 15-20 min. You also have Cherrydale which has shopping and restaurants.
The other areas you mention are fine but they are taking you farther out. You can maybe try Tigerville in Taylors which is by TR.
We live about 5 miles north of TR, close to Tigerville. It takes 10 minutes or so to get to TR. My wife works in downtown Greenville, and it takes her right at 30 minutes. From our door to Main St in Greenville is exactly 15 miles. We're recently from the Tampa- St Pete area, and traffic here is nothing by comparison. Most of the trouble I see is on the Interstate. Going north/south from from/to Greenville is just typical surface road traffic; rarely that bad. Once you get north of TR, it's wide open. I'd happily drive an hour to be out where we are.
Greenville itself is a very accessible city. Getting in and out is easy and there are only a few one-way streets. Parking can be an issue, especially when there is an event going on, but we now park at University Square, which is only a short walk from downtown, and they often run shuttles. There are also (pay) parking garages, and I've always been able to find a spot there.
From what I hear, the Mountain View and Blue Ridge schools are better than TR. Greenville County is all one (huge) district, and her first position may not be at the school of her choice. She may have to 'pay her dues' for a while to get into a better position.
Acreage is still pretty reasonable out in the country. Organized subdivisions are going to be quite a bit more. In the rural south, you're going to see big, beautiful homes mixed in between shacks and mobile homes. We bought land and built our own house- as in- actually built it. Our area has some nicer homes; some mobile homes. The people, however, have been great, and we're very happy out here. If you're uncomfortable having poor neighbors, seek out a subdivision.
It's so much different here than Tampa. For us, it was a huge improvement! Keep us posted, and keep asking questions.
We live about 5 miles north of TR, close to Tigerville. It takes 10 minutes or so to get to TR. My wife works in downtown Greenville, and it takes her right at 30 minutes. From our door to Main St in Greenville is exactly 15 miles. We're recently from the Tampa- St Pete area, and traffic here is nothing by comparison. Most of the trouble I see is on the Interstate. Going north/south from from/to Greenville is just typical surface road traffic; rarely that bad. Once you get north of TR, it's wide open. I'd happily drive an hour to be out where we are.
Greenville itself is a very accessible city. Getting in and out is easy and there are only a few one-way streets. Parking can be an issue, especially when there is an event going on, but we now park at University Square, which is only a short walk from downtown, and they often run shuttles. There are also (pay) parking garages, and I've always been able to find a spot there.
From what I hear, the Mountain View and Blue Ridge schools are better than TR. Greenville County is all one (huge) district, and her first position may not be at the school of her choice. She may have to 'pay her dues' for a while to get into a better position.
Acreage is still pretty reasonable out in the country. Organized subdivisions are going to be quite a bit more. In the rural south, you're going to see big, beautiful homes mixed in between shacks and mobile homes. We bought land and built our own house- as in- actually built it. Our area has some nicer homes; some mobile homes. The people, however, have been great, and we're very happy out here. If you're uncomfortable having poor neighbors, seek out a subdivision.
It's so much different here than Tampa. For us, it was a huge improvement! Keep us posted, and keep asking questions.
Thank you so much for the info, that's very helpful! We actually live in the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa area right now. It's been growing soooo much and traffic is awful.
I've looked north of Travelers Rest and have seen some beautiful pieces of property, but I'm concerned without having been in the area yet. IF TR is 10 minutes from our property (so 10 minutes north of TR let's say) and they have adequate grocery store, and eating out places, I'd be happy. I just want our main amenities that we would use on a day to day basis to be within 10 minutes or so. I also am concerned about high speed internet. Is it available 10 minutes north of TR?
As far as being near poor neighbors, I have mixed opinions. I don't mind living near poor people. Not one bit. But I do have concerns about building a nice house near houses that will bring down my houses value. So I guess I'll probably look for a piece of property that has a few nice homes near by.
Really, I've seen a ton of property north of TR, but I've just been really concerned it's to far north and I'll be missing out on amenities, high speed internet etc. But perhaps not?
Also, while I'm talking about of way north of TR. Does anyone know anything about the cliffs communities? I see land in them all the time. Are they just a big retirement community? The properties there seem very beautiful!
The Cliffs are pretty expensive- way out of our range. I don't know much beyond that. It's also about 7 miles further out.
We have Charter Spectrum, supposedly 60 Mbps. We were first told that it was on our street, but when they came out to install, they said it wasn't. They were willing to bring it in at no cost, though. I would verify that the internet you want is in fact available wherever you buy. Hint- the person on the phone at Charter may not know the answer.
Shopping for property takes a lot of due diligence. We looked at about two dozen properties in our size/price range, and only two of them were acceptable. Many that looked good on paper were in flood zones, or too steep to be usable. You can learn a lot about specific properties by looking them up on gcgis.org, the Greenville County GIS site. You can look up topography, flood zones, soil types, and crime statistics. You can also zoom out to see who/what your neighbors would be.
We find TR to be pretty good for most things. We're two miles east of Hwy 25. From our place, the edge of TR is 5 miles away. Downtown is 6-7 miles. Neat little town; Main Street is all locally owned shops and restaurants, including a microbrewery, creperie, several restaurants of different prices and types, even a distillery! There's also a nice farmer's market during the warm months. On Hwy 25 a mile away is all of the fast food joints and bigger stores. Wal-Mart, Bi-Lo, Tractor Supply, Save-A-Lot, and several auto parts stores and drugstores. A couple miles further south is Publix, a much nicer store. At 12 miles, you're at Cherrydale, a small shopping center, as well as Lowe's and Home Depot. On my wife's commute home, she drives right by all of the regular supermarkets in the area, so no need to take an extra trip.
Greenville offers many interesting stores as well, such as Trader Joe's, Fresh Market, Cabela's, and many other big chains. The downside for us is that they are 20 miles or better from our place, so we don't go there as often. Much of that shopping is clustered on Woodruff Rd., and it is a zoo, especially on weekends. We go early and try to be out of there by noon.
I don't know what land prices are today. We bought 7 acres for $70K, but that was 10 years ago. We have several realtors on here that could probably help you. Good luck!
Thank you so much for the info, that's very helpful! We actually live in the Wesley Chapel/New Tampa area right now. It's been growing soooo much and traffic is awful.
I've looked north of Travelers Rest and have seen some beautiful pieces of property, but I'm concerned without having been in the area yet. IF TR is 10 minutes from our property (so 10 minutes north of TR let's say) and they have adequate grocery store, and eating out places, I'd be happy. I just want our main amenities that we would use on a day to day basis to be within 10 minutes or so. I also am concerned about high speed internet. Is it available 10 minutes north of TR?
As far as being near poor neighbors, I have mixed opinions. I don't mind living near poor people. Not one bit. But I do have concerns about building a nice house near houses that will bring down my houses value. So I guess I'll probably look for a piece of property that has a few nice homes near by.
Really, I've seen a ton of property north of TR, but I've just been really concerned it's to far north and I'll be missing out on amenities, high speed internet etc. But perhaps not?
Also, while I'm talking about of way north of TR. Does anyone know anything about the cliffs communities? I see land in them all the time. Are they just a big retirement community? The properties there seem very beautiful!
If you are 10 minutes outside (north) of Travelers Rest, you won't be too far out. There are enough grocery stores that will be close enough. It gets more rural as you go farther out, if that's what you like. The Cliff's are too far out to me tho. They are nice but very expensive.
If you reside in or near Travelers Rest, you will have access to retail and dining six miles away at Cherrydale Point. That retail center has retailers, restaurants, and entertainment Greer lacks.
Your grocery options in Travelers Rest include supermarket BI-LO #5653, Gateway Village, 148 Walnut Lane, Travelers Rest, South Carolina 29690-1600, and Ingle's #206, 1500 Geer Highway, Travelers Rest, South Carolina 29690-9204, and hypermarket Walmart Supercenter #5487, 9 Benton Road, Travelers Rest, South Carolina 29690-2168.
Don't forget about the Publix, which is near Furman and at the edge of a T.R. address.
As a wise man once said, never forget Publix a nice clean grocery store.
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