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Thanks for the positive post on Greenville SC. I'm glad you had great weather and visited some nice areas. There are plenty more as you will see when you get here. As far as Woodruff Rd. if you go from 9-12 or 2-5 it is not quite as busy. (well I should say get off of it b-4 5:00 or just stay until after 6 and shop and eat. ha!
I just returned to my area from visiting what I have come to know is referred to as part of the "Upstate" region of South Carolina. I think I drove through parts of Seneca, Clemson, Easley, Six Mile, Joccassee Community, Walhalla, Westminster, Pickens, Greenville, Taylors Community, and Anderson. I think that's most of the cities I believe I tried to cover.
I think it was Saturday that I had visited Whitewater Falls in Nantahala Forest area, and I believe that put me a little on the North Carolina side, but it was nice. I had stayed in the North Seneca area in a county park referred to as "High Falls," I believe it was. That was a decent park, though I think I was one of few tent campers. Showers were warm, which I was concerned about possibly running out of warm water, but I didn't. Toiletries appeared to be kept clean regularly.
One thing that I wasn't to big on was the fact of what I think was a Nuclear Power Plant location within about 2 miles or so from the camping facilities. Don't think I would want to locate much near that if I were to move over that way.
The drive from the camp area up Hwy. 130 towards the fall I visited was nice. Hwy. 183 I'm thinking that seemed to go through Six Mile and Pickens area, seemed to be a nice drive. From what I remember of from Pickens to Easley on Hwy. 8 I'm thinking was pretty nice to. On the Hwy. 123 which headed into Greenville, I was a little leary of what parts of town that was heading me into. It didn't appear to start out promising to much. It seemed almost the same circumstance when I headed towards Anderson on the Hwy. 29, then when I saw a University I was a little hopeful that I was finally headed somewhere.
When I had reached the Eastern part of Greenville, almost to the Greer area, and part of the Taylors Community, it seemed to look like things were getting more decent. I'm not sure I can remember the name of the road I was driving through that part mostly, but I think I remember that Bob Jones University was located along this road.
As for the specific towns, most of them seemed normal as in the older parts, newer parts, decent parts, kind of dying away parts, etc. Clemson was probably what seemed about the more lively or maybe cleaner to me, but I would suppose that is in part due to the University. Didn't see much of Pickens from what I recall, but it appeared decent also.
So that's a little bit about what my trip entailed over to check out the area for possible relocation. This may help someone or just give some an idea of what people take on the area, but anyways, sorry for the length.
So I guess cities like Charleston, New Orleans, Richmond, Birmingham, etc. weren't "Southern" by your standards since they were considered big cities in their heydays?
Southern does NOT automatically equate to rural. If so, you could call practically the entire state of Montana "Southern."
I don't particularly like it getting bigger but it's who is coming that's my main problem. no offense to them.
Yeah, "no offense to them" sounds really genuine. Get over the whole Southern vs. Northern thing and join the rest of us in the 21st century.
I mean I don't have a personal problem with them wanting to move here.
And I think the whole "join the 21st century" thing is part of the problem. From my travels (granted these were 2 big cities Chicago and New York City.) it seems that things like being nice, mannerly and things moving slower aren't "21st Century".
So that's a little bit about what my trip entailed over to check out the area for possible relocation. This may help someone or just give some an idea of what people take on the area, but anyways, sorry for the length.
Please do not apologize for the length, this is extremely helpful. A lot of people like me come to city-data to read posts like this. I would like to hear more of your comparisons.
I am particularly interested in your impressions of the more western towns. It sounds like Clemson was your favorite of the various towns--did I interpret this right? How did you like Clemson compared to Seneca? Did you get a chance to go up to Lake Keowee? If so, what did you think?
Your comment about Clemson being cleaner was interesting. Did you see garbage, or graffitti, or just a general sense of neglect in any areas? Any places make you feel "uneasy" and if so, why?
What things caught your fancy? I'm sure there were a few things that made you want to return and take a second look.
Did you see any towns that look like places where people could go walking? (in other words, did you see sidewalks or trails---or just dangerous narrow roads with traffic zooming by).
Which lake had the nuclear plant? Did you like one lake better than another?
I also have been trying to keep up with things on here in hopes to find out more about this area. I just recently took the trip to see some of the area. Mostly what I did was ride a motorcycle through areas. Perhaps I may have seen some of the main things in some of the smaller towns. I didn't get to see a whole lot of Greenville, though I do hear, and I think I even remember talking to someone while I was over there that said downtown area of Greenville was still decent even at night. I saw mainly business' and such on my drives.
Personally I'm not to big on seeing I guess larger location industries/business' at sites. How many larger business have you seen that have a large facility and if something happens to that, and they close or something, then you have a vacant facility, growing up with weeds and whatever else is free to grow there, not being cared for as much. Also then do you see the areas where these things have shut down turn in the positive direction or tend to lean towards a less safe area/maybe rundown so to speak area of town. I do not like seeing large vacant facilities as such. Do other people not see them as an eyesore necessarily.
Currently, I live in the North Georgia area, in a nicer town. It is Chickamauga. We have a battlefield in the area. The town is a nicer small community town, and much of nobody thinks much about not being safe in the area as far as I know. The schools in this town area a "center point" so to speak. People feel free to walk/run/jog etc. around the block that contains the school. The school area is nice looking. The downtown area looks good. It has one stop light. I can't think of any large facility that is just shut down right by here directly in town that doesn't look good. The places of business are kept nice of what I know, and the town appears to have life to it. It is a historic town, and perhaps this is part of the reasoning.
I suppose I somewhat expected a similar type atmosphere traveling over to the Upstate area. No, the towns were normal/ regular towns it appeared to me. Decent/ not so decent/ "somebody needs to clean that place up" areas.
For example, I think it was Hwy. 130 that I came across a property that appeared have, I think it was just old trailer homes that looked like they were junk, I mean as in, they were being scrapped or gutted or something, or had just been left to sit there, which I wouldn't be to big on them just being left there.
As for walking areas and towns, I would probably feel ok walking around most all of the towns that I went through, can't recall one that I wouldn't, but I would want to know which areas of town to avoid walking through so much, obviously, and for specific towns, Greenville and Anderson, but that should probably be expected with the bigger towns. This is what I was talking about driving through areas I felt uncomfortable in. As for sidewalks and walking paths, I've heard of the issues with this, and I wasn't paying it to much attention, but aside from the business portions and downtown areas of the towns, I don't think I recalled many sidewalks, so looks like it holds true about what I've heard. Keep in mind I mostly drove through main places of towns in these areas.
What I say about Clemson, is that I don't right off recall any areas of that town that I wouldn't feel safe or feel free to wander around walking the town. Sounds kind of like the town/area I'm in right now. I feel I could walk just about anywhere in this area and feel right fine with safety/friendliness/etc. As for Clemson comparing with Seneca, I don't recall Clemson having a lot of the bigger stores that Seneca had, but Seneca was maybe 10 mins or something from Clemson, so people may not think to much of traveling to these places for items of necessities. In Clemson I didn't see a whole of the older portion/smaller business section that I saw in Seneca. Of course Clemson had the little University oriented stores and then I think it was Hwy. 123 that had some places to eat along it and various other stores/places of business. It was probably the town I might prefer over another.
I also wanted to find out more about Pickens also, it looked real decent from what I recall, but I only drove through a little of what appeared the main part of town. I would just be curious to explore it more because the outskirts of the town that I drove through on the way passing through seemed like they would fit my type of environment. I don't mind seeing older homes in a older "country" type atmosphere, and I think this is what I recall on the way over to the Pickens area.
You mentioned grafitti and what not, and garbage around the towns. I don't recall seeing a whole lot of any of the sort, in much of the areas.
Part of the reasons I looked at this upstate area is because of the lakes.
They contain Hartwell, Keowee, and Jocassee lakes, in that order, just about from southward up towards northward, reaching almost North Carolina. If I remember correctly the acreage size of the lakes also gets smaller as you go through the list starting with Hartwell Lake being bigger. Apparently about Hartwell Lake, there was an issue with some company dumping something into the water, I suppose illegaly or something, and I heard it's not a good idea to eat the fish out of Hartwell, or to be kind of watchfull, I suppose. I think the substance was PCB or something, not sure if people could remember correctly. It seems to me that with the size of the lake, somebody must have really dumped a substantial amount of whatever the substance was into the lake for people to need to be leary about eating the fish from the lake. I did not see much of the Hartwell Lake though. Except I think I did get a glance of it in the Clemson area, and I think it was a little down, not sure if it was because of water flow control, or lack or recent rain not to long back or what.
I stayed at a county park on Keowwee lake, this is where the supposed nuclear place was. It was located along about Hwy. 130 a little towards the north side of Clemson, however this did not seem to keep people from living and building in this area along this main road. I mean nice expensive houses/ communities is what they appeared to be. I suppose the people felt safe regardless. I'd like to at least have a chance to head out of the area if something were to happen with that place, but that's me.
I asked about Joccassee being cleaner than Keowee lake, and that sounded about right from what I gather, though I didn't get to see much of Jocassee lake right up and close except through parks store windows. The little bit I saw of Joccassee Lake did look very nice.
Think I covered quite a bit of information there, hope it's helpful, you can ask more if you want, because that's what I went over for to check out the area. Perhaps some of my interests may not be as that of someone else's though, so at least maybe somebody has gathered a little bit from what they might want to know.
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Greenville
