Nice Places To Live Near Gaffney (Greenville, Spartanburg: best city, apartments, low crime)

[morningbecomeseclectic]

Okay, this is nothing against Gaffney, but seeing as no one has really anything positive to say about the town, I'm beginning to think that, if my husband decides to take the job there, we might want to look somewhere else to live. Does anyone know of anywhere close to Gaffney (within a 20-30 minute commute) that is a really nice place? We have two young sons, so we're looking for somewhere family-friendly, with a small-town feel, low crime, decent cost of living, clean environment, etc. Somewhere we can walk to shops/restaurants if we want. It sounds like we would really like Greenville, but I think that's too far. Another poster mentioned Boiling Springs--does anyone know anything about that?

Sorry to sound so stupid about all this, but (as I mentioned in my other post) my husband really wants to take a job in Gaffney and we know virtually nothing about the area. Any help anyone could give would be soooooo appreciated.

[cabin]

Spartanburg is only about a half hour away.

[myrc60]

Gaffney is in Cherokee County and while that is still considered Upstate, you might do better in the SC forum.

[morningbecomeseclectic]

Thanks Myrc60--I'll try posting in that forum, too.

[roadsscholar]

I'd a least give Gaffney a visit. There's a couple of nice subdivisions north of town off Highway 150 near the golf course. There's also a lot of inexpensive land south of town. Are you aware that Duke Power is planning on building a nuclear power plan on the Broad River southeast of Gaffney? Nothing against Duke Power of nuclear power but this will definitely spur economic development and growth in Gaffney and Cherokee County.

Of course, I'm partial to Spartanburg. Boiling Springs (north of Spartanburg) has many nice subdivisions and is an easy commute to Gaffney.

[pgirl07]

Boiling Springs is about a 25-30 minute commute depending on how fast and wild you drive. It's a very nice little community and many of the subdivisions and apartments are new. There are nice restaurants, a Super Wal-Mart, Bi-Lo, Ingles (grocery stores), and easy access to the interstate. You can walk, depending on which neighborhood you live in, but there aren't that many areas with sidewalks.
Spartanburg is also really nice, but I'm not sure of which neighborhoods are the nicest and there are definitely areas that you want to stay away from. Ohh, Hillcrest is a nice neighborhood and they have sidewalks that you can walk to stores on and nice houses, a Super Walmart, the newest Starbucks, Aldi, Stein Mart, Publix, restaurants, etc. Spartanburg has a decent downtown with a big library a few shops and restaurants. Boiling Springs and Spartanburg are right next to each other..I really consider them to be the same city even though that's not correct.
I would definitely stay in a hotel for a while and check out the neighborhoods and calculate the commutes. Greenville is the best city in the area (IMO), but it is quite a commute, so at least you can be halfway there and live in Spartanburg County.
Well, good luck!