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Hi everyone! I'm a 26 yr old female young prof relocating to Greenville for a new job. I'm pretty clueless as to best areas to live. I'll be working in Spartanburg but have pretty much decided I'd rather live in Greenville after spending the wknd there after my interview last Friday.
So far, it seems like apartments in Pelham, Haywood areas would be my best bet. Any specific recs? I was set on Sterling Pelham Apts after some research, but much of the reviews seem so bad. The thing is, ANYONE can have a unique negative experience at any given complex, and I'm having a hard time discerning what to believe via reviews for many of the complexes I find.
What would good areas be for getting to Spartanburg the fastest each morning/evening?
As mentioned in the thread, health food shopping is important to me (Whole Foods, TJ's) - so, Haywood area would be best to be close to such options?
I am also looking to not go over $800/month. Basically, the safest place I can get while still being affordable and in this range is what I'm looking for.
Any and all advice much appreciated! I'm very nervous, scared to leave family and friends, and very anxious about being entirely on my own. So thanks
Pelham and Haywood are both good areas, and there are tons of complexes there. Lots of grocery stores and restaurants too.
Woodruff Rd has a lot of complexes also, but traffic there is awful on that road a lot.
My husband and I are both young professionals who moved earlier this year to Greenville due to work and had about 2 weeks to find an apartment. We lived in the Granite at Taylors (off of Wade Hampton in Taylors) for a while (we live downtown now and love it!). The complex was okay, there were a lot of bad reviews online but we had a good experience. We lived in one of the units that wasn't renovated and paid 758$ for a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom. We never felt unsafe and didn't have a problem there. I think a lot of people who write bad reviews just had exceptionally bad experiences. People are less likely to write about mediocre or good/average experiences just in general.
As far as areas to stay away from, most people say to keep away from the west side of Greenville (Sans Souci, Berea, etc.). The areas near the Cherrydale shopping center is okay though. Traveler's Rest is good too. You'll be able to tell where to stay away from, those areas to keep away from seem to be run down and have a lot of people that seem to wander and loiter.
TJ's and Whole Foods are both on Woodruff Rd. There is a Fresh Market on S. Pleasantburg and I think there is a thread on here about another one opening up. Plenty of other grocery stores around of course to supplement between trips to one of those though (Ingles, Bilo's, Wal-Mart, Aldi's etc).
I'm sure there are more people on here who can help a little more since I haven't even been here a year - I can tell you so far we really enjoy living here. Downtown is fantastic, there is always something to do.
I would guess that anywhere near I85 or close to Wade Hampton would give you a more direct commute to Spartanburg, but we haven't explored much that way. Just don't have a reason to go to Spartanburg since we both work in Greenville. A lot of people seem to live in Greenville and work in Spartanburg for quality of life so you won't be alone in doing that.
Thornblade and the complexes in that area would be among my recommendations for safety and an easier commute to Spartanburg from the Greenville area. The traffic between Greenville and Spartanburg really thins out once you get past Pelham Rd, and from the Pelham Rd area you can easily get to Haywood and Woodruff for shopping and other conveniences.
They are going to be starting a 2 year project to rebuild the intersection of I-85 and I-385 soon so you might want to keep that in mind because it will likely impact traffic in that area. I haven't lived in an apartment in a very long time so I can't give you any specific recommendations but the previous suggestions in the Pelham Road area and on the east side of Greenville would put you in an area convenient to downtown Greenville, shopping near Woodruff Road, and still within a reasonable commute to Spartanburg. Traffic around the Pelham Road exit is somewhat congested at commuting times in the morning and evening so I would recommend checking out the traffic around any complex you are interested in at the time of day you would leave for and return from work. Compared to a lot of places, Greenville traffic is pretty minor, though - not sure of what you would be comparing it to, though.
Like the Volunteer above, I haven't lived in an apt in years - but, I did commute to Spartanburg from Greenville for over a year relatively recently - for me, it was awful - the drive was about 40 minutes one way (of course, always depending on traffic flow on I-85).
If you must have access to Greenville, I'd live in the Greer area.
However, I'm sure there are decent apartments in Spartanburg - an easy commute would really improve the quality of your life (go home for lunch, less stress, less wear/tear on the car, spend less on gas, etc) - go to Greenville on the weekends. Additionally, by living in Spartanburg you will be closer to Charlotte.
When I first moved to Greenville a little over 7 years ago, I lived in the Thornblade apartments off of The Parkway. They were (at the time at least) reasonably priced apartments in a safe, clean, community. Easy access to two grocery stores, a dunkin donuts, and a gym. Additionally, I could hope on 85 to get to downtown Greenville quickly via 385.
The same would apply for you, except for the added fact that you could also get on 85 to head toward spartanburg very quickly as well. I think this could be an ideal spot to suit your needs.
I agree with Jamiecta, The Parkway is a nice area. It is near one of the schools I teach at so I'm on that road regularly. Easy access to 85, plenty of restaurants, and grocery stores and shops. I've heard good things about Jet's Pizza although I haven't tried them out yet.
Thank you for all of the advice everyone! I really appreciate it. This site rocks.
Are y'all talking about Crestmont at Thornblade or the Thornblade in Greer?
I am starting to think people are right about making things easier and saving gas $$, etc., by living in Spartanburg. Greenville is just so much more fun. I'm worried about being lonely and bored all the time in Spartanburg, but you're right, I can always drive there each wknd.
Thornblade park. The address is technically greer but it's not really out in true Greer. The other side of the street is Greenville. 15 minutes to downtown Greenville via 85/385. 30 minutes to spartanburg.
Professional? Everytime I see this I wonder exactly what it means LOL.
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I'm worried about being lonely and bored all the time in Spartanburg, but you're right, I can always drive there each wknd.
