Thinking of Travelers Rest. Pls tell me all about it. (Greenville: ski resort, real estate market)

[Bogbear]

Originally Posted by charz

Sorry, I just realized that I didn't answer Bogbear's question about schools in Travelers Rest. TR schools are a part of the Greenville County School District. There is one high school (Travelers Rest High), a middle school (Northwest Middle), and at least two elementaries (Heritage, Gateway). When I graduated from TR High back in 1984, there were approximately 200 in my senior class. The high school is a brand new facility (just a couple of years old). I have friends that teach at Northwest Middle and Gateway Elementary and they love it.

Thank you for your information. We are visiting the areas in February and hope to even visit a few schools. Our kids are used to small setting environments and with such a large transition might look for school such as what TR has.

[bajuhe]

I have a question about Traveler's Rest I've not seen answered as yet. Do you have high speed internet access in the area? Thanks.

[charz]

My mom who lives in Travelers Rest has high speed internet. Her cable company is located in Greenville. I imagine that it might depend on where you are in TR. If you are back in the mountains close to the NC border but still technically in Travelers Rest, you might have difficulty.
Hey Bajuhe--if you move there, don't put the quotation mark in Travelers

[hamramey]

If you like Travelers Rest, you would love the Walhalla area. We are at the foothills of the mountains. Seneca and Clemson are very close by. Major shopping centers and the hospital is 10 minutes away. Main Street is quaint, with its antique stores and little shops. It is a sleepy little town where everyone is friendly. We have lakes and rivers as close as the hospital and the school system is great. Greenville is about a 45 minute drive and most any area is safe for children and singles. Taxes are cheaper as well.

[4marshall]

I have been lurking on this site for weeks looking for information about a potential relocation out west. I finally got curious to see what people were saying about my town. I found this thread and had to respond to a few things.

I'll temper my negative comments with the fact that I chose to live here and I agree with many of the positives (as the pictures show, there are some beautiful places).

I think that the information being shared isn't all coming from people who are intimately involved in the native community (Charz grew up here so that's involved). Not to cast stones, I'm just curious how many of you have friends who have been here for years or who aren't moderately wealthy.

Small note Skyliner, there are two landfills here. One county landfill just off hwy 25 north of Berea (Blackberry Valley) and one for profit landfill just off 276 a half mile north of the city, 200 yards off 276. They aren't a problem obviously or they would have been noticed.

Info that impacts life...

Travelers Rest is a city but as someone mentioned, the mailing address for much of nothern Greenville County is TR. So to talk about TR really depends on whether you're talking city or county.

The commute from the city of TR to downtown is 10 miles. Best case to downtown is 15 minutes. A couple of lights or some traffic an it's more like 25 to 30.

Outsiders are not necessarily viewed the same. Maybe to your face and maybe among outsiders (I'm an outsider to some extent and I grew up in the upstate of SC). I have several friends who grew up here who consider themselves more redneck than me (and tell me that) and they will tell you that they are sick of the yankees (my dad is a yankee) and rich outsiders telling them how to run their lives and driving the price of their land up.

During the re-zoning battle with Wal-Mart the Mayor and council wouldn't let non-residents speak but then spoke about the "people in the area who will patronize the store." The non-residents who wanted to speak were retirees and older business folks who transplanted to a nice neighborhood here. The mayor told me personally that he didn't care what they did where they came from this was "about our town."

Local politics here are ridiculous. I'll happily share myriad examples of how the political process is twisted to serve the often underinformed desires of those in power.

The taxes in TR are the highest (maybe second highest now) of all five (I think it's five) municipalities in Greenville County. We do however have a good police department and personally I think it's nice to be able to call 911 and get an officer quickly as compared to the county where the deputy may be 10 or 20 minutes away at best.

The land prices are going up daily. 20 to 40 thousand an acre isn't unusual. The price depends on how well protected it is from crap around it. In the county you are gambling. Of course, the city is that way too.

JustNancy, the comments about trailers aren't so much about the nice ones as the crappy ones. Really I think people associate "Trailers" with just junky rednecks because the two often coexist. There are plenty of houses that are just as junky. The problem here is that there is little enforcement of junk on property UNLESS you are the near the Cliffs properties or some other high end development that has political influence enough to get the county to force the junk-owner to clean up.

As for the master plan. There are plans that I hope will actually materialize. The city ignored the comprehensive plan that was written a few years back when it came time to rezone for the WalMart (lots of local newspaper articles about that).

So, there are some negatives and a realistic view of TR. I like it here, these are just some of the things that frustrate me.

[4marshall]

Oh, and nice pics.

Rested Traveler has some interesting pics on his website link too (not necessarily TR).

[Skyliner]

I am very sorry to hear about those political problems in TR. You know, Rested Traveler is originally from Huntington, WV (home of Marshall University) and is about to move out west as well (company relocation, apparently). Maybe you guys could get together sometime somewhere out there (Denver maybe?) and discuss how disappointed you are about leaving beautiful TR. ( j/k) Seriously though, it would be a shame to lose caring citizens like you and RT, even if it is a result of job relocations. Fortunately there are other great people moving in to fill-in your spots until you return home.

[4marshall]

Mostly a change of scenery. I'm not sure there is a small town anywhere that doesn't have local politics issues.

TR is an interesting place and it's hard to consider leaving but not alot of winter outdoors activity here. I'm sure my replacement will serve well.

[RestedTraveler]

Originally Posted by 4marshall

Oh, and nice pics.

Rested Traveler has some interesting pics on his website link too (not necessarily TR).

Thank you. Thank you very much. I presume you're referring to my VIRB profile. I've got a lot more photos of Greenville (and TR) on flickr. There isn't a lot to photograph in Travelers Rest proper, so I tend to get out and around a lot. Are you a Marshall Alumni/Fan? I wouldn't have thought of that until Skyliner brought it up. Where out west are you looking to move?

Originally Posted by Skyliner

I am very sorry to hear about those political problems in TR. You know, Rested Traveler is originally from Huntington, WV (home of Marshall University) and is about to move out west as well (company relocation, apparently). Maybe you guys could get together sometime somewhere out there (Denver maybe?) and discuss how disappointed you are about leaving beautiful TR. ( j/k) Seriously though, it would be a shame to lose caring citizens like you and RT, even if it is a result of job relocations. Fortunately there are other great people moving in to fill-in your spots until you return home.

Actually, Skyliner, the move to Aurora has nothing to do with job relocation. It's a personal choice this time. It's more about a change of scenery as well. I don't have to sell you on Colorado as I know you've mentioned in other forums that you had considered living out there as well. As you know, my wife wanted to move back to Orlando (and I did not - for many reasons (crime, traffic, housing costs, etc.)). Denver is just perfect for us. It has the shopping/dining/nightlife/cultural things to keep the wife and kids more than satisfied. It's got the outdoor amenities and professional sports to keep me happy, fit, and healthy. The crime and traffic are a non-issue there. I will be able to drive into my office in Denver or Colorado Springs if I so desire...that'll be nice. More importantly, I'll be able to drive or ride my bike to the nearest light rail station and ride RTD into downtown Denver or to other areas of the metro. That's a HUGE draw for me. The housing costs are becoming more and more reasonable by the day there, too...which is good. So, Denver is where we're headed once we sell our home. After a few years of being indecisive, we've finally arrived at our decision.

Yes, I'll miss Greenville and Travelers Rest and our friends and neighbors, but ultimately, this move just feels right all the way around.

[Skyliner]

I sincerely hope you will finally be able to achieve long term contentment after your latest move. I am sure many of us would love to enjoy the luxury of moving every few years for a change of scenery, especially to a place that sounds nearly perfect in every way (a bit too cold and windy for me at this point though). May you find rest once again for your future travels.