Unsafe Areas of Greenville (Wade Hampton, Taylors: crime, houses, place to live)

[staywarm2]

My dh and I will be touring Greenville this coming weekend, searching for areas to live in retirement. We will be driving all over east side and southeast side of the county and are concerned about ending up in an unsafe area.

Can anyone tell me areas we should avoid driving into?

Thank you!

[Eldemila]

I've been doing just what you're going to be doing for the past year on and off, since I don't live in state.

Before I went looking in the GVL area I did some searching on the web, most of it on this website, for information about the area. I knew I didn't want to be in the actual city and thought maybe a nearby area would be a good fit. I first thought Easley or Pickens would be a good area but it wasn't, too far away for us from my DH's potential job area and while nice, I just knew it wasn't for us. Then I refocused and finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to be on the north side of Wade Hampton, or close to WH.

I looked at the area demographics and I searched on realtor websites to see what homes are like, which I can tell you, looking at areas on the web and seeing them in person are two different balls of wax. You can have a gorgeous home, nice yard, near places you want to be near, but when you drive to see the house, you can be driving through a really looking neighborhood, and I don't mean it in a crime way - I've seen dilapitated trailers with structures falling down and cars that look like they've been abandoned for centuries right next to beautiful homes. I saw a very nice home in the Wellford area, it was like the neighborhood was put in the middle of the forest and you would NEVER know it was there, but when we left the area going the opposite way than when we went, the particular area to get to WH was not a nice drive, not the kind of element you'd want to see each and every day.

We finally narrowed it down to basically 2 areas, which are side by side just about - Greer and Taylors. We finally found a house in Taylors and hope that the deal goes through, otherwise, I'll be driving around again looking at homes.

My best advice would be to get a realtor. My realtor has the patience of a saint. I've been told my file is the thickest file she's ever - doesn't make me feel good about that and I'm sure not getting a prize for it.

I had specific wants and needs of what I wanted in my home and found it not the easiest thing to find in my price range, The realtors know the areas and they know them well. You tell them what you are looking for and what kind of neighborhood, they know, that's their business. They've driven me around and around and while going to homes point out areas and places of interest, shopping, etc. If I thought an area was what I wanted and it wasn't they'd advise me, but always offered to take me there if I should still want to go (never did) It also gives you the opportunity to really LOOK at the areas vs concentrating on driving around. I come from an area that has a systematic numbers for streets and it's easy to find your way once you know which way streets/avenues, etc go - there, not so easy, other than maybe downtown areas, streets are by names and you can see Rutherford in more places than one. Use a realtors knowledge, if you don't have one already.

Don't be mistaken, I drove around on my own a lot, just to get the feel of the area and to know what was around the area I wanted to relocate to. I know the Greer/Taylors area pretty darn well now and feel right at home each time I go. I'm ready to move and can't wait to get there. People are very nice, polite, drive well and speak English - characteristics that aren't seen much anymore where I live now.

If I can answer any questions in regard to my personal experience, please feel free to PM me, I'll be happy to try and help however possible.

Wish you luck in your search, I'm hoping mine has finally ended (as I'm sure my realtor is as well)

[staywarm2]

Unsafe areas on the east side of Greenville?

Thanks very much for the help, Eldemila. Anyone else??

[g-man430]

Originally Posted by staywarm2

Unsafe areas on the east side of Greenville?

Thanks very much for the help, Eldemila. Anyone else??

I don't really know of any unsafe areas on the eastside of Greenville. The westside of Greenville is where I would stay away from. The northern, eastern and southern areas are safe in my opinion.

[B&R]

There aren't really many areas that are dangerous to drive through. The rougher neighborhoods aren't that large and are scattered. And they aren't as rough as some bigger cities.

As far as picking a place to live you can find a realtor who can find just what you need.

[NewYorkBorn]

Originally Posted by staywarm2

Unsafe areas on the east side of Greenville?

Thanks very much for the help, Eldemila. Anyone else??

A large portion of the Whitehorse Road area comes to mind......not sure of the level of criminal activity but there is a high level of poverty in that area.......where there is poverty you can bet there is crime. It is good that people have decided to take a look at the entire Greenville area and not just downtown.....to read most of this forum a person could easily get the impression that downtown Greenville is the only area that should be visited.

Overall Greenville is safer than many cities but just like other cities there are pockets of bad areas.

[g-man430]

Originally Posted by NewYorkBorn

A large portion of the Whitehorse Road area comes to mind......not sure of the level of criminal activity but there is a high level of poverty in that area.......where there is poverty you can bet there is crime. It is good that people have decided to take a look at the entire Greenville area and not just downtown.....to read most of this forum a person could easily get the impression that downtown Greenville is the only area that should be visited.

Overall Greenville is safer than many cities but just like other cities there are pockets of bad areas.

It is. You can work, shop, and live downtown. It's like being stuck in a bubble away from the real world.

[Eldemila]

I've driven down White Horse many a time and have never felt threatened to drive there in any way. Yes, there are more run down areas around there, but I've gone down areas of Wade Hampton and found areas that could easily be over in White Horse, such as entire strip malls empty and abandoned. How many Winn Dixies do you know sitting vacant in "nicer areas?" I guess it also may depend on how you view other social and economic groups. Maybe I'm just not familiar with what I haven't seen in this area, I really know nothing more about the area than what I see in the quick few minutes I drive through it. I know from reading posts on this forum that the Berea area isn't good to find a home in, but when looking for a home, technically, at last from what I found, the Furman area is really the Berea area as well - please correct me if I am wrong. There are some very nice homes around that area, but yet, the area does go down not too far away.

The areas you may think are safe, you never know what's lurking where. I live in a very nice neighborhood (not in SC yet) and my area is notorious for grow houses, and you'd never know it was happening in this area, that is until you hear about the bust on TV.

You can go on line and see the crime stats for any area in Greenville. You can even put in an exact addres and see what types of crimes have happened around that address. I've looked at addresses all over Greenville - no certain area is immuned, there just may be more activity in certain areas than others.

I think the key is homework and not jumping in to anything. I feel sorry for people who HAVE to move and have 2-3 weeks to find a house to relocate to - luckily I have no set time I have to move and thankfully, this time has given me more insight in to the future city I'll be calling home soon!

[Rapunzll]

I tend to judge an area by how many windows and doors have safety bars.

[Greenville]

Originally Posted by Rapunzll

I tend to judge an area by how many windows and doors have safety bars.

I love it! I do the same thing!