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You seem easily impressed. And, you know that tourism is a big pillar for the Charleston economy. Why complain about it? Move, if you're not happy, or take refuge in Summerville. I don't get it.
I am easily impressed. I'm a simple person, and life is good in SC, all parts of it in my opinion.
But the overcrowding in Charleston is getting really tough. It's such a great city, guess everyone wants in on it. But darn if it doesn't get old after a while.
Now that the summertime is over, the major tourism season is over so it'll unclog a bit.
Lol, you are wrapped into your own perception aren't you brother. The state revolves around Charleston. Lol. How large is the Charleston csa? Just curious. Seriously.
Huh?????????? You are the one who is getting all bent out of shape trying to prove how "big" Greenville is. Why are you so obsessed with city size? I just found it interesting that you cared so much and started having a discussion about it. The state actually revolves around Columbia, seeing as it is the capital.
I've noticed more than a few Greenville people put a LOT of effort into trying to convince everyone how big and grown up Greenville is.
I ask......why do you care? Charleston could be the 10th biggest city in SC and I wouldn't care.
And Charleston doesn't have a CSA. If it did, it would include 8 counties, like Greenville's does. They'd have to count Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley (The current MSA's, with Berkeley almost all rural) and also include Beaufort (Hilton Head area), Georgetown, Horry (Myrtle Beach), Colleton and 1 other, don't know all the surrounding counties that well.
But again I ask, who cares? I just joined the conversation b/c I found it interesting. You actually truly CARE about this don't you?
Ok, my bad. Greenville is almost Atlanta and dwarfs all other cities in NC and SC. That better?
Here is the deal guys. Some may take offense. Charleston is very old. I would guess it's about as old as Boston, and is also a port city. For some reason Boston exploded in size. Not sure why Charleston didn't. Now, let my say this. Greenville is fairly new south. It doesn't have a port, no major college presence, and it's not the center of the state. The only thing it had to work with is a tiny dirty river. Despite having none of this, it is still flourishing. The other msa's should be way ahead, but they aren't. Why is this? Here is why. Good old fashion hard work. The people here go after what they want the area to transform to. This is what attracted me to the area. There is a reason Greenville county has 450k+ people. I invite all of you who haven't been here recently to, to pay a visit. What some of you think is way off base.
Which one is larger? Depends on how you look at it, doesn't it?
Wow, you are REALLY sensitive about something. Some inferiority complex or something. Why is the size if the place you live so important? Does feeling like you are in a 'big' city boost self esteem or something?
Your numbers.......
Greenville County has 450K.
Charleston County is called the "Tri-County" for a reason. Because the Charleston area is located directly on top of a 3 county junction: Charleston, Dorchester, Berkeley. Thus, despite the Charleston Metro Area being larger, Greenville's County population is larger because the bulk of it is in 1 county, whereas the Charleston one is on top of 3 counties. Not that it matters.
As far as CSA....the census bureau didn't form a CSA for Coastal South Carolina like they did Upstate South Carolina. Greenville's CSA has 8 counties. If you took the Charleston, Berkeley, Dorchester area, and added the next 5 coastal counties....well, you see my point. Again....not that it matters.
And it truly doesn't matter. But go downtown Charleston and downtown Greenville. I've been here for 10 years and still get lost in downtown Charleston. Downtown Greenville....go for a month and you'll never get lost. I simply said Charleston "feels" bigger. Tourism is a major reason, as any given day there are probably an extra 50,000 or so tourists here, and a large military population that, because of base housing, isn't counted in the Census.
I do find is kinda interesting though how you have such a passionate desire to convince others of how "big" Greenville is. And it is a wonderful city by the way.
ANd to answer your question about why Charleston hasn't grown at the same pace over the years as Greenville or Atlanta or Charlotte has....
- Growth is limited to inland only, not 360 degrees like those above cities, because of that big ass ocean Charleston sits on. You can only go so far inland.
- Charleston is on a peninsula. So....well, it can only go so far.
- Charleston has a very strict height restriction the historic society has put in place. That prevented Charleston from becoming Charlotte. And thats a GOOD thing.
In closing, it kinda feels like you see some sort of Charleston vs Greenville rivalry, based on size, progress, image, or whatever. Well, for a rivalry to exist, it must go both ways. And trust me, no one in Charleston cares who thinks we are "big" or how we size up to Greenville or Columbia. In fact, in the next Census, I hope Greenville has 1,000,000 people and we don't grow at all. Then we'll both be happy
Are you saying that Greenville is a much larger city than Charleston???
If you are you must know that you are sadly mistaken.
It's not. The metro areas are very close though. Charleston day to day has a lot more people because of huge tourism and military presence. But official population stats have Greenville area, Columbia area and Charleston area all very close in the 640-660,000 range.
The two cities do have a very distinct difference though:
Over the years Greenville has made big efforts to grow, and have done so into a wonderful city. Over the years, Charleston has made huge efforts to NOT grow or STOP growing, and thus, has REMAINED a wonderful city.
Redcliffe points to Charleston's history vs Boston and why Charleston didn't become a huge, massive sprawling Atlanta or Boston size city. Well, with Greenville growing, he may want his city's leaders to visit Charlestons past and mimic their efforts to remain a wonderful, moderately sized city. Growth aint' always good.
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