Why I left SC (Columbia, Charleston: environment, equity, relocating)

[gbv]

If you are expecting the typical hostile Yankee reaction about regretfully relocating to South Carolina, then read no further. What I hope to provide is a balanced view of what I experienced in South Carolina and why my spouse and I ultimately chose to leave this year.

First of all, it is important that you have some background information about me and my spouse. I am originally from the Northeast, but always hated living there. I despised the rudeness and the harsh accents. I am not your typical Yankee. My spouse is from Georgia. He's lived in the South for most of his life and even attended college (Furman U.) in South Carolina.

A few years ago, we had an opportunity to move from Southwest VA (yes, coal country!) to SC. I had what seemed to be a great job offer in Greenville. My husband, being very familiar with the area and having such fond memories of living there, was extremely excited--so much, that he moved without securing a job. We were very encouraged by the economic growth of the Upstate and thought this would be great place to finally settle.

Where do I begin with what went wrong for us? My direct supervisor failed to tell me that he worked for Bob Jones University for several years prior to coming on board where I was hired. In fact, he flat out lied and told me he came directly from elsewhere. I would have never accepted a subordinate role from someone affiliated with that institution. I have my reasons. I experienced an unusually hostile work environment at the hands of two co-workers, both from Michigan, btw The native SC management knew they were problematic and adopted desultory passive-aggressive management style. That said, the place I worked had a very high turnover rate and all the higher ups were good ol' boys. It was impossible professionally advance. I was constantly reminded of my place, but ironically, was hired because I had a lot of experience in the area they needed to fill. I sought employee assistance and was told that place where I worked had numerous problems, had a reputation for being unprofessional, etc. I would find official documents rife with basic spelling errors, poor vocabulary, etc. There were essentially no standards and no desire for excellence. I have worked in several southern states and this was by far the worst experience I've ever had. My husband landed a job that was not much better. He took 5k cut in pay (no, the cost of living in coal county was cheaper, so it was a legitimate cut!) and management was atrocious. Apparently, the authoritative style and slave mentality of subordinates reigns supreme. He quit after a few months and made ends meet through a series of temporary professional positions.

As a state employee, I had substandard health insurance. In fact, I couldn't even get straight answers from state employees in Columbia about coverage. Many essential things were either not covered or woefully underfunded. Don't tell me that all states are having problems. SC has the nefarious honor of providing their state employees with one of the crappiest benefit packages around. My current state health insurance in the mid-west is not only cheaper, but provides better coverage.

If you are in the non-profit and/or education fields, I would highly advise you carefully reconsider relocating to South Carolina. Professionals in these fields do not get the respect they deserve. There are many state employees, especially in the Lowcountry region, who can barely afford housing (The Lowcountry used to be very cheap and you can thank Yankees for driving up housing costs there!) The SC legislature doesn't care about providing decent health care for its state employees, but doesn't mind posting salaries of everyone earning more than 50k on The State (Columbia) newspaper's website. Yes, I know this is public information, but the way they advertise it with connotations of "see how your tax dollars are being spent" is sickening. If you have a spouse that earns exponentially more and has better benefits, then have at it.

South Carolina is a good place to relocate if you are cashing out equity from a higher cost of living area, can secure a decent job, and are very religious (read: Christian).

We loved the outdoor recreational opportunities that the Upstate affords! If you have an outdoor hobby, you will make friends quickly. The people there are generally nice and we left behind a few dear friends.

So, we live in the Midwest and enjoy a higher quality of life in our mid-sized city. We have good jobs and better health coverage. The people are nice here, too, and are very polite.

I should add that, instead of moving to the Midwest, my spouse and I almost accepted jobs in the Pee Dee region, but decided that the salaries were too low and there was too much of a class divide between the wealthy and poor. We didn't want to either live in a 250k+ home or in a trailer.

In my heart, I am simply not a southerner and I think my spouse isn't either. Midwest pragmatism appeals to us. People here are nice, but not overly friendly or nosy. There are certain things about southern culture, while not horrible, simply don't agree with us. Southerners seem to be overly concerned with superficial displays of wealth. Everything seems to be about appearances and we found this true of old money, new money, the artisan class, etc.

What I know (opinionated, of course!) about other areas in SC:
Charleston--Huge housing bubble. Expect to pay 250k for a moldy home on James Island that needs a ton of work. Many Yankees think they are getting a deal, but these homes sold for 135k in 2002! West Ashely is slightly better. Mt. Pleasant has too much sprawl.

N.Charleston--Your commute to downtown Charleston will take longer than you think. A friend of mine used to live in Goose Creek. Anyone who says it is 25 minutes from Ladson or Summerville to downtown Charleston is lying. It is more like 40 minutes.

Spartanburg--Nothing to write home about, but it is emerging as a separate city from Greenville.

Greer--Ugh! Too much development and subsequent annexation. Commuting from Greer to Greenville shouldn't take that long, but it does.

Hartsville--Huge gulf between wealthy and poor. Where is the middle class there? I have no idea. That said, the historic area is lovely and the people seem really nice there.

Travelers Rest--Gets a bad rap. There is a lot of development in TR and some nice housing. Plus, it is close to Furman U. and that campus is like a public park.

Columbia--Very hot in the summertime, but I bet you knew that. Traffic seems to be manageable. I didn't find it to be very pedestrian friendly.

[Luvsdabeach]

I live in GC and I can attest that during rush hour it takes 40-45 minutes to get to downtown, which is 21 miles away. I get on I-26 at the Hwy 52-Ashley Phosphate connecter. When I would get on I-26 at College Park Rd. it would take me 50-55 minutes. Traffic around here is only going to get worse. There are subdivisions popping up all over Berkeley & Dorchester Counties but noone has come up with a good plan to help with the traffic.

I'm sorry you all had a rough time here and I hope you are very happy where you live now.

[gbv]

A friend of mine moved from GC several years ago and traffic was a problem then! As areas closer to downtown Charleston continue to become out of reach for most people, places that were considered by the downtown snobs--for lack of a better word--trashy, Hanahan, GC, etc. will continue experience rapid growth. I don't think anyone planned for this amount of growth and I wonder if that region will experience the same congestion problems as the metro Atlanta area.

Thanks. We are happier here, but there are some things we miss--none of them are work-related, though.

[njkate]

Wow!! I guess the old adage rings true..one man's gold is another man's junk...

To each his own...what counts is that you seem to be happy where you are now

[Luvsdabeach]

Originally Posted by gbv

A friend of mine moved from GC several years ago and traffic was a problem then! As areas closer to downtown Charleston continue to become out of reach for most people, places that were considered by the downtown snobs--for lack of a better word--trashy, Hanahan, GC, etc. will continue experience rapid growth. I don't think anyone planned for this amount of growth and I wonder if that region will experience the same congestion problems as the metro Atlanta area.

Thanks. We are happier here, but there are some things we miss--none of them are work-related, though.

Traffic in GC isn't too bad during the non-rush hour's but during rush hour it's horrible even though the mayor has had the traffic signals adjusted. When someone downtown asks where I live and what school my child goes to all they say is "oh". I guess since my child doesn't go to Porter Gaud or Ashley Hall and I live in GC we aren't good enough...While those are good schools my child has been in a school with a diverse group of students which is what you find in the real world. Her teacher's have been great! Many of them come in early and stay late to help tutor students that need help.

Sorry for the rant. lol And yes I could see this area having the congestion problems that Atlanta has. It's good to hear you are happier.

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by gbv

The native SC management knew they were problematic and adopted desultory passive-aggressive management style. That said, the place I worked had a very high turnover rate and all the higher ups were good ol' boys. It was impossible professionally advance. I was constantly reminded of my place, but ironically, was hired because I had a lot of experience in the area they needed to fill. I sought employee assistance and was told that place where I worked had numerous problems, had a reputation for being unprofessional, etc. I would find official documents rife with basic spelling errors, poor vocabulary, etc. There were essentially no standards and no desire for excellence.

I think this is pretty typical of a poorly-run government department. I don't know what sort of department you (or your husband) worked for, but I am not at all surprised. I work for a local gov't in North Carolina, and we have certain departments that are like you describe. I've also seen the same type of thing working in state and federal gov't in SC and NC, respectively.

As far as the rest of your post goes - I see where you're coming from. I can't say that I disagree with anything you've said. Sorry things didn't work out better for you.

[gbv]

Originally Posted by Luvsdabeach

Traffic in GC isn't too bad during the non-rush hour's but during rush hour it's horrible even though the mayor has had the traffic signals adjusted. When someone downtown asks where I live and what school my child goes to all they say is "oh". I guess since my child doesn't go to Porter Gaud or Ashley Hall and I live in GC we aren't good enough...While those are good schools my child has been in a school with a diverse group of students which is what you find in the real world. Her teacher's have been great! Many of them come in early and stay late to help tutor students that need help.

Sorry for the rant. lol And yes I could see this area having the congestion problems that Atlanta has. It's good to hear you are happier.

Yeah, I got a lot of 'tude when the pretentious artsy Charlestonians (the only kind I knew from there!) found out I was from Greenville--jokes about the bible belt, etc. Whatever.

When you child is of high school age try to get him or her into Academic Magnet HS in North Charleston. In the meantime, the schools in GC will have to improve because not everyone wants to pay an arm for a shack closer to downtown Charleston. Also, the growth of Summerville helps.

[gbv]

Originally Posted by anonymous

I think this is pretty typical of a poorly-run government department. I don't know what sort of department you (or your husband) worked for, but I am not at all surprised. I work for a local gov't in North Carolina, and we have certain departments that are like you describe. I've also seen the same type of thing working in state and federal gov't in SC and NC, respectively.

As far as the rest of your post goes - I see where you're coming from. I can't say that I disagree with anything you've said. Sorry things didn't work out better for you.

I worked in higher ed. I forgot to mention there were also a lot of racial tensions in the workplace from both sides!

I also have a lot of experience with MUSC as a customer and have to say while the doctors, nurses, CNAs were outstanding, the billing department and other clerical offices not only had very unprofessional demeanors, but also made a few billing errors. They would resolve the error and then I would receive the supposedly deleted charge in the form of a threatening bill! Also, contacting Columbia for questions regarding certification, etc., is a chore. You will get 5 different answers from 5 different employees.

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by gbv

I worked in higher ed. I forgot to mention there were also a lot of racial tensions in the workplace from both sides!

I also have a lot of experience with MUSC as a customer and have to say while the doctors, nurses, CNAs were outstanding, the billing department and other clerical offices not only had very unprofessional demeanors, but also made a few billing errors. They would resolve the error and then I would receive the supposedly deleted charge in the form of a threatening bill! Also, contacting Columbia for questions regarding certification, etc., is a chore. You will get 5 different answers from 5 different employees.

Yup

And people wonder why South Carolinians favor small government.

[tlb71]

gbv, glad to hear you are happy now and those on here allow venting because it definitely helps. I also had a horrible work experience up here in ME. Very overbearing bosses in small company that fired people when they decided they no longer liked them. I some how managed to escape the wrath for 2 years, but the constant fear of being fired takes a toll so I finally quit. We have encountered a number of people here in both my husbands job and mine who think raises/promotions should be based on need rather than work ethic and ability. This is one of the reasons we are looking to leave New England and why I ended up on this thread. I believe in hearing both the positives and negatives about a place from those who have experience first hand, so thank you for your post and again I am glad you found someplace to call home.
May I ask what state in the midwest you now call home?