race relations in the upstate (Columbia, Charleston: fit in, house, neighborhoods)

[Portlandfamily]

My husband and I are a biracial couple looking to move to the upstate area of SC from Portland OR. I am African American; my husband is Caucasian. We are originally from the midatlantic region and have vacationed in Myrtle Beach etc. and my husband has some extended family in Columbia. What are race relations like in the upstate area? We would be looking at possibly Anderson, Clemson, Easley or Greenville. How diverse are these areas? Are there any areas we should stay away from as far as towns and neighborhoods? We want our girls to have the usual kid activities ballet, etc. and make friends. We also don't want them to feel like they don't fit in. There are definitely more African Americans in SC than in OR so any change will be nice. We would be looking for a house in the $350 - 450,000 price range. What are good areas? Any help would be great.

[natelya]

I found your question very interesting and although I cannot help you I was wondering if you could both help me? I am planning on moving to the columbia area in about 1.5 years and would greatly appreciate if you can let me know how your experience is going... I am from Portland, Oregon also and have lived her most of my life and I am concerned about race relations and how it will effect my family.

Thanks!

[natelya]

I found your question very interesting and although I cannot help you I was wondering if you could both help me? I am planning on moving to the columbia area in about 1.5 years and would greatly appreciate if you can let me know how your experience is going... I am from Portland, Oregon also and have lived her most of my life and I am concerned about race relations and how it will effect my family.

Thanks!

[mm_mary73]

Originally Posted by Portlandfamily

My husband and I are a biracial couple looking to move to the upstate area of SC from Portland OR. I am African American; my husband is Caucasian. We are originally from the midatlantic region and have vacationed in Myrtle Beach etc. and my husband has some extended family in Columbia. What are race relations like in the upstate area? We would be looking at possibly Anderson, Clemson, Easley or Greenville. How diverse are these areas? Are there any areas we should stay away from as far as towns and neighborhoods? We want our girls to have the usual kid activities ballet, etc. and make friends. We also don't want them to feel like they don't fit in. There are definitely more African Americans in SC than in OR so any change will be nice. We would be looking for a house in the $350 - 450,000 price range. What are good areas? Any help would be great.

Why not ask the hubby's family? All the places you've listed are college towns (I think - I know Clemson and Greenville are) and aside from questionable football teams , the area is ok. Why the Upstate?

[Portlandfamily]

We would be moving for him to work at one of the colleges. I could ask my husband's family who are in Columbia, but many of them do have some issues with us being married. I was hoping that going to a college town we would not have some of those issues. They are civil to our faces, but we know how they feel. His immediate family who moved out of the state many years ago and only go back to visit have never had any issues with us and they love my kids.

Just want to be sure before we committ to a job there.

[anonymous]

I'm actually borderline offended when people pose these type questions about race, but on the other hand, I can understand that you just want to know and feel comfortable about the move. Basically I'm trying to hold my tongue and be helpful, but part of me definitely wants to go on a verbal tirade about the comments like "We know how they feel..." Clearly you don't understand how stereotypical and offensive that is.

Considering that you're moving from Portland, which is about 80% white, and less than 10% of any minority, it is peculiar that someone would be worried about diversity of race.

But in my opinion, the upstate is very conservative. Although technically it has a college, Greenville is not a college town at all. Clemson is a college town, but it is very conservative. Among my friends, the people who were hard-core republican, liked hunting/fishing and country music, all went to Clemson. The people who were urban, leaned to the liberal/moderate side (that's relative, btw), and were generally more tolerant of alternative lifestyles, all went to the University of South Carolina (in Columbia) and College of Charleston.

Having said that, I don't think you'll have problems in any city (Charleston, Columbia, Greenville). The more educated of an area you live in, the better off you'll be. Generally speaking, the coast is going to be the most tolerant of bi-racial type things. I'm not saying that the upstate is racist, but you're not moving to a socially/politically progressive area, regardless of what you hear on this website.

[Portlandfamily]

Your annoyance of my "We know how they feel..." is interesting. My husband's family makes no excuses for their dislike of African-Americans (while they have never used the N-word around me, my husband reports that it was part of everyday language when he would visit as a child/teenager). If you want to find something offensive, please consider the circumstances...we do know how they feel.

Now, about Portland. I never said anything about seeking greater diversity (you are inferring that I am seeking greater diversity). I asked about race relations. We moved to Portland from the mid-atlantic region for his job. We knew there wasn't a great deal of diversity, but Portlanders are very accepting of people. No one really seems to care about it on a daily basis. We have had no problems here, however, we are looking to go to an area where my daughters and I are not the only faces of color most places we go.

Your last two paragraphs are helpful. We are a fairly conservative family and just want to find a place to settle where we can be comfortable. We have visited the SC coast many times for vacations and have never had a problem, but we are not familiar with the upstate region. Thank you for these observations.

[Akhenaton06]

In terms of conservatism, my ranking from greatest to least would be:

1) Upstate (Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson)
2) Lowcountry (Charleston, Beaufort, Georgetown)
3) Pee Dee/Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach, Conway, Florence, Darlington)
4) Midlands (Columbia, Sumter)

[anonymous]

Portlandfamily, the way it was phrased made me think your statement "We know how they feel.." was referring to the people of Columbia in general, rather than this particular family.

Also, your original post said: "What are race relations like in the upstate area? We would be looking at possibly Anderson, Clemson, Easley or Greenville. How diverse are these areas?"

So I don't know if I'd call it an inferrence that led me to believe you were looking for diversity, it seems like you came and spelled it right out. I'd say that people in Columbia don't care about race on a daily basis. I'd also say that the black community of Columbia, or any South Carolina area, is vastly different than the ones back in Portland.

I'd also have to agree somewhat with Akhenaton on the liberal/conservative ranking; although IMO that has more to do with the Republican/Democrat breakdown, and isn't necessarily "liberal".

[Portlandfamily]

You're right. I did ask about how diverse they were. My mistake. I was not so much interested in "how diverse" they were, but how well people of different races got along and did they interact (outside of work) on a social basis. Especially in the areas of Anderson and Easley which are not as large as Greenville.

About your comment on the black community in Portland being vastly different than in any South Carolina area; different how?

Thanks to you both on the liberal/conservative information.