Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I hardly think that Dave & Busters and the Cheesecake Factory qualify as "cosmopolitan." I wouldn't consider any city in SC very cosmopolitan, but Charleston to me feels more diverse/international than Greenville. Part of that probably stems from tourism.
Pretty sure Greenville has more foreign companies, which does bring people from other countries over here. I've lived in both, they both are mostly white and African Americans. There are more African Americans in Charleston, probably 5 - 10 percent more than Greenville.
Gville is a top 40 CSA. It is more cosmopolitan than most places. It is obviously not NYC.
I don't get how you can say Charleston is more cosmopolitan than Greenville if Greenville gets retailers and restaurants that Charleston does not, or much earlier than Charleston. Greenville also has a much more modern looking downtown, with taller buildings and new construction all over. I think of cosmopolitan as being more modern looking.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 02-12-2016 at 10:33 AM..
That is a con for Charleston. I hate traffic which is why I would never consider leaving in a place like Atlanta. I've seen rush hour traffic across the James Island bridge once and it was pretty bad, not sure how bad it gets at rush hour going to Mt P/Daniels Island/points north on 26. I'd probably be working on the peninsula if I was in Charleston so traffic would factor into area I live. Housing prices also a negative, if I relocate to Charleston I want to be relatively close to downtown or the coast which is going to cost more. I don't have much interest in living in a place like Summerville or Goose Creek.
I guess in my mind I have pros cons for each:
Charleston
Pros: History (which I love), food (one of the best in the nation), culture, entertainment (nightlife/sports/beach), beach
Cons: traffic, no seasons, further from a major airport or major city (such as Atl/Charlotte), housing prices, crime
Greenville
Pros: Mountains and outdoor entertainment available, nice downtown and nightlife as well (although less the Charleston), good food (again it's hard to compare it to Charleston), 4 seasons, close to Clemson football and same minor league options as Charleston, 2 hours from Atl/Charlotte
Cons: not sure if true cons but has less culture/history/overall entertainment options than Charleston
Honestly I think I'd be happy in either place and have friends in both towns. It's good to hear from people who've lived in both. It may just come down to best job offer.
Traffic in Charleston is NOTHING like Atlanta or the DC area. I remember complaining if it took more than 30 minutes in rush hour to get from DT Charleston to Northern North Charleston. But this was 17+ miles! In Atlanta or DC this distance could take 1.5 hours or more. Traffic will be heavier than in Greenville due to the rivers and bridges, but I would classify CHS traffic as much more in line with Greenville than with a major city.
I suppose it depends on type of food, but I've never heard the claim that Greenville's food is on par with Charleston's. Lowcountry cuisine is well known and unique. The only scenario where you're statement makes sense to me is if you don't like seafood. I don't know enough about the nightlife to comment.
As far as history goes, it depends on your interest. If you have the tourist mindset of checking off the boxes, then yes, you can see most of the historical sites in 3 days or so. However, many people (such as myself) simply enjoy strolling through the battery and all of the old houses. Greenville has nothing like that. Visiting Magnolia Gardens and Middleton every spring is also a wonderful thing.
There are probably more local seafood places in Charleston. Greenville has made foodie city lists. That is all subjective. I can tell you that I ate at some local restaurants in Charleston that were not that good.
The reason you never heard that claim is because you don't live in SC and Charleston tends to be the city people outside of the state hear the most about.
Charleston is no doubt an older city if that is what you prefer.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 02-12-2016 at 10:38 AM..
Traffic in Charleston is NOTHING like Atlanta or the DC area. I remember complaining if it took more than 30 minutes in rush hour to get from DT Charleston to Northern North Charleston. But this was 17+ miles! In Atlanta or DC this distance could take 1.5 hours or more. Traffic will be heavier than in Greenville due to the rivers and bridges, but I would classify CHS traffic as much more in line with Greenville than with a major city.
Charleston traffic is much worse on the interstate and the main secondary roads like Ashley River road.
Charleston is simply more palatable to an out-of-stater. Greenville still sticks to its "old" ways. It's all about what you want to be around.
That's subjective, given Greenville has a ton of transplants who love it. I don't see a huge difference between living in either, other than one is near beach, one is close to mountains.
I don't know what old ways Greenville sticks to, but only Charleston has the old slave plantations and slavery history. You end up thinking about SC's negative past, slavery and the Civil War, a lot more if you live in Charleston. I prefer to live in the now. I personally don't see the appeal of visiting a historic slave plantation, I think it is a depressing thing to contemplate.
I do enjoy going out to the fort but that is mostly being out a boat in the harbor.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 02-12-2016 at 10:55 AM..
That's subjective, given Greenville has a ton of transplants who love it. I don't see a huge difference between living in either, other than one is near beach, one is close to mountains.
I don't know what old ways Greenville sticks to, but only Charleston has the old slave plantations and slavery history. You end up thinking about SC's negative past, slavery and the Civil War, a lot more if you live in Charleston. I prefer to live in the now. I personally don't see the appeal of visiting a historic slave plantation, I think it is a depressing thing to contemplate.
I do enjoy going out to the fort but that is mostly being out a boat in the harbor.
Analyze Greenville city and county government, policies, representatives, etc. Take a step back and look at the spectrum from the churches, institutions of higher education, NGOs, Masonic volunteerism, etc. etc. There's a stark difference between the lowcountry and the upstate. Cultural DNA of churches (NewSpring vs SeaCoast) etc. To each their own. Perception is reality. Good luck to the OP.
I don't go to church much but I know NewSpring isn't a typical church in upstate. There are all different types of churches here, and everywhere.
Most people leave their hometown to go to college. If you are talking about Bob Jones, that is a small private school of 3000 students or so, and most people in Gville have no interaction with it, and most Greenville kids don't go to college there. Bob Jones gives a lot of full rides to minorities but many people still want to beat them up about what happened in the past. Furman has a good reputation, ranked high by US News.
I don't think there is a stark difference between the two on politics. The Charleston suburbs are heavily Republican, the downtown area is more Democrat.
Consider the fact a black person fleeing a cop was shot in the back by the white cop in Charleston. THere was also the mass murder of black churchgoers by a white person in Charleston. Then there was the Wild Wing Cafe incident in North Charleston although that may have been bogus. I don't take these incidents and make generalizations about people in Charleston though.
I don't think Mark Sanford representing Charleston district is much different from local politicians in Greenville.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 02-12-2016 at 11:37 AM..
From my standpoint, Greenville feels more cosmopolitan, it gets a lot of stuff that Charleston does not, like Apple, Dave and Busters, REI, Cheesecake Factory. The Greenville MSA and CSA has a lot more people than Charleston metro.
Gville also has a more modern looking downtown, with a lot of new building and taller buildings mixed in with the old buildings.
Greenville has a better group of employers than Charleston, in my opinion. It also has more foreign companies than most cities, and I believe it is much more than Charleston, companies like Michelin, BMW, etc. There appear both metroes are 1.5 percent or so Asian, and I would not be surprised Gville has more Europeans due to the European companies.
I believe the politics in similar in both metroes, more conservative in the burbs, more liberal in downtown area.
Charleston has Apple. Cosmopolitan doesn't necessarily mean you have more chain restaurants. I'm sure New York doesn't pride themselves on how many Chili's and Ruby Tuesdays they have.
"Better employers" is subjective and probably not all that important if you don't work for any of them. We have Daimler, Bosche, Boeing, Google, and now Volvo, and a medical school. I've met Europeans here, but I'm not sure that qualifies this place one way or the other. It definitely wouldn't be a statistic I would bother to mention.
I think the important thing for someone who is considering living in either place with all else's being equal is just check both places out and see what vibe you get. If someone list a million reasons why some place is great but you're not feeling it, it doesn't really matter. Maybe you like colorful fall colors but hate red clay. Who knows?
Statistically speaking both places are very similiar and the rest is subject. Is it not worth moving to some place because somebody ate at a restaurant one time and it wasn't that good? I dunno.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
