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.
Hi. My husband has been offered a job in Gaffney. From posting in the Greenville/Spartanburg forum, I can see that the town of Gaffney, itself, might not be a good match for us. Does anyone know of anywhere close to Gaffney (within a 20-30 minute commute) that is a really nice place to live? We have two young sons, so we're looking for somewhere family-friendly, with a small-town feel, low crime, decent cost of living, clean environment, playgrounds/parks, etc. Somewhere we can walk to shops/restaurants if we want. It sounds like we would really like Greenville, but I think that's too far. Another poster mentioned Boiling Springs--does anyone know anything about that?
Sorry to sound so stupid about all this, but we know virtually nothing about the area and are having trouble finding information. Any help anyone could give would be really appreciated.
Boiling Springs would be my recommendation. It is Spartanburg's only true suburb at this point and is growing enough to provide plenty of suburban amenities, depending on what you need. The high school seems halfway decent as well. The driving distance to Gaffney will be determined by how far from I-85 you live. Some of the newer developments are further out, which would make the commute longer, but there are a few new neighborhoods closer to the interstate.
I have laughed reading about how great Greenville is and how bad Spartanburg is. Other than the downtown area they are not much different. The surrounding communities are very much alike and some like Greer are in both counties.
Now to Boiling Springs, it is a growing community. It is not a town and has no town center. Along SC highway 9 is a large retail area leading into the city of Spartanburg. It consists mainly of subdivisions. Walking to stores or restaurants would not be recommended. Most people who live outside of the downtown areas of Greenville or Spartanburg drive everywhere. The communities are not set up for walking.
The schools in Boiling Springs are good. Most are new buildings and they continue building. Spartanburg County has seven school districts, so most of the elected school board members are locals. It is not a hugh combined district like Greenville. We like it this way. Spartanburg County has some of the best schools in the state.
I would not rule out the Chesnee area as it is closer to Gaffney via Hwy 11. Again it will depend on what area purchase a home in.
What is it that makes Gaffney unappealing? I was considering moving either there or to Anderson or Greenville. I'm looking for a nice safe area for my daughter with an affordable rent, good schools and amenities such as shopping and recreation either near or at least close by. I'd like a community where we could take a walk safely through a neighborhood but I realize that most of them are not set up like that and are more spread out and made for driving.
I would try to look on the northeast side of Spartanburg around the new Walmart there. That is the nicest part of Spartanburg from an aesthetic standpoint and it is near the downtown area which is one of the nicer small town downtowns in the state. Spartanburg has a real nice large YMCA they just built there too. Looks like you could take exit 80 off I-85 and get that area pretty easily from Gaffney.
It looks like he could take highway 29 all the way to that area from downtown Gaffney, it's about 17 miles.
I think the main drag thru Boiling Springs has too much traffic and it will just get worse.
I think there are some nice n'hoods off 29 in Spartanburg closer to the mall but over near the Target. Hawkcreek or something like that.
You could also look at some n'hoods around Lake Bowen. just north of Spartanburg on i-26
East side of Spartanburg has older, established neighborhoods, and if you're zoned for Pine St. or Jesse Boyd very good public schools as well.
If you prefer newer, Boiling Springs is the "new" 'burb, right off 85. Wouldn't be a tough commute from there either.
As for being able to walk, well, Spartanburg (and Greenville) are not great for that once you're outside of "Downtown". The closest thing to that would be the Converse Heights neighborhood in Spartanburg. I'd suggest you start your search there and then widen out if you don't like the "feel". It has the best mix of good schools, parks, walkability, and family-friendly atmosphere in Spartanburg.
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.
Spartanburg Is Not Bad
