North or South Hartsville, SC (Columbia, Sumter: real estate, apartment, to rent)

[lizgould]

I have seen some stuff on here about Hartsville. Most say it is a nice town. I have been there once myself and liked what I saw. However I am trying to do searches for a home there on the internet and don't know what areas are the safest to live in. I only saw what looked like nice neighborhoods but I know every town has a section of town you wouldn't really want to live in. I am just wondering which side of town is the safest. I have two small children and would like also to be near a park. (I didn't see any of these while I was visiting.) Any info on Hartsville would be helpful. Thanks

liz

[raising3boys]

Hello, Liz. This is the first time I have posted here but your post caught my eye. I am just moving from Hartsville. I loved the area! I was a fifth teacher at two different schools in the area. We moved from Hartsville to Ohio. We just put our home on the market in Hartsville last month. I can try to answer a few of your questions.

Hartsville is wonderful area to raise kids. There is only one "real" problem area in Hartsville and that is it. We do not have " sides" of town that are the safest. The entire area is VERY SAFE. People still leave cars unlocked, etc. The schools are improving greatly. There are several elementary schools, however there is only one public middle school and one public high school. When we first moved to Hartsville, my boys went to private school and as they got a little older they went to public.( I wish we would have put them in public sooner!)


You can easily get to Prestwood Park from anywhere in town. The city just did a complete overhaul on it. Also, Hartsville has Byrly Park which is has an excellent walking/running track with a playground.

I never once did not feel safe living in Hartsville. We resided there for the past twelve years.

I will miss Hartsville, but we are returning "home" because of my husband's new job. There are many activities that the small town has. You are able to get most of the items you need right in Hartsville without traveling to Florence.

Overall, Hartsville homes are very nice. I am not sure of your price range however. The real estate agent that is selling our home has been in Hartsville for most of her life and can answer more questions for you I am sure!

Also, you might want to check out the local Hartsville paper website. You can check out Hartsville Messenger. You can see some of the pictures of the parks and such.


I am sure other people will be able to answer some more questions for you! If you are wanting a 4 bedroom home that is priced in the 220 range, I know someone is selling in Hartsville, LOL.

[lizgould]

Thanks for taking time to respond, rasing3boys. I am hoping that my husbands job will work out and we will be able to move to Hartsville in a couple of months. I am looking at a house on Lakeview Blvd and also one on Baywood Circle. Our price range is around 70,000-85,000. Thanks for the advice about the Hartsville paper website! I will check it out!

[raising3boys]

Just so you know, Lakeview Blvd is more of a "main" road. The Baywood Circle is more in a neighboorhood. I wish you the best of luck with your move!

If you do have to rent an apartment or such until you find a house- I would LOOK EARLY~!Renting is slim in none unless you know someone. Hartsville only has a couple of complexes, however I WOULD NOT recommend living in them. ( That is some of the areas that I was saying -stay out of!) Real estate offices here sometimes have houses to rent.

Good luck.

[hartsvillegirl]

HEY LIZ,
I HAVE BEEN IN HARTSVILLE MY WHOLE LIFE.(NORTH,MIDDLE, &EAST). I LOVE THIS LITTLE TOWN. IF YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN, LIKE I DO, I WOULD LOOK MORE IN TO THE NORTH SIDE OF HARTSVILLE. N. HARTSVILLE ELEM. SCHOOL, TO ME, IS THE BEST SCHOOL. MY HUSBAND AND I BOUGHT OUR HOUSE A YEAR AND A HALF AGO. I WANTED TO STAY ON THE NORTH SIDE BECAUSE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT MY BOYS ARE 16, 12, & 5. IT TOOK A FEW WEEKS TO FIND THAT PERFECT HOUSE IN OUR PRICE RANGE(75,000 - 90,000) AND THAT WAS IN OUR DESIRED NEIBORHOOD. YES THERE ARE A FEW PLACES I WOULD NOT WANT TO LIVE IN THIS TOWN BUT NONE OF THEM THAT I AM SCARED TO GO THROUGH. IN HARTSVILLE MOSTLY EVERYBODY KNOWS SOMEBODY THAT WELL KNOW YOU. WE CHOOSE ANTIOCH RD/"BYRD TOWN", THE CLOSER SIDE TO TOWN. MAYBE THE MAIN STREET OF FOX HOLLOW. YOU MY WANT TO TRY HOUSES ON RUBY RD NEAR TIMBER CHASE BUT NOT IN IT. SOMETIMES YOU CAN GET A HOUSE IN THAT PRICE RANGE. COKER & BROWN REALITY WAS VERY EAGER TO HELP ME.

I WISH YOU THE BEST.

[bobgardner22]

Hello, My name is Bob Gardner. I am a Realtor in Hartsville, SC. If I can assist you in any way, Please call me. My personal Cell number is 843-616-3384 or you can find me on myspace at bobgardner22.

[Ceezer]

We're actually driving up to Hartsville this weekend just to check the area out. We've contemplated heading north to Raleigh to put our daughter in the school for science & mathematics, then just this week I found out there was one there in Hartsville (I only knew about the Arts school in Gville). Since it's just 25 minutes up the road, that would be amazing.

Anything of special interest we should check out while we're up there?

[raising3boys]

The Governor's School in Hartsville is really nice. Staff is outstanding there! My fifth grade students have been there several times for field trips. As a parent, I was impressed with all the things the school has to offer. Plus, the school has lots of new renovations and the students can use Coker College that is basically across the street.


If you are coming for the day to visit, you will be able to stroll downtown. There are lots of little gift shops and such. The Midnight Rooster is a neat little coffee shop in town. ( It has other items besides coffee!) Hartsville is just a quaint little town.

Have fun on your trip!

[Ceezer]

Aweome, thank you for that.

[Ceezer]

We drove up Sunday morning-afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see much of Hartsville as the heat & humidity seemed to have everyone boarded up indoors. We saw 1 person walking around at Coker, a couple people getting out of a car at Louchi's (which looked good), and then a couple guys (who looked like they were interrupted while attempting to break into a liquor store) being questioned by the Police. We noticed that one officer went to his car and had to unlock it to get in. Is that a bad sign?

The Governor's school was kind of institutional looking, but neat in a way.

We really wish people would have been out so we could have gotten a better feel for the city. There weren't even any cars out. The town looked deserted...

We did get gas at Walmart, though, since it was about $0.10/gal cheaper than Sumter/Columbia.