Why Florence isn't growing as fast as other SC cities? (Columbia: rental car, rental)

[rubber_factory]

What "other SC cities" are we talking about?

When I compare Florence to my hometown of Sumter, Florence has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by rubber_factory

What "other SC cities" are we talking about?

When I compare Florence to my hometown of Sumter, Florence has grown by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years.

I was going to say....

Florence only lags when compared to a few areas: Columbia (Capital, USC), Charleston (massive tourism spend), Greenville/Spartanburg (injections of outside capital), and MAYBE Myrtle Beach, though I'd argue that MB is SO dependent on tourism that it will never be, for most, a legitimate 'city'.

Other than that, the only places you see growth in SC is areas where there's spill-over from a larger city across the state line (Charlotte and arguably North Augusta/Aiken) or tourism money pours in (the above cities, plus Hilton Head, etc.)

Cities that don't fall into those categories... cities that are more analogous to Florence... (Sumter, Orangeburg, Greenwood) aren't doing so hot.

[Akhenaton06]

Orangeburg isn't on the same level as Florence.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

Orangeburg isn't on the same level as Florence.

Well sure. It's far smaller. However, it's still a little nucleus of its own, with other, smaller towns around it, not really serving as a suburb for a larger community. I always put those towns in the same category, but yeah, I guess that's not really accurate.

[stopthenonsense]

Florence is racially divided. Its local government needs to right the divide by creating equality in housing, jobs, and accountability. My coming here is very disappointing X 2 years.

[ebonediva]

Originally Posted by stopthenonsense

Florence is racially divided. Its local government needs to right the divide by creating equality in housing, jobs, and accountability. My coming here is very disappointing X 2 years.

FINALLY...someone clued in! Florence is racially divided; and it has been for years. Born and raised in Florence (my parents,siblings, and immediate family still live there). I moved away to Maryland right after graduation for that exact reason.

Politics have played a great deal in ruining what could very well be a nice area. Florence is laking leadership. It's never really had a leader. The area has had to deal with "family politics". I've seen more relatives of previous seat holders than anything else. I'm sorry---but it's true there's a great deal of Florence natives and residents that are waiting on a couple of families to "die off/out" so the area can see change.

I love to come home and visit, but I leave EVERYtime with a depressed feeling. I can't explain it, but it's very depressing there.

[Chico020]

Yea, also agree that Florence is racially divided but also theres some people that live here that doesn't want Florence to grow because it will bring more "crime". I know Florence has a lot of crime but thats not the city fault but maybe its location on the interstate and leaders of the city. I feel that Florence should be a lot more than what it is but until the right people get elected that actually wants to see Florence progress faster than the city's future doesn't look as bright.

[ebonediva]

Originally Posted by Chico020

Yea, also agree that Florence is racially divided but also theres some people that live here that doesn't want Florence to grow because it will bring more "crime". I know Florence has a lot of crime but thats not the city fault but maybe its location on the interstate and leaders of the city. I feel that Florence should be a lot more than what it is but until the right people get elected that actually wants to see Florence progress faster than the city's future doesn't look as bright.

I absolutely agree!

[rickyd]

Florence is behind in growth, but admittedly it is better than ALOT of smaller surrounding areas. You'd actually appreciate Florence more when compared to them. Most of the state is actually behind really, especially the midlands region.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by rickyd

Florence is behind in growth, but admittedly it is better than ALOT of smaller surrounding areas. You'd actually appreciate Florence more when compared to them. Most of the state is actually behind really, especially the midlands region.

Surely you're not including the Columbia metro area here when speaking of the Midlands being "behind"? You can't be. From 2000-2008, metro Columbia added about 81K residents, which is a growth rate of 12.5%. In comparison, the Florence metro area grew by only 3.5%, having added only 6K people. I have no idea what you mean when you say that most of the state is actually behind, especially the Midlands, when Columbia anchors the Midlands and is the largest MSA in the state. Maybe you're talking about Sumter and Orangeburg or something, but they are hardly representative of the Midlands region as a whole. The Pee Dee is far and away the slowest growing region of the state.