SC native ... will answer questions (Columbia, Greenville: house, buy, schools)

[kat2k]

Originally Posted by familyonthemove

Hello, my family and I will be relocating to Florence, SC. We will be living in my parents vacation home,(my parents are still here in MD) for a few months, until we can find an area that we feel comfortable raising our family. Do you know of any good parks or other community places that we can meet other moms and children?
How about churches in the area?
Is there any laws about home schooling in South Carolina?
Thanks You

Hi,

Read back the past 2? pages and read some of the posts on Florence. There is a good amount of info on the area there.

My wife and I homeschooled almost 10 years with no problem in SC. We did the PIE [Palmetto Independent Educators], HSLDA [Homeschool Legal Defense], and a couple other things I think. The laws aren't that bad.

Here is a list of some of the area churches: http://www.sciway.net/org/religflorence.html

I don't really know about parks and places to meet other moms in the area, but perhaps someone living in Florence can help you with that

[Dorisina]

Thank you all very much for the information. I will check out the various areas mentioned. Also....I am new to this forum and don't know my way around so forgive me if I make mistakes. It took me awhile to find your replies. Thanks again

[deee]

Dorisina - Where you able to find the search function? It's kind of hidden on the top of the board. I'm a Florence resident and I answered some questions about the town in other threads too.

I don't home school, so I can't help you with that.

What religion are you? We have all kinds of Churches here but I believe the predominant religions are Baptist and Methodist.

Timrod Park and Ebenezeer Park are the only two that I can think of. Most people meet new friends via their church and their children's school. There is also a newcomers club in Florence, but I don't know much about it.

Feel free to ask more questions.

[vwgirl]

Originally Posted by kat2k

Thought I'd jump in on the discussions and start a post of my own ... SC native and I have lived in Beaufort, Greenville, Irmo, and for a short while stayed in Aiken. I have visited every city just about in SC [Greenville, Columbia, Charleston, Spartanburg, Aiken, Anderson, Florence, Sumter, Laurens, ect, you get the idea...big road trip taker here], and with my jobs in Greenville and Columbia, heard many of the dislikes and likes of the newcomers and people moving away, so maybe I can help some of you that are moving from another state, already in SC and moving somewhere else, or just visiting the state for a vacation. Moved to Brunswick, GA over 2 years ago for career reasons, but still keep up with all of the cities as much as possible and visit family a lot. I know my SC stuff.. I may not be able to help with neighborhoods and exact things like that, but can help with more general things.

Anyway, if anyone has a question about any of the cities in South Carolina, feel free to ask me and I'll try my best to answer.

Oh and ... I'm not a real estate agent or trying to make sales, just trying to help people out and share the information I know.

Thanks for starting this post! We have a good possibility of moving to the Anderson area, and looking for as much info as possible. My husband's job will be in Anderson, but we would be fine with living in a smaller town nearby. We currently live in a town of roughly 2000 people in Minnesota, so we would like something a little larger with more things to do. Also, does it get terribly hot and humid in the Anderson area? I'm used to it since we live in Minnesota, but I don't especially care for it. We have a 9 year old daughter, so we'd like to find a very kid-friendly area with good schools, etc. Any info you have would be great. Thank you!

[Faye in Florence]

Hi,

have you viewed Florence's chamber of commerce site? www.florenceschamber.com (broken link). It's full of great information.

[kimbo123]

There is a website called crime rate comparison I wanted to compare some SC cities with where I live(Maryland).

[kimbo123]

Hi Kat2K,
You are the best. What do you think about Sumter?

[Barbkb]

I live on James Island. The biggest problems with the three areas you mentioned are, traffic, traffic and traffic. lol. Try to live close to where you work. Summerville is beautiful but if you work downtown or West Ashley the traffic coming in is a nightmare......every single day, not just occasionally.
Mt. Pleasant is a beach community. Growing very fast, high priced and a bit hectic, but fun if you are up for that atmosphere. The new big bridge makes the communte into town a little easier. James Island is an inbetween. Older community, but close to everything. I work downtown and take the new connector and am at work in 15 min. Folly Beach is 10 minutes away (adjustment needed for traffic at peak beach hours). Folly is great because it has not gone "tourist" yet. You get more of an old time feeling there. You can be around many people or go to one end or the other of the beach for more peace and quiet. Charleston has it all. History, shopping, entertainment, beaches, fancy resturants, flip flops can go most anywhere. I've lived in SC for 30 yrs. and Charleston for 4 yrs now. As I'm sure you can tell I just love Charleston. Hope this helps and Good Luck!

[kjmove]

i would like to find out as much info about kingstree,as you could tell me

[kat2k]

Hi, for those of you that asked me something I haven't answered yet, my deepest apologies - been busy with my work and online time has been very limited. I will try my best to answer anything left unanswered probably tomorrow. Thanks!