Hartsville, South Carolina (Florence, Anderson: fit in, crime, house)

[Marcia Moan]

I would like peoples honest opinion of what they think of Hartsville, South Carolina, the schools, the people, would you want to live there?

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by Marcia Moan

I would like peoples honest opinion of what they think of Hartsville, South Carolina, the schools, the people, would you want to live there?

I personally wouldn't want to live there. Not that there's anything wrong with Hartsville - it's just a rural area, without much to do. Florence isn't too far, but Florence isn't very big, either.

The Hartsville people that I've met, I've really liked. The people I know are extremely nice, small-town folks. If you are interested in church, golf, hunting, or fishing, then I think you'd fit in perfectly.

For school info, check out schoolmatters.com. Generally, small towns in South Carolina have bad public schools. I hear that Hartsville is an exception, although I'm a bit skeptical.

[moedog]

Hartsville is not exactly your typical SC small town. Sonoco Products, a fortune 500 company, is headquartered there, and several other high tec companies have facilities there, including Progress Energy who has a nuclear power plant. Coker College, a small liberal arts college is also there. So there is a larger than expected educated upper middle class, many who moved from other areas. Life for those people revolve around the two country clubs and a very nice YMCA. Still, I would not recommend Hartsville as a great place to live--the social stratification/ snobishness is extreme. There is a huge gulf between the rich and poor. I suppose the schools are so-so, if you don't mind a very segregated system, except at the high school level. The high school is nick-named the University of Hartsville, mainly because all anyone is interested in are their sports teams, which gets a little extreme and tiresome.

[DigitalGypsy]

There is also some more info in this post:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/south...artsville.html

We're getting ready to move there, too. I actually move Sunday, and my wife and child will be following me in a few weeks.

I would imagine if you were single and young, Hartsville may not be the place for you. From what I could tell in my brief visits for job interviews and house hunting, there isn't any nightlife to speak of.

As a married professional in my mid-thirties, this doesn't bother me a bit. I also wanted to live somewhere a little bit safer to raise a family. A small town where my kids can ride their bikes, roam acres of fields and woods, stuff like that...something that can't be done (safely) where I live now.

One other link:

HARTSVILLE TODAY

Hartsville Today is a town forum of sorts -- part online newspaper, part bulletin board. Do some searching around there and you might get a better picture of the town.

[hartsvilleboys.c.]

hartsville s.c. is great i am from there i moved 2 fl about 3/4 years ago an now want 2 go back the schools are ok the nite life is going to wal-mart thats about it hartsville is a lil split down the half there is a lake about in the middle of the hartsville area on one side you have the upper class an on the other is mid to low class i was on the mid to low class an thats the real hartsville nice good ol country boys an girls there is ponds, lakes, rivers, an woods for miles an miles so if i was in your shoes i whould go to hartsville

[rick.robb]

beware of where you are going to work,if you are going there for a job be careful, I was relocated to hartsville SC. to work for Anderson Brass and found out later that their promises were false. The schools are not very good. ranked 48 in sat's. crime is very high. I am happy to say my family and I have since moved out of SC.,and do not miss hartsville at all.