House rental - Heron Harbor vs English Trails (Greenville, Fort Mill: rentals, neighborhoods)

[j1c2r3]

My husband has received a job offer with BOA in Charlotte, NC and will be starting the first week of December. We are currently in Greenville, SC. We have made two trips out to the area to look for housing. We have decided to rent for the first year or two until we get a little more familiar with the area. We looked at several rentals today and have narrowed it down to 2 properties.
The first property is in the Heron Harbor neighborhood going into Tega Cay. We absolutely love the surrounding area from what we can see and like that our boys would go to Tega Cay Elementary. The problem is that the home backs right up to Tega Cay Dr and virtually has no backyard. We have 3 boys all in elementary school and don’t love the fact that we basically wouldn’t feel comfortable having them play in the backyard. It is on a cauldesac which is nice, but unfortunately we did not have time to drive further into the neighborhood to see if there were a lot of sidewalks, a playground or if it seemed like there were a lot of kids in the neighborhood.
The second home we looked at is in English Trails, zoned for Springfield elementary. We absolutely LOVE the house. However, after driving around a bit, we felt like there wasn’t much of anything close by (stores, dining, etc..). I don’t know. It just seemed more like industrial type buildings and that was about it.
I guess my questions would be...
1. Would you opt for Tega Cay Elementary or Springfield Elementary?
2. Is there a lot more around the English Trails neighborhood that we just missed?
3. How would the commute time be from either area to BOA uptown?
4. Are there a lot of families with young kids in the Heron Harbor neighborhood or possibly a park in the actual neighborhood somewhere that is walkable?
5. Is there any other input that you can provide on anything regarding either area or just things to consider that maybe we haven’t?
Lastly, it is weighing heavily on me that we are taking our boys out of school right now, but I know it is the best decision for our family. I don’t love that we will be renting for a year or two and then again, possibly having to change schools yet another time. Of course it would be ideal to rent where we think we ultimately want to buy but I realize there is no way of knowing what we will decide after being there for some time.
I do appreciate any and all comments and input that can be provided. We need to make a decision ASAP.

[Girl]

1. Either elementary school will give your child a good education and the opportunity to meet tons of kids. There are new kids coming to the area all the time, so I doubt they'll be the only new kids starting at either school in the next month or two.

2. English Trails is in the Regent Park section of Fort Mill. If you were to drive just a couple miles east on Rte 51, you'll hit Pineville, NC which has TONS of shopping.

3. Commute time from both locations to uptown BOA would likely be 45 mins to an hour, depending on what his hours are.

4. Tega Cay has tons of kids in all the neighborhoods, and tons of walking trails and a few parks. There's Turner Field to the west and Trailhead Park to the east of the neighborhood. Add in Parks & Rec in Tega Cay and I'm sure your kids will find plenty to do and meet tons of kids.

5. Don't worry about possibly changing schools once you've been here a year - the kids in our area change schools regularly due to growth and new schools opening up. It will happen several more times in the lives of your kids, I'm sure, and they will adapt. My son went to four schools in four years even though we were in the same house the whole time! It happens, but it allows him to re-connect with old friends every few years, which is nice. The good news is the quality of education has not diminished despite all the growth.

Good luck - and welcome to the area!

[j1c2r3]

Thank you for the reply, Girl. We have decided on the house in English Trails. I appreciate the info regarding Pineville. We will have to check out that area. My heart feels like Tega Cay is the right area for us but the other house was definitely better suited for our current needs. I know we can't have all the answers, and as parents we want a transition as smooth as possible for our kids. I suppose it is temporary and it will give us time to truly explore all of the other areas as well. It is so tough making home choices when you don't know the area. Again, thank you for the info!