Chester or York, SC???? (Greenville, Rock Hill: real estate, houses, best schools)

[Ohiomom]

I am looking for an old victorian house. I have found a few in Chester and York, SC.

Please, please give me the "real" scoop on these towns. I have 3 small children ages 11, 8 and 6 who willl be going to school there. What are the schools and the town like?

Our location is not definite yet, so we are just considering these towns.

Thanks all,

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by Ohiomom

I am looking for an old victorian house. I have found a few in Chester and York, SC.

Please, please give me the "real" scoop on these towns. I have 3 small children ages 11, 8 and 6 who willl be going to school there. What are the schools and the town like?

Our location is not definite yet, so we are just considering these towns.

Thanks all,

You can check some of the stats on this site...but both towns are pretty rural (Chester being even more so). These areas have suffered due to the loss of manufacturing jobs. Regarding quality of education..you might take a look at the greatschools website (between the two...I would probably choose York). There are parts of York that butt up to Clover, SC (I have heard good things regarding the Clover school district) but I doubt this would be where the Victorian homes are. Most of the old homes I have seen in York are right around downtown York. York also sits closer to the NC stateline if there is a need to commute to Charlotte, NC. I am a sucker for those old victorian homes...just can't seem to convince the rest of the family. Good luck with your search!

[Ohiomom]

Thanks for the reply. I guess I should have also stated that THE most important thing for us is the school system. We have 3 young children ages 11, 8 and 6. I imagine if/when we leave, it won't be until they are in school in the fall 2007.

We currently live in a small rural town that is around 30,000 with GREAT schools. We also live in an 1880 Victorian house. It will be so hard to leave this house, but I can't put a house before the schools.

We don't have to be in a certain area with my dh's job, so we are pretty open to where we can live. We not even certain it will be SC or NC, but that's what we're shooting for.

I have read so many negative things about the schools in NC that I thought we should also consider over the border in SC. That's why I was looking at Chester and York.

I've also heard great things about Ft. Mill and Rock Hill. Good schools but growing so rapidly and I couldn't find ANY old houses. All new.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll check out the schools site you gave me.

Take Care,
Chris

[lovethecarolinas]

Originally Posted by Ohiomom

Thanks for the reply. I guess I should have also stated that THE most important thing for us is the school system. We have 3 young children ages 11, 8 and 6. I imagine if/when we leave, it won't be until they are in school in the fall 2007.

We currently live in a small rural town that is around 30,000 with GREAT schools. We also live in an 1880 Victorian house. It will be so hard to leave this house, but I can't put a house before the schools.

We don't have to be in a certain area with my dh's job, so we are pretty open to where we can live. We not even certain it will be SC or NC, but that's what we're shooting for.

I have read so many negative things about the schools in NC that I thought we should also consider over the border in SC. That's why I was looking at Chester and York.

I've also heard great things about Ft. Mill and Rock Hill. Good schools but growing so rapidly and I couldn't find ANY old houses. All new.

Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll check out the schools site you gave me.

Take Care,
Chris

Hey there Chris: I kind of thought that schools would be important to you (that is why I suggested the greatschools website). Our children attend the Fort Mill School District and we have been very pleased with their education (although I will also mention on the website I suggested earlier...they show Indian Land schools under Fort Mill...which is incorrect....Indian Land, SC schools are under the Lancaster School District yet the confusion arises due to the fact that Indian Land uses a Fort Mill zip code). Anywho the schools in Fort Mill are growing fast...but the school district is doing their best to keep up (there is a new middle school that will be opening up August 9th...which is the first day of school here, and there is a new high school that will be completed after that). In regard to the old homes...there are some in Fort Mill...but many have been turned into businesses, or they are still within the original families (if you use the wesite called Realtor...there is an extra option where you can put in if you want homes over 50+ years...keep in mind though...this site does not seem to get updated as much as the personal real estate websites...we were in our home for 8 months before it was pulled off this site). Back to schools...overall SC is really not known for having the best schools (yet there are several areas throughout the state where the schools are excellent...of course I happen to think Fort Mill is one of them...and I think others on this site will be able to point you to even more)....I think the same can be said for NC (currently while people say the schools in Charlotte, NC have problems right now....there will still be some schools within that school district that still shine through). Lastly...where ever you decide to land....I wish you and yours good luck!

[sandy24]

Try Pineville. I've never lived there but had a friend who did and she loved it.

[Ohiomom]

Well, thanks all, but it has changed again to Greenville now. I posted another thread on it.

[ros.giles]

I moved to chester from Scotland definitely would not have been my choice but we needed a place to stay to start with and my husbands parents relocated here. It is a dump of a place, I absolutely hate the place. My in-laws have a beautiful period home it is massive and cost them heaps less than other places. Now I know why ;the place is very poor and full of uneducated backwards people. My sister in law she lives an hour away and calls chester the gheto. As for the school systems then forget that. I strongly recommend you absolutely do not send your children to school in chester it isn't the teachers, its the children the majority of them come from homes with no boundaries or rules and if you want your 5 year old to learn about the facts of life from the local children then send them to school here. I know this stuff as I have a phew friends that are teachers in the schools here. I currently home school my children I don't have an option really as the schools are so bad. I can't wait to get out of this hole it is sad really as the surrounding country side is beautiful. As for a period home they are very expensive to maintain and keep warm and cool. I owned one in Scotland and although it was lovely it was a nightmare to maintain and keep warm. Here my in-laws heating and ac bills are through the roof, to me it isn't worth it but i suppose you have to try it for yourself to see if its for you. Well good luck with choosing a suitable place for your family from Ros. P.S. my Sister in-law took a trip up to Greenville and loved it said it had a really good feel to it.