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Thanks for all your advice. My husband will be working near the medical district. I cannot imagine traffic being as bad as in Manhattan. What is the typical commute, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, one hour? During our visit, though we did not spend much time traveling local roads, there did not seem to be much traffic. Our kids are 8 and 11 years old. We were looking at both public and private school options. Another family from NYC will also be moving to Greenville as well as my husband will bring one of his current staff as part of the new job arrangements. Being in an area full of transplants would be nice based on what I have read on here. Also, I know it will be a new and different experience and we are keeping our place in Manhattan for now but we are looking forward to the challenge and change. We have found several houses in the neighborhood off of Evans Street, I believe that is near Lynndale, many are within our price range and what we are highly considering. We will be down there in a few weeks to do some house shopping, and also going to the beach. I know Greenville is about a hour drive, but that is not too far for frequent and weekend getaways.
What is the typical commute, 40 minutes, 50 minutes, one hour? During our visit, though we did not spend much time traveling local roads, there did not seem to be much traffic.
At the height of rush hour it might take you 1/2 hour to cross the city on the most traffic laden streets the city has to offer. I live a couple of miles south of Greenville off of NC 43. At rush hour (7:30AM) I drive into Greenville, cross the city and end up at my first job of the day over by the hospital. It takes me 20-25 minutes unless the train is on the tracks on Arlington Blvd. Then it's a half hour drive.
It's not the traffic, it's the drivers.
Lets see, the speed limit is 45. Okay, we're up to 30. Now 35. Uh oh... We almost hit 40, we'd better back off a bit. I swear if you do the speed limit you look like you're racing compared to most of the rest of the cars.
You may not notice it when you first get here. You're new to the city and trying to be polite to other drivers. Then after a while it starts grating at your nerves. WILL YOU PEOPLE JUST PLEASE GO.
And wait until you see how long it takes someone to make a turn. Jeeze.
Good luck with your move. After six year here, I have put in my resignation and am doing an intense job search...the pros of Greenville? The weather, ECU, Future Stars Soccer, Lynndale, my soccer friends, great local restaurants, being a Pirate, three disc golf courses in town, New Beginnings Church...cons? Everything else...hate to sound so down on this town...but, having lived in larger cities, our downtown is deplorable and not safe after dark...the crime around here is ridiculous....the old boys network is ridiculous...the racial tension in this area was a shock and makes living here very uncomfortable...basically, if you find a nice home in Lynndale and stay away from West Greenville - you can pretend that this is a nice place to live...
I grew up in NY, but it was the suburbs in northern Westchester. I can't imagine the shock OP is in for, moving from Manhattan to Greenville. lol
OP, I wish you the best! Personally, I would look at Ironwood and Rock Springs to be close to medical. Rock Springs will give you nice large lots; Ironwood is nice if you want to be in a golf course community, but lots are much smaller.
You're right that the commute here will be nothing compared to Manhattan. But, the point of living here is that things should be easy. Otherwise, you're losing the amenities of NYC and not having a better quality of life. With the kids, I'd suggest Lynndale/Bedford, Southhall and Brook Valley. Rock Springs and Ironwood are closer for your husband, but less convenient for kid-centric activities, grocery shopping etc.
Also, I'd plan on a car for each of you and for driving everywhere. Good luck!
The Rock Springs and Ironwood areas are very nice. If you can afford to live in Manhattan you should look at Star Hill Farms too .
You will both need a car no doubt about it, under no circumstance would I take public transportation in Greenville and nothing is really walkable unless you park on one side of a shopping plaza and walk to the other side without moving your car.
A 20 minute drive will allow you to encompass the city at any time except for 5 PM. Most if not 95+% of the shopping is located off of Greenville Boulevard.
The worst part of traffic is the commute from the western part of town where the hospital is to the eastern part along Arlington Blvd past JH Rose high school. One because of the railroad track that crosses town, and also because that's really the only great way to get from one part of town to the other, so commutes can often then be 25+ minutes, which is maddening for a town the size of Greenville. If you live on the same side of town as you work then commutes are 5-10 minutes tops.
I would also look into the private school route for education.
I wish you luck as it goes without saying it will be a huge transition for you and your family, and I hope you are able to make it feel like home. I lived in Greenville for 7 years and didn't mind it at the time, but now having lived in much bigger cities, I don't think I would like it as much a second time around.
I don't know about specific areas, but have three co-workers in the Greenville office. Children aged from pre-school to high. The job involves working with and in all of the high schools. They all live in Winterville. Traffic sucks because it seems most locals drive n average 5-10 miles below the speed limit, but I find this typical of NY drivers as well, except they throw erratic maneuvers into their slow driving. Public transportation is specifically based around the University. I'm not even sure if non students can ride the buses. Regardless, a car is must for any adult in ENC. Another reason traffic sucks are the train tracks that go through the middle of town. Traffic is especially worse on Fridays and evenings. Worse than Raleigh IMO and IME. But does not hold a candle to DC area, where I lived for three years and is second only to NY in horrible traffic.
Wow. I actually agree with macj. Especially about the erratic maneuvers comment. I would also agree with the poster who said that it will take a while for the op to adjust living in Greenville (moving from Manhattan). Best of luck.
well, I lived in Raleigh (not exactly manhatten) for 8 years before moving to Greenville. The only thing I've missed about Raleigh is the shopping. Greenville has adequate shopping & more than adequate chain restaurants, but everything here is on a smaller scale...why we can't have a Super Target is beyond me!?! Our Target is so small compared to others. None the less, I enjoy living here for the most part. If I want to do things that Greenville doesn't offer, Raleigh is only an hour away & Charlotte is 4 hours, beach 1.5 hours.
ECU makes this town what it is, if you don't embrace the Pirates you'll have significantly less to do...I recommend taking the family to a Pirate Football game during this season...even if you're not a football fan, it's great fun & a great atmosphere with the tailgating & excitement.
There are some nice neighborhoods out off of Portertown Road as well...but that might be a little far if the hospital is going to be the employment location.
Greenville really had exponential growth in the late 90's & early 2000's until the recession hit & everything kind of halted. Growth seems to be picking back up slowly now & I feel better about the leadership with the new Mayor. I only wish I felt the same about the city council...that is my main complaint about this city...they make it so damn hard to make progress in this town, certain unnamed individuals make it worse than others. I wish we could get an entirely new council, minus Dennis who was just elected. Also - our local TV stations suck. WITN & WNCT are still not in HD & only seem to report crime & all things negative around town. Ch. 12 is the only news in HD & they are really more of a news station for the coast. /rant.
Best of luck! I hope you find Greenville enjoyable & can make that adjustment without too much stress.
Hello NYCIINC welcome to City-Data, I hope I'll be able to assist you because I'm not from this area either. All of the neighborhoods you listed were nice although I'm not familiar with "Lake Krisiti" (question to Greenville residents, is Lake Krisiti across from Autumn Lakes?
The only Lake Kristi I know of is out by Grimesland off Mobley's Bridge Rd, which is a man-made lake named after Kristi Overton. I guess that area could be considered a neighborhood. They've done a lot of construction out that way in recent years.
I loved Greenville. Just big enough but with a small town feel.
I went to ECU in the 90s. (Grad 1996, sociology). I loved Greenville. Just big enough but with a small town feel. I loved how the University provided so much Arts and the housing was cheap. It is half way between Raleigh and the beach (Morehead City) - about an hour and half each way. I was young and fresh out of college. I wanted to live in a larger city so I moved to Raleigh.
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I would also agree with the poster who said that it will take a while for the op to adjust living in Greenville (moving from Manhattan). Best of luck.
I loved Greenville. Just big enough but with a small town feel.
