North vs. South (Carolina)... the good, the bad, and the ugly? (crime rates, find a job)
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I like NC more. The cities are nicer and the people are more friendly to transplants (not by much though). The moment I cross the border into SC, I always can tell by the crappy roads and cops every 100 yards waiting to give you a ticket for going 1 mile over the speed limit.
You must have never crossed into SC from I77 North coming from Charlotte. That is probably the best kept stretch highway in the Charlotte Metropolitan area.
You must have never crossed into SC from I77 North coming from Charlotte. That is probably the best kept stretch highway in the Charlotte Metropolitan area.
I was getting ready to say the same thing.
I-85 through SC is more of a mixed bag though; the stretch from the Spartanburg/Cherokee County to the state line is overall in need of some work. The best stretches are through Spartanburg, Greenville, and Anderson counties.
You must have never crossed into SC from I77 North coming from Charlotte. That is probably the best kept stretch highway in the Charlotte Metropolitan area.
I've been on that route however I don't remember how it was. I'm not saying there aren't nice roads in SC, I'm just saying in general the roads and areas around them arent too nice.
I've been on that route however I don't remember how it was. I'm not saying there aren't nice roads in SC, I'm just saying in general the roads and areas around them arent too nice.
The best stretches are in/near the most populous areas in the state. I-77 through York County was widened and resurfaced years before the NC portion through Charlotte was.
It seems that your husband's job is the real linchpin here, in which case your best bets would probably be the state capitals of Columbia and Raleigh. Of course Raleigh is larger, faster-growing, and has more jobs overall. Columbia provides quicker access to the mountains and a wider variety of coastal locations (Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head/Beaufort, Savannah). Both have Whole Foods and Trader Joe's (Columbia landed both relatively recently, while Raleigh has had them for a while now). I'm pretty sure both areas meet your housing requirements. Columbia's crime is mostly relegated to parts of the city easily avoided, so that shouldn't be a major concern.
If your husband can find a comparable job in the private sector, then Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Greenville, and Charleston would be great options as well. Of course Charlotte would be too, but it seems like it might be a little too large for your tastes.
Yep, it is my husband's job that I'm afraid may keep us here. He just got a promotion that will look really good on a resume, but to find another similar type job will not be easy. But I also think he would be worth more in the private sector, *if* there is a market for his skills.
I had initially written off Columbia because of the crime, but perhaps it's worth another look. Crime is increasing in our city but it's not terrible (but we are also under 100k population), and we don't want to move somewhere that we would feel unsafe. But I do love the proximity of Columbia to Charleston.
So another thing I am concerned about is feeling safe on the roads. I could deal with higher amounts of traffic (although I wouldn't LOVE it), but I just don't want to feel like I am risking my life every time I go anywhere. We live in a very low traffic city a few hours from the twin cities area (Minneapolis/St Paul). We go to the cities a few times a year and while we *can* drive there, we are stressed the whole time and we don't like it. I've done a little research and there seem to be quite a bit more traffic fatalities in North and South Carolina than in my home state of Minnesota. Any thoughts on why this would be?
Yep, it is my husband's job that I'm afraid may keep us here. He just got a promotion that will look really good on a resume, but to find another similar type job will not be easy. But I also think he would be worth more in the private sector, *if* there is a market for his skills.
Yeah, if he could find something that utilizes his particular skillset in the private sector, he would definitely make more.
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I had initially written off Columbia because of the crime, but perhaps it's worth another look. Crime is increasing in our city but it's not terrible (but we are also under 100k population), and we don't want to move somewhere that we would feel unsafe. But I do love the proximity of Columbia to Charleston.
Yeah, like most other places, crime in Columbia is concentrated in a few easily avoidable areas. It's all about the neighborhood one chooses to live in for the most part. Columbia's proximity to the mountains, beaches, and larger cities (Charlotte and Atlanta) is a major selling point for the city.
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So another thing I am concerned about is feeling safe on the roads. I could deal with higher amounts of traffic (although I wouldn't LOVE it), but I just don't want to feel like I am risking my life every time I go anywhere. We live in a very low traffic city a few hours from the twin cities area (Minneapolis/St Paul). We go to the cities a few times a year and while we *can* drive there, we are stressed the whole time and we don't like it. I've done a little research and there seem to be quite a bit more traffic fatalities in North and South Carolina than in my home state of Minnesota. Any thoughts on why this would be?
That's interesting, and I don't exactly know why this would be the case. Now traffic in Columbia wouldn't be anything close to that of the Twin Cities; there would be more in the Raleigh area, but it's still a smaller metro area than the Twin Cities. But off the top of my head, I do think rural areas in the Carolinas have their fair share of accidents and fatalities. I'm not sure how the whole urban/rural distinction shakes out here.
That's interesting, and I don't exactly know why this would be the case. Now traffic in Columbia wouldn't be anything close to that of the Twin Cities; there would be more in the Raleigh area, but it's still a smaller metro area than the Twin Cities. But off the top of my head, I do think rural areas in the Carolinas have their fair share of accidents and fatalities. I'm not sure how the whole urban/rural distinction shakes out here.
Speaking of safety on the road, SC one of the few states where texting and driving is not expressly banned.
While it may be noted as a contributing factor in a crash, the state isn't doing anything to prevent that crash from happening. State Distracted Driving Driving Laws
Speaking of safety on the road, SC one of the few states where texting and driving is not expressly banned.
While it may be noted as a contributing factor in a crash, the state isn't doing anything to prevent that crash from happening. State Distracted Driving Driving Laws
Some local municipalities in the state have that ban in place, but I'm not even sure to what extent such laws are enforced even in the states where it is illegal to do so. At any rate, a statewide ban will eventually be passed.
SC has very restrictive annexation laws while NC has had some of the most liberal annexation laws, so you can't really use city populations to gauge their size. MSA's are a much better gauge of the true sizes of these cities, which are similar:
And Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson CSA is 39th at about 1.4 million, but there's still a palpable difference in feel, especially considering that they are all multi-nodal metros. Raleigh is definitely larger and faster-growing than the largest city in the Triad and Upstate and continues to pull away. Again, Charlotte and Raleigh are tiered above the rest of the cities in the Carolinas in most respects. - Mutiny77
I didn't know Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin MSA was larger than Greensboro-High Point and Winston-Salem. That is very surprising.
I didn't know Greenville-Anderson-Mauldin MSA was larger than Greensboro-High Point and Winston-Salem. That is very surprising.
Before the last revisions, Greensboro's MSA was larger, but Greenville's MSA was already larger than Winston-Salem's. But the entire Triad region is more populous than the Upstate by around 200K people, which isn't a huge difference.
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