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Greenville has peeked my interest. Our family is looking at moving out of a cold climate in the Northwest somewhere warmer that gets little to no snow and ice. Am I on the right track in looking at Greenville? I can handle a little snow, but icy roads in the winter - not so much.
Also - traffic is a big issue. We just visited a few places this summer that had AWFUL traffic. Dallas and Austin were probably the worst. What is traffic like in Greenville? Do people drive super fast on the freeways zipping in and out? And how are the streets in town? We found the streets in Austin were older and very narrow so it made our Tahoe kind of scrunched in and close with other cars.
One last question. What (if any) kind of high tech jobs are there in the city? Engineering - computer programming, IT etc.
We'd love to move somewhere that is not a huge big metro city - but one that still has things to do, is easy to get around, warm weather, fairly safe, and pretty. Not asking a lot right?? Both Greenville and Columbia have caught my radar.
You're looking in the right place for snow. Some years we don't even get any, and if we do get icy roads, it's only for a very few days in the year. Usually though any ice is taken care of within a days time in the important areas.
Greenville shouldn't give you many problems with your vehicle. Downtown's roads are multilaned, with the major ones having several lanes, and most if not all should be wide enough for any personal vehicles. Traffic is not really an issue, but watch downtown and the freeways like I-85 and I-385 during rush hour. Main Street can be stressful at times, and heading south on I-85 or in certain parts of 385 will be congested. Woodruff Rd can be a nuisance sometimes too, but I've really never had much trouble.
As for high tech jobs...we have some, but manufacturing and retail based fields are our thing. You may end up out of luck on that...just browse the job postings and secure a job before you come.
As a previous poster stated, we get almost no snow here. Ice can sometimes be a different story. This area is known for winter ice storms. It is infrequent but our location sometimes causes storms with lots of freezing rain and sleet that brings down trees and power lines and makes the roads impassible. We seem to get a bad ice storm every 4-5 years. Since it is infrequent, when it does happen, everyone pretty much stays home for a day or two until it melts.
There is no real traffic to speak of here. If local folks get stuck in traffic for 15 minutes they think it is a big deal. The roads are not great here by any means but your Tahoe shouldn't be a problem.
There are a lot of large manufacturers in the area (BMW, Michelin, GE, Bosch) along with engineering and construction firms that support them. All of these companies employ a substantial number of engineers, programmers, and IT professionals to support their sophisticated manufacturing. That being said, find a job BEFORE you move anywhere in the current economy.
I think Greenville fits your last paragraph very closely. I've never though of Columbia as pretty but that may be a left over impression from living there as a young child. Even though Columbia and Greenville are geographically close, Columbia is just too hot for me in the summer. If you are considering a move to the south, visit for a week in August to make sure you can handle the heat and humidity. Greenville is close enough to the mountains to offer some escape on the weekends. If it gets too hot, hop in the car and drive an hour to a cold creek or lake and cool off.
You're looking in the right place for snow. Some years we don't even get any, and if we do get icy roads, it's only for a very few days in the year. Usually though any ice is taken care of within a days time in the important areas.
Greenville shouldn't give you many problems with your vehicle. Downtown's roads are multilaned, with the major ones having several lanes, and most if not all should be wide enough for any personal vehicles. Traffic is not really an issue, but watch downtown and the freeways like I-85 and I-385 during rush hour. Main Street can be stressful at times, and heading south on I-85 or in certain parts of 385 will be congested. Woodruff Rd can be a nuisance sometimes too, but I've really never had much trouble.
As for high tech jobs...we have some, but manufacturing and retail based fields are our thing. You may end up out of luck on that...just browse the job postings and secure a job before you come.
I would second most of what mattee01 said. However, most of the manufacturing in this area is very technology-intensive. Also, Fluor Engineering has a main multi-building campus in Greenville; Jacobs Engineering has a sizeable presence here as well; and the GE gas turbine plant here also houses a main engineering headquarters for that branch of the company. There is also the fledgling Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in which BMW is a major partner. I would also think that the North American headquarters of Michelin in Greer might be another possible source of jobs that you'd be looking for. They do quite a bit of R & D in the Upstate!
columbia is technically closer to charlotte but not by much. so who cares.
we do have a very large assortment of tech / manufacturing and engineering jobs.
i do remember the winter of 2011 we had a pretty week of snow in January. my first winter living down here in 2005 we had snow for one day in january and it all burned off by the next day. this past winter was VERY mild and almost not even a winter to speak of.
traffic is a HUGE issue IMO. whoever said traffic was not an issue is lost on the definition. coming from a high density midwestern city where you'd think traffic would be bad that place has nothing on Greenville traffic. the transportation engineering is HORRIBLE and as the old saying goes "you can't there from here". in some parts you literally have to drive 10 miles to go 1 in my experience.
BUT i do agree with everyone in that Greenville is a better place to live in comparison to Columbia. Like everything though it depends on what YOU are looking for not and not us.
I would second most of what mattee01 said. However, most of the manufacturing in this area is very technology-intensive. Also, Fluor Engineering has a main multi-building campus in Greenville; Jacobs Engineering has a sizeable presence here as well; and the GE gas turbine plant here also houses a main engineering headquarters for that branch of the company. There is also the fledgling Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in which BMW is a major partner. I would also think that the North American headquarters of Michelin in Greer might be another possible source of jobs that you'd be looking for. They do quite a bit of R & D in the Upstate!
Good luck!
Greenville is home to the global headquarters of GE Engineering.
Greenville is home to the global headquarters of GE Engineering.
You may be right on this, but I have never seen Greenville listed as the global hq for engineering. I know software engineering is in California. Some transportation is in Chicago and trubines are made in Greenville among other cities but, I have not seen engineering listed as Greenville based in any of the financial documents or the GE website, what is your source?
You may be right on this, but I have never seen Greenville listed as the global hq for engineering. I know software engineering is in California. Some transportation is in Chicago and trubines are made in Greenville among other cities but, I have not seen engineering listed as Greenville based in any of the financial documents or the GE website, what is your source?
Skyliner is 100 percent correct. 300 Garlington Rd. I have very close ties.
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