Moving to Gaffney

[FlopShotter]

I've lived in Spartanburg (eastside) for 21 years, and worked in Gaffney/Blacksburg for 13 of those. While Cherokee County is nice enough, I've never second-guessed my decision to live in Spartanburg for exactly the reasons of having a little "more" to do. Honestly, there isn't a lot in Gaffney to do overall, and my daily commute is about 27 miles and takes 30 minutes. Not too many folks that I've worked with over the years lived in Gastonia or the NC side as opposed to the Spartanburg side of things.

I don't like the commute up I-85, and have always felt that it needs to be 6 lanes, and felt that way 10 years ago. Unfortunately, it won't be for another 10 years or more until that happens, from what I've read about the long-range I-85 plan. But, I've figured out ways back to Spartanburg from virtually every exit between Spartanburg and Gaffney, so I can avoid most of the backups when they happen.

I also work with a couple of folks who do the commute from farther out, like Duncan and Simpsonville. Their commute is 45-55 minutes, which is too much for my taste, but they seem not to mind it too much.

[EnglishCream]

Originally Posted by drfranklin

This is the problem with living near state boundaries (work in one, live in another). You will have to file state taxes in both North and South Carolina.

Did this for a few years, typically got a refund from SC which was a bit larger than what I had to pay into NC.

[DrTesla35]

Originally Posted by EnglishCream

Did this for a few years, typically got a refund from SC which was a bit larger than what I had to pay into NC.

I thought you just filed taxes in the state in which you work unless you had some other income.

[EnglishCream]

Originally Posted by DrTesla35

I thought you just filed taxes in the state in which you work unless you had some other income.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. In our case, we lived in NC, but I worked in SC. My wife still worked in NC. The normal rules for interstate taxation are:

--- you file a non-resident return for the states where you worked but did not live, reporting only the income earned in that state.

--- you file a resident return for the state you live in, reporting all of your income, no matter where it was earned. You claim on your home state resident return a credit for taxes paid to other states that you worked in.

Of course, your personal situation may vary.

[oldhousejunkie]

I used to commute from Spartanburg (where I lived) to Kings Mountain (where I worked) and it took me approximately 45 minutes, but I didn't usually commute during peak times. Kings Mountain is a quaint but very small town, though I hear they are getting a Starbuck's (how...I don't know) soon. Their downtown is small and has struggled. They have some decent events and a local coffeeshop, a handful of local shops, a couple of restaurants, and a theatre that puts on productions and hosts an annual film festival. No chains beyond fast food. I eventually moved into Kings Mountain after a year of commuting. It's very quiet. Their schools are pretty decent. I always went Gastonia for chain sit down restaurants or to hit up the Wal-Mart or the other strip shopping that is available there.

Shelby is rural but has a pretty decent sized downtown with lots of local shops and restaurants plus a decent sized farmers market. They have a Wal-Mart and a couple sit-down chain restaurants. They pride themselves on being the birthplace of Earle Scruggs (one of the great bluegrass musicians) and now have the Earl Scruggs Center downtown which is a bluegrass history museum and performing arts venue. They also have a restored theatre that draws some classic, small musical acts and theatre. The schools are decent once again.

So all in all, if you're looking for a bigger city experience, I would definitely look into Spartanburg. Boiling Springs is closer to Gaffney and has great schools, but is congestion nightmare. My parents live there and complain about it all the time. But there's a Wal-Mart and a Lowe's plus most of the well known chain fast food restaurants and a couple decent local and chain sit-down restaurants.