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Hi there! My husband and I are from Michigan and moved to Charleston, South Carolina four years ago. He used to work for GM, and when they started offering buy-outs we bought in and moved South in search of a better economy. What we found were better job opportunities, but we traded it for hellish humidity. I. Can't. Take. It. Anymore. :'(
We are seriously considering moving to the Greenville area of South Carolina. So, my questions to you, you wonderful Greenvillers:
1.) My husband works as a Production Supervisor in a manufacturing facility. Manufacturing jobs are not what they used to be, but he has a pretty extensive resume with a Six Sigma and lean manufacturing background. I've looked at a lot of jobs in the area, and it seems there are a lot of manufacturing jobs around there. How is the manufacturing industry in that area, in your opinion? Is it declining, recovering?
2.) How is the humidity in the Summer in Greenville? Is it anything like the humidity hell we have near the coast in South Carolina, where you step outside for five minutes and you feel like a 500 lb. mammoth who has been on a treadmill for five hours?
3.) How much snow is typical of this area over the course of a Winter? I've done some research, and I've read that on average you receive about 6.8 inches of snow per year. I miss snow in the Winter. Even a few flakes with some hot cocoa would cheer me up.
4.) We love the water, but boating or floating down the river down here equates to one person watching for alligators while the rest of us swim. Do you have any alligators in your rivers or lakes?
5.) Please tell me you have better drivers up there? Does everyone know that the left lane is the fast lane? :'( When it rains does everyone all hit their brakes at the same time (because God forbid it's raining) and cause chaos everywhere?
6.) What are the pros of where you live, and what are the cons?
5.) Please tell me you have better drivers up there? Does everyone know that the left lane is the fast lane? :'( When it rains does everyone all hit their brakes at the same time (because God forbid it's raining) and cause chaos everywhere?
I doubt it! No they do NOT know the left lane is the fast lane! There are Sunday drivers out all days of the week! Everyone seems to sit in the left lane at an intersection, leaving the right virtually empty. If you get in the right lane sometimes you can get past them.
We moved here in the summer last year. We moved from FL but originally from PA Here's what I've found:
There are plenty of manufacturing companies here so I don't think your husband would have a problem finding work.
The weather to me is a happy medium. You get four seasons. The summer was nothing like FL like you mention in Charleston. We've been in Charleston during the summer and it was closer to how FL was. It gets here hot but not as humid as Chas. It was kind of buggy though. The winters are cool with some cold nights but nothing unbearable like up north. We got some wet snow for a couple hours one day so far. The sun came out later and warmed up. If you want snow, you can head an hour or so north up to NC. We've had more rain than anything. It does warm up nicely during the day here with the sun shining. Very important to me. The fall was beautiful.
There are several beautiful lakes here with clear water unlike the lakes up north. You can boat or float here without worrying about gators.
So far, the pros outweigh the cons. We love downtown Greenville and all the events they have. Everything is convenient for the most part. The COL is pretty low here. You can buy a home outright. We feel safe as well. As for cons, we really haven't met too many people yet but I guess that will come with time. The only other thing is that Greenville is far from the beach which I love. It is close to the mountains which is nice though.
1.) I'm not in the industry, but it seems like there is always some plant expanding, or moving to the area,
2.) We're from coastal FL ourselves, so it seems like there's no humidity here! There is, but it's almost never as bad, and when it is humid, it's only at the peak of the day (where in FL it was humid 24*7 for 6 months).
3.) This is our third winter here, and we've had a total of 8 or so hours of snow (probably 2 or 3 inches) in that time. The winter before we moved here, there were several snow events.
4.) No gators here! Same reason we didn't do any lake or river water sports for 20 years in FL.
5.) Not sure how they are in Charleston, but it's better here than FL was. Still, lots of folks in the left lane putting along at 5 under the limit.
6.) For us, Pros are Location, city size, and weather. With very few exceptions, we can live pretty much wherever we want, and we stay here. Not far enough north to get nasty winters, but not too far south to have those nasty summers. Four seasons, close to the mountains and lakes. It's also the perfect size city for us. Large enough that we can have most amenities, but not so large that you have to fight traffic to go everywhere.
You're going to get the humidity anywhere in the state. Supposedly, Columbia is the worst area for temperatures and I assume Greenville isn't far behind. Charleston at least has the coastal waters to cool the air a tiny bit but there's nothing to help the Greenville area.
When I lived in Greenville for 2 years, it didn't get any snow. I actually think they have more ice scares.
I do love the shopping and cost of living Greenville offers. Downtown is very nice too. I moved from Greenville to Charleston 1/2013 just because I love the history and beauty of this city but I have no complaints of Greenville.
And another FYI...drivers suck in the entire state. SC was named #2 worst state for drivers. But at least in Greenville I didn't see an accident on the interstate everyday like I see on 26.
I'm from FL, too, and the humidity is nothing like that, or Charleston, I assume. As for snow, this is my 3rd winter here, and we haven't had any measurable snow in that time. Greenville got a little last year, but, oddly enough, we didn't get any in the north part of the county. If we're going to get 6.8" a year on average, we're due for a big one!
Bad driving seems to be an epidemic everywhere. I can't count how many times I've finally gotten around a slow-poke only to see that they are fooling around with their phone or some other gadget. Common courtesy seems to be- uncommon these days.
Pros and cons? We love the mild 4 season climate compared to FL. We're in the north county, so the mountains and a number of beautiful parks are a short drive away. Downtown Greenville is 15 miles, and we love this small and accessible city. People are very friendly and generous, at least out where we are. Traffic is starting to become an issue in some areas, and will only get worse as this area booms. For some reason, litter is a real problem out in the country. I love to drive back roads, but it looks as if everyone just tosses their trash out the window as they drive along.
Manufacturing and engineering jobs have taken a big hit with the poor economy. I wouldn't move to Greenville without something lined up first.
Humidity is not too bad, and I don't find it too buggy compared to Charleston. One good thing about Greenville is it cools down at night in the summer.
Pros are the nice downtown with a great park, not a lot of traffic congestion especially compared to Charleston, big mall (better than the ones in Charleston) and plenty of retailers and restaurants, near the mountains and lakes and Clemson university about 45 minutes away. Also some good fitness clubs like Sportsclub and YMCA, I found Charleston to be lacking in good comprehensive fitness clubs.
No major cons that I can think of.
To me Greenville has a cleaner gentrified look than most of Charleston other than Mt. Pleasant / Daniels Island. I've never noticed a lot of litter.
I never noticed many bad drivers in the area or SC in general. To me it was a lot worse up north and other big cities where people lose patience and do some crazy stuff.
The heat index (how hot it feels) is usually higher in Charleston than in Greenville (or Columbia), even when their temperatures are all about the same. I assume that's because of the ocean, contrary to the notion that some magical ocean breeze cools you down in the Holy City. Greenville is usually 2 to 3 degrees or sometimes up to about 5 degrees less hot than Charleston, not taking the heat index into consideration. Basically hot is hot and South Carolina humidity is South Carolina humidity. I will say that one of the hottest, most miserably humid moments of my life in this state was at lunchtime one day in Greenville walking a friend's dog. To this day when I think about how hot it can get in SC, that moment is right up there with the rest of them in my mind. I'd say there's a difference in the heat and humidity, but that you might be disappointed if you expect to feel an obvious difference on a day-in day-out basis.
Historically, the Upstate - and the region near the Blue Ridge escarpment in particular - was where people came to escape the heat, humidity and diseases of Lowcountry summers. One well-known example of someone who alternated between properties in the Upstate and the Lowcountry is Joel Roberts Poinsett, politician and statesman who was singularly responsible for the popularity of the plant now known as the poinsettia.
Alligators are restricted to the Coastal Plain, which includes the Central Savannah River Area of Georgia and South Carolina. Their habitat does not reach into the Upstate.
We currently live in Summerville (Charleston) and we are moving to Greenville! My Husband got a transfer (that we were praying for) to get out of Charleston! The humidity is WORSE than Florida (it's not like Florida is far!). Humidity is actually worse along the coast. You can't always count-on the breeze unless you actually live on the water. My advice - we've been to Greenville on a lot of trips and we fell in love with the area. If you can, do the same! Check on jobs! Get out of the RUDEST city in America - Charleston:-)
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