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the people who move to the upstate are coming here for jobs at local companies or because it is a nice area to live, not because of politicians who 'foster growth'.
Anderson has a lot of retirees, and there senior living places all over the place. even the retirees in Clemson and Seneca are in Anderson a good bit.
there are people in their 20's and 30s workig for companies in Anderson.
north anderson around highway 81 is growing as fast as Powdersville.
Its growing and certain elements of development exists and is in the works but not to the level of opportunity there.
not every city is going to be a large one. there is more opportunity in Anderson than most places in SC.
city leaders can't force employers to come to the area and i don't think the current leaders in Anderson are supporting anti-business policies.
you appear to have a narrow definition of what a young professional is and certain occupations don't count. i think the age breakdown of residents in Anderson is similar to Greenville's.
I like transplants I prefer the diversity. I think with time more will move into the area.
Almost all my friends here are transplants, or expats as I like to say. Living in the country of Southlandia. Where the women are good-looking, the men are fat, and all the children are creepily polite.
I like your take and think you make some good points here about Anderson and it's relationship with Powdersville or how Powdersville and Greenville have such close ties.
To me, I see that as an opportunity to connect more to Anderson with a rapidly growing suburb of Greenville not far up 85, it opens the area between Anderson and Powdersville up for economic growth. The other reason I am looking at Powdersville is the fact that it is in Anderson County yet still is seeing rapid growth. In my mind if Anderson County leadership can foster growth there, it can also be done in Anderson as well.
I agree that it's not built for that audience, but it could be. To me the opportunity in Anderson is not attracting one demographic. Anderson, being right on 85, on the lake, 20 mins from Greenville, and having an established downtown, could develop as a tourism hub, a place for retirees, a bedroom community of Greenville, and or a place for YPs. To me, having a city the size of Anderson on the lake and the interstate sets it apart and makes way for tremendous opportunity that is unique to the Upstate: Greenville doesn't have a lake, Clemson and Seneca are not on the interstate and no other town other than Spartanburg or Greenville are as much of a population center as Anderson.
Whether they can figure out how to develop their town or not is up in the air but the opportunity seems abundant to me.
The physical gap between Anderson and Powdersville is larger than it looks. Anderson's main exit is 19. Powdersville is exit 40. Anderson is a large county, and it's not dense. The most populated area between the two is Williamston and that's like 5,000 people. Even if Anderson started growing at Texas numbers, it would take decades to close that gap. Not happening.
Interesting fact: as early as the 1970 census, Anderson County was more populous than Gwinnett. Anderson is now at 195,000 while Gwinnett is pushing 900,000. Anderson's density is 262/sq mi, while Gwinnett is over 1,871. All that in ~40 years. That was thanks to the influence of Atlanta. Greenville is nothing like Atlanta and has nowhere near the level of influence, so that won't be seen here.
And the thing about Powdersville is the only reason it's growing is because it's a cheaper and minimal alternative for families who still want to live in "Greenville", which they basically are. What keeps Anderson up is not the YP, because Anderson basically doesnt get any, but rather people who never leave Anderson (whether it's cause they cant or because they do want to) and families (from in and out of state). I even have a friend who moved here from Australia. Still fascinated by that.
Anderson is not a fun place to be when you're young and single with big career goals, but as someone ready to raise a family and settle down, there are great areas in Anderson to do just that and great job opportunities. That speaks for the Upstate as a whole. And again, that's just how the region is built and I don't see that drastic of a change in 20 years.
I also think you overstate the influence of the lake on residents. It's cool to have, but it's not something Anderson residents utilize like people in Charleston that utilize the beach.
And Anderson is not a retirement hub, I don't know where Simpsonville is getting that from. There is only 1 major retirement community in Anderson and it has been around only around 10 years. There is nothing in Anderson that remotely resembles a Sun City in Hilton Head. Anderson is not a major young or old place, it is primarily families. That's just how it is.
I think the Upstate will grow how Greenville grows. Eventually you'll start to see more than manufacturing, engineering, medical, and service creep in, and you'll see the region grow younger. But it won't be a fast process in my opinion.
people retire in Anderson to be near the lakes, mountains, and have cost of living in mild weather areas. thus, it is has retirees. i never said it was like Hilton Head so you are debating a strawman again. I said it attracts some retirees because of those factors and it has nothing to do with city leadership. i don't think most retirees living in a retirement based community, they live in regulars neighborhoods.
i believe the percentage of people in 20s and 30s in Anderson is similar to Greenville's percentage. Anderson does have young people who work. there are also a lot of people who settle down in the 20s and have families.
there are young people who like living in smaller towns. i think a lot of you guys conflate what every young person wants with what you want.
Last edited by ClemVegas; 12-09-2016 at 12:40 PM..
Anderson is not a major retirement place, point blank. The county is older than average, but it's mostly from people over 65 who never left. Again you overstate the influence of the lake. Charleston and HHI are different stories. A lot of the older people who live there are obviously not natives.
Again, it's many people who never left. In terms of attraction, young people are not coming here in any sizable number. Anderson, Greenville, and the Upstate skew older, because this is a big family place, and we don't have the industries.
No one said anything about small towns. Anderson is not a small town. I already said there are people that stay because they want to. I'm not "conflating" everything, I'm speaking what I see. I don't need your validation.
The physical gap between Anderson and Powdersville is larger than it looks. Anderson's main exit is 19. Powdersville is exit 40. Anderson is a large county, and it's not dense. The most populated area between the two is Williamston and that's like 5,000 people. Even if Anderson started growing at Texas numbers, it would take decades to close that gap. Not happening.
Interesting fact: as early as the 1970 census, Anderson County was more populous than Gwinnett. Anderson is now at 195,000 while Gwinnett is pushing 900,000. Anderson's density is 262/sq mi, while Gwinnett is over 1,871. All that in ~40 years. That was thanks to the influence of Atlanta. Greenville is nothing like Atlanta and has nowhere near the level of influence, so that won't be seen here.
And the thing about Powdersville is the only reason it's growing is because it's a cheaper and minimal alternative for families who still want to live in "Greenville", which they basically are. What keeps Anderson up is not the YP, because Anderson basically doesnt get any, but rather people who never leave Anderson (whether it's cause they cant or because they do want to) and families (from in and out of state). I even have a friend who moved here from Australia. Still fascinated by that.
Anderson is not a fun place to be when you're young and single with big career goals, but as someone ready to raise a family and settle down, there are great areas in Anderson to do just that and great job opportunities. That speaks for the Upstate as a whole. And again, that's just how the region is built and I don't see that drastic of a change in 20 years.
I also think you overstate the influence of the lake on residents. It's cool to have, but it's not something Anderson residents utilize like people in Charleston that utilize the beach.
And Anderson is not a retirement hub, I don't know where Simpsonville is getting that from. There is only 1 major retirement community in Anderson and it has been around only around 10 years. There is nothing in Anderson that remotely resembles a Sun City in Hilton Head. Anderson is not a major young or old place, it is primarily families. That's just how it is.
I think the Upstate will grow how Greenville grows. Eventually you'll start to see more than manufacturing, engineering, medical, and service creep in, and you'll see the region grow younger. But it won't be a fast process in my opinion.
Oh no it certainly wont be like Gwinnett, heck Greenville is barely have of Gwinnett. My thinking with Anderson is not about it becoming the hub of the Upstate either. All I am saying is that it has a lot of opportunity that is not being realized at the moment.
I agree that YPs as one myself, would not want to live in Anderson at the moment because said opportunity is not being realized there. If Anderson develops in the right ways, it very well could become an attractive place for YPs.
My whole point is not that Anderson is some great hub where YPs would live now, I am just saying I believe it has a great deal of opportunity to attract more YPs if they are forward thinking on development there.
Anderson is not a major retirement place, point blank. The county is older than average, but it's mostly from people over 65 who never left. Again you overstate the influence of the lake. Charleston and HHI are different stories. A lot of the older people who live there are obviously not natives.
Again, it's many people who never left. In terms of attraction, young people are not coming here in any sizable number.
No one said anything about small towns. Anderson is not a small town. I already said there are people that stay because they want to. I'm not "conflating" everything, I'm speaking what I see. I don't need your validation.
i think you don't care about lakes so you don't see it as a big draw. a person who likes fishing and/or watersports could be more attracted to Anderson than Greenville but you proclaim that Anderson isn't a fun place to live. you generalize a lot about young people as though they are all just like you. for you, 'fun' is going to a large mall or going to a downtown are like Charleston's. but other people don't see those things as important to life a good life.
you haven't provided any evidence Anderson does not have a good number of retireees. I never said it is exclusvie retirement community. my point is is attractive to many retireees and it has nothing to with lack of 'forward thinking' city leaders. what could a leader do to make it more attractive to retirees? the lake, proximity to mountains, cost of living, weather, possiblity proximity to a large university, etc are the draws to the area for retirees regardless of the city leader.
Anderson is not a major retirement place, point blank. The county is older than average, but it's mostly from people over 65 who never left. Again you overstate the influence of the lake. Charleston and HHI are different stories. A lot of the older people who live there are obviously not natives.
Again, it's many people who never left. In terms of attraction, young people are not coming here in any sizable number. Anderson, Greenville, and the Upstate skew older, because this is a big family place, and we don't have the industries.
No one said anything about small towns. Anderson is not a small town. I already said there are people that stay because they want to. I'm not "conflating" everything, I'm speaking what I see. I don't need your validation.
I disagree, I think that would be a huge draw for retirees. Five of my friends have parents who just bought lake houses on the south end of Hartwell near Anderson with the idea to retire in it. This could easily be a benefit to Anderson.
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I prefer the diversity. I think with time more will move into the area.
