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Great input, all. And I certainly don't see people living in small rural towns negatively at all so that's not what I meant by culture shock. My shock may be in what the town has, what it doesn't and how much I would have to adjust and that's really what I'm trying to gauge by all of the responses.
I am originally from the NYC metro area, and am well familiar with Abbeville County, as I have friends there.
In many areas, there are two distinct subcultures living in the South - both the transplant population, and the native Southern population; outside of exchanging pleasantries in restaurants and businesses, the two often keep to themselves.
Cities in the South are solid blue, while rural areas are solid red, and many of the transplants who live in rural areas are not segregated by political or religious beliefs: it's more a generational familiarity that takes place, as the native population are often tied to the community generationally - e.g. family ties, or longstanding relationships between nonrelatives which took place in school.
Some transplants ignore this reality, befriend other transplants, and enjoy the area for what she offers, while other transplants, seeking to involve themselves deeply in the local community, get frustrated because they're seen as outsiders. Outsiders are never mistreated, nor are they poorly received, but they're often looked at with suspicion, because they're an unknown quantity - which circles back to the generational mentality.
The other thing about McCormick is that it's in the middle of nowhere: the nearest small town is Abbeville, which has one grocery store; Abbeville's downtown is beautiful, and tauted, but most businesses are not open in the evening, nor on Sundays. Greenwood and Anderson have more shopping/dining options.
Looks like a great place to stay, LM! Appreciate the recommendation as well as the opinion of the area. I've seen some of the listed homes in that community as well and I'll admit that I was a little taken back on the asking prices for the same reason as you but I've been educated before so I'm going to keep searching and if I can find another potential landing spot in the area, I'll make sure to visit the area for a few days and see if it's what we're looking for.
NDL, I would agree on the subcultures as I've been in a few different areas in SC (Summerville, Charleston, Bluffton, HH, Hardeeville, etc) and have seen a bit of that. I'm ok with that as well as I'm really not looking to alter any beliefs, religiously, politically or otherwise as I think everyone is entitled to their own view without question. The idea of a generational mentality of suspicion (until proven otherwise I assume) might be unfortunate but, again, not anything I'm going to attempt to tackle. Thanks for the input and I'll be sure to keep all of that in mind.
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I don't think it is true transplants are looked at with suspicion.
People have been moving to the south for decades. Many recent transplants act like they are among the first. Many people who grow up in SC have at least one parent or grandparent from outside of the south.
I've lived in several cities across the state. I've never seen a general segregation between transplants and natives.
Most Republicans in SC live in the suburbs of the bigger cities. Saying the cities are blue is only true if you leave out the suburbs. I believe 8 out of the 10 most populated counties in SC are red. There are many rural counties in the eastern part of the state that are blue.
Savannah Lakes Villages is probably mostly people from out of state. It could be 75% or more from the northeast. I think part of the appeal of a community like that with social activities is to be able to meet people with common interests quickly.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 07-08-2023 at 08:13 AM..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedBeth
Exactly what I was thinking. I was involved with the SC Native Plant Society and there are some interesting natural ares nearby that I have visited 3 or 4 times. There's a good Mexican restaurant. Aside from that there is NOTHING that would interest a northeastener and yes, there would be a lot of culture shock.
You don't think the big lake, golf courses, little traffic and relative warm winters would interest some of them? The attraction to that area isn't McCormick's little downtown area. Most people live all their lives in big cities and they want something different for retirement.
Much of the northeast is rural, Maine, NH, most of CT and Mass. Even NJ has a lot of farmland. That's why it is called the Garden State.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 07-08-2023 at 08:38 AM..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NDL
Cities in the South are solid blue, while rural areas are solid red,
This SC election results map from the last presidential election doesn't match up with with this statement. For example, the Republican only won McCormick by 5 points but was close to 20 plus in Greenville and 30 plus in Lexington and Horry Counties.
McCormick is one of the most rural counties in the state and clearly not solid red. I think the only reason it is barely red now is the transplants in Savannah Lakes Village. Most blue voters seem to prefer big cities and wouldn't relocate to this area.
You don't think the big lake, golf courses, little traffic and relative warm winters would interest some of them? The attraction to that area isn't McCormick's little downtown area. Most people live all their lives in big cities and they want something different for retirement.
Much of the northeast is rural, Maine, NH, most of CT and Mass. Even NJ has a lot of farmland. That's why it is called the Garden State.
There are nice areas nearby, but McCormick itself does not offer much. It is in the middle of nowhere, as someone else said. Other small towns I would think are more appealing, e.g. Abbeville and Newberry, among others. I have nothing against small towns and love rural living. Thankful that we live now on the border of a rural area, and can drive straight to the farm for my produce, as well as enjoying driving on the rural roads and stopping at preserves.
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I don't see a significant difference between Abbeville and McCormick. It also doesn't have a Walmart. Abbeville is basically a suburb of Greenwood.
I live in Greenwood and eat at The Roughhouse hot dog place in downtown Abbeville on a regular basis. It isn't a lively downtown area outside of a spring festival they have down there. The majority of the buildings downtown appear to be vacant. There isn't a big park in downtown Abbeville.
There's no lake golf community like Savannah Lakes Village in Abbeville or Newberry. I think Lake Greenwood is probably the best alternative to Savannah Lakes Village if you want small town lake living but more convenience. Greenwood's downtown area has a decent local clothing store, local book store and local restaurants like The Millhouse. There's also a cool local grocery store near downtown Greenwood, Corley's Market and Grill https://www.corleysmarket.com/ Greenwood also has the Festival of Flowers and Festival of Discovery.
You won't get the summer vacation vibe in Abbeville and Newberry that you get in McCormick due to the lake and state parks. Hickory Knob is one of SC's flagship state parks.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 07-08-2023 at 10:52 AM..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRedBeth
There are nice areas nearby, but McCormick itself does not offer much. It is in the middle of nowhere, as someone else said. Other small towns I would think are more appealing, e.g. Abbeville and Newberry, among others. I have nothing against small towns and love rural living. Thankful that we live now on the border of a rural area, and can drive straight to the farm for my produce, as well as enjoying driving on the rural roads and stopping at preserves.
Wake Forest's little downtown area doesn't really seem like a reason to move there. Falls Lake nearby is only reason I might consider that area for retirement, unless I had worked the Raleigh area prior. Wake Forest is a good option for city oriented people who want a taste of country life but would not be happy being immersed in it. A person who truly loves rural would have to live in a town at least as small as Greenwood and not part of a bigger metro.
Raleigh's downtown does not seem to get any buzz as well. There's only a small number of downtown areas that seem to attract a significant number of people. The top downtowns generally have a water feature, a river, bay, waterfall, lake or they are located near a national park or tourist spots.
A Savannah Lakes Village residents are 1 hour from Augusta which has a nice riverfront downtown.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 07-08-2023 at 01:51 PM..
NDL, I would agree on the subcultures as I've been in a few different areas in SC (Summerville, Charleston, Bluffton, HH, Hardeeville, etc) and have seen a bit of that. I'm ok with that as well as I'm really not looking to alter any beliefs, religiously, politically or otherwise as I think everyone is entitled to their own view without question. The idea of a generational mentality of suspicion (until proven otherwise I assume) might be unfortunate but, again, not anything I'm going to attempt to tackle. Thanks for the input and I'll be sure to keep all of that in mind.
Wonderful; as long as your expectations match reality, assuming that you don't mind driving distances to shop, the area might be a very good fit: it is naturally beautiful; the climate gets cold enough in the winter to remind you of the winter, but not in a noisome way; the lake is clean; people are polite and friendly; area towns have a charm about them; crime isn't an issue, etc.
The main concern I might have at this point, would be to look online at the selection of shopping and dining, see if it suits you, and go from there. If you don't mind big box stores, and local mom and pop restaurant fare, the area is very desirable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LakeMan45
I don't think it is true transplants are looked at with suspicion.
Anecdotally, it depends which community a person lives in: there are communities that I have been quite welcome in, and others where myself, and others, were thought suspect (a viewpoint that was confirmed by a few of my exwife's native born co-workers).
Quote:
Originally Posted by WeaserP
Most Republicans in SC live in the suburbs of the bigger cities. Saying the cities are blue is only true if you leave out the suburbs. I believe 8 out of the 10 most populated counties in SC are red. There are many rural counties in the eastern part of the state that are blue.
Agreed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LakeMan45
This SC election results map from the last presidential election doesn't match up with with this statement. For example, the Republican only won McCormick by 5 points but was close to 20 plus in Greenville and 30 plus in Lexington and Horry Counties.
Okay, let me speak with more specificity: suburban/rural counties with a large white majority tend to vote red.
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