Seneca/Clemson area (Greenville, Anderson, Walhalla: home, theatre, public schools)

[rxlynn]

Hi - my husband, kids, and I will be visiting in this area later on this summer, and trying to assess area as a possible location to move when I finish school.

We would prefer public school for the kids. Suggestions on schools, housing, things we should see while there would be much appreciated. Any places we should avoid?

How is shopping in Seneca - do you have to go to Anderson for a lot of things, and if so how long does that take?

Thanks

[pgriss]

Seneca has a Wal-Mart, K-Mart and several grocery stores and small shops. Anderson is about 20 minutes. My mother-in-law drives to Anderson every weekend just to be going (no real need) and she is 76 yrs. young so it is not a bad drive. There is also a Lowe's and some other restaurants and smaller shops in nearby Walhalla.

[OconeeMountains]

Seneca has all of the 'basic services' a family would need to get by. As mentioned above, home improvement stores, gorcery stores, doctor's offices, a large hospital, movie theatre, etc. can all be found in or very near Seneca. Only for very specific things (boutique shopping, certain types of dining) would one need to drive to Greenville/Anderson. Also noteworthy is that Clemson is a 'college town' (the culture is rather 'undergraduate' in nature) while Seneca is more of a family environment. Walhalla, 10 miles to the west, is smaller than Seneca, but is also a very family oriented area, is closer to the mountains, and has some shopping of its own.

[mrpeatie]

If you are big on public schools Clemson might be a bit of a disguised gem. The high school, DW Daniel has a huge amount of students with parents who work for Clemson or even the small Wesleyan college in Central. So you can only imagine the test scores and honors classes offered for a student body where masters degrees are the norm for parents and doctorates are common as well.

Also Pendleton is a nice area as well- and a lot of people who live off 76 function more as Pendleton residents even if they are in Clemson. Pendleton High is also fine. Seneca is a little bit of an oversized small town with everything from retirees on the lake to farmers, professors from Clemson, what is left of the factory workers and professions in between.

BTW- do not use Oconee Memorial (Seneca) if you have the choice. When I was at Clemson, it was commonly referred to a Death Memorial.

[fisher33]

correction, pendleton high school is more than fine! it's great! (alum here if you couldn't tell) haha!

i 2nd the oconee memorial comment. sorry if anyone on here works there.

i think living in seneca, you will definitely be going to anderson or g'ville for shopping. also, i think anderson is more of a 30 min. drive from seneca, not 20. it's not a bad drive though, pretty much a straight shot.

[keowee-sc]

Clemson has a better school system than Seneca and is closer to Anderson (only 17 miles) and Greenville. It is a small collage town but has a lot of professials that live there as well. With the growth of the University property values are still strong while the other area have decreased.
Seneca is a larger town and does have your "basic shopping" needs. If you are looking for large clothing stores than you will need to travel the short distance to Anderson or G'ville.

As for Oconee Memorial they are adding new building and have done a total remodel inside and out. They are taking measures to make it a top notch heath facility.

[OconeeMountains]

I agree. Oconee Memorial is working hard to become a better hospital. As far as schools, If you can entertain living near Walhalla, the schools in and around this small town are very high quality.

[rxlynn]

Wow - thanks for resurrecting my thread. We did visit Clemson and Seneca this summer, and were favorably impressed. I am a Clemson grad, so spent a few years there and am somewhat familiar with the public school situation there. So, the area is definitely still in the running once we get ready to move.