Recommendations on ways to get a feel for Greenville (Simpsonville: house, neighborhoods)

[MeridithJill]

So far we have taken one trip to N.C. and looked at Hickory & Asheville. I am the planner of the family. I would like to visit Greenville, SC and some other towns in the Carolinas. I did really bad on the last trip. We spent one day traveling around looking at those two towns I mentioned so I went straight for the chamber of commerce to gather info. I know you need more than a day in a town to find out about it but honestly....if we had had more time..I have no idea what we would have done while there. I don't want to make the same mistake when visiting Greenville, any suggestions? This is the first move I will have made as an adult and my husband and I will be towing around a baby as I am currently pregnant. Out here in AZ its easy and fast to get a feel for things because it is so open...you can literally see the whole valley!

[MichelleEllyn]

I think spending some time on Main St. downtown could help you get a feel for Greenville. There is a really beautiful park there, lots of shops and places to eat. I see it as the general "hub" of activity for this town. It's hard to see everything because it's so spread out here, but I think you'll have a great day if you make a visit to the downtown area, and you'll get to interact with a lot of the people who live in Greenville.

[fuprof2]

I agree with MichelleEllyn - downtown is fantastic. Falls Park is great, the whole area is fun for strolling, you can see what's under development, get an idea of some of the arts we have (theaters in particular), try some good food, and people watch (of note is how many people speaking other languages you will hear - I often hear people speaking German, French, Spanish, or languages I can't even determine! which I think is great). You will have a really fun day and I'm sure will have a great impression of Greenville afterwards.

[Rapunzll]

My daughter, (who is pregnant with her second child), my sil and 2.5 year old grandson came to visit for the first time this past weekend. They just left today actually. They loved downtown and yesterday we went to the zoo. If you don't want to do the zoo itself, at least drive through Cleveland park and see all the wonderful places you could walk with your baby as well as the fantastic playgrounds. My grandson was in heaven. I love that part of the playground was actually covered. I'm secretly hoping that after a couple more visits, they will want to move here. :-)

[fuprof2]

Oh yes, Cleveland Park and the zoo are fantastic for kids. I have never seen such an amazing playground! And the zoo is small and affordable, so great for toddlers (there's lots of safe places for them to wander around). The parks here are excellent, really. You can actually walk to Cleveland Park from Falls park - that's a fun trail.

While you're downtown you can see the main library, which has excellent children's stuff, and the future children's museum.

[Kaysi713]

We moved three years ago from Florida and LOVE it here! Greenville is very family friendly (We have a 5 year-old daughter) there is so much to do here-parks, festivals, GREAT shopping and everyone is SOOOO friendly! Such a nice change from the snowbird area in Florida we are from. And the weather here is a DREAM!

We originally looked into Asheville, but once we visited Greenville, we changed our minds. Greenville is more family oriented, with nice affordable neighborhoods.

You should check out the "Explore our neighorghoods- Learn more about a neighborhood, its schools and related news by choosing one from the dropdown list on GreenvilleOnline.com | Greenville YourUpstate | The Greenville News

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or just to 'pick my brain'. I think everyone should live here! In fact, our neighbors from Florida just moved here last month!

[grohregin]

Hello,
we are also from Florida. Melbourne. We are moving to Simpsonville in September (we are having a house built). We have a 5 year old daughter too. I am very excited to move. We have been to Greenville a few times. I love the downtown. I have heard so many good things about the area.

[MichelleEllyn]

Haha, I'm from Florida too. I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale, and lived in West Palm Beach before moving to Greenville.

[MeridithJill]

I had one more question so I thought I'd revive this thread. I searched the forum for the best time of year to visit (prob didn't search hard enough). Soooo...when IS the best time to visit? or maybe just the worst time so I can avoid that. Feel free to just send me to an old thread with this info. Thanks!

[Skyliner]

October is easily the best time to visit, in my opinion. If you are in town during the second week, the always-enjoyable annual Fall For Greenville street festival will likely be happening.