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In NC you have museums that are free or nominal cost to attend. The ones you listed are costly for a family. We have gone from attending an event frequently to minimal activity. The Children's museum here is outrageous in cost! Even the annual pass is ridiculous. When comparing cost of living families should consider that very little here costs less than $10 a person.
Wow. Please don't take offense, but you really haven't checked out Greenville very much if you think everything is costly.
- Have you done the "Mice on Main" with your children? (FREE)
- Have you gone to the weekly free movies at the Library? (popcorn is served) (FREE)
- Have you done the free kids movies in the mornings at the new Great Escape theater? (FREE)
- Have you ridden bikes on the Swamp Rabbit trail and/or numerous bikelanes throughout the city. (FREE)
- Have you gone to a Drive game? Tickets for are only 6 dollars each for lawn seating (an entire evening of entertainment).
- Have you gone to one of the numerous parks on any of the lakes....Hartwell, Jocassee, Keowee? (FREE or minimal entry fee).
- Have you gone to any of the numerous community events like Artisphere, Reedy River Duck Derby, Bark in the Park, Moonlight Movies, etc, etc, etc? (FREE)
- Have you ridden the train at The Pavillion?
- Have you ice skated at The Pavillion? (Entry fee is less than 5 dollars).
- Have you played carpet golf at McPherson Park? (FREE)
- Have you played tennis at any of the area parks? (FREE)
- Have you done the Greenville Zoo? (Children under 15 are only 4.50 each)
- Have you gone with your dog (if you have one) to the bark park in Cleveland Park?
- Have you hiked at Paris Mountain...to the dam, to the lake....beautiful. (Small entry fee).
- Have you taken your children to Haywood's indoor playground? (FREE)
On and on and on........
There is so much to do either free or for under 5.00 dollars. Check it out....doesn't sound like you have.
Those articles were only a few examples of what goes on in S. FL, anybody who knows anything is aware that this area, starting with Miami, is kind of like the Drug Capital of the USA.
Here in WPB the problem is that things have kind of rapidly deteriorated compared to how they used to be not that long ago. I remember when I first moved to WPB in '97 right out of DE (where I lived in both Wilmington, the largest city & Dover, the capital) the TV news frightened me because of all the murders I heard, bodies found lying in canals all the time. And car thefts are famous down here, I always felt safe in that regard because I've only driven used cars and the one I had when I moved was pretty old. In any other place that I'd lived, even of comparable size, there wasn't even 1/3 of the crime I heard (and hear) reported each and every day. But you don't have to believe me, all you have to do is watch local TV news online, I'm sure a little search we'll take you there. But, I can tell you first hand what it's been like personally:
- When I got here we moved to a small, quaint and quiet apartment complex in the heart of WPB, a great area which still rates at about 74% "walkability" at Walkscore.com due to all the "amenities" in the immediate area. Other than one bigger apartment complex around the corner and a nice private condo building across the street the neighborhood had nice single-family older homes which were well kept and made it a nice area for my children and I to ride our bikes in. In a few short years that changed, much to our dismay. A lot of tenants in our building (myself included) had car tires slashed; I found a mother's day card for my mother torn to pieces behind the building (someone suggested it was stolen from the mailbox by someone who hoped to find $$ inside); my son's car was vandalized around noon one day and they stole his speakers; 2 of our bikes that were chained to the upper balcony were stolen during the day and one Sunday after my daughter and I got back from church 2 teens who were eyeing another bycicle tried to mug me (but I always hold on tight to my purse and after yelling at them I got back in my car & chased them until the police came & brought one of them to our door). And just before we moved in '04 regular shooting started on Palm Beach Lakes Blvd, which was just around the corner.
- At the end of that year we moved because during one of the hurricanes our apt. got water in the carpet and the ensuing mold problem affected my health. It was very hard to find anything remotely affordable because the demand was very high due to hurricane damage so I had to settle for a duplex in an neighborhood that didn't look so great. Well, at least during the first 2-3 years it was livable, and because it was so close to my children's jobs, we finally got fast internet, and other advantages we didn't mind so much, but after that, drug related shootings started and in 7/08 two men shot each other almost right in front of our home and only minutes after my son had returned from work; one died several yards away but left his shorts in the walkway that goes from our driveway to our door so we had police on our front lawn ALL night and into the morning and helicopters flying overhead. I found out through a police officer a long time later that the other, who was found lying halfway into our back yard (I guess when he tried to escape), died later in the hospital. When they came to interview us we found out there are Jamaican rings in the city and there was one in this neighborhood that they'd had their eyes on for some time.
But that's not all, my children and I have had friends or acquaintances that lived in pricey gated communities where car theft, robberies and shootings happened regularly. In fact, all you really have to do is look at reviews of rental apartment communities here and you'll read the many complaints about thugs, people of Section 8 who don't give a **** , etc. and they're spread all over the city, in other words, paying more rarely guarantees more safety around here; it seems like it's all become a dump and I really hope I can convince my children to eventually get out of here too.
My family, and I, moved here in June, from NC, and do not regret it one bit! We never fail to find something to do and do not have to spend an arm & a leg to do it. We are a family of six, btw...Normally there are 7 of us but our oldest son moved to another state long before we knew we were moving. He couldn't wait to get out of NC. He'll join us here in SC in the Fall.
Anyways...In the short amount of time we have been here, we have already felt more at home than the hometown we left behind and know we will never return to NC to live! We are thankful each, and every, day for the company transfer that brought us here!
We find the area to be very beautiful, the people friendly, and we have never once felt unsafe either in our home, neighborhood, or while out and about. That is way more than I can say for the NC town (north of Charlotte) I lived in since my birth in 1964!
My only regret is that we didn't move here years ago.
Wow. Please don't take offense, but you really haven't checked out Greenville very much if you think everything is costly.
- Have you done the "Mice on Main" with your children? (FREE)
- Have you gone to the weekly free movies at the Library? (popcorn is served) (FREE)
- Have you done the free kids movies in the mornings at the new Great Escape theater? (FREE)
- Have you ridden bikes on the Swamp Rabbit trail and/or numerous bikelanes throughout the city. (FREE)
- Have you gone to a Drive game? Tickets for are only 6 dollars each for lawn seating (an entire evening of entertainment).
- Have you gone to one of the numerous parks on any of the lakes....Hartwell, Jocassee, Keowee? (FREE or minimal entry fee).
- Have you gone to any of the numerous community events like Artisphere, Reedy River Duck Derby, Bark in the Park, Moonlight Movies, etc, etc, etc? (FREE)
- Have you ridden the train at The Pavillion?
- Have you ice skated at The Pavillion? (Entry fee is less than 5 dollars).
- Have you played carpet golf at McPherson Park? (FREE)
- Have you played tennis at any of the area parks? (FREE)
- Have you done the Greenville Zoo? (Children under 15 are only 4.50 each)
- Have you gone with your dog (if you have one) to the bark park in Cleveland Park?
- Have you hiked at Paris Mountain...to the dam, to the lake....beautiful. (Small entry fee).
- Have you taken your children to Haywood's indoor playground? (FREE)
On and on and on........
There is so much to do either free or for under 5.00 dollars. Check it out....doesn't sound like you have.
I'm barely trying to move there after my one and only visit, but I already knew some of the above (but thanks for giving me more!). I have a brand-new granddaughter so when I went there I already had her in mind, and when PhotogGal pointed out to me several of the FREE activities, including several nice playgrounds, lakes and parks, I came back here all excited wanting to tell my son about it.
So I too was thinking to myself "this person doesn't really know very much yet". If his/her case is one of a job transfer, well, then maybe it's kind of understandable that not much pre-research was involved, but the rest of us usually try to find out everything we can before we move. In reality, a parent of young kids only needs a bit of imagination, even before I saw the above list I'd thought that if my kids had been young we could entertain ourselves during weekends just like we did in Wilmington, Dover & even WPB in the beginning, going to Festivals, parks, playgrounds, the zoo, and at the library where there's plenty for kids to do and free movies to borrow to watch at home.
Maybe NC has more to offer for some and that's fine, that I know there is no official competition to win. Like I always say, there's no "one-size-fits-all", only the realtors and people in certain types of businesses who participate in this board think "the more the merrier", but as I already said - and I'm not afraid to repeat - I want to be in a place that won't change too much, so I feel it's better that those that aren't sure GSP would be a good fit consider another city or even state. No point in ending up unhappy like Art123, etc., and then trying to spread their negative vibes all around instead of just getting out of there OR getting involved in their new community to try to effect more positive changes.
People who have lived in several other places (like me) need to keep in mind that there's always going to be something "better" in a previous place (or "in the other side of the fence"), but that should not be a reason to come here and complain again and again; just do like I'm doing, find a better place for yourself AND GET OUT, unless you're being held in a jail nobody's trying to stop you!
One thing that truly impressed me when I was recently in Greenville was how happy everyone I saw seemed, and after talking to a good number of people (for such a short time) and asking their reasons to live there I confirmed they are similar to mine and they were indeed happy, they all said they were there "to stay". So I'm sure that for me there will be little to miss this time around, and even so I will leave WPB with gratitude in my heart for the experience which also had its good points/moments.
I have enjoyed reading these comments. I moved here in 2005 to escape the Florida hurricanes and the rat race Fort Lauderdale had become. If was fun being there while single but married now and slowing down....It is a little slower here and hard to get used to at first but after awhile you get used to it. Was amazed smoking was still allowed in some restaurants but since have changed that. And FINALLY one of the last areas that is banning cell phone while driving use. I can get along with most anyone and have met people of all kinds living here. Greenville has tons of transplants. I do not regret it., but I do miss Florida living.
I have not had a problem with the people here but I do have one thing to say about some of the comments I have read. If everywhere you go you find people are jerks perhaps YOU are the jerk.
When I was a kid, I did enjoy some museums like the air and space museum at the Smithsonian, geology museums, science museums, etc.
That being said, I much preferred to just play around in a creek making dams or in the backyard building highways for my Matchbox cars.
I've lived in both NC and SC and NC has a lot more "free" services provided by the government. I say "free" because the high tax rate in NC is what pays for all of that stuff. Personally, I'd rather have less government services and lower taxes.
Personally, I'd rather have less government services and lower taxes.
In general or in regards to these "free" services?
What always makes me wonder why people in SC don't want (at least a little) higher taxes is when I cross the border between SC and NC and the road changes from pot hole crap road to smooth highway.
I understand that people don't want to work to give away a lot of their hard earned money just for taxes but then you'll also have to live with some disadvantages compared to other states.
In general or in regards to these "free" services?
What always makes me wonder why people in SC don't want (at least a little) higher taxes is when I cross the border between SC and NC and the road changes from pot hole crap road to smooth highway.
I understand that people don't want to work to give away a lot of their hard earned money just for taxes but then you'll also have to live with some disadvantages compared to other states.
I am generally in favor of less government and lower taxes. There comes a point where even I think we need to do more. Our roads are in desperate need of attention. I'd be in favor of a 5¢ increase in the gas tax if it was used to fix bridges and pave existing roads. The NC gas tax is ~25¢ higher and even a 5¢ raise in SC would put us at one of the lowest rates in the country.
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Now where is that popcorn? 
