florence: unfriendly? race problems? dangerous? (Hartsville, Marion: transplants, crime, neighborhoods)

[sandykassia]

I am a health care provider from MD, and received a job offer in Florence.
I was/am very excited with cost of living, job, weather, but have beens reading a few negative reports and wanted to have opinions:

1. that florence natives are unfriendly to people from uo north
2. that there is a big rivality between white and blacks, and they dont get along
3. that there is a lot of crimes, including gang activities

Would anyone from the area chime in in either one of these concerns?

thanks

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by sandykassia

I am a health care provider from MD, and received a job offer in Florence.
I was/am very excited with cost of living, job, weather, but have beens reading a few negative reports and wanted to have opinions:

1. that florence natives are unfriendly to people from uo north
2. that there is a big rivality between white and blacks, and they dont get along
3. that there is a lot of crimes, including gang activities

Would anyone from the area chime in in either one of these concerns?

thanks

I lived in Florence in the 90s and graduated from Francis Marion University.


1) I don't get a sense that people are unfriendly towards "northerners" many people from Florence are from other places and the City is fairly "progressive" for a City of its size.. It is likely more so now than in the 90s. Prime examples are things like the new main Library, Civic Center, the Little Theatre, FMU Performing Arts Center, and the downtown redevelopment. All were in their infancy in the early 90s with some opposition.. but they were built/underway and the City is all the better for it as people now enjoy them and want more amenities. People are generally friendly.. the only problem that I experienced was some "town and gown" stuff where some of the locals didn't like FMU students. But that was mainly because some of the locals that were not in college (but in the same age demographics) were often spurned or shunned by co-eds at the University for being a "local" or looked down on them for not being in College..I know silly stuff but it happens and would not likely impact you and what you are looking for. Also, many Florentines will likely "react" to you negatively if you come off as being.. say a stereotypical "northerner" and try to paint everyone with a broad brush as being a "hick" or a "yocal" and look down on them for not having XYZ. That tends to rub most people the wrong way in most places.


2) I would say blacks and white generally "get along". In many small southern cities "getting along" comes in different forms from total segregation "you stay on your side and I will stay on mine" and we all "get along" because of it.. to being well more interconnected. Most southerners from small cities are very similar regardless of race and share many of the same interest.. food, sports, religion.. etc which brings many folks together for one reason or another. Florence is probably in the middle of the spectrum that I painted not segregated but not totally entirely integrated in terms of everyone getting along all the time.. but that's in most places. I don't get the sense that there is any overt strife though.


3) Crime is a touchy one. The City of Florence has tended to have higher crime because it includes many of the older and lower income sections of the City and is small geographically. Greater Florence and Florence County is more spread out.. more diverse and tends to have a lower crime rate. That said.. you will likely not be mugged killed or raped simply walking down the street in the City of Florence. Most of the crime is domestic/familiar in nature or gang related.. There used to be a rivalry between North and East Florence that was pretty prevalent in the 90s.. Not sure on where it is now. Some of it was based in the High Schools which both sides of town went to separate High Schools. Both neighborhoods were of a similar social economic demographic and the 'strife' was related to criminal activity

Overall Florence should be fine for you and the City's med section is growing with FMU adding a Health Facility downtown.. close to both McCleod and Carolina's Hospital System..It has a commercial airport with service to Charlotte, Amtrak, and great access to the Interstate and beaches for trips.. The cost of living is also reasonable and it has the amenities that one would want and expect in a small city.

Hope this helps....

[ayoskillz]

Theres alot of crimes in some areas but those would be the areas you wouldnt and dont have any reason to go and still if you do some how wonder in those areas its not as bad as some cities. More shady looking people than anything.

2. Its the south but there are some people in the north also that holds certain grudges blk/wht. Theres is this bar that whites and blacks party. All open arms from everyone. Maybe in the old florence days but not so much present and im talking bout before my time cause i grew up there.

3.i never heard anyone being unfriendly to someone from out of state.. Maybe if they are behind you and you dont know where you are going holding up the road then i can see someone say these outofstate non drivers lol

[Iam4USC]

I always get a kick out of the stereotype that we don't like northerners. What we don't like is people from other areas coming here and complaining about how things are done here. Or how they can't get the things here that they could get back home. I always ask, "Why did you move here?" Usually it's because the cities they are coming from are broken and riddled with crime and the cost of living is skyrocketing.

So quit coming down here and make the attempt to change things back to the broken ways you just left.

There is a reason why nobody ever retires and moves north.

On the other hand, I have several very good friends who are northern transplants. They embrace the south and never complain. They know how good it is and feel the same way as me, if their northern brothers want to complain, move back!

So it's not northerners we don't like, it's complainers!

[SubwayRider]

The "southerners hate northerners" thing is overblown. You may get asked about your accent, sometimes even kidded, but it is almost always good natured. The few who don't like "yankees" are usually rural, country types who frequently talk about the "damn yankees", but they're generally harmless, and rarely will you encounter them. Being originally from the north, I can state objectively some arrogant transplants can be quite annoying with their complaints about the south (and everything else, it seems). Feel free to complain, but keep it in the family. Southerners don't want to hear it.

The race thing is overblown as well. Race relations are so much worse in the north...I know, I visit there several times a year, and have been involved in 2 unprovoked incidents in majority black areas (just sitting in my car), incidents that would never happen in Florence. Florence is a somewhat segregated city, but it's equally on income as well as race demographics. Blacks live exclusively north of 52 and east of Irby St., but most of them are poor. There are many blacks who live throughout the rest of the city. There are not many whites, however, who live in north or east Florence. If my car broke down in those areas, would I, being white, be frightened? No, especially during the day. Not so if it happened in north Philly or Baltimore. On the flip side, a black person walking through, or moving into a majority white neighborhood would likely not encounter any problems in 2016 Florence. The last thing on race...gangs in Florence are a problem, and do lead to a perception problem of young black males as a whole. Most of the perpetrators and victims of gang crime are black, though not all, so everyone must be on alert, especially when getting out of your car at night anywhere in the city.

As for crime, Florence does have a problem given it's proximity to I-95, as well as the gang problem mentioned above. But like in any city, you just need to be smart. Avoid ATM machines at night, lock your doors at night and don't leave anything of value in your vehicle (theft from vehicles is common) and always be on the lookout if going out at night, especially females.

Good luck.

[mcleod13]

I'm moving to Florence in June and will be a professor at Francis Marion. When I visited in October, I was never treated differently. In fact, even though I was there during the flooding, everyone was still nice and helpful. It was really different, in a good way, for me. I definitely wasn't used to the closeness.

I have a mixed family so the black/white issue was of concern to me too. I didn't notice anything that would make me think there would be that big of problem. Like I said, everyone was friendly when I was there.

I am interested in hearing more about the gang issue. I didn't notice anything, but I have heard things. I try not to venture into the shady areas. But I do a lot of things at night so the last poster has me concerned.

[Iam4USC]

Any gang activity is concentrated in neighborhoods you would have no reason to be in anyway. And most of their crime is against each other. There is no need to be concerned with gang activity in Florence. Just stay out of the bad neighborhoods. You'll know them when you see them.

[SubwayRider]

Originally Posted by mcleod13

I am interested in hearing more about the gang issue. I didn't notice anything, but I have heard things. I try not to venture into the shady areas. But I do a lot of things at night so the last poster has me concerned.

Don't let my post dissuade you from moving to Florence. Like Iam4USC said, most of the gang activity are concentrated in certain parts of north and east Florence, and occasionally out at the malls or the I-95/52 corridor. They're generally young punks with no parental discipline pretending to be big city thug gangsters. Their gang initiations & activity occasionally put innocent people in danger, but it's not an everyday occurrence like in Chicago. Living in Florence on & off for 30+ years, I've never had one incident with crime, whether theft or anything else.

[mcleod13]

Originally Posted by SubwayRider

Living in Florence on & off for 30+ years, I've never had one incident with crime, whether theft or anything else.

Awesome! That makes me feel a lot better! We are definitely excited about moving to Florence.

[CJMac02]

Originally Posted by sandykassia

I am a health care provider from MD, and received a job offer in Florence.
I was/am very excited with cost of living, job, weather, but have beens reading a few negative reports and wanted to have opinions:

1. that florence natives are unfriendly to people from uo north
2. that there is a big rivality between white and blacks, and they dont get along
3. that there is a lot of crimes, including gang activities

Would anyone from the area chime in in either one of these concerns?

thanks

I lived in Hartsville from 2003-2011 but I spent probably a quarter or more of my time in Florence and honestly, the Hartsville-Florence area is a great place to be. It really is one big community. The area is very progressive and inviting, especially compared to other similar cities in the south. I can't speak on the demographics of Florence, but in Hartsville there were many families that I knew who had moved from the CT-NJ-NY tristate area, Chicago, and other areas from the North and they were treated no different from anyone else. Race relations are fairly neutral and typical. Crime is typical and like any city, there are bad areas and good areas.