Moving to Florence, SC - Looking for Nice Area (Columbia: rent, buying a home)

[TT5]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum. In a nutshell, my Fiance currently moved down there (Florence) for a new Engineering job, and is currently renting there. I am currently working on selling our house in MI (which is where we currently live, and I am originally from).

We are both in our early 30's, and have professional careers. We are looking for a nice area where we won't be on top of our neighbors, and can have our space and maybe a decent piece of land. We are also avid car owners (thusly the need for land), so a place where outbuildings and/or extra garages can go is almost a must.

According to past posts, West and South Florence are nice (I have seen them too, and believe it), but at the same time, we are looking for maybe somewhere outside of town to maybe live, like Effingham, Lamar, Scranton, Society Hill, etc. Somewhere to possibly purchase a larger, Southern home with decent land, and be safe, not only personally, but also from theft, since we like to own nice cars. And, ideally, also a nice feeling, relaxed area. Ya know, more "traditional Southern" feeling.

I have done ALOT of research on Florence and the surrounding are, and have frankly been SHOCKED at what I am hearing about it. Sifting through the data to determine which small towns are good and which ones are not has been difficult. However, I know that some things are not as bad as the numbers show them to be, so we are still enthused about giving this a try.
I know that staying away from Lake City and Olanta is a must, and Darlington and Marion aren't looking too good either.

We currently live in a (fairly nice) suburb of Detroit, so violence, crime, etc. is not something new to us, or at least hearing about it. But, at the same time, we would like to be as safe as possible in our new home state.

So, my question is: What are some nice, smaller towns around Florence to live in? (As an alternative to living in Florence, that is). We have no kids, so schools are not too much of a concern. Something more traditional and clean, with little activity.

Anything within like a 30 minute drive to Florence would be deemed "within scope" for this question.

Thanks again, and all recommendations are welcome!

[eureka1]

There are about three nice blocks in Timmonsville; the rest is a dump and I say this with regret because I have roots there. I wish you the best of luck but I think what you're looking for will be hard to find and you'll probably have to just come down , rent for awhile and take your time till you find a place that grabs you. There's a Toyota plant in Timmonsville; it might be interesting to find out where their executives live. A local realtor could probably help. Let us know where you end up, OK?

[pinkpocketbooks]

This is the first SC post I've opened on this board and I was hoping to get a little info on Florence as well. My husband was presented with a very nice opportunity with his company and will require us to relocate from Charlotte, NC to Florence. We're both thrilled about the opportunity, but I am VERY bummed about leaving Charlotte Looking at Florence on a map ... well there are no 'cities' nearby. And I worry about being happy there. This is all very new for us and we're not sure if we want to pursue this, but we will be giving it lots of consideration.
As far as Florence itself, I'm full of misconceptions b/c I've never actually been there. I picture it as too small of a town for me and I think I'd be bored to tears.
My husband is in Engineering too. You can send me a PM if you like. Maybe there's a chance its the same company.

[creekgirl4life]

You should check out the Latta area as it is located just off I-95 with easy access to Florence. Latta is a small town and has better schools than most of the rural communities. Home and land prices are reasonable just beware where the new interstate (I-73) will be if you decide to buy in the area.

Florence is not as small as you may think and has grown of the last few years. There are many nice neighborhoods but the West Florence area seems to be more desirable due to better schools.

Mytle Beach and Columbia can be reached within an hour and a half drive.

It is difficult to tell where anyone is 'safe' these days. Good Luck!

[TT5]

Originally Posted by pinkpocketbooks

This is the first SC post I've opened on this board and I was hoping to get a little info on Florence as well. My husband was presented with a very nice opportunity with his company and will require us to relocate from Charlotte, NC to Florence. We're both thrilled about the opportunity, but I am VERY bummed about leaving Charlotte Looking at Florence on a map ... well there are no 'cities' nearby. And I worry about being happy there. This is all very new for us and we're not sure if we want to pursue this, but we will be giving it lots of consideration.
As far as Florence itself, I'm full of misconceptions b/c I've never actually been there. I picture it as too small of a town for me and I think I'd be bored to tears.
My husband is in Engineering too. You can send me a PM if you like. Maybe there's a chance its the same company.

Thanks for the info everyone! Yeah, I realize that there is no guarantee of safety anywhere in the world, but certainly our goal is to be as happy and content as possible wherever we are (I guess that's the goal of a lot people, really, if I think about it).

To pinkpocketbooks, I highly recommend that you go to Florence if you get a chance. It's not as small town as you think, and actually has all of the normal ammenities like a Home Depot, BB&B, Target, etc. There are parts that are kind of dumpy, but other areas we have seen are quite nice (West Florence, specifically). Don't get me wrong, there is little busting nightlife, but it is not a 1 stoplight kinda place.

To those that have recommended other places in the area, like Latta and Timmonsville, thanks for the info! Currently, my Fiance is down there working as an Engineer, and so she is able to do some driving around and looking for the moment. Once we get our house sold in MI, then we'll hire a professional realtor to help in choosing a good neghborhood. However, as you all know, sometimes realtors are biased, and thusly my post here.

Also, thanks to everyone for the FYI about the highway expansion on I-73. It's really going to 6 lanes, eh? I had a feeling that Florence was going to grow, and this is just one more indicator that the possibility is there. Hopefully it will, and with it some prosperity.

I've been told to avoid Lake City and Olanta, but I was glad to hear some positive things in these posts and PMs about Pamplico and Latta. Anyone know anything about Quinby, Manning, Lamar or Society Hill? Sorry, just curious!

Thanks!

[SCGamecock]

In addition to Latta, the area around, but not in, Lamar offers nice "country" living where the houses sit on several acres. The Governor's Run Golf Course is in this area but the public schools are not good.

North Florence is undesirable and Quinby is just north of there, so I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

I've only visited Manning a few times but it seems like a nice town. They have a Super Walmart and Lawrence Manning is a nice private school. It is closer to 40-45 minutes from Florence. Manning seems to consider themselves more a part of the Sumter region. Hartsville is probably the nicest town within 40 minutes of Florence.

Society Hill has political/government issues. The police department personnel come and go so sometimes there is 24 hour protection and sometimes there isn't.

[citygirl1972]

We moved from Chicago to Myrtle Beach 8 years ago then from the beach to Florence a year and a half ago. I had been to Florence several times and every time I came I was put off. We always came in on 501 through the "bad side of town" Which would be the north east side of town. Anyway, as we looked for a home I was suprised that the only part of Florence I had ever seen did not represent it as a whole. A downtown revilaization project has been in the works FOREVER ... that is whole other topic.
We ended up buying a home on the south side in the Old Mill subdivision. Quite, super nice neigbhors, away from bad traffic (for the most part) close to schools, grocery, Lowes etc. the mall is on the opposite side of town but I can be there in 10 min, as well as work. Since you only asked for a nice area to buy a home I will quit now. I have some objections to Florence as a place to live, but that is for another discussion.

[skyfire43221]

Ok,

Florence is not as small as people think, but it IS STILL boring, especially if you are younger and want a lot of things to do around town. There's not much. You have to go to the beach for that. The only reason I don't live there is because I have terrible road rage, and I don't like sitting on 501 for four hours at a time. I moved to Florence to escape the traffic!

Florence is split, in my opinion, between the "crappy" side of town and the "nice" side of town. I live on the "nice" side. Generally, anywhere west of Irby street (the road that runs through what is known as Florence's downtown but really isn't a downtown if you're from a big city) is decent.

Florence by far has the most opportunity out of anywhere in the region, but I would say that if I move anywhere (besides Conway or Myrtle Beach) it will be Hartsville. Hartsville, although small, does have some cool things about it that I really like but that I'm not going to mention on this forum. You can message me if you want to know more.

I don't work, I'm in graduate school at FMU. My boyfriend works in Timmonsville, about 7 miles from Lamar. We have thought about moving out that way, but I am in my early 20's and Lamar is wayyyyy too small and quiet for me! Timmonsville is part crappy little town and part country (my boyfriend works in the country part) so if you want rural those areas aren't so bad, but if you move down by the Honda (not Toyota) plant, that's not such a bustling area!

Quinby is not good-- it's like mini-(bad parts of) Detroit up that way in Florence. So is East Florence. Latta is okay, but kinda heading out towards nothing, unless you want to see that idiotic South of the Border attraction in Dillon.

Turbeville, Olanta, Lake City, all little towns with the bare minimums-- Florence, then Hartsville, are probably the nicest in the Florence MSA. Manning is relatively okay, but very small as well and more in the Sumter region.


What else did you ask about? Oh, Society Hill. Move there if you want a speeding ticket. Society Hill is locally known as a speed trap, but the person who said that they have off-again on-again law-enforcement was correct.

Cheraw is another town with the bare minimum, on the other side of Society Hill.

Whatever you do, don't move to Darlington. Sorry people who live in Darlington, but I have a friend who lives there who says there's gunshots at least once a night in his neighborhood. The motto is "too tough to tame" for a reason.

So yeah, Hartsville (really small, north side might be kinda "snooty") or West or Southwest Florence are my picks for y'all, but to each his/her own

[river999]

I lived in Pamplico on 14 acres for nearly 4 years and loved it. It is only 20 minutes from Florence if you live on the Florence side. Check out Grapevine road which is right off Pamplico Highway (rte 51). The lots are 5 acres minimum and you probably would have to build, but you would fit right in with the other newer (large) homes on that road. Or you might check Big Swamp road, but that is a busier road so be careful there.
The school in Pamplico has been consistently rated one of the better in the state. That's what I have heard anyway.
Someone else wrote about Florence being boring. It is. However, one of the things we also liked about Pamplico is you are much closer to Myrtle Beach--which is not too bad if you want to go to the beach, shopping or out to dinner, you can be there in just under an hour.
Somebody else posted Hartsville. It is nice, but I think it would get old in a hurry and the beach is probably close to 2 hours from there. So getting out of town would be going to Florence and we've already covered how boring it is. Charlotte is probably 90 minutes from Hartsvegas..so there is that.

[loweryjones95]

There's a new housing development in the Mars Bluff area of Florence with very nice homes that aren't under one another. Otherwise, Johnsonville is a very nice smaller town in Florence County.