Florence, SC on the upswing? (Columbia, Greenville: hotels, university, casino)
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As per the census Florence country only added about 1.8k people, the city of Florence on the other hand added 2.8k, on the other hand Darlington County which is in the Florence metro lost 6k so the metro at large isn't doing that well.
What I found interesting was that when I lived in Florence in the 90s things were quite stagnant and people were writing the City's obituary. In the 2000s.. it has certainly turned around in terms of new development, downtown redevelopment, further growth west (and hopefully north and east) and industrial development/job creation.
To your point about the City and County of Florence adding population while the metro as a whole is losing population in the surrounding counties. I know so many people.. in the 90s and now.. that actually moved from places like Marion, Mullins, and Darlington to Florence. Sure some people do leave the area entirely resulting in a net loss.. I am just curious on how much of the moving from one side of the metro to Florence impacts those numbers along with transplants from outside the area.
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There has been 3 or 4 people post on a Florence topic to say it is not interesting yet they clicked on the topic.
It seems like Columbia rarely is mentioned in articles hyping up various cities. This is despite some name recognition due to the capitol status and big state university. Its amenities don't seem to add up to much. The zoo is the only thing somewhat rare in Columbia. Florence is only a hour away.
Having more retail and restaurants doesn't make it more interesting as in unique.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 05-08-2023 at 12:43 PM..
Agree 100%
Living in the area, and seeing homes being built everywhere, but census numbers going up by around or even less than 1% yearly.
I was not necessarily bashing Columbia, I honestly wish it were better, being the Capital and all, it has so much potential, but Charleston and Greenville are pushing ahead of Columbia.
Yeah, it’s really weird. Florence to me doesnt fit the mold of that stagnant, large southern town. I feel it’s more than that but the census numbers are weird. I can loosely compare that to something Woodlands mentioned in another thread- Kershaw county, which is seeing very decent growth, barely registers any sort of tangible growth even though it’s visibly building up; like Florence.
And nah I didn’t take it as you were bashing Columbia. We Columbians are used to it anyway- some of us have developed thick skin and at the same time know that the capital city just does its own thing. Steady enough growth to see and feel it but just modest enough to keep it out of the rankings and travel magazines lol
For someone who doesn’t live in Florence anymore but who was born and raised and left to go to school in the Upstate. Whenever I come home, and I was there this weekend, Florence is clearly growing and as someone mentioned earlier. I don’t understand how the census is not reflecting that growth. I know the city has finally gone over 40k but I would also think the county should be growing as well. I guess perception is not always reality as far as the census numbers are concerned.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LakeMan45
Florence has the nicest rail trail setup I've seen in a city.
You can hop on it at the McLeod fitness center (which is very nice), and behind Naturally Outdoors and Phils Bike shop, where you can rent bikes. Looks like there is a restaurant, brewery and coffee shop at the bike shop entrance.
You can also hop on the trail on the other end at Ebenezer Park. It seems like this trail is safer than many rail trails that run through urban areas. This railtrail setup would get hyped up all the time if it was in a bigger city.
Timrod Park and Jeffries Creek Park are above average parks in my view.
I forgot you can also access the rail trail from West Florence high school. Takes you around the the back of the Walmart (with evergreens between the trail and the building) and runs under the David McLeod bridge. Cross country team at West Florence used it in addition to the trail in the woods between between the school and the mall.
Florence should change its nickname from Magic City to Rail Trail Town.
I have family in Lexington near the lake, the Clemson Rd area and off Harbison in Irmo. Living in those areas doesn't seem much different than Florence other than you end up driving interstates more. Columbia's downtown has 4 lane roads running through it. It doesn't feel that urban. It is kind of dominated by University of SC. Florence has more of a classic southern downtown. I think it could end up having as much as the the Vista and probably no chain restaurants.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 05-08-2023 at 03:34 PM..
For someone who doesn’t live in Florence anymore but who was born and raised and left to go to school in the Upstate. Whenever I come home, and I was there this weekend, Florence is clearly growing and as someone mentioned earlier. I don’t understand how the census is not reflecting that growth. I know the city has finally gone over 40k but I would also think the county should be growing as well. I guess perception is not always reality as far as the census numbers are concerned.
It could just be changing like Greenwood is. There is construction in Greenwood, but it isn't adding people. It lost a few. Sometimes change can be mistaken for growth.
Larger doesn't mean better,
In my opinion, Columbia is boring and not much better than Florence.
With the exception of the Zoo and Museums, what more is there to do in Columbia than you can do in Florence or the Florence area? Yes Columbia has more amenities, but not "much more"
The city name is interchangeable from Columbia. What other city of under 150K exceeds Columbia's amenities?
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Another good thing about small towns like Florence and Greenwood is they generally don't attract people with the "to the manor born" personality.
I think most critics of Florence would never live in any small town. They act like a city that isn't experiencing population growth is defective.
Generally their biggest hobby is shopping. Most Florence residents are going to be down in Mrytle Beach a good bit. There is plenty of shopping in MB and its better than Columbia for that. I don't like shopping but I'd rather go to Broadway at the Beach than one of the malls in Columbia.
An amenity of Florence is you are with a reasonable driving distance from the beach but not close enough to deal with that traffic and the inflated housing costs. You are closer to the beach than most people in the US.
Florence has all of the retail stores that I go to, Best Buy, DIck's, Academy, Barnes and Noble, Belk, etc plus solid local option like Naturally Outdoors and Saltys.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 05-08-2023 at 05:33 PM..
Another good thing about small towns like Florence and Greenwood is they generally don't attract people with the "to the manor born" personality.
I think most critics of Florence would never live in any small town. They act like a city that isn't experiencing population growth is defective.
Generally their biggest hobby is shopping. Most Florence residents are going to be down in Mrytle Beach a good bit. There is plenty of shopping in MB and its better than Columbia for that. I don't like shopping but I'd rather go to Broadway at the Beach than one of the malls in Columbia.
An amenity of Florence is you are with a reasonable driving distance from the beach but not close enough to deal with that traffic and the inflated housing costs. You are closer to the beach than most people in the US.
Florence has all of the retail stores that I go to, Best Buy, DIck's, Academy, Barnes and Noble, Belk, etc plus solid local option like Naturally Outdoors and Saltys.
Florence also has all the basics. A functional airport, reasonable Amtrak service and direct interstate access to the east coast. For additional air service MYR is not far. You mentioned Myrtle Beach for shopping.. Florence is about the same distance from Columbia (Irmo) as it is to Charlotte.. give or take 10 miles. So you can get up to the Queen City as well. Again.. if you dont like small SC city life.. Florence likely wont appeal to all. Columbia seems to have more "major" events from the college sports teams, minor league teams, concerts, festivals, and related activities.
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