I love Greenville! Let’s talk about the Pros and Cons of living in Greenville, SC! Nestled in the middle of the northwest section of South Carolina, Greenville is right at the bottom of the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. This prime location gives the city many of its pros and a con which we’ll get to in a little bit. Let’s start out with why people love living in Greenville and what’s drawing so many people to move here that we’re one of the top Moved-to cities in the US.
DOWNTOWN GREENVILLE
Downtown Greenville is an immediate standout to people coming to visit the area. The transformation over the last 30 years has been remarkable. Growing up in the area, I knew downtown as a place to avoid after dark. Nothing could be further from the truth today. A focused goal of revitalizing downtown has lead to many public/private partnerships from the Peace Center to the Bi-lo Center, now Bon Secours Arena coming to the downtown area. *Sidenote, my Dad was lucky enough to be involved with the Bi-Lo center’s creation. These two anchors lead to more growth, the rebuilding of the Poinsett Hotel, and the massive creation of Falls Park and the Liberty Bridge. Over the years, Falls Park has garnered a number of accolades and Greenville City has become an urban planning case study. The revitalization of downtown has continued through today with many additions like the Hyatt and Greenville Drive stadium near the beginning, Unity Park opening recently, and the Grand Bohemian Hotel coming soon.
INDUSTRY
Another major draw for Greenville and the Upstate is the industry that has come to the area in recent decades. Once a community that relied on mills, now Greenville thrives with a variety of industries contributing to it’s growth and stability. BMW opened in Greer, a suburb of Greenville in 1994 and has expanded over time. Today, BMW Manufacturing employs 11,000 people at the seven million square-foot campus. The plant produces 11 models of BMWs and have manufactured millions of cars. Michelin’s North American Headquarters are located in Greenville, near I-85 and Pelham road. In addition, they have several plants in the upstate and other parts of South Carolina. Over 9,000 people work for Micheline in South Carolina with their headquarters housing over 1,400 employees from more than 30 countries. These two giants, in addition to GE, Lockheed Martin, Bosch, Samsung and more provide an ever growing job base for Greenville and the whole of the Upstate.
SEASONS
Greenville’s foothills location leads to some great seasons, another Pro moving to living in the area. While we see all 4 seasons, winter is very mild and summer tends to be warm but not as severe as the lower part of the State. We will have anywhere from a few snow days, to none, depending on the year. The biggest snowfall I can remember was 12 inches back in the 80s. Our street wasn’t driven on for 5 days as we enjoyed sledding, snowmen, and hot chocolate. That seems like a once in a lifetime event for the area, as I haven’t seen it repeated yet! We get mild falls with summer’s warm weather lingering around through October many years. Spring can come early, and you’ll see people out sunbathing in March, for sure!
FOOD SCENE
Greenville’s restaurant scene is another big draw for visitors and residents alike. With more restaurant per capita than any other US city, there is some new to choose from every day. Greenville’s buzzing downtown offers anything from steaks and burgers to crepes and waffles. A new restaurant coming to town is assured of a quick buzz while people put it to the test and see if it will become a staple in their rotation. Pleasant weather for many months leads to many locations offering outside dining, some great for people watching, others with pleasant park or mountain views.
SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL CHOICE
Great Schools and school choice is a big draw for Greenville. The Greenville County School District is one of the top 50 largest districts in the nation, but does a great job of providing students and parents with lots of options for their education. Greenville County Schools is a “choice” district, offering quality schools at all levels across the school system. Approximately 16% of the school system’s 76,000 students attend school on choice. The district offers magnet schools with varied focuses as well as International Baccalaureate programs and Technology centers. The Fine Arts Center, located at Wade Hampton High School, accepts auditions for enrollment in various fields of the arts. The Charles Townes Center, located at Sterling School, offers for qualifying students in grades three through eight, an advanced academic curriculum. Several of the charter high schools allow dual enrollment with partners offering college credit in addition to high school credit for those classes. This allows some to graduate high school with an associates degree. My son attends one such school, Greenville Tech Charter School, since they offer one of the nations few aviation programs allowing him to work towards becoming a pilot while still in high school.
HEALTHCARE
Another draw for people to moving to Greenville is availability of healthcare. Greenville is currently served by two major healthcare systems with campuses and facilities throughout the community. Greenville is also home to Shriners Hospital for Children® a 50-bed pediatric orthopedic hospital and research and teaching center providing comprehensive medical, surgical and rehabilitative care to children with orthopedic conditions.
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System is a private not-for-profit health system that boasts some of the highest patient satisfaction ratings in the nation. Bon Secours St. Francis Health System features five major facilities in the Greenville area: St. Francis Downtown, St. Francis Eastside, St. Francis Millennium, St. Francis Outpatient Center and Upstate Surgery Center.
Prisma Health, is a public not-for profit academic health system, widely recognized as the state's most comprehensive healthcare provider and one of the Southeast's leading medical facilities. Prisma is comprised of a Level I trauma center, five acute care hospitals, a psychiatric hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a regional medical center, a community wellness center and numerous specialty facilities.
In addition to these, the Greater Greenville area is also severed by Spartanburg Regional Healthcare, a state division that is not tax payer funded. They have more than 9,000 employees and serve four South Carolina counties and two in North Carolina.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Entertainment choices are a BIG Pro for Greenville. The Peace Center I mentioned earlier is a big influence on the community and brings shows of all kinds to the Upstate. From Weird Al Yankovic, Rachmaninoff, BettleJuice the Musical, to CATS, the Peace Center brings everything from Broadway to Classical music to the Upstate.
Greenville also boasts The Warehouse Theater, Center Stage, and nearby Greer has the Logos Theater. The Logos is the only theater that writes and performs plays based on C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe series. They work with the C.S. Lewis estate and his heirs to produce these plays, which have gotten great reviews. Greenville has the Swamp Rabbits hockey team, named for the awesome, over 20 mile walking and biking trail that extends from Traveler’s Rest through Greenville. They play in the Bon Secours arena, which also hosts shows ranging from comedians to music acts, Monster trucks, and often rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Greenville Drive, a minor league team for the Cincinatti Reds, plays in a great stadium in the downtown’s West End. There are many other great entertainment options in Greenville, way too many to list here!
COST OF LIVING
Greenville’s affordability is a big draw! People moving from the North and West are often stunned by the lower property taxes in the area. Local prices have appreciated a lot in the last two years, up over 18% in the last year alone! However, prices are still more affordable than many regions, and when combined with the much lower taxes, buyers can often afford a lot more house on the same budget. The average property sold for just over 359,000 during the last month. Cost of living is much lower in South Carolina than much of the nation as well.
INFRASTRUCTURE
This does lead us to a Con of living in Greenville: we are one of the fastest growing places and it shows! Infrastructure can often have issues keeping up with the increased population. This leads to traffic issues and crowded parking in many places. But, take heart, we still do not have multi-hour commutes, or consistent standing traffic on the highways like many big metropolitan areas. Greenville has plans in the works to deal with traffic on Woodruff Rd, and the recent reworking of the 385/85 interchange has lead to better traffic flow…after an adjustment period as to where each exit leads!
Roads in general are a Con to the Upstate, with many needing repair. I know this is an issue that many people deal with but don’t expect better here. Some roads have small issues, others can get large potholes and excessive alligatoring before the government steps in to make repairs.
ALLERGIES and WEATHER
Allergies can be one of the biggest Cons of life in Greenville, South Carolina. We have high pollen days in the Spring and Fall and due to out high humidity much of the year, we can have higher mold counts than many places. Speaking of humidity, for some people the weather is a Con to Greenville. A plus for some, but a minus for others, we have warm summers with high humidity and mild winters that are a bit dryer. If you’re experienced with living in the South, you’ll find Greenville a bit cooler and more pleasant than many areas of the south due to proximity to the mountains as I mentioned earlier. However, if you are coming from a cooler climate or a warm climate with low humidity, expect to feel a lot warmer during the late spring, summer, and fall. Those moisture levels come from our rain, which can be a shock to people from some climates. Greenville gets true southern Thunderstorms, fast, hard rain with accompanying loud thunder and lightning. These can be a shock to people from dryer areas or those that normal experience a light soaking rain. Flash floods are possible here due to heavy rain, but the ground does a much better job of absorbing water than the southwest for example, so a heavy rain does not necessarily lead to flooding.
All in All, I love living in Greenville. The Upstate of South Carolina has a great, mild climate, lots of outdoor activities, proximity to the beach and mountains, entertainment options for the whole family. If you’re thinking about moving within Greenville or to Greenville, I’d love to help you learn more about the area. You can reach out to be in the comments or check out my other videos on local Greenville neighborhoods. Please subscribe and let me know what you’d like to hear about next!
Info and pics on downtown Greenville’s transformation
https://citygis.greenvillesc.gov/downtownreborn/index.html
Greenville County School District
https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/
Logos Theater
https://thelogostheatre.com/
Peace Center
https://www.peacecenter.org/
