Retiring in Aiken South Carolina

[RichZ]

Thanks for the great replies, again. And I totally agree with you Sandman!!!

 

[RichZ]

OK, guys, I'm trying to narrow this down. If I were interested in the Greenville area what areas should I look at and what areas should I avoid?

Thanks!!!

 

[Sigarms]

My thoughts on the earlier statement about people in the South not taking a liking to outsiders from NY (or anywhere else for that matter) is simple. People in whatever area you look at, don't like it when people from another region move in and start trying to change things to the way it was back in "whatever area they came from". It isn't just people moving to the south, as I hear the same thing about people from Ca moving into neighboring states. The biggest thing is, if you don't like the way things are done in whatever region you move into, then move back to where you were, don't expect the people in the new region to accept you if you try to force the ways of the region you moved out of, on them. If you want the ways of your old region, then stay there! That will make everybody happy! If you want to move to a new region, then please consider the way things are done in that region, and if you don't like it, then keep you mouth shut, and adapt or move.
I am not trying to start trouble, not at all, I just get to see this all the time, and wish the people starting the problems would move.
David from jax

The road we live on is named after my neighbor.

Yes, we're Yankees, but in the first 6 months living at our place, we invited ALL of our neighbors over for dinner. It was mentioned to us from our neighbors that the previous owner (who was "local" and moved back to his dads farm behind the one back field) had NEVER invited them over to our house EVER in over 10 years he lived there (he had the house built).

My neighbor (southern born and bred) bushogs my field and he uses the hay for his daughter. He'll stop over on his ATV and say hi, and my boys know him.

People can be buttholes from every part of the country. If you treat people the way you expect to be treated, and be friendly on top of it, generally no problems less the buttholes.

My in laws who moved down to NC from Vermont this year have their neighbors (all southern born and bred) bringing vegetables over to them. Low and behold, my in laws found out that the previous owners had NEVER invited their neighbors over AT ALL. Heck, my FIL has his one neighbor wanted to reload his Webly (sp?) revolver for him lol

I also had some neighbor put a tree stand on my property without asking. Have no clue as to who did it even asking my neighbors. That tree stand has been in shed for the last 3 years. As I explained to my son, you want to do something on someone elses property, you ask first. Funny enough, no one has ever told me they're missing a tree stand.

Doesn't matter where your from, just be nice. Perhaps I'm lucky, I don't have any buttholes living around us LOL

I figure in another 10 years, I won't be a yankee at all North Carolina is the longest I've ever lived anywhere since I've been born, and I actually beginning to consider myself a North Carolinian (still root for my Big 10 alma mater though, still can't get into State or the tar heels LMAO).

 

[Sigarms]

OK, guys, I'm trying to narrow this down. If I were interested in the Greenville area what areas should I look at and what areas should I avoid?

Thanks!!!

Personally, I think NC should be on your list

I can drive 81 up to Watertown almost blindfolded.

 

[sseelhoff]

I spent 15 years in S.C. Although I lived on the coast the entire time, I covered the state. My BIL went to school at Clemson, and my in-laws have a cabin in Cashiers, NC, about 1.5 hours from Greenville.

I have to agree with the positive comments on Greenville, with one notable change. George Hincapie is the third most famous American Cyclist, after Armstrong and Greg LeMond. Possibly fourth if you count Davis Phinney. Maybe fifth after Floyd Landis. But Big George is a fixture in the cycling world.

As to the other stuff, Greenville is a growing and cosmopolitan "small town city." It has a lot to offer thanks to the industrial base such as BMW, Michelin (actually in Spartanburg) and Dupont, among others. Those companies bring in a professional workforce, and good manufacturing jobs. Lots of academia in the area (Furman, Wofford) with Clemson less than 45 minutes away. Close to the mountains, and close to Asheville, which is a neat town as well. Rivers, Lakes, Mountains, lots of outdoor stuff to do. A lot of focus has been placed on Greenville, but don't leave Spartanburg out of the discussion, as it is close to Greenville, and has the same things to offer. If you want to look in the other direction, Pickens might be worth a look. Have not been there in years, but I seem to remember that it was a nice little town. I'll defer to others that have been in the area more recently.

 

[Hiptfarms]

I am also from SC and I have to say there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY I would ever consider moving to Greenville. It's sprawling and the traffic is absurd. And progressive? The county "outlawed" gay folk about 10 years ago. A complete joke but ....it is the home of Bob Jones University. They are, however, doing a nice job of revitalizing their downtown area. But subdivisions are springing up like mushrooms there. I have to visit my in laws there on a regular basis and definitely do not enjoy the traffic.

If you want mountains, Asheville is nice.

But for SC, Aiken is beautiful although pricey. Greenville is also pricey. The Columbia area is situated in between those two, basically. You would be able to find all manner of houses in the areas surrounding Columbia that are in your price range. Columbia has plenty of things going on and has multiple colleges and universities with activities happening there as well. Good medical facilities and decent shopping. It is far more progressive, in my opinion, than Aiken or Greenville. It is, however, hotter by a few degrees than Greenville. Same as Aiken for heat but actually a little colder in winter.

Newberry is a nice little town. And the houses and land are far more affordable than Aiken or Greenville. I live in the next county over, Fairfield County, but it doesn't meet your criteria for having an active downtown area. Winnsboro is the Couty seat and it has nice some historical areas but nothing much going on. I live out in a rural area centrally located about 20 miles to Columbia, Winnsboro, or Newberry. We're only an hour and 15 minutes to Charlotte, Greenville, or Aiken. My neighbors just bought the house next door to me with 12 acres for 105,000. It was a structurally sound house built around 1880 that needed the utility's updated. 1700-1800 square feet. Almost new metal roof but the only heat is an outdoor wood boiler. Anyway, that's just an example.

Btw, square bales of horse quality hay are $5-6 and round bales run $35-40.

As for being accepted in SC being from NY, I wouldn't worry about it. The state is pretty much overrun with folks from "off". Most people are accepting and gracious. I would not subscribe to the "southern hospitality" mindset, though. There are plenty of jerks here just like everywhere else you go. I was born in SC and have actually been called a foreigner at a county meeting once by a local man who objected to me because I wasn't born in this county. Anyway, some of the nicest, most gracious people I've met were actually in NY state in the fingerlakes region. Lots of nice folks in New Brunswick, Canada, too.
Anyway, don't get me wrong, there are still some holdouts that don't like Yankees coming down here to stay but those folks are on the decline. Heck, move on down here and outlive em. That'll show em!

Funny, though. You're wanting to move down here while I'm m on the lookout for property up your way. The grass is always a little greener...over the septic tank. Or so Erma Bombeck used to say.
Happy real estate hunting!

 

[RichZ]

Hiptfarms, my wife and I are thinking about this move because we are having medical issues that is making running our 100 acre farm difficult. I have had 2 back surgeries, the last this past July, and the cold temperature is causing me a lot of problems. The cold never bothered me before, but after 2 surgeries, I now have a lot of titanium in my back. I've been told that often causes problems with dealing with cold temperatures. My wife has fibromyalgia, and also can no longer tolerate the cold, and her worsening condition makes it very difficult to help me maintain our farm. I NEVER thought I would leave this farm. It's my DREAM to live on this farm in this location. I LOVE upstate New York, and Cherry Valley is a wonderful location, it's beautiful, reasonably priced and has a large Amish population, who make life really interesting. But as the weather gets colder this year, we're finding we just can't do it anymore. We're in the process of re-homing many beloved animals to prepare for this move. It's one of the hardest things I've ever done, and it's breaking my heart. I grew up in the suburbs of Long Island and was a farm boy at heart. When I finally attained my farm, I vowed to NEVER leave it. But age is something that you can't fight. I'm 60 and my wife is 61, and although that is not really old, our medical conditions are making it very difficult to do what we love doing. Although Aiken and the surrounding area sound totally beautiful, I am dreading leaving my beloved farm. I am terribly depressed and am unable to get more than a few hours of sleep. I really appreciate all of my friends at TBN helping us make the decision to move easier. TBN is a wonderful place. If things go as I expect, soon, I will no longer have even one tractor. I hope, when that happens, I will still be welcome here.

 

[sandman2234]

RichZ,
If your looking for warmth during the winter, you might consider just a little bit further south...as even Jax gets cold in the winter!(all three weeks of it)
David from jax

 

[stuckmotor]

I really like the country around Greenville, a community there, called Tigerville is beautiful, to my eyes.
As for hay, I just bought a load of good 4x5 round cow quality bales for 41 dollars each, delivered. This is more than I usually pay but hay is scarce this year. Good luck in your decision.

 

[HCJtractor]

In response to Hiptfarm: I agree in part. Yes Bob Jones university is here and they are deeply fundamental, but very slowly advancing (they allow women to wear slacks now!) But seriously, they are like a self contained enclave. They have little effect on Greenville or at least my Greenville. And they are very decent people, just fundamental and narrow minded in their beliefs. And yes traffic is bad for the fools who continue to move to the sprawling Eastside suburbs of Woodruff and Pelham roads. But they have no one to blame but themselves for moving there. Avoid that area. I do! (Except to visit Cabelas!)

And the county council did that silly gay vote years ago. That's the Bible Belt mentality surfacing, but the city government is another story. Greenville has a strong gay community. The Southern Baptists are vocal but not in charge. I don't agree with them and ignore them. But that's prevalent throughout the south, but it's diminishing.

So yes there is somewhat of an influence of the religious right wing, and somewhat of a small percentage of people I describe as "ignorant and proud of it" like our County Council, but thankfully the city leaders and government are much more progressive, tolerant, and educated. So there are negatives, but all in all, it's still has far more positives.