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Most of the people who criticize Florence have never lived there. In some cases, they grew up towns smaller than Hartsville with essentially no job market.
The west Florence area will be as safe as Hartsville and more safe than downtown Charleston and North Charleston. The unsafe areas are generally Dargan St and east of it and the Quinby north Florence area
I recommend looking at houses around Hoffmeyer, Cherokee, Pine needles, Cashua, and Second Loop Rds.
Florence has a large black population so it is split on politics. The white residents tend to be more conservative.
I think a majority of young people in Hartsville probably wish they lived in Florence.
I was able to take Advanced Placement courses starting my junior year. All of the students who made good grades got into a good college, some of them out of state.
Lexington looks really nice and was not on our radar at all! Thanks, looking into it more - schools look great too.
Lexington is great for families. Try to stay in Lexington school district 1 if you can but every district can give your kids challenges. I've been here almost 20 years and have yet to hear someone complain that they wish they had moved elsewhere. And don't get hung on finding a home in Lexington proper. The city of Lexington and just about anywhere in the county of Lexington should be your target.
Lexington is great for families. Try to stay in Lexington school district 1 if you can but every district can give your kids challenges. I've been here almost 20 years and have yet to hear someone complain that they wish they had moved elsewhere. And don't get hung on finding a home in Lexington proper. The city of Lexington and just about anywhere in the county of Lexington should be your target.
Good luck.
I’d say Northern Lexington County (Lex, Chapin, Irmo, Cayce, West Columbia).
Great summation of the state of what’s going on in Florence. It’s on the cusp of really great and magnificent things. Like all cities right now it’s dealing with its fair share of crime. Not sure how to get a handle on it. I say, having police in all the neighborhoods where the crime is the worst constantly patrolling, police officers should never be back at the station just hanging out if they are.
I would say Florence is nicer than Columbia overall unless you own a boat and want a lake in metro. You'll be closer to the beach as well.
Florence's retail area has a better layout and traffic situation than the Lexington area. I think Timrod Park and some other parks in Florence are nicer than Finlay Park in Columbia.
I believe Florence has significantly more than Sumter like a Best Buy and Barnes and Noble.
Florence has good fitness clubs. The YMCA and the Mcleod hospital fitness center are both fantastic. The McLeod one feels like you are in a grand hotel. Florence has two good local outdoor appparel retailers, Salty's and Naturally Outdoors.
In my experience, people who are critical of Florence tend to be ultra liberal and / or prefer big cities. If you are looking for a conservative area that probably will stay that way, west Florence is a good choice.
Last edited by Vaccinated Masker; 07-17-2022 at 11:38 AM..
Hartsville has the highest burglary rate in the state. 2nd highest property crime rate in the state.
The problem with small towns in SC is they need to be near one of the "hub" cities like Greenville/Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston otherwise the crime is really high because the only jobs are fast food or Dollar General.
We are a young family with two kids (3yrs old and 5 yrs old) who are moving down south from the North. We are looking for a family friendly town that has conservative values. Good school district would be great otherwise we will do private Christian school. We have been in southwest Florida for the past year and love it but miss family so we are moving to South Carolina as our parents are moving to Myrtle Beach and we want to have some family within driving distance (ideally not much more than 2 hours). I don't think we want to be in Myrtle Beach as I feel the environment is not safe for growing children with the Spring Breakers and Festivals that occur (perhaps north Myrtle Beach is different?). We were thinking outside surrounding areas of Myrtle Beach and Charleston. We had planned on checking out Conway, Summerville, Sumter, Orangeburg, Georgetown, Goose Creek, Florence, Monks Corner..
Love the idea of being close to the water (which I am aware these towns are not) but not sure that's within our budget trying to stay <625k.
We are doing a road trip for a few days at the end of the month to meet with realtors and explore towns but were hoping to have a more concrete list of places we want to check out so any input would be appreciated. Thank you!
I know this is the SC forum, but you may want to check out Wilmington NC. Otherwise, I love Greenville SC. You may also want to consider Camden SC. For me personally, everywhere south and east of Columbia is too hot and humid in the summer to live there year round, but since you are living in FL, you are used to living in heat and humidity. The upstate of SC (Greenville and Spartanburg area) have 4 distinct seasons, although more pollen and allergies in the spring and fall.
I also recommend looking at Southport / Oak Island about 40 minutes south of Wilmington. You can take a ferry from Southport to Wilmington.
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