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We are giving thought to moving to South Carolina from AZ - and will be traveling there in December to explore our options.
During our stay we are considering a condo rental on Lake Keowee either in West Union or Salem. Do you recommend either of these for a place to base ourselves out of while scouting out the area?
We enjoy good restaurants. Might you have any suggestions?
Is there one area over another that you would suggest for house-hunting?
Our internet research has has leaning towards Anderson, Clemson or Greenville area.
While we realize these are small towns, we also have an appreciation for the arts and some culture. Will we find it here?
Any answers you can provide will be much appreciated!
Have a friend that lives on Lake Keowee in West Union and he really likes it-when the water level is up.
West Union and Salem are primarily mailing addresses-very small "towns." Clemson is OK-if you are a Clemson football fan.
Clemson Little Theater, which is actually in Pendleton, is nice, as is Pendleton.
For arts, classy restaurants, museums, big theater, major shopping,etc., you'll have to go to Greenville. Downtown is great for restaurants and some shopping. Parking is a problem, but they have garages that are convenient. Can usually park on city streets if avoid 11:45-2:15 time frame and evenings. Woodruff Road and Haywood Roads are main shopping areas, but watch the traffic.
Biggest advantage to Anderson is that the nicer restaurants are primarily on the Clemson side of town. I live near Anderson and it has most major stores, but that is about it.
If time allows, might want to go over the mountain and visit Brevard and Hendersonville NC.
Greenville is actually a major city by SC standards. You can't rust city populations as SC cities are geographically very small due to annextion restrictions. Have to look at the entire metropolitan area for a better understanding.
BTW, Easley is a fairly good sized town on the way to Greenville if you use US 123.
Enjoy your visit.
Last edited by The Cid; 10-06-2010 at 10:44 AM..
Reason: addition
The areas you mentioned, while all close together, vary greatly.....from small lakeside towns to a college town to the center of a major metro to a suburban type town. It all depends on what you are looking for.
Greenville is the center of a 1.2 million region, with a wonderful downtown. Westin and Hyatt both have hotels downtown, which are great places to use as a base. Downtown is thriving with upscale restaurants, shops, nightlife and tourist attractions like Falls Park (one of the few downtown natural waterfalls in the U.S.). If you like food, Greenville is your place, from the big name chefs that come to Euphoria every year: Euphoria Greenville - September 23 -26, 2010
to the food shopping choices:
Whole Foods
Trader Joe's
Earth Fare
Fresh Market
IMO, base yourself in Greenville and work out form there. The mountains are just minutes north of the city, and as mentioned above, full of quaint towns....Brevard, Hendersonville, Asheville, etc. Seneca, Clemson and Anderson all border a large line of lakes (Jocasse, Keowee, Hartwell) and are just minutes west / northwest of the city.
Have a friend that lives on Lake Keowee in West Union and he really likes it-when the water level is up.
West Union and Salem are primarily mailing addresses-very small "towns." Clemson is OK-if you are a Clemson football fan.
Clemson Little Theater, which is actually in Pendleton, is nice, as is Pendleton.
For arts, classy restaurants, museums, big theater, major shopping,etc., you'll have to go to Greenville. Downtown is great for restaurants and some shopping. Parking is a problem, but they have garages that are convenient. Can usually park on city streets if avoid 11:45-2:15 time frame and evenings. Woodruff Road and Haywood Roads are main shopping areas, but watch the traffic.
Biggest advantage to Anderson is that the nicer restaurants are primarily on the Clemson side of town. I live near Anderson and it has most major stores, but that is about it.
If time allows, might want to go over the mountain and visit Brevard and Hendersonville NC.
Greenville is actually a major city by SC standards. You can't rust city populations as SC cities are geographically very small due to annextion restrictions. Have to look at the entire metropolitan area for a better understanding.
BTW, Easley is a fairly good sized town on the way to Greenville if you use US 123.
Enjoy your visit.
Very good advice.
There's not much in the way of amenities right at Lake Keowee. Some of the larger communities near Salem are fairly self contained. There is limited shopping in nearby Seneca but only a couple of restaurants that I would really consider "good." That said, it's a beautiful area and a more city like experience can be had in Greenville which is about an hour drive away.
If you decide to stay near the lake everyone is correct, there are not many restaurants in Seneca. I guess the largest is The Copper River (steak house) but you could always go to Anderson which would be a little closer than Greenville as they have a lot of restaurants there.
Just depends on your need for the specialty shopping and food. I know people who had a house on Lake Keowee and commuted to Greenville every day for a job. It's a long commute for me (1.5 hours each way), but some people do it. Keowee is a bit too rural for me, but the lake is beautiful at various times. I have even heard of people who are wealthy enough to have a main home on Keowee and rent an apartment for when they stay in Greenville (for a job).
Years ago, Greenville people might have a cheap lake house at Keowee and their main residence in Greenville. I think the days of a "cheap" lake house at Keowee are long gone. The new housing there seems to be high density retirement/assisted living communities and giant homes for the well-to-do. It's a classy place as long as you can tell yourself "I have everything I need in Seneca" and learn to believe it.
Calhoun Corners is a cool, somewhat upscale restaurant in Clemson. Clemson has a humble past but is crafting a proud future. Also, try Capri's in Seneca. It's not Spago, but for Seneca, it's pretty classy.
Well Hobo, I always thought the same thing myself but the real estate market has lowered some prices on Keowee. Most of them are still out of my reach but there are some good buys there right now. I agree with you that there are a lot of retirees & there are also a lot of homes that are second homes for people and they never come! Amazes me. There have been quite a foreclosures lately and some lucky people got some good buys. There are a few campgrounds where people leave their campers, even build on rooms and pay yearly rent to park them there. They don't allow you to stay year round in the camper but I can't imagine that anyway. It does make a nice little weekend get away though.
Well Hobo, I always thought the same thing myself but the real estate market has lowered some prices on Keowee. Most of them are still out of my reach but there are some good buys there right now. I agree with you that there are a lot of retirees & there are also a lot of homes that are second homes for people and they never come! Amazes me. There have been quite a foreclosures lately and some lucky people got some good buys. There are a few campgrounds where people leave their campers, even build on rooms and pay yearly rent to park them there. They don't allow you to stay year round in the camper but I can't imagine that anyway. It does make a nice little weekend get away though.
If my assumptions were wrong, I stand corrected. I base a lot of my posts on this forum on my 40+ years of living around this area, but not all of it has been on the shores of Lake Keowee. Hardly! LOL
I interviewed for a job up there about 10 years ago and got the impression you had to have a lot of money to have lakefront property. Maybe that was a certain part of the lake they were talking about. The part near Seneca or Walhalla....
Anyway, hi ho hi ho, in my mouth my foot must go....
NO, NO, Hobo--you are not wrong! I didn't mean that. Trust me most of Keowee is not affordable to someone like myself. Most of it is expensive!!
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