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My husband and I along with our almost 3 year old daughter decided to move to SC. It wasn't overnight thing we have been thinking about this for a few years now. Anyway. We are living in NY now and I'm originally from FL and he is from VT. We were looking for someplace warmer but in between our two families. Anyway I was looking for a town with like 35k-40k or less people. I know he needs a job before we even move but I figured we would settle on an area and then start looking for a job for him. I'm a stay at home mom. He is a supermarket Dept. manager and would like to say in the same type of work. I DO NOT want to live near too close to the beach please. I dealt with hurricanes all my childhood and I don't want to have to deal with that every year. I was looking at Aiken but I was wondering if there was any other places we might like? We would like to buy a house in a few years. Thanks in advance.
My husband and I along with our almost 3 year old daughter decided to move to SC. It wasn't overnight thing we have been thinking about this for a few years now. Anyway. We are living in NY now and I'm originally from FL and he is from VT. We were looking for someplace warmer but in between our two families. Anyway I was looking for a town with like 35k-40k or less people. I know he needs a job before we even move but I figured we would settle on an area and then start looking for a job for him. I'm a stay at home mom. He is a supermarket Dept. manager and would like to say in the same type of work. I DO NOT want to live near too close to the beach please. I dealt with hurricanes all my childhood and I don't want to have to deal with that every year. I was looking at Aiken but I was wondering if there was any other places we might like? We would like to buy a house in a few years. Thanks in advance.
Welcome to South Carolina! It is truly a great place to live and I think you will really find that out when you get down here.
I think out of the things you listed that Aiken would be your best bet. They have done an awesome job with their downtown and IMO is the nicest out of the cities in this state around that size. It is also within very close proximity to Augusta and about 45 minutes from Columbia as well so those job opportunities if not found in Aiken, can more than likely be found in the two larger cities.
I would also look into the Anderson/Clemson/Seneca area. Schools are good (having a large university, Clemson U., nearby helps in that regard) and the scenery is gorgeous.
You should look at Florence, it is right on interstate 95, about halfway between NY and Florida.
Low cost of living and housing, not much traffic, only one hour to the beach.
There has only been one major hurricane that hit the Florence area in the past 30 years or so, Hurricane Hugo and that was back in 1989. It wasn't that big of a deal.
I've lived in Aiken too, and it has a nicer downtown than Florence, but Florence has more restaurants and a much better mall.
Anderson is a decent option too, but given you talked about in between your two familes up north and in Florida, I think FLorence is a better option to cut down on travel time.
I will check out the other places you guys suggested. I really appreciate the help. Is there any bad areas we should avoid?
I know know there haven't been a lot of hurricanes in FL but I did live through Charley when I was 17 and a tree fell on our house and completely crushed our kitchen. I was in the living room with my family when it happened. That plus having to evacuate all the time and being a kid wondering if this was the one that kill me was so stressful.
Also I was looking at the school ratings for North Aiken Elementary/Pinecrest Annex on greatschools.org and their raiting is a 1. Which sounds really really bad. Does anyone know anything about this school?
I'm from Aiken and the north side of town isn't the best. Aiken is a great town and I much prefer it to Lexington, where I am now. For elementary in Aiken, you should look at Chukker Creek, Aiken, or Millbrook. If you're looking on the north side, I'd look a little further just beyond city limits at JD Lever.
Hartsville is a decent small town in SC. There is a lake there, a small private college, and some good employers like the nuclear power plant and Sonoco. Many people who work there actually live in Florence. It is a good ways off the interstate and there is not a lot of restaurants or shopping there, so good chance you will end up driving to Florence a good bit which is about 40 minutes. I'd recommend living in Florence over Hartsville because housing is just as affordable in Florence.
Hartsville is a decent small town in SC. There is a lake there, a small private college, and some good employers like the nuclear power plant and Sonoco. Many people who work there actually live in Florence. It is a good ways off the interstate and there is not a lot of restaurants or shopping there, so good chance you will end up driving to Florence a good bit which is about 40 minutes. I'd recommend living in Florence over Hartsville because housing is just as affordable in Florence.
Hartsville is pretty much the poster child for small town USA. It is a very pretty town with a great downtown and good schools. The Hartsville High Red Fox logo is painted all over the town and people are so proud of their town there, I love it! But I will agree with Staleen here based off of your criteria of a place with around a 30k population that Florence would be a great bet, Hartsville only has around 7k people there. They do have a lot of great restaurants and enough there that you really wouldn't have to leave much, and if there is something you can't find in Hartsville, Florence is only about 25mins away and Columbia is only about an hour. If you do look at Hartsville more, I would advise looking at areas zoned for North Hartsville Elementary, that's a great school.
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