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My husband and I are thinking of moving south, Asheville NC or Greenville SC. My husband hates the winters in western PA, and I hate hot humid summers! Which town is a better place to live? We do Wedding photography and Elementary school Photography. Also, what about the cost of housing?
Both are very good areas. The above post gives you a good idea about the weather. The Asheville area is in the mountains, the Greenville/Spartanburg area has rolling hills. Asheville has a good, but limited economy based on tourism/retirees. Greenville's is more open. It's industral, auto related. Lots of German companies. Nice economy. Not sure how that would affect the work you're in. The city of Asheville is a lot more expensive than the city of Greenville. But the suburbs of Asheville are pretty affordable. But I think you'd still get more home in the Greenville area. Both have very nice downtowns, especially for towns their sizes.
Both are very good areas. The above post gives you a good idea about the weather. The Asheville area is in the mountains, the Greenville/Spartanburg area has rolling hills. Asheville has a good, but limited economy based on tourism/retirees. Greenville's is more open. It's industral, auto related. Lots of German companies. Nice economy. Not sure how that would affect the work you're in. The city of Asheville is a lot more expensive than the city of Greenville. But the suburbs of Asheville are pretty affordable. But I think you'd still get more home in the Greenville area. Both have very nice downtowns, especially for towns their sizes.
The actual city of Asheville is larger than Greenville (70,000 vs. 56,000), but the Greenville metro is much larger (population and sprawled out).
Here are some quick population stats from the U.S. Census Bureau http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/: (broken link)
Greenville, S.C. metro:
Greenville County:
Population (2000): 379,616
Population (2005 est.): 407,383
Percent change 2000-2005: 7.3%
Land area (square miles): 790
Persons per square mile (2000): 480.5
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 515.7
Spartanburg County:
Population (2000): 253,791
Population (2005 est.): 266,809
Percent change 2000-2005: 5.1%
Land area (square miles): 810
Persons per square mile (2000): 312.9
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 329.4
Pickens County:
Population (2000): 110,757
Population (2005 est.): 113,575
Percent change 2000-2005: 2.5%
Land area (square miles): 496
Persons per square mile (2000): 222.9
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 229.0
Anderson County:
Population (2000): 165,740
Population (2005 est.): 175,514
Percent change 2000-2005: 5.9%
Land area (square miles): 718
Persons per square mile (2000): 230.8
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 244.4
Total population (2005 est.): 963,281
Land area (square miles): 2,814
Persons per square mile: 342.3
I also know of many people that live in Henderson and Polk counties of North Carolina that work in the Greenville/Spartanburg area.
Asheville, N.C. metro:
Buncombe County:
Population (2000): 206,330
Population (2005 est.): 218,876
Percent change 2000-2005: 6.1%
Land area (square miles): 655
Persons per square mile (2000): 314.5
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 334.2
Henderson County:
Population (2000): 89,173
Population (2005 est.): 97,217
Percent change 2000-2005: 9.0%
Land area (square miles): 374
Persons per square mile (2000): 238.4
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 259.9
Haywood County:
Population (2000): 54,033
Population (2005 est.): 56,482
Percent change 2000-2005: 4.5%
Land area (square miles): 553
Persons per square mile (2000): 97.5
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 102.1
Madison County:
Population (2000): 19,635
Population (2005 est.): 20,256
Percent change 2000-2005: 3.2%
Land area (square miles): 449
Persons per square mile (2000): 43.7
Persons per square mile (2005 est.): 45.1
Total population (2005 est.): 392,831
Land area (square miles): 2,031
Persons per square mile: 193.4
I don't know any specific figures, but housing will be much less in the Greenville/Spartanburg area than anywhere near Asheville. Anything to do with the mountains will have an inflated price tag.
As far as heat and humidity, Asheville is definitely the better bet. Once you drop out of the mountains - in any direction - expect the heat and humidity to increase significantly.
Average annual precipitation for Greenville: 50.8"
Average annual precipication for Asheville: 38.1"
On a side note, I would also consider, in my opinion, that the Interstate highways in Greenville are in much better condition than the ones around Asheville. Other than being repaved, nothing has been done to the highways around Asheville since they were first built (we're talking the late 60's here, 1981 for the completion of I-240, and we all know how much the area has grown since then). The design of the highways around Greenville seem much more modern and safer (I'm just looking at this from their design, with traffic it's always a different story). From Spartanburg to Greenville I-85 is six lanes, as well as I-385 into downtown Greenville. The Southern Connector, I-185, is a new tolled facility.
We do Wedding photography and Elementary school Photography.
For what it's worth, my wife is a wedding photographer and she's always maintained that she could make a living in Asheville because of the Biltmore Estate, Grove Park Inn and a few other places that attract a lot of wedding/special event business. It might be something to research when you make your decision.
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