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  • Ever Been to Greenville, SC?

    Posted on May 29th, 2008 by Spike and currently 12 commenting.

    No? Well, Relocate-America.com just named it the #4 best place to live in the nation.

    The list was based on ‘an area’s growth, its educational and employment opportunities, crime rates and housing options before granting it a spot in the top 100. Environmental highlights also play a role, with a city gaining points for good air and water quality or the strength of its recycling efforts.’

    We are often asked why Brains on Fire is HQed here. And we tell them that we choose to live here. They find out why when they come and see us. We are far removed from the Madison Avenue BS. It is not too big and not too small. We have what I consider to be the best airport in the world (oh so easy to get in and out of). There’s hardly any traffic. Our cost of living is right at the national average. We have one of the largest cycling communities per capita in the nation. We have a mini-Fenway downtown. 673353675_08a34a90e9.jpgDowntown is unbelievably cool. BMW’s North American headquarters is here (and the only North American museum). As is Michelin’s. And many others.

    I’m not from here. And the same goes for over half the people at Brains on Fire. I actually thought I’d always end up living out West in the Rockies (I did a brief stint in Vail a long, long time ago). But there’s just something about this place that’s 45 minutes from the Blue Ridge mountains and Asheville (#7 on the list), 3 hours from the beach and two hours from either Atlanta or Charlotte (#1 on the list this year).

    And if you want to talk about how communities work, then come live in one first.

    The list goes on and on. And while it’s great to see Greenville on the list, I’m also kinda sad. Because I think it’s one of the best-kept secrets in the nation.

    Home, sweet home.

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12 Responses to “Ever Been to Greenville, SC?”

  1. Bruce DeBoer May 29th, 2008 at 7:13 am

    yes - been there many times. What you say is true. So true, in fact, that Raleigh, NC has modeled it’s downtown renovation plans - in some fashion - to Greenville.

    I choose to live in the Triangle area of NC for very similar reasons that BOF chose to HQ in Greenville.

    Quality of life aides the creative process. All one really needs is a good Airport.

  2. Patrick May 29th, 2008 at 7:24 am

    I can certainly agree. I’ve lived here all my life except for some time away during the college years and even that wasn’t very far away. I actually went to college is a another part of South Carolina that I would chose to live if I didn’t live in Greenville.

    The things I love are;

    I love being centrally located between two larger metro areas (Charlotte and Atlanta)

    I love being close to the mountains first and the drive to the beach is not that far either but deep down I consider myself more of a mountain/backwoods kind of person. Not in mentality of course but where I feel “connected to the land.”

    The upstate is also special in terms of technology in terms of companies here as well as groups that support technology involvement like GSATC. I think I lot of this goes back to when Greenville was the textile capital of the world and sadly not enough recognition is given to that part of our history. Other than wars, textiles probably contributed more to advances in technology than anything else.

    I thankful to have been born here but more than that I am more thankful so much attention has been given by city leadership to constantly improve the quality of life in Greenville.

  3. Rob Williams May 29th, 2008 at 7:50 am

    Maybe one day I’ll move back home. My family is still there and downtown Greenville is one of my favorite places in the world (and I’ve seen a lot of it).

  4. David Burn May 29th, 2008 at 10:37 am

    Spike, you forgot to mention that Greenville’s also home to Bob Jones University and more churches per capita than just about any place I know of. Not that that’s bad ;->

  5. Spike May 29th, 2008 at 10:40 am

    David,

    No, no I didn’t forget to mention that. Hey, we’re not perfect. We’re number 4 - remember?

  6. Greg May 30th, 2008 at 7:15 am

    I moved down from DC three years ago and love it! A great place to live and a great place to raise my boys. My wife (born and raised DC) loves it too.

  7. BIG Kahuna May 30th, 2008 at 8:12 pm

    Ah, you lost me at 3 hours from the beach. Couldn’t possibly live that far from the beach, that’s why I’m the BIG Kahuna!

  8. Carl Fox May 31st, 2008 at 7:22 am

    Aw man,

    Rubbin’ salt in the wound… and you even posted the pretty picture. Greenville does seem like a great place to live, work and raise a family.

  9. James June 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 am

    I agree that Greenville is a great place to live and it seems like it is getting better all the time. I moved my family here 4 years ago, and we are very happy to now be a part of this community. To me, Greenville still has a small town feel, but with an arts community and other cultural amenities found in larger metro areas. Add to that the great cycling opportunities in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and you have a pretty nice town (for me at least). It is not a perfect place as has been pointed out, but nowhere is. I have lived in quite a few cities, but I like what I have found in Greenville. We feel like we are settled here… for a while at least.

  10. Jenny June 4th, 2008 at 8:10 am

    I love Greenville. I’ve been to several big cities and to me they are nice, but aesthetically they don’t measure up to Greenville. Not to mention being close to everything you could ever want to see or be (beach, mountains, etc). Or how about the abundance of (mostly free) things to do such as concerts, festivals and the like. Yes, Greenville is definitely home sweet home!

  11. Gilbert Van Norman August 26th, 2008 at 8:19 am

    I live here. I recently relocated from NY State. I love it down here…everything you say is 100% true.

  12. John from England December 6th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    I have to say Greenville is the nicest place I have ever visited in the US.It has everything a community should have and the people are friendly too - I would live there given the chance . Greenville you have everything - be proud its a great place1

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