Over 20 Best Places To Live In South Carolina
South Carolina was my first taste of the true South, and landing in Charleston proved to be the best introduction I could have hoped for.
I set out for Georgetown, north of Charleston along the banks of the Winyah Bay. Georgetown has an outlying commercial area with a picturesque downtown containing specialty shops, antique stores and galleries. Georgetown's downtown benefits from the breeze off the water, although the view of the bay is marred in many spots by towers of heavy industry.
About twenty minutes north of Georgetown I fell in love again, this time with the town of Pawleys Island.
From Pawleys Island, I drove through Moncks Corner, which was a quiet little town. I continued on to Summerville which was a very nice residential community just a half hour north of Charleston and a great place to live, if I was raising a family and commuting to Charleston for work.
Passing through Walterboro, I made my way to Beaufort which is on the coast about an hour and a half south of Charleston, SC.
From Beaufort, I drove over the bridge that was at the end of the town to check out a bit more of the island.
From Port Royal, I took the bridge on Route 170 and connected up with Route 278 which I followed on its way to the famous Hilton Head area.
I couldn't imagine how Hilton Head had gotten the reputation it enjoys and was happy to leave it behind for Savannah which would be my first Georgian experience.
Savannah was the last coastal area that I had on the list, so with regret I said good-bye to the water and headed inland to Orangeburg which is almost in the middle of the state, just south of Columbia.
Leaving Orangeburg, I passed through Santee which didn't have much of a town center, but was located in a beautiful natural setting of lakes and forests where many people seemed to have chosen to live simply, enjoying the land.
From Sumter, I headed to Florence which is a larger city located along Interstate 95.
After leaving Florence, I traveled through the towns of Hartsville and Camden pretty quickly before getting to Columbia.
After Columbia, I drove to the small town of Batesburg-Leesville. As it is just to the west of Columbia, citizens would have ample opportunity to use the city, while enjoying the peace and quiet of the country.
The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was no disappointment either as it was the town of Aiken, another one of my favorite places of the trip.
From Aiken, I moved further south to my second Georgian city, Augusta, located along the banks of the Savannah River.
From Augusta, I passed through Saluda, stopping for a short while.
After Saluda, I was in Newberry, which is a cultural center of the region and home to the restored Newberry Opera House.
I traveled through Laurens and onto Greenwood. Greenwood was very scenic due to the fact that it’s set on the outskirts of one of the most beautiful lakes I saw in South Carolina, Lake Greenwood.
What came next was one of the most pleasant surprises of the trip, Abbeville.
Next came Anderson which was another very nice town. Coming into the downtown, I wasn't expecting much as the surrounding areas looked a bit run down, but the town center itself was quite nice.
Clemson was very much a typical college town. It felt as though the town wouldn't exist without the University, which is true for many college towns and is not meant to be negative.
The home stretch brought me back to the east on my way back to Charlotte, NC. First up was Greenville, which was a great little city.
Rock Hill was the last city I stopped in and was a nice way to finish the trip.
I traveled more than 1500 miles and visited over 35 towns.
The time seemed like a series of episodes of a television show that is new at first and then becomes familiar, accentuated at points with moments of high tension, or beauty in my case.
As the days went by and the numbers on the odometer grew, my season progressed towards its finale. By the end, I had my favorite episodes or towns: the coastal beauty and historic charm of Charleston, Beaufort and Savannah; the laid-back self-assured style of Pawley's Island and Port Royal; the small towns surviving amidst our hectic times in Batesburg-Leesville, and Abbeville; Aiken and Clemson who embrace their categories and in turn set the standards for others of their kind; and finally the larger cities of Greenville, Rock Hill and Charlotte, who have it all and still feel as though they wouldn't be the same without you there.
South Carolina shined as all of its towns together formed a whole of warm people, peaceful highways and fields, fresh seafood and a way of life suitable for any desire somewhere within its bountiful borders.
About the Author
Bob Bencivenga is a professional site locator and location anyalyst for major corporations and has been researching the growth of NC and SC to find those areas which are affordable. Visit his blog-The Carolina Report and signup free to get blog updates by email, along with free advice on how to relocate or retire in the Carolinas, additional resources, and a lot more! Go now to www.placesofvalue.com. Bob does not sell real estate.
