How we wound up in.......South Carolina?!?!

[MushCreek]

Since I haven't started building yet, I figured I'd talk about our property where we WILL build in a year (or so). We're originally from CT, and moved to FL 29 years ago (family, etc.) Since we've been here, all of the family has either moved away or died, and we wound up being the only ones here! Between raising a son and making a living, well, we're still here.

We've been looking half-heartedly for rural land for about 20 years now. First, it was north FL. Good thing we didn't- there aren't any jobs there! Then we had a yen to live in the mountains of western NC. Good thing we didn't- there aren't any jobs there either! As our son went through college, we decided that when he was done, we would move....somewhere. We made a determined trip to north GA, and looked around Rome and Athens (forget Atlanta). We were mildly interested, the price was right, and there were some employment opportunities. We were headed to Richmond, VA to visit family, and on a whim, we decided to see what was in the northwest corner of SC. Okay, I'll admit, I wanted to see what a town called 'Pumpkintown' looked like! We drove along Scenic Hwy 11, which runs at the base of the Lower Escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains. That's fancy talk for some of the prettiest scenery around, and NO PEOPLE! We talked to a realtor up in the mountains, and he said "You've got to see downtown Greenville." Now, I don't like cities, but he prevailed, and we fell in love! Greenville has been extensively restored and beautified, and it's a gem, as cities go. Furthermore, it's a good area to find work.

I'm a mold maker, which is a specialization of tool and die work, building molds for injected plastics. I need to be near a fair-size industrial city to have a prayer of finding work. My wife is a hospital microbiologist, so here options are more numerous. Greenville has (or had, before the economy went down the sewer) a thriving manufacturing base built around BMW, as well as a number of other manufacturers. Things were looking good!

I spent weeks on real estate sites and Mapquest looking for land. We arrived in Greenville with some 2 dozen properties to look at. I had the print-outs and the maps to go from one place to the next. Our realtor had about 75% of her work done for her. The first place we looked at had just come on the market- even the realtor didn't know of it yet. We spent the rest of the day looking- and only found one other place that we would consider. The Good Lord handed us just what we wanted, but of course we spent the rest of the day looking, just in case. Offer made, countered, accepted, closed! We now own 7 acres!

That was September of '06. That winter, on our first visit since we bought the property, we discovered that we had a panoramic view of the mountains! We didn't know that until the leaves came off of the trees. The whole place is large mature hardwoods, with very little underbrush. Red oak, white oak, hickory, maple and poplar. Since than, we've visited many times, and even made good friends in the area. I've laid out the land, and designed (many) houses. Hopefully, we'll get started on our build within a year. Got to sell the FL house first- wish us luck! I"m going to take a year off to work on the build full time, then look for a job.

I'm 55, so this (should) be our last house. I'll be doing nearly all of the building, with the help of family and friends. The house will be small and cottagey, making up what it lacks in size with hopefully lots of personality!

[glenn kangiser]

Sounds like it will make a great place to live.

[Sassy]

Looking forward to seeing your progress - welcome - sounds like you found home!

[MushCreek]

It sure feels like home every time we visit! Despite being 600 miles away, we've already made some good friends there, and the neighbors are great! Once I actually break ground, I'll start a build thread. Meanwhile- back to my research....

[ben2go]

Welcome to SC.I live roughly 30 to 45 minutes away in North Spartanburg,outside a dumpy little town called Inman.

[MushCreek]

I'm familiar with Inman- we looked at property over that way as well. Our place is very near Tigerville, about 5 miles north of Travelers Rest. We'll be up there in about a month for a visit and do some more measuring and planning.