Are you thinking of moving to the towns and suburbs that surround Greenville, SC? Greenville is a beautiful, family-friendly city nestled at the base of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The city has topped lists all over the country as one of the best places to live and people are taking notice! There is much more to Greenville than the downtown area, with several small towns surrounding the city that offer an abundance of charm, plenty of shopping, family-friendly activities, and wonderful neighborhoods to raise a family.
Greenville is regularly celebrated as a “best city” by travel magazines like Conde Nast and National Geographic due in part to a seamless merging of outdoor activities with a small city lifestyle. If you are planning to move to the Upstate, be sure to peruse our Ultimate Guide to Moving to Greenville to find out what truly makes Greenville a wonderful place to live.
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Looking to narrow down your search to the best neighborhoods near Greenville, SC? You can find some of the top-rated neighborhoods in local realtor Dan Hamilton’s Guide to Upstate Neighborhoods. This guide includes information about the best family-friendly neighborhoods, highly rated schools, average home prices, and city demographics.
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Where is the Best Place to Live in the Greenville, SC area?
Our family’s realtor helped us immensely when we made the move to Greenville, pointing out the areas that she knew fit our budget but also were areas that met our long checklist of wants. Even still, it was nerve-wracking and exciting to take that leap of faith and move our family. But we could not be happier here and absolutely love where we live, like many of those who choose to move to Greenville or the surrounding towns.
So, where are the best locations in the suburbs of the Greenville area for families? We asked our readers to help new families figure that out and they did not disappoint. Here are where our readers live and why they love it!
Living Near Downtown Greenville, SC
Living close to downtown Greenville has many perks – minutes away from amazing restaurants and entertainment, proximity to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail, beautiful parks, and great shopping is just around the corner.
The North Main Area is super popular, with older homes that are just stunning. Many of the neighborhoods near downtown offer beautiful, tree-lined streets with excellent walkability. Prices range from the high $300s to well over $750,000.
The Augusta Road area is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, with homes no less than half a million dollars. Condos are also gaining popularity downtown. The charm of these homes are appealing, making it worth it if you can afford to live in this area.
Readers who live in Greenville love it:
Augusta Street area of Greenville; 2 miles from downtown. My family and I have lived in 4 different places around the country and chose this area to (finally!) settle down. What attracted us was the close proximity to downtown and the abundance of trees and parks. We love to frequent Rockwood Park, which is a secluded park with a large field and playground (sshhh! Not many people know about it! 😉 )
KA ReaderBest Suburbs of Greenville, SC: Northern Greenville County
Since the city of Greenville is located in the center of Greenville County, Northern Greenville County is considered the towns above the Downtown Greenville area. This area is closer to the Blue Ridge Mountains and includes suburban towns like Travelers Rest, Landrum, Taylors, and Greer.
These towns have been revived through multi-million dollar projects over the last decade to revamp their downtown areas, increasing their walkability and engagement with the arts and the public. The area is easily accessible from downtown, making it an excellent place to live if you are planning to commute to your job.
Living in Travelers Rest, SC
Travelers Rest has quickly become THE place to live for people moving to the area that want a balance of nature and the city. Affectionately known as TR, Travelers Rest has excellent walkability in the downtown area, with cafes, restaurants, and plenty of shopping.
The town is also the top connection piece of to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail which offers over 22 miles of paved trails for biking and walking across Greenville County. The median home price range is $200,000 to $300,000.
You will get an idea of what Travelers Rest has to offer in our Day Trip Guide to Travelers Rest, including things to do, places to eat, and local shopping!
Living in Taylors, SC
Many of our readers love Taylors for its proximity to downtown Greenville, schools, and open land. This suburb is large and is mostly residential excluding the section of Wade Hampton Boulevard that runs through it. You will also find the Taylors Mill, which offers breweries, restaurants, entertainment, and more in a refurbished textile mill.
Prices for homes are reasonable, with a median value between $200,00 and $350,000, and you can get more space for your money than you can just 15 minutes closer to downtown Greenville. Taylors also offers job opportunities with an easy commute between some of the area’s most employable companies, including Prisma Health and BMW Manufacturing.
You can find out more about Taylors, SC in our Ultimate Guide to Taylors, SC, including where to eat, things to do, and more information about the Taylors Mill revitalization project and all it has to offer!
Here is what our readers said about Taylors, SC:
Great schools, close access to everything!
KA ReaderClose enough to the city to feel big and have things to do but far enough away to have that home town, “how’s your ma and them” feel ❤
KA ReaderTaylors… close enough to everything but tucked away enough where you don’t hear anything
KA Reader
Living in Greer, SC
Greer has put a lot of effort into revamping their cute downtown area around Trade Street with coffee shops, shopping, and restaurants. Greer gives off charming, small-town vibes. Their events at the City Park are always well-attended and family-friendly and they host an outdoor movie series there over the summer.
Greer is also home to the Riverside school district, one of the best in the area. With a fluctuating real estate market, the current median home value is around $250,000 and $400,000. Greer is an excellent example of maintaining the natural beauty of the Upstate while accommodating the growing population.
To learn more about Greer, check out the Premiere Guide to Greer, SC , which offers restaurants to try, parks to explore, annual festivals to enjoy, and so much more!
Our readers love living in Greer:
I love, love Greer (Riverside area). Hard to imagine being anywhere else. Buena Vista is an incredible school, and while I can’t speak first hand to the other schools (aside from Riverside, 10 years ago when I went there… 😂) they are supposed to awesome as well. Easy access to the interstate, close to BMW where my husband works. Only downside is home prices are a bit high.
KA ReaderI LOVE living in the middle of downtown Greer. I can walk to all the restaurants, the park with my son and anytime we have a festival I don’t have to worry about parking. Small town feel tucked away in the city.
KA ReaderI love it because its close to everywhere, we are close the interstate so getting places quickly is nice. The greatest thing is it’s far enough away from big city, what I highly appreciate.
KA Reader(On the side close to Pelham Rd) I love it because it’s close to everywhere and we are close (literally right next to) the interstate so getting places quickly is nice.
KA ReaderBest Cities Near Greenville, SC: Southern Greenville County
The towns below Downtown Greenville are considered Southern Greenville County. These towns include Simpsonville and Fountain Inn. You will also find areas like Five Forks and Mauldin in Southern Greenville County, which are highly residential, and are growing and expanding quickly!
Many of these towns have invested in revitalization projects for their downtown areas, making them more family-oriented with access to tons of amenities, restaurants, and entertainment. All of the southern towns are easily connected to Greenville Spartanburg Airport and Downtown Greenville via Interstate 385, with no more than a 30-minute commute.
Living in Simpsonville, SC
Simpsonville is one of the larger towns outside of Greenville and has great parks and restaurants. New neighborhoods are popping up everywhere here as the town is known for being safe and having top-notch schools.
Simpsonville is a charming small community with a family-oriented downtown area that offers events, an arts center, and delicious food. The median home value in the town is just below $300,000 – $400,000.
To learn more about Simpsonville, check out our Day Trip Guide to Simpsonville. You will find highly-rated restaurants, family-friendly parks, and things to do with the entire family.
Our Simpsonville readers love where they live:
Won safest city award, love all the friendly faces, we have everything and don’t have to travel into Greenville unless we have to. It’s close to everything too! And awesome schools!
KA ReaderTop notch schools, wonderful parks for kids/dogs, close to everything, great small town vibe, the downtown area is awesome. We have the Country store, Ice Cream Station, Exchange Coffee, breweries, good BBQ, a creperie, nice boutiques and some highly rated food joints.
KA Reader
Living in Fountain Inn, SC
Fountain Inn is one of the fastest-growing cities in South Carolina and we at Kidding Around love its small-town charm. The town is located at the bottom of Greenville, County, but is directly connected to the city via I-385.
Along Fountain Inn’s quaint Main Street and in the downtown area, you can find yummy lunch spots, a really cool splash pad, and one of the fabulous Greenville County libraries, to name a few. The town regularly hosts family-friendly events and festivals that are quickly making it a go-to place to visit.
To learn more about Fountain Inn, check out our Day Trip Guide to Fountain Inn and find some of the things that make Fountain Inn such a wonderful place to live.
Other areas our readers love in Upstate, SC
Anderson
Close enough to Gville but also far enough away from big city life; great schools, better traffic.
KA ReaderLyman
I moved to Lyman from Asheville exactly a month ago. I like that there’s not a ton of traffic, it’s inexpensive to live here, and being such a small town…we are a short drive to everything. And the parks here are awesome.
KA ReaderTigerville
Right in the middle of several towns so easy to get to TR (Travelers Rest) or Greer/Taylors but also out in the sticks so very peaceful.
KA ReaderMauldin
We are in the Mauldin/Conestee area. We live on 5 Acres and run a small children’s horse farm business. We like the location because it’s relatively central between downtown, Woodruff road, and Simpsonville.
KA ReaderWhere do you live & what makes it great?
It would be nice to include a little schematic map of the locations of those towns. For those who can’t switch from app to quickly .
Good idea – we may look into doing that!
Hello, I have a question. Im an artist and Im looking into relocating to Greenville, SC! I’ve been doing quite extensive research. What other towns would you consider to be good for an artist? Areas that would be a bit more affordable as well, than living in Greenville. I don’t necessarily need to be in Greenville per-say and from what I have researched is quite expensive. I don’t mind doing a bit of a drive to come to town! I have Greer on my list, just need to research a bit more. Any feedback or help would be appreciated!!Thank you.… Read more »