All About Greenville

In this blog I've talked a lot about my life in Greenville but I haven't described the actual city. So here goes...everything you did or didn't want to know about Greenville.

Location

With a population of almost 62,000, Greenville is the largest city in northwestern South Carolina, known as the Upstate. The city is located at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 1.5 hours from Charlotte, North Carolina and 2.5 hours from Atlanta, Georgia. It is is four hours from the coast of South Carolina.

Climate

Greenville's moderate climate offers a full change of seasons with generally mild, short winters, hot, humid summers, warm springs, and crisp autumns. The average January temperature is  40 degrees with highs in the 50’s.  The average May temperature is in the 60’s with highs in the low 70’s.  August is normally the hottest month with averages in the 80’s and high in the 90’s.  

People

Southern hospitality is not a myth. The people of Greenville are a warm, polite, and friendly bunch who wave to strangers when they drive by. They are an eclectic mix of locals and northern transplants, conservatives and liberals and everything in between.

Transportation

There are several airports servicing the Greenville area. The Greenville Downtown Airport is the busiest general aviation airport in South Carolina. The largest in the region, Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport (GSP), is the second busiest in the state and is served by most major airlines.  Unfortunately, flights to and from Greenville tend to be pricey. But there is good news for those who want to visit  Zina Carolina. In March 2011, discount airline, Southwest Airlines will launch a hub at GSP which will potentially make air travel more affordable.

For downtown drivers, finding a parking spot is usually not a challenge as the parking system provides over 7,000 parking spots. As an added benefit, the city offers a trolley service that traverses downtown free of charge. In addition, the Greenlink bus system offers 11 (ha) routes all across Greenville County.

Downtown 
In the last 40 years, downtown Greenville has been transformed from a mostly vacant ghost town to a bustling mini metropolis. The downtown area is clean and safe with a variety of bars, restaurants, boutiques, specialty shops, museums, hotels, corporations and galleries

Greenville loves hosting festivals. There are nearly 200 festivals and events per year. From April through September, weekly concerts ranging from folk to jazz entertain visitors three nights a week while larger downtown celebrations mark the coming of each new season.

City Hall

Downtown: The Arts 

Greenville has a thriving arts community, with a number of venues to support it. The Bi-Lo Center, a state of the art entertainment venue, brings national tours of many popular artists to downtown, including Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, Eric Clapton and Kiss along with sports programs and special events. Another downtown staple, the Peace Center, is a performing arts center that hosts touring Broadway shows, symphonies, civic events and concerts. I'm still pissed I missed seeing Clay Aiken perform.

Bi-Lo Center

Peace Center

Downtown: Falls park 
One of the most beautiful parts of downtown is Falls Park on the Reedy, a 32-acre park in the historic West End district. The park's most striking feature is a unique 355 foot long pedestrian suspension bridge that curves around a waterfall on the Reedy River. 

A river runs through it

Curvacious

Great Outdoors 

Greenville County has three state parks, comprising over 12,000 acres, offering traditional outdoor adventure ranging from hiking to camping and mountain biking. Several nationally recognized mountain lakes are less than an hour away and offer various recreational possibilities. 

One of many lakes

Paris Mountain

Overall, Greenville is a friendly, laid-back town with tons of southern charms (and quirks) and I'm happy to call it home.