We all love to hate our hometowns, but people from my hometown would be quick to defend it. We got to grow up in a place where you have everything: A scenic downtown complete with a waterfall and random farms (there is a cow pasture in my neighborhood). Here are 10 things you know well if you grew up in good ole Greenville, South Carolina.
1. Everyone likes to say they hate it here, but actually love it
Especially in middle and high school, everyone was quick to say how much they hated living in Greenville. But now I know some people who come home all the time . . . or never left in the first place.
2. Half of the time your plans involve walking around downtown
There’s a lot to do in Greenville, but if you’re broke then, you usually end up at the mall or downtown. What else do you really need besides Falls Park and Spill the Beans?
3. Woodruff road is like a little slice of hell
Greenville isn’t too bad in regards to traffic on a regular basis, but if you want to go somewhere on Woodruff over the weekend? Forget it. Might as well plan on being stuck there for the rest of the day.
4. Every surrounding city is actually just Greenville
I grew up in Mauldin and I went to school with people from Greer, but really it’s all Greenville. When we all went to college, we made the executive decision just to tell everyone we’re from Greenville. Except Berea.
5. The diversity of accents
Literally no one in Greenville talks the same. There are some people who just drip with Southern charm and then there are people like me with just a little drawl.
6. Being from the city in comparison to other parts of South Carolina
My roommates are from Loris and York. I’m basically a city girl compared to them. How is that even a thing?
7. Haywood Mall was the place to be
Memories of soft pretzels and PacSun come flooding back every time I go to Haywood Mall. It’s the coolest hangout spot when you’re 13, and just hell when you’re 20 because everyone is 13 and you are suddenly old.
8. When QT sprouted up on Wade Hampton, it was like a virus spread
I went to Wade Hampton High, and everyone freaked-the-f out about QT’s slushies for the entire summer. It was the most exciting thing about my junior year of high school. Sad. And then QTs showed up everywhere.
9. Roper Mountain Science Center was a regular field trip destination
One year you’re taking a field trip to learn about stars, the next you’re learning about how babies are made. What fun.
10. Everyone and their mother goes to the Peace Center, not just pretentious rich people
Okay, maybe I’m biased because I’m a theatre person, but everyone who grew up in Greenville has been to the Peace Center at least 10 times.
We love to hate Greenville, but, honestly, there is more to love than to hate. We are a community that has grown together and continues to grow and thrive, and I am so lucky to have lived the first 17 years of my life in this beautiful place.
