Interested in South Carolina

[Don in VT]

Hi All,

Happy Memorial Day to you all. May your favorite car and driver take it all at Indy.

I noticed that there are 6 ZR1's registered in SC and was wondering if any of them were in the area around Greenville. That area is one area on our list of places to move to to get out of the Arctic climate that we have lived in for the past few years.

I am interested in:

SC Auto insurance requirements
SC Auto registration and liscencing fees.
SC smog regulations
ZR1 knowledgeable repair shops in the area
Local area Corvette clubs
Favorite day trips for the ZR1

Anything else that you think would be helpful.

Greenville,SC looks like a great place to live.

Cheers,

Don in VT

[Gunny]

SC is a wonderful state with many amenities within and/or close by ... the people, especially Corvette owners, are really friendly & helpful.

I imagine that Paul will see this and respond ... I expect that he will have good info for you.

Although there are several great cities/communities in SC that welcome retirees, you might want to take a close look at the Aiken & N. Augusta areas. Dennis Scott (very knowledgeable Z-owner & member of the Registry) lives in N. Augusta. And there is an excellent mechanic, Stephen Reems, who has his own shop in Augusta, GA where he specializes in Corvettes & Camaros. A few hours further away in south GA is Aaron Scott (South Georgia Corvettes). There are probably others that I've left out, but you should find a good network of help wherever you are in the south.

[Corbusa]

If you think about TN . My neighbor has 25 acres , 2 ponds and 3 garages for sale.. cheap and in a nice area.. But Ditto what Gunny said ...

[Paul in SC]

Originally Posted by Don in VT

Hi All,

Happy Memorial Day to you all. May your favorite car and driver take it all at Indy.

I noticed that there are 6 ZR1's registered in SC and was wondering if any of them were in the area around Greenville. That area is one area on our list of places to move to to get out of the Arctic climate that we have lived in for the past few years.

I am interested in:

SC Auto insurance requirements
SC Auto registration and liscencing fees.
SC smog regulations
ZR1 knowledgeable repair shops in the area
Local area Corvette clubs
Favorite day trips for the ZR1

Anything else that you think would be helpful.

Greenville,SC looks like a great place to live.

Cheers,

Don in VT

Don,

We have been in Florence, SC since Dec. '04 after moving from Freehold, NJ. It is quite a change. The climate is only one of the perks for living in the South. I don't know about your hometown currently in VT, but in NJ, you were looking at a lot of cool and wet versus a lot more of sunny and warm here. Did I mention warm? If you like heat, which we do in comparison of snow, there is plenty of it here. You may have a greater chance of snow in the Greenville area and a lot more hills and mountains than Florence, but it is still warmer. There's that word again, sorry. I always answer the old statement, "but it is so hot there," with "at least I don't have to shovel it."

As far as auto stuff,.you get to drive your car a lot more down here which is a great perk! Insurance will very depending on the area you live in, but it is less than half for our cars here than in NJ. We have no inspection process so get rid of those cats! You will pay a luxury tax each year for all the fun things you own such as cars, boats, jet skis, etc., but it is minimal and decreases each year. It does not offset the difference in insurance so in the end you save.

Gunny mentions the shops available. We don't have much around here in Florence for the Z, but I have found a great mechanic and if it's normal Corvette things, they have proved to be more than adequate for both or Z and our 80.

Property taxes, at least in Florence are much, much lower than in NJ, about 1/6th for twice the house. Property values in our area are much lower, but there again, it varies by where you are looking.

In comparison, food is not cheaper but is not taxed. Everything else is taxed. The tax rate for us in Florence is 8%. It varies in the state because of local taxes. No deposit on bottled beverages. Gas has been lower than the average for the US recently, but as you know it can change at the drop of a camel.

Corvette clubs are all over the bigger cities. We don't have one in Florence proper and I don't know what's upstate, so you will have to check. The Greenville area has a lot to offer and you are relatively close to many out of state venues as well.

I hope this helps a little and good luck with the search.

Regards,
Paul

[Don in VT]

Wow, great responses. Thanks Paul, Corbusa and Gunny for all the great info on the Carolinas. We have spent a lot of time studying the SC area as a possible spot to downsize and semi retire. Both Cherry and I want to work part time and spend the rest of our time touring the neighboring states. There is no better car for all that then the ZR1. Even today we took the ZR on a short 150 mile jaunt over to NY to do some business and had a great time. It took me a year to get the ZR all dialed in for long trips and it was worth every penny that it cost.

I have driven a lot of cars in my time and the best car I have ever owned and the worst car were both Vettes. Until The ZR1 came along the best car was my 1967 427 coupe loaded with every option that they offered. Now the 90 ZR has edged out the 67. In comparison, the worst Vette (out of 26 I have owned) was my 1980 C3 from California with the 302 motor. That car was a nightmare from the get go. Maybe I should have kept it as someone told me recently that those cars are now valuable. Go Figure !!


Cheers and Thanks again,

Don

[MikeGolf]

Originally Posted by Paul in SC

Don,

We have been in Florence, SC since Dec. '04 after moving from Freehold, NJ. It is quite a change. The climate is only one of the perks for living in the South. I don't know about your hometown currently in VT, but in NJ, you were looking at a lot of cool and wet versus a lot more of sunny and warm here. Did I mention warm? If you like heat, which we do in comparison of snow, there is plenty of it here. You may have a greater chance of snow in the Greenville area and a lot more hills and mountains than Florence, but it is still warmer. There's that word again, sorry. I always answer the old statement, "but it is so hot there," with "at least I don't have to shovel it."

As far as auto stuff,.you get to drive your car a lot more down here which is a great perk! Insurance will very depending on the area you live in, but it is less than half for our cars here than in NJ. We have no inspection process so get rid of those cats! You will pay a luxury tax each year for all the fun things you own such as cars, boats, jet skis, etc., but it is minimal and decreases each year. It does not offset the difference in insurance so in the end you save.

Gunny mentions the shops available. We don't have much around here in Florence for the Z, but I have found a great mechanic and if it's normal Corvette things, they have proved to be more than adequate for both or Z and our 80.

Property taxes, at least in Florence are much, much lower than in NJ, about 1/6th for twice the house. Property values in our area are much lower, but there again, it varies by where you are looking.

In comparison, food is not cheaper but is not taxed. Everything else is taxed. The tax rate for us in Florence is 8%. It varies in the state because of local taxes. No deposit on bottled beverages. Gas has been lower than the average for the US recently, but as you know it can change at the drop of a camel.

Corvette clubs are all over the bigger cities. We don't have one in Florence proper and I don't know what's upstate, so you will have to check. The Greenville area has a lot to offer and you are relatively close to many out of state venues as well.

I hope this helps a little and good luck with the search.

Regards,
Paul

Don,
I Live in Rock Hill 10 miles from Charlotte , NC so I see the difference in living in SC everyday. It is cheaper. I lived outside of Greenville, but from there you can see the mountains, an hour away and you have the time of your life. I cannot say about ZR-1 mechanics in the area but Charlotte does have some GREAT C4 mechs.
Jeff

[Don in VT]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply and the info.

Have a great summer

Cheers,

Don