Ironically I live in Greenville, N.C. But I've been to conferences at Clemson and USC:Greenvile and the area is VERY nice. Clemson was my primary school of choice when I was thinking about getting my Ph. D. - It's one of the nicest places in South Carolina. Very smart, well educated region - But, I have to consider that most of my interaction in the area has been with Instructors, Grads, and Industry... So these people are very well off. It actually reminds me a lot of where I'm from in Raleigh - Just smaller population, fewer schools and hospitals.