Honestly, I wasn’t just gonna take some website’s word on River Hills SC. Needed real talk. So last Thursday afternoon, I grabbed my notebook and just drove right over there. Wanted to see it for myself, hear it straight from folks living there, y’know?
The First Look
Rolled into town past that old sign near the highway exit. Place felt… quiet. Maybe too quiet? Saw a couple kids riding bikes, which was nice. But also spotted those big “For Lease” signs plastered on the old hardware store windows. Kinda a weird vibe right off the bat.
Hitting the Streets & Chatting Folks Up
Parked near the little strip mall thing they got. Figured the coffee shop was a good spot to start. Bought a seriously average cup of joe and just hung out. Saw a guy in a faded ball cap reading the paper – looked like a local. Took a deep breath and walked over. “Mind if I ask what you think of living here?” I said.
Lemme tell ya, that opened the floodgates. Turns out Frank retired here five years ago. He sighed, real deep. “It was okay at first. Quieter than the city, cheaper too. But lately? Nah.”
His main beefs:
- “Potholes:” Drove me around later, pointed ’em out everywhere. Felt like a dang obstacle course.
- “Nothing New Opens:” Said the diner closed last year. Nothing replaced it. Just empty.
- “That Water Thing:” Kept mentioning a weird smell sometimes from the tap? Sketchy.
Later, near the kinda sad-looking park, I met Mrs. Thompson walking her little yappy dog. Younger, maybe early 30s? Had a kid trailing behind. Her face just fell when I asked.
“We moved here for the ‘good schools,’ right?” She shook her head hard. “Class sizes blew up. Teachers quitting. Field trip got axed ‘cause no funding. My Tyler’s bored stiff.”
Just Looking Around
While driving Frank’s Pothole Tour™, I paid attention. More houses than I expected had that kinda neglected look – peeling paint, lawns going wild. Saw three different places with plywood in windows. One whole street felt abandoned. Frank just grunted, “Yeah. People leave.”
Tried finding lunch. Options were grim. That tired-looking pizza place or… nothing much else. Frank mumbled, “Told ya.” Ate the pizza. Regretted it almost immediately. Tasted like cardboard with regret sauce.
The Wrap-Up Feeling
Finished the day sitting on a bench in that park. Watched some teenagers looking bored outta their minds, kicking at the dirt. Didn’t see any families, really. The coffee shop closed early. Main street emptied out fast around 5 pm.
Putting my notebook away, it hit me. Frank wasn’t just grumpy. Mrs. Thompson wasn’t just stressed. This place felt… stuck. Like it peaked a long time ago and nobody told it yet. Quiet, sure. Cheap? Probably compared to the city. But vibrant? Thriving? A ‘Good Place’ for anything besides feeling kinda forgotten?
Nah, man. After seeing it, hearing the folks actually living it? River Hills SC doesn’t feel like a ‘good place’ right now. More like a place people end up stuck in, or tryna get out of. Seriously disappointing.
