The Insiders' Guide to St. Barths: The Cliffs, Greenville

There are actually several Cliffs communities. The original is Cliffs at Glassy Mountain which is approximately 25 minutes north of Greenville. Also nearby is Cliffs Valley. About thirty to forty minutes west are the Cliffs Keowee and Vineyard and they even now have one near Asheville.

It is rare that someone in this (red)neck of the woods puts together a top notch place such as this. Normally, a fellow will go in with too little capital, burn through it, go bankrupt, relax the standards and have junk next door to a five million dollar home. And all of the amenities will fall apart or disappear.

Well, the Cliffs are the OPPOSITE of that. These places started out great and are only getting better. I assume their books are in order because I know that their developments are first rate. Wow. I am partial to Glassy myself however if you like the lake and want to live near several pro athletes (folks from the golfing world and Atlanta have discovered these places bigtime), then Keowee is where you want to be.

The views from Glassy are stunning. Particularly memorable are the signature hole on the golf course, a short par three that slopes down from the tee toward a green protected on either side by large rock outcroppings that continues to slope toward the cliff just behind the green and the entire upstate of South Carolina just beyond. Stunning. I also LOVE the view from the chapel near the top of the mountain. A WONDERFUL place for a wedding. Just beautiful with a capital B.

The folks who run Cliffs have done it right. The clubhouse at Glassy is top drawer, the restaurant is good, the grounds are beautiful and the place has been developed the way you would want it go be developed.

As for those who prefer lake living, Lake Keowee was formed by the Army corp of engineers when they dammed up a river and flooded half the dadgum upstate. It is a very, very pretty lake with hundreds of miles of shoreline that is quickly becoming a favored place of Rich Folks From Atlanta And Beyond. Property values are beginning to take off in this part of the world as it has been discovered. The lake itself really is a beautiful lake.

So your choice is not "yes" or "no". Instead, it is WHICH Cliffs community to choose? If you like mountains and views, no brainer - it's Glassy for you.

If you like lakes and boating and all that, then it's Keowee. Otherwise, Glassy all the way

At Glassy, you can be in Greenville in under half an hour for concerts, dining, etc. At Keowee, you can be at a major university (Clemson) in about fifteen minutes. For a retiree, the medical care in Greenville is first rate - top quality. But it should be noted that there is no nearby hospital to Glassy. For Keowee, you would go to a smaller hospital (Oconee Memorial) that is more modest than Greenville but which still offers many specialties including oncology, surgery, orthopedics, GI docs, etc. In other words, you would NOT be out in the boonies away from quality care.

Temperatures on Glassy in the summer may get into the nineties several days with eighties - and even seventies - being more usual. In the winter, you will get a couple of weeks below freezing with a snow or two. Keowee would be about five to ten degrees warmer.

I am currently sitting less than fifty miles from both of these communities. We enjoyed brilliant sunshine and 75 degrees today. Not too shabby.

So, to answer your question?

YES. In a heartbeat!