Hey, GVL. Grace here. 👋 It’s safe to say I love Greenville. I lived in Greenville all throughout high school, and after I finished college in the Lowcountry, I knew I wanted to come back to the Upstate. Why? Well, the list truly is endless but if I had to pick, I’d say the charm, the growing food scene, and the natural beauty of the area.

It’s not new knowledge that people are flocking to the Upstate for similar reasons. ~30 people move to the Upstate each day, choosing to call Clemson, Spartanburg, Anderson + Greenville home. But aside from those reasons, another big attraction to the area is jobs. Within the last year, 200,000+ unique jobs were posted in the Upstate by 10,000+ employers – and our region has a 3% unemployment rate (better than the 3.6% national average).

Taking all of this growth into account, Upstate SC Alliance created the Move Up initiative, just launched this Spring. The ultimate goals: 1. Get job-seekers to relocate to the Upstate for career advancement. 2. Connect up-and-coming students to Upstate job opportunities. 3. Provide Upstate employers with tools for connecting with potential employees.

But they also want to get Upstate locals – those of you who’ve already chosen to live here – involved.

To help, we’re launching a photo contest for the ultimate #MoveUpSC photo. How it works:

- Take a photo of why you love living in the Upstate. (We’re looking for everything from downtown Greenville + Spartanburg to Table Rock + Lake Keowee.)
- Post your pic on Instagram now through Sept. 1, hashtagging #MoveUpSC and tagging @GVLtoday and @MoveUpstateSC.
- Bonus points: Include why you chose to #MoveUpSC in your post.
- We’ll check out all the entries and Upstate SC Alliance will choose their favorite photo; announced early September. The winner will receive two tickets to euphoria’s Feast by the Field event (Sat., Sept. 21; $180 value) + some #MoveUpSC swag. 👏

Ready? Go snap some awesome photos. We can’t wait to see them. Ⓟ