Guide to Greenville

About Eastern NC

Greenville, North Carolina is a diverse college town of approximately 80,000 residents with a great location and climate. The community has a quaint, Southern small town charm but is experiencing a boon in population, culture, and business growth. Greenville is growing at an annual rate of 8-10%. The primary employers are ECU Health Medical Center, the 865-bed tertiary care teaching hospital of the Brody School of Medicine, and East Carolina University. Greenville was recently ranked one of the best small places for business and careers by Forbes Magazine.

The 21,000 student undergraduate campus offers a breadth of undergraduate and graduate programs. Pirate sports are an integral part of the community, with a perennial top-25 baseball team and a rabid football fan base. The local art scene, particularly the ECU-sponsored Alexander Performing Arts Series and the Loessin Playhouse, is excellent (ECU Arts). With booming population growth, dining in Greenville become more varied and eclectic, with options ranging from hole-in-the-wall local dives, to international cuisine, to great American bistros.

Greenville is in close proximity to the Outer Banks, one of the most picturesque coastlines in the United States. Most faculty and residents spend significant time at the beach, kayaking or deep sea fishing, from the more developed communities of Nags Head, Duck or Emerald Isle to the 56 mile, undeveloped Cape Lookout National Seashore. Eastern North Carolina has a wealth of parks and national wildlife refuges, including the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, the largest NWR on the Eastern seaboard at 152,000 acres, home to bears, alligators, and a red wolf reintroduction program. Because of it’s “low country” topography and coastline, Eastern North Carolina is a kayaker’s paradise. Kayak less than a mile offshore and spend the day on the secluded beaches of Bear Island, Shackleford Banks, or Cape Lookout. For fellows with families, Greenville is a superb family oriented community, with strong public schools and a number of private alternatives.

Major metropolitan areas are relatively close, with Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill approximately 70 miles west, and Washington, D.C. a four-hour drive Northeast. Greenville is fortunate to have a small but efficient national airport (PGV), with jet service to Charlotte. Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) is a convenient one-hour drive to the West.

For more information about our area, visit the following websites.