Pleasant Garden

Centrally positioned in the heart of the Piedmont Triad economic sector, the small, rural community of Outer Pleasant Garden offers an escape from city life and a hospitable southern vibe. "It’s a quiet spot that's really close to Greensboro," says Jasmine Bowen, Recreation and Events Coordinator for Pleasant Garden. "As soon as you get off 421, it almost instantly turns into large open spaces, giving you the freedom to move about." The red and white brick town hall building sits across from acres of green, grassy pastures next to popular soccer fields and a disc golf courses. Closer to town center, farmhouses with American flags can be found next to a few local businesses where residents enjoy chatting and shopping. Late 20th-century ranch-style homes featuring wood and vinyl exteriors average $280,000 and sit on half-acre lots that lead to two-lane county roads. These three-bedroom properties offer spacious backyards with wooden decks. Several subdivisions like Stoneridge and Hunter’s include two-story Cape Cod and Colonial-style houses built in the early 2000s that sit on one-and-a-half-acre lots covered in long-leaf pine trees. These up-to-five-bedroom homes usually range between $400,000 and $650,000 and feature long cement driveways that lead out to well-paved streets with no sidewalks. Residents can head a few miles west to G.R.I.T.S.—standing for Girls Raised in the South—Southern Décor and More, a family-owned business selling locally-made jewelry, wreaths and other trinkets. Memory Lane, a few blocks south, offers gently used antique furniture and kitchenware. For dinner, Dave’s Original Backyard Grill serves daily specials of pork tenderloin sandwiches with a side of mac and cheese. Isabella’s Pizza Pub, located about 3 miles away, hosts customer appreciation events with pepperoni pizza and wine tasting from nearby vendors. Locals can grocery shop at Dollar General or venture out to Food Lion in Greensboro. Learning Latin and German at Southeast Guilford HighKids in the area can start at Pleasant Garden Elementary and continue to Southeast Guilford Middle, which are both rated a B by Niche. The B-plus-rated Southeast Guilford High offers several clubs, including a Dungeons and Dragons team and a Global Languages group where students can learn Latin, German and Japanese. The local Shot Shapers disc golf club holds doubles every Saturday at the wooded 18-hole Garden Grove Disc Golf Course, and anyone is welcome to come watch. Nearby Volunteer Park features soccer fields where youth leagues play, small playground for toddlers and a paved asphalt walking path. The 409-acre Hagan-Stone Park includes camping grounds surrounded by lush forest, four fishing ponds and Bradley’s Fun For All Playground, built with more than 20 play stands accessible to children with mobile disabilities. Families like splashing around in the park’s aquatic center, and cross-country runners from nearby schools compete on the park’s hilly, dirt-packed trails. Within five miles of the neighborhood, Forest Oaks Country Club offers golf tee times on their PGA-approved course. In the summer and fall, all are welcome at The Pleasant Garden Farmers Market, where locals sell wooden crafts, homemade soaps, and wooden crafts; family-run businesses like Mindenhill Farms also bring fresh collards and colorful pansies. The 40-year-old Christmas Parade tradition is one of the most popular in the community; rows of classic cars and tinsel-decorated floats travel down Pleasant Garden Road, and prizes are given out to those with the most Christmas spirit. “It’s pretty cute,” says Danielle Fortune, Administrative Assistant at United Properties of NC located in Pleasant Garden. “They also have neighborhood stops where Santa is driven out to different communities and hands out treats to kids.” Highway 412 borders the eastern side of the neighborhood, and High Point is about 18 miles west via Interstate 85. Piedmont Triad International Airport is 20 miles north, and nearby hospitals include Wesley Long Hospital and Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, both within 12 miles of Outer Pleasant Garden.

Deep into Greensboro's southside, busy streets slim down to two-lane country roads. Resting along the city’s southern edge, with Interstate 85 as its northern border, is Ritters Lake. This small community blends suburbia with rural living. “It’s a beautiful area,” says Wayne Young, a real estate broker with Allen Tate Realtors, who’s lived in Greensboro for 25 years. “I have people all the time that ask for a little three-bedroom house on five acres. If you’re looking anywhere within the city limits, that would be a challenge, but there might be some opportunity down there. There’s a lot of land,” Young continues. He says this sleepy neighborhood, featuring a reservoir of the same name at its heart, could soon be a hotspot for housing development with the new Toyota plant taking shape in Liberty, only 12 miles away. Buyers will find mostly brick ranch-style homes from the 1950s and 1960s sitting in clusters along the neighborhood’s rural roads with the occasional Colonial Revival or Cape Cod sprinkled in. Homes are set back from the street, with mature hardwood trees providing ample shade. It’s common here to have farmland across the road instead of neighbors. While properties are typically between a half-acre and full-acre in size, opportunities to buy wooded lots with several acres of land, sometimes reaching the 10-acre mark, happen from time to time. Prices are often anywhere between just under $100,000 to $600,000. Young notes that the inventory here is slim, and homes don’t go on the market often. “There’s a good bit of family land down there. Prior to Toyota going in, it was a real challenge to get people to sell —mainly because of the long-time family history, but money talks,” he explains. Children here can attend Sumner Elementary School, earning a B-minus from Niche, before moving on to Southern Guilford Middle School. The school, with a C-plus rating, starts mornings with a daily, student-led live news broadcast covering school happenings. Teens can finish their degrees at B-minus-rated Southern Guilford High School, which allows students to jumpstart their post-secondary educational careers through the Southern Guilford Academy. The magnet program features three focus areas students can choose from: health sciences, agriscience and education & leadership. Vandalia Christian School is the nearest private school option. For outdoor recreation, locals often head to Hagan-Stone Park, a 400-acre wildlife refuge. Home to a children’s summer camp, highlights include ample hiking and walking trails meandering through the forest, the aquatic center featuring a large pool with a spiraling bright yellow water slide, and Bradley’s Fun for All Playground, which has accessible play equipment. Local anglers head to the park’s lakes to catch largemouth bass, crappie and catfish. Over at the Pleasant Garden Townhall, known as the Kirkman Municipal Building, visitors bring their four-legged friends to socialize in the wide-open dog park or test their throwing skills on the Garden Grove Disc Golf Course. Down the street, Volunteer Park features another small playground and several multi-use practice fields for a leisurely ball game. With local businesses sprinkled around the area and a commercial corridor just north of Interstate 85, residents don’t have to travel far to stock up on the essentials and get a quick bite to eat. A Walmart Supercenter anchors the shopping center along Elmsley Drive, and residents can pick up new plants for their yards over at Carolina Gardens, the local garden center. After a shopping trip, locals like to grab a pie from Times Square Pizza or classic North Carolina barbecue from Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q. For a more formal meal, entertainment and nightlife, Young says people like to head to Downtown Greensboro for the vast options there. With two-lane roads here, private transportation is required to get to most places. The neighborhood has easy access to Interstates 85 and 73 and U.S. Route 421. A commute to Downtown Greensboro is a 6-mile drive north, while the Pleasant Garden town center is a 3-mile drive south. While there are no bus stops in the neighborhood, the nearest Greensboro Transit Agency bus tops line Elmsley Drive. Piedmont Triad International Airport is 17 miles away.

Steeple Chase sits a few miles south of Greensboro’s beltway, right next to the quiet hamlet of Pleasant Garden. Residents are at a comfortable distance from the city’s highways and shopping centers but up close and personal with sprawling parks and horse farms. “It’s away from the hustle and bustle of Greensboro, and the tax rate is about half of what you’d find in Greensboro or Winston-Salem, since there are no city taxes,” says Chuck VanHook, owner of VanHook Real Estate Services who has been selling homes in the Triad for 14 years. “A whole lot isn’t being bought or sold out there, because people are usually very happy with their homes.” Given the abundant greenery and the spaciousness of lots, Steeple Chase has a lot to offer to buyers looking for a country retreat from Greensboro. Steeple Chase Road, namesake of the neighborhood, weaves from Interstate 73 to the town of Pleasant Garden, forming the community’s geographic backbone. Small subdivisions and dead-end, residential streets branch off this thoroughfare, with farms and forests in homeowners’ back yards. Lots in this neighborhood can get quite spacious, with a median size of 1.3 acres. Colonial Revivals, ranch-style homes and stately Cape Cods overlook the neighborhood’s quiet streets, joined by the occasional New Traditional. Most single-family homes sell for between $190,000 to $400,000. However, homes sitting on 20 acres or more can get up to around $1.2 million. Steeple Chase gets a CAP Index crime score of 2 out of 10, which well below the national average of 4. Pleasant Garden Elementary is located within a 4-mile drive of most homes. This school, along with Southeast Guilford Middle, receives an overall B rating from Niche. Southeast Guilford High earns a B-minus and offers a Spark Lab, where students can study different high-tech fields such as cybersecurity at their own pace, on top of connecting with industry experts and participating in internships. Located less than 3 miles to the east, Hagan-Stone Park is named in honor of Anne Hagan and Joseph Stone, two prominent Greensboro conservationists. Criss-crossed by meandering, tree-covered trails, the green space spans over 400 acres and offers several primitive camp sites with picnic tables, shared water, electrical outlets and a dump station. Bradley’s Fun For All Playground at Hagan-Stone accommodates children of all abilities, featuring swings and rubber flooring to allow safe play. The park also offers an aquatic center with a 21-foot-high water slide and a pool. Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe is another popular summer attraction, home to multiple water slides with varying intensities, a lazy river, a wave pool and more. The Pleasant Garden Volunteer Park features 18 holes of disc golf through flat, wooded terrain, plus a walking trail, soccer field and members-only dog park. A Different View Equine Center is on the east side of the neighborhood, a nonprofit where active-duty military, veterans, first responders and their families receive emotional support through bonding with staff, horses and other animals. Shooting Star Horse Farm provides residents with riding lessons, offering a horse boarding as well. A few restaurants are located along Randleman Road, plus a Family Dollar. Bill’s Pizza Pub serves up specialty square pizza pies, such as the baked potato, made with a sour cream base and topped with potato wedges, and the sweet heat, adorned with BBQ hot wings, chicken and more. Furnished like an old diner, Frank & Larry’s Drive-In is known for their Southern comfort food and American fare such as hot dogs and country ham omelets. A shopping center is up South Elm-Eugene Street past Interstate 85. Businesses present include a Walmart Supercenter, Lowe’s and several eateries, from fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and sit-down restaurants such as Times Square Pizzeria & Italian Eatery. Ramps to Interstate 73 are within 4 miles of many homes. This highway runs 3.5 miles north to connect with Interstate 85 and form the southern half of the Greensboro Urban Loop, a beltway around the city. Piedmont Triad International Airport is about a 20-mile drive from most homes. The Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant, a prominent employer, is located 10 miles to the southeast. Farmers and artisans sell locally grown produce, baked goods, wooden crafts and more at the Pleasant Garden Farmers Market, which takes place at Town Hall farmers market every Saturday and Wednesday from early June to early September.

Deep into the southern outskirts of Greensboro, down the trickling streams of Polecat Creek, is a residential hidden gem. Hodgin Valley is under 15 miles south of downtown Greensboro but appears to be a world of its own. With animal farms around every corner and almost no stoplights in sight, this community is infused with the stillness of country living characterized by scenic, open landscapes. Many escape to Hodgin Valley for more land. Covered in animal farms, equestrian centers and dog training retreats, those looking into the area are often interested in having plenty of space for animals to roam. While smaller lots are around a full acre, larger properties can have up to 40 acres. Throughout are several ranch-style homes that fall between $200,000 to $300,000. Bigger houses with gambrel roofs and cape cod influences are a bit pricier, closer to the $500,000 price point. Guilford County Schools serves the neighborhood’s students. Kids may start at Southern Elementary School, which earns an A grade from Niche, before transitioning to Southern Guilford Middle School, which gets a C-plus. Students may then attend Southern Guilford High School with a B-minus grade and offers the Southern Guilford Academy, which provides specialized coursework in Health sciences, Agriscience or Education and Leadership. There are only a few recreational parks near Hodgin Valley, a favorite being the 400-acre Hagan-Stone Park. Residents have access to a pool with a slide, a playground and plenty of fishing opportunities. The largest lake at the park is nearly 25 acres in size and has a variety of fish, including largemouth bass, crappie and catfish. The park is also home to over five miles of hiking trails that often host high school and college-level cross-country competitions. Those looking to escape North Carolina’s humid summer air can visit the Richard Petty Museum and learn about the dozens of old stock cars on display. Hodgin Valley wouldn't be a true rural community without its quintessential country store. Whitt's Store is a small, charming brick building with the basic items you may need if you're looking for a quick run to the store. The Mercantile Exchange is a nearby small business with all kinds of locally sourced grocery items. From varying meat and cheese assortments to North Carolina coffee and honey, there's an array of things to shop for. For more general shopping needs, there’s a Family Dollar on Randleman Road. Residents can grab a bite to eat at Bill's Pizza Pub, which has been rocking its menu of square-cut pies since 1969. Or try Frank & Larry's Drive-In with a breakfast and lunch menu of classic American eats. While tucked away into the rural corners of Greensboro, Hodgin Valley borders Highway 73, allowing you to quickly hop on the road if you want to spend a day in the city. With picturesque scenery and rolling farmlands, Hodgin Valley is undoubtedly country living to its core.

Greywood sits off Randleman Road, 8 miles south of Greensboro’s city center. Comprised of a few woodsy subdivisions, the neighborhood offers both a slower-paced lifestyle than downtown and convenience to major highways and the big employers of southern Guilford County. “Greywood has lower pricing than Greensboro city, and it’s close to the new Toyota Battery Manufacturing megasite,” says Benjamin Rafferty, Realtor with Re/Max who has sold homes around the Triad for two years. “You’re 10 minutes from Greensboro and close to interstates which will get you up to Raleigh and Durham.” Wood Lake divides Greywood into two halves. There’s a trailer park to the east, and there are subdivisions with single-family homes to the west, plus a few homes sitting off Spur Road. Driveways are typically long, paved and two cars wide. Few properties offer garages, though many residents opt to park beneath car ports. Streets are wide enough to accommodate parking on either side and lighted by occasional streetlamps. Fences and mature trees usually mark houses’ property lines, with the median parcel spanning nearly half an acre. Homes follow bungalow, ranch-style and split-level designs, with construction dates falling in the 1960s or ‘90s. Homes don’t sell often, but when they do, buyers can expect a price between $150,000 and $275,000. Sumner Elementary and Southern Guilford High both receive overall B-minus ratings from Niche, while Southern Guilford Middle scores a C-plus. Southern Guilford High clubs include Future Business Leaders of America, Quiz Bowl and Hispanic Heritage Club. The school is also the home of the Southern Guilford Academy, where students can take four-year career pathways in the health sciences, agriscience or education. Residents are about 2.5 miles from ramps to Interstate 85, and 4 miles from ramps to Interstate 73. These two interstates form the southern half of the 40-mile Greensboro Urban Loop, which forms a beltway around the city. Interstate 73 also leads south to Randleman and Asheboro. The Toyota Battery Manufacturing Plant, also called the megasite, is about 13 miles to the southeast. Pleasant Garden Volunteer Park is about 4 miles east of the neighborhood and features soccer fields, a disc golf course and a nature trail. Located 6 miles east pf Greywood, Hagan-Stone Park is a popular spot for RV camping, hikes through the forest, fishing and Bradley’s Fun For All Playground. During the summer, the park’s pool and water slide are open. Alternatively, there’s Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe Water Park, which offers numerous water chutes, a lazy river, a wave pool and more. Visitors can purchase day tickets or season passes. Dollar General and Carolina Gardens, a local flower nursery with hot pepper plants and more, are less than a mile up Randleman Road. All residents are within 4 miles of a cluster of local businesses along Pleasant Garden Road which include Mama’s Wax Co., a candle store, and Pleasant Neighborhoods, a beer and wine shop. Several restaurants are up South Elm Eugene Street around Interstate 85. Times Square Pizzeria & Italian Eatery serves up New York-style pizza by the slice along with Chicago-style pies, subs and pasta. Hwy55 is a North Carolina-based fast-casual change which specializes in shakes and cheeseburgers. Around the same area are a Walmart Supercenter and a Lowe’s. Four Seasons Town Centre, a three-story mall, is about 7 miles north. Beyond anchor stores such as JCPenney, the mall hosts retailers, restaurants and a bowling alley. The town of Pleasant Garden hosts a farmers market at the Town Hall picnic shelter by Pleasant Garden Volunteer Park. Wares typically include produce, homemade soaps, baked goods and more. The farmers market takes place on Wednesdays and Saturdays from June through September.