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Both of these are relatively large college towns and capital cities in completely different parts of the country. I'm wondering which do you think is better overall. Some criteria to consider?
1. Downtown
2. Walkability
3. Architecture
4. Transportation (car and public)
5. Climate
6. Scenery
7. College campus
8. Recreational activities
9. Bars and Restaurants
10. History
11. Suburbs
12. Where would you rather live?
Both of these are relatively large college towns and capital cities in completely different parts of the country. I'm wondering which do you think is better overall.
1. Downtown: I’d say Columbia’s has more going for it at the moment; but Madison was already ahead. So tie?
2. Walkability: Honestly Madison, Sunbelt Cities are notoriously unwalkable outside their main areas.
3. Architecture: I’d say tie, but leaning more towards Cola. It’s older and has more history in its.
4. Transportation (car and public): I know for a fact Columbia’s is worse, far worse. But it’s public is probably equal for the needs of the community.
5. Climate: Columbia outside of Summer.
6. Scenery: Madison, downtown sitting on two lake? Can’t beat that.
7. College campus: USC, it’s more integrated with the town.
8. Recreational activities: Cola, has more. A national forest, a lake, three rivers, etc. and tons of state parks.
9. Bars and Restaurants: Cola wins in Bars simply because of Five Pounts.
10. History: Obviously Cola, it’s literally where the document was signed that started the civil war.
11. Suburbs: Madison, they’re so picturesque compared to some of Columbia’s.
12. Where would you rather live? For a family? Madison? As a young adult starting my life (even being married) or a retiree? Columbia
1. Downtown: Madison
2. Walkability: Madison
3. Architecture: Madison
4. Transportation (car and public): Madison
5. Climate: Columbia
6. Scenery: Madison
7. College campus: Madison
8. Recreational activities: Madison
9. Bars and Restaurants: Madison
10. History: Columbia
11. Suburbs: Madison
12. Where would you rather live? Madison
I would choose Madison. I like the scenery and area.
1. Downtown - Columbia
2. Walkability - Madison
3. Architecture - Columbia
4. Transportation (car and public) - Madison
5. Climate - Columbia
6. Scenery - Columbia
7. College campus - Columbia
8. Recreational activities - Columbia
9. Bars and Restaurants - Columbia
10. History - Columbia
11. Suburbs - Madison
12. Where would you rather live? - Columbia
Which city I like better, would have to be determined by more criteria than you have listed, OP. If you want to take only those into account, then you're stopping short. In making a "real" decision between these two cities, one would have to include more. At least, I would have to include more.
The universities aren't very close in ranking, with Madison ranking at 49 and SC at 106. As for the cities, 60 percent of Madison's population has a college degree, compared to 48 percent of those in Columbia. Graduate degrees - Madison 27% and Columbia 19%...none of these are bad numbers.
As far as racially diverse, Madison is 75% white, and 9% Asian. Columbia is 48% white, and 40% black. As far as city density, Columbia is very sparsely populated, at 1,070 people psm, where Madison is average, with 3700 people psm. That's a big difference.
Maybe all of this was left out by design, but I, personally, couldn't chose one of these cities, without knowing more than your list includes. As far as student population - Madison has 10,000 more students.
As far as city density, Columbia is very sparsely populated, at 1,070 people psm, where Madison is average, with 3700 people psm. That's a big difference.
A big reason for this is that Fort Jackson is included in Columbia's city limits. It has very few permanent residents for a military base (perhaps around 5K or so) as it is an Army initial entry training base but consists of 52,000 acres (81 sq mi). I'm pretty sure Madison is denser in any case due to its geography but just wanted to point out how Columbia's density stats are pretty skewed due to Fort Jackson.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shakeesha
1. Downtown: Madison
2. Walkability: Madison
3. Architecture: Madison
4. Transportation (car and public): Madison
5. Climate: Columbia
6. Scenery: Madison
7. College campus: Madison
8. Recreational activities: Madison
9. Bars and Restaurants: Madison
10. History: Columbia
11. Suburbs: Madison
12. Where would you rather live? Madison
I would choose Madison. I like the scenery and area.
I debated that one, but I prefer warmer climates. Being from the south, I don't mind heat and humidity. This was almost a clean sweep for Madison. It is an overall better city.
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