what we think of columbia so far... (North: fit in, property taxes)
Columbia areaColumbia - Lexington - Irmo
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I think what the majority of people do not understand is that the US has at least 6 very distinct regions. So unless a NYC family moves to say Chicago or LA they are going to experience a bit of a culture shock, and probably a bit of a weather shock as well. It makes no difference if the move is North/South or East/West; there is always an adjustment to make. I always advise people that are moving to come with a sense of adventure for there is much to discover, and to not compare the past life with the new life for there will be some stark differences in region to region from COL to weather, to topography and demographics, to politics and religion. . .
I think what the majority of people do not understand is that the US has at least 6 very distinct regions. So unless a NYC family moves to say Chicago or LA they are going to experience a bit of a culture shock, and probably a bit of a weather shock as well. It makes no difference if the move is North/South or East/West; there is always an adjustment to make. I always advise people that are moving to come with a sense of adventure for there is much to discover, and to not compare the past life with the new life for there will be some stark differences in region to region from COL to weather, to topography and demographics, to politics and religion. . .
Personally, I think that's pretty obvious. It's the finer details that you find amusing once you relocate...
One thing I am trying to understand is why the general public is often so negative here (this is based on many comments I read on The State and other web pages and I have (over)heard in conversations. Whatever the federal goverment does is wrong, whatever the state goverment does is wrong, education is just a waste of money for many people, etc. I have never lived in a state that had a more negative vibe in that respect. I assume this has to do with the fact that SC politicians are the worst and most unqualified I have ever experienced, no matter what party they are from.
Interesting observation. SC has an interesting governmental structure. The legislature is part time, and paid pretty poorly for their work in the State House, as these things go (which is true of many states, but worth mentioning). However, this legislature is much stronger than the Governor, who is pretty weak and has little control of spending. He (or maybe she?) does, however, draw most of the public ire for bad decisions, which provides a pretty solid cover for poorly paid state reps to perform sub-par work.
Furthermore, SC has been bitten by the "gov't isn't the answer" bug for some time, which causes a little bit of an issue. Gov't gets smaller and smaller and less able to perform its duties and receives less and less in tax revenue, but when anything goes wrong, it's the gov't's fault. So it's circular. Strip away government power, but maintain governmental blame. But at the same time, there's not an awful lot of legislative oversight here, so there's no REAL accountability. Which exacerbates the situation.
Anyway, this is probably something for another thread, but it's an interesting observation.
Well, government *isn't* the answer... I'm glad to hear that the Legislature is part-time too!
This is exactly what I mean. I have never been in a state where this type of opininon is louder.
Another example of the blame game is SC is higher education here. USC, for example, was reduced to only about 10% of its total budget as income from the state (lower income than vending on campus...), yet many people here believe the state pays 100% and should have 100% control (and its wasting taxpayers money). Same I have heard about Clemson, MUSC, high schools, middle schools, lower schools, etc. Makes no snese to me, but maybe I am too rational.
Furthermore, SC has been bitten by the "gov't isn't the answer" bug for some time, which causes a little bit of an issue. Gov't gets smaller and smaller and less able to perform its duties and receives less and less in tax revenue, but when anything goes wrong, it's the gov't's fault. So it's circular. Strip away government power, but maintain governmental blame. But at the same time, there's not an awful lot of legislative oversight here, so there's no REAL accountability. Which exacerbates the situation.
Well, It's the South. Painting with a broad brush, it's pretty safe to say that there is far less support for government or any sort of local municipal organization. I can only assume that is why so much of Richland County is unincorporated? Certainly a different type format that what you'll see in the NE, though I still saw similar type views from the old time libertarian type folks in some of the more rural areas of Northern New England... Certainly seems to have kept the cost of living down. IMHO, it does often come at a cost. Namely city development, greenspace and other improvements that keep a community progressive, attractive to business and ultimately a more desirable place to live. Of course, many folks like the way things are - and that's fair point...
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