Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are re-locating to Columbia next fall, and from what I understand we can find good public schools in NE, Lexington, and Forest Acres.
The prices in NE and Lexington are most attractive. What are some differences between those areas? What might make someone choose one over the other? Also, what is the real-time commute downtown from either place?
Forest Acres would cut out the commute, but is it worth the extra money? Also, are neighborhoods in that area actually walking distance to any shops or restaurants, or do you need to actually live downtown for that?
We are re-locating to Columbia next fall, and from what I understand we can find good public schools in NE, Lexington, and Forest Acres.
The prices in NE and Lexington are most attractive. What are some differences between those areas? What might make someone choose one over the other? Also, what is the real-time commute downtown from either place?
Forest Acres would cut out the commute, but is it worth the extra money? Also, are neighborhoods in that area actually walking distance to any shops or restaurants, or do you need to actually live downtown for that?
Both the Northeast and Lexington are newer, outer-suburban areas that have developed mostly in the last 10-15 years. However, each has a distinct personality and feel. Generally speaking the Northeast is a bit denser and more diverse, while Lexington feels a bit more country/rural.
Retail is a bit more established in the Northeast, but in Lexington there is fairly rapid growth along the US 378 corridor. Neither has developed to the extent that the Irmo/Harbison Blvd. area has, though.
I would search the Columbia forum here on city-data.com to find more detailed compare-and-contrast posts.
Loosely speaking it should take no more than 30-35 minutes to reach downtown from the Northeast or Lexington to downtown. We live in Lake Carolina in the far northeastern corner of the development, and my wife leaves home around 6:55am and routinely gets there in about that time.
Much of your commute time will depend on local roads and schools. If you are deep within a large subdivision or have to pass several schools, that could add more commute time than the pure distance alone. My experience in the Columbia area has been that, once you get on the interstates, you're pretty much flowing easily with traffic, so the biggest commute advantage you can find in the outer suburbs like Lexington or the Northeast is to be as close to the interstate as possible.
Forest Acres definitely has a fantastic location - you will not find any suburban-type area in the region with that kind of commute. Things to consider if you want to explore Forest Acres as an options:
- It is an established, older, upper-middle-class, fairly well-educated demographic.
- Retail is more upscale, neighborhood-oriented. There is no large mall like Columbiana in Irmo/Harbison or outdoor lifestyle center like the Village at Sandhill in the Northeast. There are many things like a Chipotle, Publix, Fresh Market (small Whole Foods-ish type place), and a handful of boutique shops and nice restaurants. Except for the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club-anchored development near Fort Jackson, you will have to travel further out for your major big-box retail areas.
- It is less diverse than the Irmo/Harbison area, and much less diverse than the newer Northeast suburban areas. This may or may not be an issue or factor for you, but for some it might be, so I thought it would be worth mentioning.
- Homes are typically older (of 1950s-1970s vintage generally), and you will get less square footage for your dollar. There are, however, some relatively affordable 3-bedroom and smaller 4-bedroom homes if you are not too picky and are ok with, say, a small old galley kitchen rather than a newer, modern open one.
- There is definitely more walkability to retail compared to Lexington or the Northeast, but it's still nothing like downtown. If you are near the major thoroughfares like Forest Drive or Trenholm Road, then it can be walkable, but don't be surprised if you're a bit further away and still need your car. In other words, it can't quite compare to living in true city neighborhoods like Shandon or Rosewood.
So, if you highly value, say being around a lot young families with small kids and a newer, larger house for not too much money, then you may want to think twice about Forest Acres. If, however, you are comfortable with the "trade-offs" I listed above, then Forest Acres can definitely be worth it considering the much shorter commute.
Forest Acres definitely has a fantastic location - you will not find any suburban-type area in the region with that kind of commute. Things to consider if you want to explore Forest Acres as an options:
- It is an established, older, upper-middle-class, fairly well-educated demographic.
So, if you highly value, say being around a lot young families with small kids and a newer, larger house for not too much money, then you may want to think twice about Forest Acres.
From what you've described, I like everything about Forest Acres except this! Having a close knit neighborhood where all the kids play freely from house to house is important to us. So it sounds like there aren't as many kids in the Forest Acres area?
If you are in Forest Acres or "in town" you will likely attend either Dreher or AC Flora Highschools... both have been renovated relatively recent and are the districts better performing schools.. Middle Schools would be either Crayton or Hand... not sure what elementary... Likely Brennan or Meadowfield.. Havent heard anything bad about any of these schools in this zone.. Check out the District Web Site for more info
I have lived in both, I live in the back of the Summit off of Hardscrabble, my wife drives to downtown for work, from the back of the summit, it took her 35 mins to downtown, we now live in Lexington, far west side right off of I-20 and Longspond rd, from here is it 25 mins to downtown. What we like about Lexington, is it is a quieter lifestyle and less people to deal with. The area we live is just out of town about 8 miles
From what you've described, I like everything about Forest Acres except this! Having a close knit neighborhood where all the kids play freely from house to house is important to us. So it sounds like there aren't as many kids in the Forest Acres area?
Unfortunately, your guess is probably right - if you are looking for that kids-playing-in-the-cul-de-sac type thing, it's not very common in Forest Acres. We do know a small handful of young families that live in Forest Acres, but my impression is that they have to rely on other venues such as school, day care, church, play dates, etc. to have kids socialize with each other.
I'll also say that Forest Acres seems less transplant-oriented than Lexington, and is definitely far less trans transplant-oriented than the Northeast (which is filled with lots of Army families associate with Ft. Jackson). While the folks in Forest Acres are plenty friendly, there are definitely established social circles and it may take some time to get to know all your neighbors.
In the newer neighborhoods in the Northeast and many similar ones in Lexington, since everyone is new and many are from out-of-state, it's kind of like a family version of a college dorm during a freshman year - everyone is getting to know each other at approximately the same time, and no one has been there for more than 5-10 years.
I'll also say that Forest Acres seems less transplant-oriented than Lexington, and is definitely far less trans transplant-oriented than the Northeast (which is filled with lots of Army families associate with Ft. Jackson). While the folks in Forest Acres are plenty friendly, there are definitely established social circles and it may take some time to get to know all your neighbors.
x2
No knocking FA, here, as we lived there for a year before moving to Greenville, but it seems parts of Lexington and nicer areas in NE have lots of friendly folks, and plenty of transplants.
FA also has had a spat of break-ins, recently, in fact the rate has doubled in one year. We have friends who live there and they're always vigiliant about safety re: their properties. What's really nice about FA though is you can kinda disappear over there, as some of the residential areas are way off the main drags and are very, very quiet at night. The downsides for us were some of the weird zoning laws, as well as the lack of kids playing in ther neighborhood on any given day (we have two).
When we lived there (we're in our 30's) most of the folks we hung out with lived out in NE, in the city (Shandon, Rosewood, etc.), and over into Lexington.
Lots of nice military folks and people from all manner of backgrounds in Columbia.
Much of your commute time will depend on local roads and schools. If you are deep within a large subdivision or have to pass several schools, that could add more commute time than the pure distance alone. My experience in the Columbia area has been that, once you get on the interstates, you're pretty much flowing easily with traffic, so the biggest commute advantage you can find in the outer suburbs like Lexington or the Northeast is to be as close to the interstate as possible.
I agree. The bulk of my commute time is spent getting to and from I-77; the interstate itself is usually a breeze.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
