Tell me why you love Columbia...& why you don't! (apartments, neighborhood)

[scguy89]

Hi tealover,
As someone who has lived in Greenville and Columbia and visited Charleston numerous times a year, I was wondering if there was anything you must have in your life when you move to a new area (certain stores, golf courses, certain outdoor activities such as locations to hike or perhaps go out on the water)? Do you prefer attending sporting events or concerts or would you rather just relax at home or catch a movie?

This will help us give you a more precise description of each city. Although all three cities are great, some are certainly lacking in some departments. A

nd I agree with these wise posters, you have to check each city out for yourself before committing.

Greenville and Charleston are about 3.5 hours from each other with Columbia in the almost the exact middle. If you enjoy each of the three cities, Columbia could be a wise choice for you because of easy access to the other two. Charlotte, NC is also about 1.5 hours away and Atlanta, GA is around 3.5 hours away if you need to get to a bigger city for certain amenities.

[tealover]

SCguy, thanks!

I'm pretty much a homebody!

Other than a clean and attractive environment, I don't need a lot really! I work hard to create a pleasant home, take care of my things, keep the yard maintained and house tidy and clean, and so I don't enjoy seeing cluttered, dirty, haphazard public areas.

I know I sound impossibly boring! I love to read, so good libraries and bookstores are important, even though I order a lot from Amazon. I love a great garden center...can spend the day at one. Can walk around for hours at a botanical garden. I like walking around pretty neighborhoods, gawking at houses. I love to work in my yard and with my koi pond, decorate and improve my house. I like simple, good food when I eat out, so I don't need anything fancy. A great diner for breakfast and really good (I'm picky here) Chinese food for dinner or lunch would be desirable meals out for me.

I am Catholic, so I want a nice Catholic Church to attend.

This would be my top ten list, not in any particular order:

1. Great Library & Bookstores
2. Great Church
3. Great Grocery stores
4. Clean, attractive, well-kept public areas & neighorhoods.
5. Friendly
6. Safe
7. Great Garden center
8. Interesting Botanical Garden
9. No or very little snow 10. Not too high cost of living...especially property price tags!

[Columbiadata]

Columbia has all of those, tealover.

[Palmetto_Guy]

I'm not much into gardening so I can't really give any detailed information about garden centers other than the fact a Google search shows that we have some.

We also have botanical gardens at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. Everyone raves about the zoo, but the gardens are just as nice. I attended a wedding there once about two years ago and it makes for a great wedding setting also. Riverbanks Zoo and Garden : Botanical Garden There's also a botanical garden at the Belser Arboretum. http://zebra.biol.sc.edu/arboretum/ (broken link)

I'm not Catholic, but I do know of a couple of Catholic churches in the area. St. Peter's comes to mind first because it's downtown and is the oldest parish in SC outside of Charleston. http://www.visitstpeters.org/ St. Joseph's is closer to the Shandon neighborhood. St. Joseph Catholic Church, Columbia SC

Publix and Kroger are good grocery stores here. A Whole Foods is coming next year, and we also have organic stores like Earth Fare and Fresh Market.

[jwind]

Here I'll grade 'em... Totally my opinion.

This would be my top ten list, not in any particular order:

1. Great Library & Bookstores
But I really don't know. I'm a tech geek. Books are digital now for this household and a library is where for cassette tapes and bums looking for AC . No really, the Cola Library is very nice. Havn't seen a whole lot of other book stores around aside from the usual borders and what not... B

2. Great Church
I do my best not to drink this particular cool aid but judgeing by the amount of churches around, i'd imagine you'd be fine. That being said, most of them look to be baptist or presbyterian... A

3. Great Grocery stores
Ugh. Not great here. Piggly Wiggly is easily the most unhealthy grocery store i've ever been in. I was shocked the first time I went in one. General food quality in a lot of others leaves a little to be desired. I find Publix to be the best, although intown locations are small and seriously lack variety. Produce has been pretty marginal too. D-

4. Clean, attractive, well-kept public areas & neighorhoods.
This really ranges. Some very cool looking areas in Shandon, vista etc but there are some pretty dirty areas too. C+

5. Friendly
I don't find this area to be as friendly as the South is often thought to be. C+

6. Safe
Least safe place I've ever lived. That being said, i've always lived in exceptionally safe areas. C-

7. Great Garden center
I have no idea, but being where the grow season is long, i'd imagine it's good.

8. Interesting Botanical Garden
I am not aware of one - no idea again.

9. No or very little snow
Um, no description needed. A+

10. Not too high cost of living...especially property price tags!
Very affordable this area is. A+

[scguy89]

Originally Posted by jwind

Here I'll grade 'em... Totally my opinion.

This would be my top ten list, not in any particular order:

1. Great Library & Bookstores
But I really don't know. I'm a tech geek. Books are digital now for this household and a library is where for cassette tapes and bums looking for AC . No really, the Cola Library is very nice. Havn't seen a whole lot of other book stores around aside from the usual borders and what not... B

2. Great Church
I do my best not to drink this particular cool aid but judgeing by the amount of churches around, i'd imagine you'd be fine. That being said, most of them look to be baptist or presbyterian... A

3. Great Grocery stores
Ugh. Not great here. Piggly Wiggly is easily the most unhealthy grocery store i've ever been in. I was shocked the first time I went in one. General food quality in a lot of others leaves a little to be desired. I find Publix to be the best, although intown locations are small and seriously lack variety. Produce has been pretty marginal too. D-

4. Clean, attractive, well-kept public areas & neighorhoods.
This really ranges. Some very cool looking areas in Shandon, vista etc but there are some pretty dirty areas too. C+

5. Friendly
I don't find this area to be as friendly as the South is often thought to be. C+

6. Safe
Least safe place I've ever lived. That being said, i've always lived in exceptionally safe areas. C-

7. Great Garden center
I have no idea, but being where the grow season is long, i'd imagine it's good.

8. Interesting Botanical Garden
I am not aware of one - no idea again.

9. No or very little snow
Um, no description needed. A+

10. Not too high cost of living...especially property price tags!
Very affordable this area is. A+

You forgot Earth Fare, Rosewood Market and other local chains for grocery stores which would bump your rating up. And for the botanical garden, you should have remembered Riverbanks Zoo and Botanical Garden. It's pretty awesome and admission is free with purchase of zoo tickets. People get married/have wedding photos taken there all the time, it's a nice place. The Book Dispensary in St. Andrews is a cool book store. Also, the one off Meeting Street in West Columbia by State Street is really cool (The owner's cat roams the store). For garden center's try the several farmer's markets located around town including the State Farmer's market in it's new buildings/location in Cayce.

As for safety and friendliness those are opinions but I always feel safe and the only time I meet unfriendly people is at Walmart really. I have noticed however people get unfriendly once they are behind the wheels of their car

[Brandon Hoffman]

Originally Posted by redcliffe

Greenville in reality is no smaller than Cola, which is why it has options Cola doesn't other than government or usc related stuff.

What options? I disagree with that comment. We have a well rounded economy with the government, Fort Jackson, USC, business and industry.

[Brandon Hoffman]

I've lived on the coast for 5 years, Columbia for 5 years as an adult (grew up 30 minutes outside Columbia for the record), and in the upstate for 4 years. Columbia, Charleston, and Greenville are all wonderful cities. I understand why every poster takes pride in their home but there is no reason to run down the other locations. For me, Columbia feels more like home. The coast had too many people coming and going with short term employment and too many tourists to feel like home. I loved it and it was fun, but never felt like home. The upstate was great but I think Columbia has more options than Greenville overall. It's more centrally located, there are more employment opportunities, it has a larger metro and I think the surrounding area is also slightly larger. It has 3 larger interstates making travel and commute convenient. The cost of living is desirable (as is G-ville). At the end of the day, Columbia felt more like home than any of the other areas. I think the other posters have already discussed things to do here.

Also, since you like gardens Orangeburg is a 45 minute drive from here but in addition to the zoo you may enjoy Edisto Gardens. Edisto Memorial Gardens

[Columbiadata]

If they put all of the Columbia area's state government jobs and put them in Greenville, the two MSA's would have about the same number of jobs.

[Memywifeandkidz]

Originally Posted by tealover

I live in Virginia Beach, VA & am considering a move to your fair city. I haven't been there yet, & want to learn more about Columbia before I pursue a visit.

Let me tell you some things about myself. First, I am a white woman married to an Asian man. I wonder if my bi-racial marriage may be perceived as a problem.

I am not very liberal or conservative politically. I am religious, & Christian, but not a conservative one. I enjoy history, architecture, decorating, cleaning, cooking and making home improvements, gardening, reading, shopping and the occasional movie & nice dinner. In other words, I'm pretty boring!

I don't go to bars, play pool or video games. I'm not high-tech or very hip. I'm definitely not "beachy."

I know it sounds superficial, but a "pretty" environment is important to me. So is clean and well-cared for. Obviously my ideal locale does not need to be terribly exciting, (great garden centers are exciting to me!) but I do want to live in a pleasant, friendly, attractive place if possible!

Does Columbia sound like that sort of place? If not, do you know of a place that does, LOL?

Thanks for any feedback!

I am a hispanic father of 4 who just lost my home and was laid off for two days now. I seeking to relocate to the columbia area. I have children under the ages of 10. Can you please point me in a good area of where to check out decent apartments? I heard of apartment called Rosewood Hills but I don't know what type of apartment complex it is or how to find out more about.