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Charlotte has indeed come a long way and Uptown now definitely feels like a vibrant city.
I find myself wondering why I don't live in Charlotte and continue to stick around in Columbia. It's just not very pretty all in all. Not manicured, roads suck, infrastructure is terrible as well. So far behind in times and from what I saw in property taxes... it looks about the same if not close.
I find myself wondering why I don't live in Charlotte and continue to stick around in Columbia. It's just not very pretty all in all. Not manicured, roads suck, infrastructure is terrible as well. So far behind in times and from what I saw in property taxes... it looks about the same if not close.
If you're unhappy here, you should move.
The penny transit tax will certainly aid in the improvement of infrastructure, which I agree needs improvement. As for it not being manicured, I'm not sure what you mean exactly. Parts of town look shiny and nice, others not so much - this is true everywhere. I don't agree that Columbia is behind the times, I think we're on the right track. Our current wave of development should have gotten started a decade or so ago, but the Great Recession put things on hold. I think the development we're seeing now and the future plans being proposed will take Columbia far, perhaps becoming a smaller version of Charlotte. We have a ways to go here, but we've also come a long way.
I find myself wondering why I don't live in Charlotte and continue to stick around in Columbia. It's just not very pretty all in all. Not manicured, roads suck, infrastructure is terrible as well. So far behind in times and from what I saw in property taxes... it looks about the same if not close.
I hear what you are saying.. Columbia is making progress but keep in mind when comparing it to Charlotte is like night and day. For starters... if Columbia annexed the entire urbanized portion of Richland County..the City could easily hover around 300,000 plus. That would make a significant difference when it come to increasing the tax base to fund things like roads and related infrastructure. It wont happen because of the strict annexation laws in SC. Both cities are culturally different as well. I think Columbia is very progressive when compared to Cities in its peer group..>Richmond, VA and Birmingham Al in terms of midsize southern cities
I hear what you are saying.. Columbia is making progress but keep in mind when comparing it to Charlotte is like night and day. For starters... if Columbia annexed the entire urbanized portion of Richland County..the City could easily hover around 300,000 plus. That would make a significant difference when it come to increasing the tax base to fund things like roads and related infrastructure. It wont happen because of the strict annexation laws in SC. Both cities are culturally different as well. I think Columbia is very progressive when compared to Cities in its peer group..>Richmond, VA and Birmingham Al in terms of midsize southern cities
Richmond and Birmingham are in a half-tier/tier higher than Columbia I think, along with cities like Memphis, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Louisville, etc. Columbia's peers would be Charleston, Greenville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Augusta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lexington, etc.--essentially metros in the 500K-1M range.
Richmond and Birmingham are in a half-tier/tier higher than Columbia I think, along with cities like Memphis, Jacksonville, New Orleans, Louisville, etc. Columbia's peers would be Charleston, Greenville, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Augusta, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Lexington, etc.--essentially metros in the 500K-1M range.
I agree in terms of solely population but overall they are pretty similar in feel and comparison. Think about it like this, Boston and Philly always tend to get compared to one another, considered very much to be peer cities and in the same tier. Boston has over a million less people than Philly. Birmingham has about 1.1 million or so in their metro, Columbia has right at 800k, only 300k less people than Birmingham.
I agree that once you hit that 1 million+ population in the metro it tends to seem like a new category and in some aspects you are right, but I mean look at Birmingham in particular, it is 300k larger than Columbia and 300k smaller than Jacksonville so I wouldn't say it and Columbia are not comparable and honestly, most people I talk to from Alabama or SC or really in general, compare Columbia to Birmingham a lot.
I agree in terms of solely population but overall they are pretty similar in feel and comparison. Think about it like this, Boston and Philly always tend to get compared to one another, considered very much to be peer cities and in the same tier. Boston has over a million less people than Philly. Birmingham has about 1.1 million or so in their metro, Columbia has right at 800k, only 300k less people than Birmingham.
I agree that once you hit that 1 million+ population in the metro it tends to seem like a new category and in some aspects you are right, but I mean look at Birmingham in particular, it is 300k larger than Columbia and 300k smaller than Jacksonville so I wouldn't say it and Columbia are not comparable and honestly, most people I talk to from Alabama or SC or really in general, compare Columbia to Birmingham a lot.
Yeah Columbia tend to be compared more with Birmingham than say Montgomery.. which is more similiar to Columbia on paper but in terms of entertainment and "feel" I think Columbia is compared more with Bham.. Jackson MS is another one that is comparable to Columbia on paper.. but rarely ever compared ot it directly. More of a direct comparison than Birmingham is Little Rock which has some more direcot similarities to Soda City....
I agree in terms of solely population but overall they are pretty similar in feel and comparison. Think about it like this, Boston and Philly always tend to get compared to one another, considered very much to be peer cities and in the same tier. Boston has over a million less people than Philly. Birmingham has about 1.1 million or so in their metro, Columbia has right at 800k, only 300k less people than Birmingham.
I agree that once you hit that 1 million+ population in the metro it tends to seem like a new category and in some aspects you are right, but I mean look at Birmingham in particular, it is 300k larger than Columbia and 300k smaller than Jacksonville so I wouldn't say it and Columbia are not comparable and honestly, most people I talk to from Alabama or SC or really in general, compare Columbia to Birmingham a lot.
I know it can be somewhat arbitrary, but Birmingham simply has a noticeably bigger feel to me than Columbia. Its urban core is more historic and denser, its GDP is a good bit larger (71%), and its retail and restaurant scene is definitely further along than Columbia's. As far as Alabama cities go, Columbia is in between Mobile, Huntsville, and Montgomery on the smaller end and Birmingham on the larger end. I'm not saying you can't compare Columbia and Birmingham, but I don't consider it and especially Richmond--the gap is even bigger there--to be true peer cities to Columbia.
I believe the limitations in height in the vista, although have preserved some history and created a great environment, has hampered Columbia's overall development/feel as far as looking like/feeling like a bigger city. I think the natural place for new development has been the vista for years and actually believe a tall building or two would have added to the ambiance of the vista making it feel more "downtown" like in Greenville. Please don't tell me the vista IS downtown... I am very aware but speaking of the feel of walking around in the city's core would be better if there were a couple office towers sprinkled in the district thus giving the city a bigger feel in the restaurant district and expanding the skyline down into the "river side" of assembly. That said... I love what the vista is becoming just speaking to the comparison to Birmingham and what I believe would make it more comparable.
I believe the limitations in height in the vista, although have preserved some history and created a great environment, has hampered Columbia's overall development/feel as far as looking like/feeling like a bigger city. I think the natural place for new development has been the vista for years and actually believe a tall building or two would have added to the ambiance of the vista making it feel more "downtown" like in Greenville. Please don't tell me the vista IS downtown... I am very aware but speaking of the feel of walking around in the city's core would be better if there were a couple office towers sprinkled in the district thus giving the city a bigger feel in the restaurant district and expanding the skyline down into the "river side" of assembly. That said... I love what the vista is becoming just speaking to the comparison to Birmingham and what I believe would make it more comparable.
I somewhat have to disagree with that. I think that density can play just as important a role as height in terms of "big city" feel; DC is a great example of that. As long as development puts more feet on the street, it will contribute to an overall more vibrant, bigger feel. And downtown Greenville has historically put more emphasis on low/midrise development than highrise development.
Yeah Columbia tend to be compared more with Birmingham than say Montgomery.. which is more similiar to Columbia on paper but in terms of entertainment and "feel" I think Columbia is compared more with Bham.. Jackson MS is another one that is comparable to Columbia on paper.. but rarely ever compared ot it directly. More of a direct comparison than Birmingham is Little Rock which has some more direcot similarities to Soda City....
Yeah I completely agree about Little Rock. Columbia's true peers would be Little Rock, Baton Rouge, Knoxville, etc.
Montgomery is way too small to be compared with Columbia. Montgomery's metro population is only 373k...that's more comparable to Spartanburg really.
I could see Jackson on paper being compared to Columbia on the much smaller end, but not Montgomery other than both being state capitals.
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