After 2 months of living in Columbia..... (Irmo, Lexington: restaurants, moving to, bars)

[deibu]

Originally Posted by Nausikaa

Not really many options at all without a visa. Getting a visa to work in the US at this time is very very difficult. You have to find an employer that will agree to hire you, and then apply for a visa. The visa would cost the employer over $5k. The employer can apply in April every year, but there are only a certain amount of visas given out. A student visa would not be so hard to get, but then you have to come up with the fees.

Without a work visa you can only stay in the US for 90 days, and you cannot work during that time.

Good point... So the trilingual abilities, some unique IT engineering-related special knowledge you possess are your best routes there. Or you can fall in love and marry someone!

Also whoever mentioned Michelin - good mention as well. They would probably prefer a US citizens also fluent in French, but if you're English is good, plus your all-important Spanish skills - they would definitely be an employer to look into. There are a few French manufacturers/large enterprises operating in South Carolina you might want to look into as well.

Word of warning - which I'm sure you're well aware of - being French might be a negative to a potential American employer, particularly a smaller one who doesn't have a lot of experience with foreigners. Americans still love to hate the French. Some people love to hate somebody they know nothing about!

Eh bien - je voudrais vous souhaiter le meilleur chance!

J'espere que je l'ai ecrire correctement....

(Sorry - it's been 15 years)

[waccamatt]

While there may be a few far-right individuals who don't like the French I don't think you would find very many middle to left-of-center Americans that feel any animosity. As I like to remind people: we may not have won the Revolutionary War without the help of the French.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by salatheel

I have to say I love it. My wife and I have found we like it even better than we thought we would. The toughest part was finding a fair paying job. Lots of great people,shopping,restaurants, but not overwhelmingly large. A very cozy comfortable city.

I have to agree with all of the points you made. We have lived here almost a year now having moved from Ohio, and have been pleased with our decision thus far. We chose to come here over Charlotte because it was smaller, hate dealing with traffic, and homes are much more reasonably priced here. While I doubt Columbia will ever boom as Charlotte & Atlanta have in recent years, I definitely can see it growing quite a bit in years to come. One other thing, people gripe about the heat here in the summer, trust me, I'll take 2 straight months of 100-degree days over the Ohio gray winter months of sub-30 degree days. The only 'perfect' weather (that itself is an oxymoron) occurs in only a few places like San Diego or Honolulu, and they have other issues like earthquakes or wildfires not to mention you think gas prices and inflation are high here!? There is plenty of sun here, and the weather really is nice for the better part of the year - when you are glad it rains, that says something about how great your weather is!

[pvjd]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I'm not sure how to word this. I don't choose my friends by their color or religion. If I meet someone who is Black, Hispanic, Muslim, Baptist or Catholic, I only care if that person is intelligent and open to new ideas or an ignorant, close-minded bigot. Sure everyone enjoys being around like-minded people, but I also welcome a good debate, as long as it doesn't get nasty. I once even dated a Republican!


Both Greenville and Columbia claim to be the most "culturally diverse" but that isn't a big issue for me. Attitude is. A city can have a mix of just about every race, religion and nationality and still have a lot of racial unrest. I grew up in a 90% White city in Massachusetts, but I never heard prejudice from anyone except the witch who lived next door. She hated everyone.

I live in what many would call a "culturally diverse" neighborhood. Yet I've seen more prejudice, read about more road rage and hate crimes and heard more racial slurs since moving to Southwest Florida which is why "culturally diverse" means little to me. A place can be culturally diverse and still be segregated and have lots of tension. So I would be happy living in a mostly White or mostly Black area as long as it was peaceful, safe, clean, and people got along with each other.

I have a question based on this post. I, too, want to be in a place that is a bit diverse and progressive, but not a place seething with tension. Is Columbia relatively peaceful, with a live and let live majority, or is it segregated in the sense of class, race, etc? And, based on your answer, is there a difference in it with regards to Lexington/Irmo vs. Columbia city?

[waccamatt]

Richland County is more diverse than Lexington County. The City itself is in Richland County with a tiny portion in Lexington. The Town of Irmo is more diverse than the Town of Lexington. This doesn't mean Lexington isn't a nice town, it just is not extremely diverse. I don't find the area to be particularly divided by class or race. There are majority White areas, majority Black areas, heavily Asian and heavily Hispanic (but no majority Hispanic or Asian areas) and then there are neighborhoods that are a hodgepodge. Columbia is primarily a middle class city, you won't find huge swaths of poverty and you won't find huge swaths of million dollar homes, but you will find pockets of both. I don't feel tension between classes or races here, there are individual exceptions of every rule, like anywhere. On the whole, though, I don't see it.

[pvjd]

Thanks, that is helpful. In Birmingham, we have 300,000 dollar condos down the street from housing projects. There are the extremely wealthy neighborhoods, and then the very poor ones that are made up primarily of African Americans, and there seem to be a lot of "oh no, don't go there" places. Some of the suburbs are more diverse, but there is still a lot of classism, especially in the city. For instance, I live in Vestavia zoning, and there are quite a few African Americans and hispanics where I live, but where I live is right at the Vestavia threshold, and it is an older apartment complex with relatively low rent. If you go into the heart of Vestavia and into the neighborhoods and housing communities, you will find the 500k+ houses, with a 90 percent white population.

[sandlapper]

Columbia a pretty much live and let live kinda town. Lexington Co in its more rural areas and in certain suburbs is a bit more stoic conservative.

[280ezrider]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Thanks for all the replies. I wouldn't have a choice. People don't understand that this is not a political viewpoint or just someone who likes to complain. When I get home, all I do is cough all night and spit up....well, I won't get too graphic here! My Dad smoked a lot when I was a child so I am very sensitive to smoke. Anyway, I need to work in an environment where people are asked to light up outside. I guess it depends on the company and its management too. Even when it's outlawed, people still do it anyway.

Nancy's thread is over a year old now, so I'm hoping that the idiots who smoke are fewer in number. Allowing America's most deadly drug to be used in public and thereby poisoning others says a lot about the lack of culture of a society. I'm considering Columbia or Greenville as my future home, but this inane smoking adiction will certainly be a major factor on my decision. Put plainly: with all the public information available on this disgusting practice, those who smoke are simply stupid.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by 280ezrider

Nancy's thread is over a year old now, so I'm hoping that the idiots who smoke are fewer in number. Allowing America's most deadly drug to be used in public and thereby poisoning others says a lot about the lack of culture of a society. I'm considering Columbia or Greenville as my future home, but this inane smoking adiction will certainly be a major factor on my decision. Put plainly: with all the public information available on this disgusting practice, those who smoke are simply stupid.

Both cities have laws prohibiting smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars. I'm not sure what your post was referring to, but it seemed to be asking about anti-smoking ordinances.

[melskybell]

Originally Posted by sandlapper

Good deal, glad to hear it! Columbia isn't nearly as bad as many people try too make it out to be. I never understood the distain it recieves?

Maybe that's a benefit - a "best kept secret" that maybe you want to keep that way lest everyone discover this and change it forever (for the worst, population-wise).

Mel