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My fiance and I are finally taking the plunge and buying our first home. After research, we have decided that we cannot afford the type of house we would like in Columbia's neighborhoods (Rosewood, Forest Acres, Shandon, etc.), so we have turned our attention to the NE area.
• Richland 2 schools seem to be highly regarded (most of them).
• You seem to be able to get more home for your money (at the expense of constant growth/construction it seems).
• We can actually consider (and are) new construction! We are psyched that this is an option. We have seen some really nice home builders, but need more general information on reputations and quality (if you guys don't mind).
We haven't really seen a Mungo neighborhood we like.
There are some really nice Hurricane Builders areas that are appealing. McGuinn homes was a nice surprise, however, their community at the Villages at Lakeshore seems to include everything from below $100k to above $200k (and that worries us re: sustained house/community value -- mainly because we would be in the $200k range, the upper of that neighborhood).
There seem to be some decent Essex homes, but their neighborhoods are so very very populous and crowded it seems.
We both work in Columbia and do not want to get too far out into the NE. Lake Carolina would be too far for our preference, so that kind of rules out the nicer neighborhoods that people have mentioned.
To make a long story... not short, but finished:
What can anyone tell us about the local builders? As we seem to be leaning towards new construction. But even if we do not lean that way, it would be nice to know what some quality reputations are for houses 10 or so years old.
Have you considered the Lexington area, especially Lexington district 1 or district 5 schools. Taxes are lower period, both property tax, sales tax, and restaurant tax, all lower across the river.
Richland 2 can be a real hit or miss, however, they are having racial problems (the rich whites in Richland County 2 want to fix districting to keep the black kids in their own separate high school in the same school district).
What kind of house are you looking for? If you think the Lake Carolina is too far out, any new construction subdivision may be too far out for your liking as well.
I will soon be putting my house on the market in Forest Acres in the 160's, 3BR/2Bath, 1500 sf. You should just buy it
I live in a Mungo neighborhood myself in the NE. It can be hit or miss I agree. Some portions are so-so but seems like people in my neighborhood are moving out and people who care are moving in so it's turning out better over the years. I'm in Brookhaven, the newer section.
Ivy Square is a pretty nice Mungo neighborhood for small families. But is $600 /yr in HOA and you pay more for the house.
I liked Essex but they were pricey too.
Hurrican builders I really liked, they had granite and hardwood, and a very nice look and feel to the houses but were a little more than I wanted to spend and I didn't like the floor plans (3 yrs ago). Most of their houses were 4 br. I have a 3 br house right now and absolutely do not use one of the brs!
If you can afford Lake Carolina, i'd go for it. You may think its far out of the way but in reality to not move somewhere for 5 minutes more of a commute is crazy! I used to think the same thing. Besides the area by i77 is getting very congested.
Have you considered the Lexington area, especially Lexington district 1 or district 5 schools. Taxes are lower period, both property tax, sales tax, and restaurant tax, all lower across the river.
Richland 2 can be a real hit or miss, however, they are having racial problems (the rich whites in Richland County 2 want to fix districting to keep the black kids in their own separate high school in the same school district).
You act like there are "white schools" and "black schools" around here. Spring Valley is the whitest school in the area and it's still basically 50/50. The "rich whites" you bemoan about send their kids to private school if they are so concerned about the demographics.
You act like there are "white schools" and "black schools" around here. Spring Valley is the whitest school in the area and it's still basically 50/50. The "rich whites" you bemoan about send their kids to private school if they are so concerned about the demographics.
Yes - it's not a simple "racial" issue in Richland 2. If anything it's about class. In the newer, outer areas of Richland 2 (Blythewood, Elgin, etc.) there is also lot of racial diversity but most everyone is middle class or above, so it doesn't generate anywhere near the controversy as it does in the older, established areas like Spring Valley and down towards Forest Acres, where you have a starker divide between the upper-middle-class (mostly but not exclusively whites) and the lower-middle-class-and-below (which, yes, are mostly minorities in the older parts of Richland 2).
This is why nearly no one bats an eye about "diversity" in, say Lake Carolina but because of class issues it becomes a bigger deal in Spring Valley. I'd say almost universally in Richland 2, among in the middle-class-and-above, no one cares about their neighbors' or kids' schoolmates' ethnicity as long they all abide by the same general middle-class behavioral norms (e.g., a college degree and/or established military career, monitor your kids and their activities, keep your property clean, don't commit a felony, etc.). Even Spring Valley itself is pretty diverse for an older suburban area, and I imagine most folks there wouldn't mind a person of a different ethnic background moving in if they're the typical doctor/lawyer/professor/professional/etc. that lives there
Thank you all for your replies and insight. We have been very busy, as many of you would know.
My original intent was not for this to become a race or class issue. We are, by no means, opposed to diversity, in fact it is just the opposite. After living in Forest Acres for about 2 years and attending Satchel Ford, it seems that it is generally pretty difficult to "break into" the social web that is Forest Acres. Relationships and who you know play a big part of acceptance around there (not to mention your economic class), so to be around families that are maybe more similar to ours would be a welcome change. It was fairly easy to see, as we drove around and researched neighborhoods, where the trashier and less cared about developments are. That's not really a concern of ours -- we weren't comfortable, didn't like it, don't have to settle for it. We did manage to interview quite a few real estate agents familiar with the area, toured some schools and talked to people that live there.
We did make a decision to go with a new development off of Lee Rd. called Hawthorne Ridge, located within Rice Creek Farms. It is a Hurricane Builders neighborhood that seems to be moving fast. We made our decision based on the size and quality of the house for the money, early build lot choice, schools (more so Blythewood Middle than Rice Creek Elementary), surrounding undeveloped land and it's future plans, location relative to BOTH of our workplaces, the actual house/floorplan and just our overall feelings.
We are heading over tonight with our Realtor to begin writing the contract and couldn't be more excited. It is our first house, we are not rich people and we understand our situation. FOR US, we feel that this is the option that works and feels the best (isn't that the most important thing?).
It is my understanding that Richland 2 offers "choice placement"? So if this school absolutely does not work, we can apply to place her into a different one of our choice? Does anyone have any experience with that?
Again, thanks so much for all of your comments, here and throughout the forum. It is all really valuable insight -- I hope I will be able to contribute some towards helping someone as well.
It is my understanding that Richland 2 offers "choice placement"? So if this school absolutely does not work, we can apply to place her into a different one of our choice? Does anyone have any experience with that?
Yes - this is one of the district's signature programs. There are basically three different flavors of these programs:
(1) Admissions-based magnet programs
(2) Open magnet programs
(3) Transferring to a (non-magnet) school outside of your zone
The admissions-based magnet programs are perhaps the most prominent. At the elementary level, there are two stand-alone magnet schools - the Center for Knowledge near Spring Valley and the Center for Inquiry in The Summit. Both are lottery-based rather than exam/testing-based for admission. At the middle- and high-school levels, these programs are based on a more rigorous, competitive admissions process. Prominent examples are The Learning Collaborative at Dent Middle School and the Discovery math/science program at Spring Valley High School.
The open magnet programs are not lottery- or competitive-admissions based, but assuming you sign up in time before the particular program's capacity is filled, they are not particularly difficult to get into. One good example fairly near your new home is the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program at North Springs Elementary off Clemson Road. These are often based on a particular field of interest (health sciences, biology, technology, art, etc.)
The third, and most simple choice program is basically just applying for your child to attend a school outside of your zoned school. Typically this is just enrolling your child in that out-of-zone's school normal learning environment, not for any particular magnet program. Now, of course the more popular non-magnet schools such as Lake Carolina Elementary will have certain capacity limits, so you may not be able to count on getting into a school outside your zone. But we've known parents who have done it, even into highly desirable schools bursting at the seams, since there are slots at every school.
One thing to note is that all Richland 2 employees, as far as I know, have first dibs on out-of-zone choice, so many of their kids will be in out-of-zone schools. I don't know if this is a separate pool of slots or now, but I know that teachers, etc. have a lot more flexibility on where their kids go compared to non-employee parents.
Great choice. I actually wanted a hurricane builders house but the floor plans at the time didn't suit me and was a little more pricier.
Also that's a good up and coming location. I love the publix right next to it and Wasabi is a great restaurant at amazing prices.
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