Advice on Lexington County

[scguy89]

Originally Posted by MikeCola

Except for the blue laws.

Are they not retracted yet? I guess it lost last year when they were pushing that?

[accufitgolf]

I moved to Lexington from Charleston SC and prior to that I was in Boston. I am a liberal as they come. I am card carrying member of the ACLU and also an athesist.

Lexington was once very rural and one of the first away from the city areas that started growing. There are a lot of conservative type, local folks in Lexington then in Columbia proper. Keep in mind that minorities, lower income inner city folks, students, and those associated/aligned with such, tend to more liberal and most are closer to Columbia proper then anywhere else in the area.

The northeast section of Columbia and on up into Blythewood is the fastest growing area and to me the more interesting, varied area. Notice all the new major up market places like Whole Foods, Trader Joes's. etc. are gyrating toward that area. These places follow the money, not political views but that general area also seems to be more liberal then the Lexington/Irmo area.

I am very happy in Lexington but it seems to me the growth/expansion has stopped/slowed in this area.

I also avoid the Harbison area if at all possible. I only go there only if there is a store/restaurant I cannot find anywhere else in the greater Columbia area.

Bottom line is if were I moving once again, I would be looking hard at the I77 corridor from Garners Ferry Road to Blythewood.


I have no kids in school plus I do not need to commute so these are things I pay little to no attention to, but could be much more important to others.

While my political and religious views are quite different then many around here, I feel that most around here will live and let live especially if you do not try and force your views on them. Head west/north out of Columbia (upstate) and that becomes a different issue.....LOL

Hope this helps.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Golffan21

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. So basically my take away is that it is much more conservative then Columbia, and more "right wing", hopefully that conclusion is correct. Is it more like "red neck", sorry for lack of PC word but just trying to really get to bottom of differences. I am one of the rare republicans from California (not hard core republican more then a moderate but a republican nonetheless), so living in a semi conservative area doesn't bother me as much as it might some california folks.

Are there certain areas of Lexington County that aren't as conservative, the below post mentioned in-town neighborhoods, what areas would that cover?

Thanks again for your help

The town of Lexington is not "redneck", but the more rural areas in southern Lexington County would be more likely to fit that description. The town of Lexington is more white collar conservative like many southern suburban areas. Politically, in order to illustrate the difference - Barack Obama won about 2/3 of the vote in Richland County in 2008 while McCain won about 2/3 of the vote in Lexington County. Richland County also has about 40% more people and both counties are growing rapidly. I know a lot of people don't care about politics - I'm just trying to illustrate the differences between the 2 counties.

[Columbiadata]

"The northeast section of Columbia and on up into Blythewood is the fastest growing area and to me the more interesting, varied area. Notice all the new major up market places like Whole Foods, Trader Joes's. etc. are gyrating toward that area. These places follow the money, not political views but that general area also seems to be more liberal then the Lexington/Irmo area."

Just to be clear, Trader Joe's and Whole Foods aren't locating in what is considered northeast Columbia. TJ's is in Forest Acres and WF is in more like southeast Columbia.

[LexingtonDad]

Originally Posted by MikeCola

Except for the blue laws.

You need to keep up. The blue laws are no more.

[MikeCola]

Originally Posted by LexingtonDad

You need to keep up. The blue laws are no more.

I know the Amazon deal prompted them to get rid of the law saying retailers couldn't open until 1:30 on Sunday. It used to be great to take the truck out to the Lowes in West Columbia just to remember I need to head to Irmo instead. Or explaining to friends from out of town why half of Walmart is roped off.

I was thinking of the Sunday alcohol sales though. Did they change that as well (I know it used to be a state issue)? I could have sworn I've been in grocery stores within the last couple months where the beer section was still closed on Sundays.

[LexingtonDad]

Sunday beer and wine sales are available now too. Retailers just have to have a special license.

And I know a couple of people that regret the loss of the blue laws. When they were in place employees were assured of one day they could sleep in.

[Columbiadata]

A couple of people sounds about right. God bless the 21st Century. Or was ending the blue laws so 20th Century?

[Brandon Hoffman]

Originally Posted by MikeCola

Except for the blue laws.

Not anymore.

OP, I grew up around the area and I don't think they are drastically different.

[Midorigreen]

We moved to Lexington last summer and really enjoy the area. I don't notice that people are any more conservative or close-minded than anywhere else in the Columbia area. The school system is amazing and the people are very friendly. Where our home is situated, it feels as if we're miles away from "city life" but, in fact, we're less than 2 miles from all the shopping we could possibly want.

You WILL notice a lot more open discussion about religion here. I think it's just a Southern thing.....

We are Canadian and have lived in the Seattle area and in San Antonio, TX. Our home in Lexington is one of my favorite places so far.