Northeast of Columbia (Dentsville, Hollywood, Jackson: real estate, for rent, how much)

[fireman53d]

I am moving my family to Columbia next month and I am trying to find a home to rent. So far, it appears that most of Columbia inside the beltway isn't a very safe area and the schools test scores are much lower there also.
I will be working at Ft. Jackson so the area north of there seems to be a prime area to live in a nice neighborhood, much better schools and very convenient to post.

Are there any areas or neighborhoods that I should avoid Northeast of 77 and Ft. Jackson but west of Elgin?(Northeast Arcadia Lakes area)

[GSP101]

Originally Posted by fireman53d

I am moving my family to Columbia next month and I am trying to find a home to rent. So far, it appears that most of Columbia inside the beltway isn't a very safe area and the schools test scores are much lower there also.
I will be working at Ft. Jackson so the area north of there seems to be a prime area to live in a nice neighborhood, much better schools and very convenient to post.

Are there any areas or neighborhoods that I should avoid Northeast of 77 and Ft. Jackson but west of Elgin?(Northeast Arcadia Lakes area)

Northeast Columbia is nice but, your characterization of Columbia is not accurate. If you buy in NE Columbia, you have a lot of nice options.

[vinceisvince]

Depends on your price range. I'm in the NE and on my street there's 2 homes for rent. I'm not sure how much they would charge for rent but houses on my street are about 120k (3room/2.5ba). I'd say about ~1k /mo.

[Woodlands]

Not sure where you are from.. but Columbians for the most part do not use "the beltway" (I-26, I-77, and I-20) as any sort of social identifier the way people do say in Washington. To be "in" or "out" may not be relevant to most folks since school district, housing stock/costs, and public safety are the primary drivers real estate here often times even above commute time.. I just share that to say that you may get some blank look from realtors if you emphasize that you what to be "outside of the beltway". That being said.. NE Columbia is also a vast area of in upwards of 80,000 residents.. which is large by SC standards so more info will likely be required in order to assist in narrowing down your preferences. There are "bad" areas both in and outside of "the beltway". Many southern cities have developed pockets of blight in the older suburbs since many evolved when it was too expensive to be in the City..so it was cheaper to buy in build on the outskirts.. where land is plenty and taxes way lower (ex. Hollywood Hills, Lincolnshire, Denny Terrace, Bluff Estates).Sprawl also encouraged the development of newer suburbs which caused some of the older ones to become blighted (portions Dentsville in NE Richland which suffered when of Village of the Sandhills and Harbison- NW Cola developed)

Most, but not all the area "inside the beltway" is in Richland School District I. Richland II includes most of the areas far north and NE of the City. Both Districts have their preferred Zone Schools that are sought after by residents that choose to live in those areas. The preferred school zones in Richland I are likely comparable to those in Richland II..the driver here being those areas in Richland I preferred zones are likely older established neighborhoods in the heart of the City... versus what you find in Richland II which are likely newer tract suburban homes. I think what you may have heard however is that some of the worst performing schools in Richland II are likely performing better than the worst schools in Richland I. Richland I is still the slightly larger.. though that may change in the near future. So its best to look at the individual school zones in each district to get a better comparison along with your safety considerations, housing and commuter needs. Good Luck