Looking to Relocate to the Area and need Input (Columbia: environment, relocation)

[buchanfamily]

This will be my first post on RELOCATION as we are looking to move to a warmer climate year round as well as a great place to call home. We have three kids all in high School. What I am going to ask you all here is to give us feedback to consider as we consider Columbia South Carolina to call our NEW HOME. I am looking for Negative as well as Positive to give us a bigger picture on the area. I will be posting this in other Relocation areas of interest as well.

PLMK

thanks for your time,replies,feedback

[waccamatt]

Plusses:

Stable economy
Affordable housing
Great interstate access
Center of higher education
Convenient to lakes, ocean and mountains
Mostly good schools
Good entertainment options

Minusses:

Hot summers
State legislature is a pain

[Brandon Hoffman]

I second Waccamatt's opinion. I would say overall we have lower salaries but that is offset by cost of living and affordable housing.

[Ceezer]

Higher education costs are insane. Even community/tech colleges charge 3 times more than anywhere else I've lived.

I wouldn't praise costs of living, either. A decent apartment here will run at least $800, versus the $400-450 that same apartment would go most other places. And for what we paid for our house, we could have gotten about 30% more living space. Not to mention groceries are nearly twice what they should be.

The location is good not only for access to beaches and mountains, but you're also within short driving distance of Darlington/Atlanta/Lowe's Motor Speedways (and Rockingham for small events), the Gamecocks/Braves/Falcons/Hawks/Bobcats/Panthers, shopping (if you can't find it in Columbia then Charlotte/Concord should have it), etc.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Originally Posted by Ceezer

Higher education costs are insane. Even community/tech colleges charge 3 times more than anywhere else I've lived.

I wouldn't praise costs of living, either. A decent apartment here will run at least $800, versus the $400-450 that same apartment would go most other places. And for what we paid for our house, we could have gotten about 30% more living space. Not to mention groceries are nearly twice what they should be.

The location is good not only for access to beaches and mountains, but you're also within short driving distance of Darlington/Atlanta/Lowe's Motor Speedways (and Rockingham for small events), the Gamecocks/Braves/Falcons/Hawks/Bobcats/Panthers, shopping (if you can't find it in Columbia then Charlotte/Concord should have it), etc.

Our public universities are no more expensive than other public universities. Some of the private colleges can be pricey but again that is anywhere you go.

Location, condition, and demand determines price of the apartment. What are your "most other places" that you speak of because I think I need to move there?

Are groceries expensive here? I don't know about that either. Can you back it up with facts or data because I would like to know? This may be something I don't about.

[marylander2452]

buchanfam, I recommend books such as Frommer's Cities Ranked and Rated or, if your library won't let you take that one home like mine, Best Places to Raise your family by the same authors. Even if every place you are considering is not in the book, it gives you invaluable tools for evaluating any community.
My husband has been offered a job in a construction company that is based in Camden, SC. We live in Maryland, 45 minutes from Baltimore and a little over an hour from DC right now. We haven't decided if we're moving for sure, but we are looking at Elgin, Lugoff, Blythewood, Irmo, and Chapin for starters. Whatever you decide, you owe it to yourself and your family to do your homework- research, research, research, and then do groundwork- go there. If we decide to pursue the move, my husband is thinking about working in SC for a while before we move our 2 children, just to make sure it is the right fit for all of us and also to scope out the best community for our needs.

Ceezer, I have to say that what I've learned about the Columbia area so far flies in the face of what you posted.

Waccamatt, what do you mean when you say the state legislature is a pain?

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by marylander2452

Waccamatt, what do you mean when you say the state legislature is a pain?

See: Confederate flag on Statehouse grounds.

[Ceezer]

Originally Posted by Brandon Hoffman

Location, condition, and demand determines price of the apartment. What are your "most other places" that you speak of because I think I need to move there?

I mean most places of similar stature. Obviously you can't compare living costs between Sumter and Manhattan or Seattle because they're two entirely different environments. When my wife, daughter, and I were renting here our apartment cost $875/mo and that was in one of those mega-complex banks that are popping up all over around here where there are 700-1200 apartments and you've got neighbors on 3 sides and every step the guy (or kids) upstairs takes thunders through the ceiling. When we lived in Jacksonville, NC, another military town, we had an apartment of the same size but only 1 shared wall because they were in strips of 3, and our rent was $450/mo. In Marietta, OH we had the exact same setup and our rent was $375/mo. When we moved from Marietta to Sumter our income nearly tripled but we didn't have any more money left over each month.

Are groceries expensive here? I don't know about that either. Can you back it up with facts or data because I would like to know? This may be something I don't about.

For us the price of items like milk and coffee doubled (we currently pay about $6-6.50/gal of Coburg and $11/can of Folgers), produce tripled (if you can find any produce around here that isn't already half rotten), and everything else increased by 20-50%. Even gasoline, which is supposed to be cheap here, is sometimes as much as $.25/gal more than it is in places like Parkersburg, WV.

[Brandon Hoffman]

I don't know where you buy your milk from but I have 3 grocery stores near me and for $2.99 I can get a gallon of milk. I don't drink coffee so I have no idea there.

Some places have more affordable gas than others. Gas prices change daily so I wonder if those gas prices you quoted take inflation into account when gas prices rise nationally.

As far as fruits and veggies go, I know prices are less here than they were in Hilton Head. There are tons of places to get fresh produce at a good price. Roadside stands, the farmers market, the Fresh Market.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Ceezer

I mean most places of similar stature...When we lived in Jacksonville, NC, another military town, we had an apartment of the same size but only 1 shared wall because they were in strips of 3, and our rent was $450/mo. In Marietta, OH we had the exact same setup and our rent was $375/mo.

Columbia is far from being "of similar stature" with Jacksonville, NC or Marietta, OH.