from savannah to columbia (Orangeburg, Irmo: rentals, day care, houses)

[figueroafamily]

Hi, my husband and I along with our three kids 16, 3, and 19 month old will be moving to columbia in the next 2 months. We are looking to buy a home. We have done some research on the internet about pricing for the homes. Looking for something in the 120's-130's, nice and kid friendly neighborhood, with good schools and a clean and resonable price daycare. My husbands boss told him to look into lexington, chapin and orangeburg. But I am open to any suggestions. Thank you all in advance

[jkwing]

NE, is a very family area, a few houses in my neighborhood ( Summit ) listed around high 120's and good schools and day care close by, easy run to Columbia take me about 25 mins

[figueroafamily]

jkwing

Thank you. In Columbia ,SC. is there good entertainment. some place where you can take the whole family , or just when me and the husband wants time to ourself and something positive for a 16 year to. Now the the 16 year old that might be kinda hard because anything postive you know they usually do not want to be apart of. well I only can speak for my son. He plays football,basketball and he is a good swimmer.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by figueroafamily

jkwing

Thank you. In Columbia ,SC. is there good entertainment. some place where you can take the whole family , or just when me and the husband wants time to ourself and something positive for a 16 year to. Now the the 16 year old that might be kinda hard because anything postive you know they usually do not want to be apart of. well I only can speak for my son. He plays football,basketball and he is a good swimmer.

There are plenty of activities you can enjoy. The Columbia Zoo has been consistently rated one of the top zoos in the country; the Columbia Museum of Art is quite nice and the SC State Museum and Edventure Children's Museum are all in Columbia. As far as night life is concerned, Columbia has both The Vista and Five Points area, which have many restaurants, clubs and shops for day and night. 16 year olds are always hard to please, but there are plenty of sports options in the area including ice skating, hockey and all of the traditional sports.

[CarolinaSouth803]

Originally Posted by figueroafamily

Hi, my husband and I along with our three kids 16, 3, and 19 month old will be moving to columbia in the next 2 months. We are looking to buy a home. We have done some research on the internet about pricing for the homes. Looking for something in the 120's-130's, nice and kid friendly neighborhood, with good schools and a clean and resonable price daycare. My husbands boss told him to look into lexington, chapin and orangeburg. But I am open to any suggestions. Thank you all in advance

First things first....Do you know what area your husband's job will be located in? Because while none of those area's that his boss listed is extremely far from Columbia...an commute from Orangeburg to Columbia isn't the most convenient to have. That would make the responses a little more definitive from responders. But i'll try to help....



the poster just above me is correct about the North East area. The Summit should have homes in that price range and the closest highschool to you is just outside the rear entry of that subdivision [Ridgeview]....Spring Valley High School is another one and isn't that far away from that area either [5mi]. I know in the subdivision within' the Summit where i lived...there are a few home for rent or sale. This area is exploding right now.

But the other area's you spoke about are fine. Of the three though...Orangeburg would be the farthest away from Columbia. Those 3 area's still have a small town feel to them with Chapin being the smallest one. The Lexington area is actually experiencing some nice expansion and retail boom. The schools in Lexington are noted to be better than the one's in Orangeburg, but i'd rather you judge your self via the SC school report cards......

2006 State of South Carolina Education Accountability Act Report Cards

If you are looking for a small, quiet town....Chapin would be more for you of those choices. I'm thinking it's roughly 1000 people that live in this town...if that many. It's nice and quant though...and you'll be prone to run intp people from near by town's like Little Mountain and even Prosperity. Chapin High is the school and Dreher Island State Park is very very close as a part of Lake Murray is good for recreational purposes. It's only about a 25min drive to downtown Columbia, but only about a 15min drive to get to the Irmo/Harbison retail corridor. It's also not that far from an Ice Skating rink that near that area. Chapin is located Northwest of Columbia with the quickest route being I-26 East to get to Columbia...

Orangeburg can give off a small college town feel with SC State Univeristy and Claflin University right next to each other and minutes from the core of the town. It's also the largest of the three area's advised to y'all and I know Orangeburg-Wilkerson High is the school in this area... Lake Marion and Lake Santee would be the closes outdoor things to you and other than that...i don't know what kids do in O'burg. Orangburg is South East of Columbia via I-26....taking West to get to Columbia. It's also the furthest away at a 40 plus mile trip one way. To get to any retail corridor you can add an addtion 12 to 20 mi to that total.

Lexington is the middle of the 3 selections and is growing at a good pace currently. Lake Murray is close by and Lexington High School is the main high school in that town's area. The downtown in Lexington is really nice and they are begining to add more retail to the area. It's roughly a town of about 10000 people. It's about 15 to 20 minutes away from downtown Columbia and about 20min from the Harbison area and 30min from NE Cola area... their is also a drive in movie theater in the area call the Big Mo'.

I hope this help but keep in mind that there are number other options for y'all outside these 3....like Irmo, Blythewood, Lugoff and etc...

PS- I'm currently in Savannah myself....in the Georgetown area. I miss my home city and state. I go home pretty often....i'm not gonna get on the soap box....lol.......best wishes!!!!

[CarolinaSouth803]

Originally Posted by figueroafamily

jkwing

Thank you. In Columbia ,SC. is there good entertainment. some place where you can take the whole family , or just when me and the husband wants time to ourself and something positive for a 16 year to. Now the the 16 year old that might be kinda hard because anything postive you know they usually do not want to be apart of. well I only can speak for my son. He plays football,basketball and he is a good swimmer.

Waccamatt listed some good things.....also in the NE Cola area.......they have an indoor sports complex called "Plex" that your teen my like. They have indoor leagues for field hockey, football, soccer and more....they have a skateboard park area inside also. And if i'm not mistaken...they just recently opened a complex in Irmo too...but that one has Hockey there.

Plex Indoor Sports

and check out this website for some things to do for your younger kids also.....

Columbia4Kids | Columbia South Carolina

[figueroafamily]

thank you very much jkwing,waccamatt and carolina south 803.
you all have been very helpful now I know where I can start. and about the zoo My kinds would love to see the animals in person. my 3yr old loves to watch animal planet but to see the in person he would love it. as for my 16yr old u r right they r very hard to please,but thank you for the suggestion. he is into the sports. my husband just told me tonight that his job is located in NE columbia. are the people very friendly.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Yes, there are probably 20+ subdivisions in NE Columbia that would fit your needs, the Summit being the largest of them. I'd recommend contacting a local agent and describing what kind of home you want and they'll get you pointed in the right direction. Does your company have a relocation package? Many times they'll set you up with the local relo company.

[TShev]

www.lexingtonlifemagazine.com
Good luck!!

[kimnrandy2008]

coming from tn. in a mo. or so ,are there any home rentals in columbia,like summit sub listed above ,looking for 3 bedroom 2 ba.no more than 1,000 per. mo ty