VT vs SC (North: stores, Wal-mart, areas)

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by justNancy

However, regarding SC I need to go by statistics and everything I'd ever read says there are no reports of violent attacks by alligators in SC and serious injury from a snake bite is very rare.

I think you were correct that there have never been any deaths from gator attack. There have definitely been violent attacks, though. For example, this happened at Lake Moultrie in September of 2007. According to one of my friends who grew up nearby, no one in their right mind would've been swimming in that part of the lake.

12-foot gator bites off man's arm in Lake Moultrie; doctors try to reattach

When housing hunting, I'm more concerned about the number of burglaries, assaults, rapes and murders by humans in the area than snake bites or alligator attacks.

Personally, I agree with you, but this may not be true for everyone. If I lived in the middle of the woods, 2 miles from my nearest neighbor, I'd probably want to know more about potential animal threats than crime.

[Frankie117]

Originally Posted by Batada

1. Are there any areas that I should avoid due to higher crime rates and bad schools?
2. Do we need to be worried about hurricanes and tornadoes? Do you get a lot of either? (remember I'm from VT and we don't get any here)
3. Do I have to worry about sharing my home with huge spiders and snakes. I know they are around but I just don't like the idea of having them in my home.
4. What kind of poisonous "critters" are native to SC? Do I need to worry about my children coming in contact with them?
5.My husband is a master electrician. How hard will it be for him to find work and what is the average pay?

1. Yes..Always anywhere you go.
2. Both tornadoes and hurricanes are quite common, but you don't need to worry about them...The strongest tornadoes we get in SC are barely even strong enough to take shingles off your roof.
3. There are huge spiders and snakes, but they probably won't be in your house.
4. Black Widow spiders are quite common, while I would definately want to prevent the kids from coming in contact with them, as long as you can get them to the hospital, they'll be just fine.

Not sure if tarantulas are native to SC, but I've seen quite a few, I'm not sure how poisonous they are.

As for snakes...SC has one of the broadest ranges of snakes out of the 50 states, there are poisonous rattlesnakes to harmless garden snakes and everything in between.

Gators shouldn't be an issue, especially not near Columbia. Sure, the swamps might have some, but other than that the closest concentration is Lake Marion/Lake Moultrie. (last September, a man was killed by a 12ft long 600lb. gator, in those very lakes) EDIT: I just noticed previous poster mentioned this..

5. Shouldn't be too difficult to secure a job, however, please be sure to find a job before moving. If you don't you could find yourself in a bit of trouble.


Best of Luck,

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by Frankie117

2. Both tornadoes and hurricanes are quite common, but you don't need to worry about them...The strongest tornadoes we get in SC are barely even strong enough to take shingles off your roof.

huh?

My family's house on Lake Marion was totally destroyed by a tornado about 10 years ago. Only the foundation was left.

Also, a massive tornado hit Sumter this past year. 15 homes sustained "major damage":
S.C. governor to visit tornado damage in Sumter County - USATODAY.com

and that's just off the top of my head. IIRC, a lot of Hurricane Hugo's damage came from tornadoes it created.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by anonymous

There have definitely been violent attacks, though.
12-foot gator bites off man's arm in Lake Moultrie; doctors try to reattach

I apologize. I guess the information I got was outdated. It makes sense that everyone should be careful and not swim in places where they might be hiding. After all, they are predatory and very good at stalking their prey. (Hey, I watch Animal Planet!)

Originally Posted by anonymous

Personally, I agree with you, but this may not be true for everyone. If I lived in the middle of the woods, 2 miles from my nearest neighbor, I'd probably want to know more about potential animal threats than crime

I guess because this is the Columbia forum, I assumed we were talking about areas that were already developed. I haven't been able to find too many areas around Columbia that are 2 miles from the nearest house. (maybe it's because I'm not looking)

[waccamatt]

Tornadoes in South Carolina are moderately common, but they are typically not strong. There are occasional exceptions to the rule, but tornadoes here are nothing like they are in the midwest and great plains. As far as hurricanes are concerned, the effects this far inland are limited. Even with Hurricane Hugo, one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state, the damage in Columbia was relatively minor.

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Tornadoes in South Carolina are moderately common, but they are typically not strong. There are occasional exceptions to the rule, but tornadoes here are nothing like they are in the midwest and great plains. As far as hurricanes are concerned, the effects this far inland are limited. Even with Hurricane Hugo, one of the strongest storms to ever hit the state, the damage in Columbia was relatively minor.

Hugo tore up Charlotte.

Power was out for up to 2 weeks. Schools & Business closed. Power lines and trees down everywhere and even blew glass windows out of some skyscrapers Uptown.

FREAK storm. Charlotte is 200 miles inland but you just never know.

Hope that it never happens again!

[waccamatt]

Yes, it was odd that Hugo's damage in Charlotte was much worse than it was in Columbia. The difference was that Columbia was on the west side of Hugo's eyewall and Charlotte was on the east, accounting for the differential in damage.

[anonymous]

yeah, I was under the impression that Hugo missed a direct hit on Columbia, and sort of skirted it. I wouldn't use Hugo as an example to show that hurricane effects are "limited" in Columbia, know what I mean?

I know that it hit Manning, Sumter, and Bishopville pretty hard, which are about as far inland as Columbia.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by anonymous

yeah, I was under the impression that Hugo missed a direct hit on Columbia, and sort of skirted it. I wouldn't use Hugo as an example to show that hurricane effects are "limited" in Columbia, know what I mean?

I know that it hit Manning, Sumter, and Bishopville pretty hard, which are about as far inland as Columbia.

Actually those 3 cities are at least 40 miles east of Columbia. If you look at historical records, Hugo was the strongest hurricane to effect inland South Carolina so you have to surmise that it is unlikely a worse hurricane would effect us in our lifetimes.

[Luvsdabeach]

Oh I remember Hugo very well. When it hit we lived in Moncks Corner, which is 30 miles inland. The first part of Hugo slammed the front of our home and once the eye came over the second part slammed the back of our home. We had to move a small couch in front of the french doors because the wind was about to blow them open. We ended up staying in the hallway of our home. When we woke up it looked like a war zone. Tree's were laying down everywhere and all you heard was chainsaws for weeks afterwards.