Some side by side comparisons between Charlotte and Columbia....

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by ahcharleston

Columbia has a very governmental feel to it - and it is a lot of people who are all originally from S.C. It is commonly referred to as a "concrete jungle" as there is not much landscaping or greenery. Charlotte is much more modern and you will probably have an easier time fitting in and there are a lot of different areas to chose to live in. A friend of mine and her husband relocated to Columbia for work a year back and she has not had an easy time, she feels as if most of the people there have known each for years and she says it tends to be clickish. Columbia does have a very central location however and that is convenient b/c most of the people I know who work and live there are always desperate to get out of town on the weekends...

That is an interesting post seeing as how Columbia was named a "Tree City USA" for its preservation of trees and green areas. As far as people who are originally from SC; yes, some people from smaller towns in SC tend to move to Columbia for college and stay, but so do many people from other areas of the country and around the world. The greatest migratory route in Richland County is from the New York area, so I'm not sure where you get your information from. I wouldn't expect nothing less than the above misinformation from a Charlestonian - they are still upset that the state capitol moved here 220 years ago.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by ahcharleston

It is commonly referred to as a "concrete jungle" as there is not much landscaping or greenery.

Compared to Charlotte, Columbia actually does a better job in the parks department in the downtown area than Charlotte. Charlotte is only now planning to build its signature center city park (3rd Ward Park), whereas Columbia has had one for years (Finlay Park). However, Charlotte did an excellent job with the tree canopy that now exists along Tryon Street. But I will say that in general, at one point I can somewhat see how someone would say that about the landscaping/greenery, but that has been changing for the past few years now with an increased emphasis on streetscaping, tree planting, and the creation of new downtown parks and open spaces. Check out some of these pictures:

Lincoln Street, which was streetscaped a few years ago:







Wide, planted medians on Senate Street:





At the intersection of Senate and Lincoln Streets:



Along Lady Street, which was recently streetscaped:









The planted medians on Bull Street:







Memorial Park, downtown in the Vista:



Finlay Park:



Planted median on Assembly:



Five Points after recent streetscaping/beautification:







Along Gervais Street:







Main Street, south of Hampton (the 2nd phase of the Main Street streetscaping project will start this year):







Small plaza adjacent to the First Citizens Bank HQ building:



There are other areas in and around downtown that have even denser tree canopies. I also didn't include areas like the Statehouse grounds, Devine Street, etc.

I'm even more suprised that a Charlestonian would have the gall to say that another city is cliquish and non-natives have a hard time fitting in.

[leggo]

A.
Nice pics - thanks for the view of Columbia

[IBrakeforTailgaters]

Thanks for the pictures. I am a USC graduate and the last time I went through Five Points, it looked nothing like that. Columbia's looking mighty nice nowadays from what the pictures show!

As far as what Columbia has to offer that Charlotte doesn't...since I am almost always thinking about food, I will add these two things--Sandy's Hot Dogs and Rush's, both of which I loved when I lived in Columbia and miss very dearly!

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

Compared to Charlotte, Columbia actually does a better job in the parks department in the downtown area than Charlotte. Charlotte is only now planning to build its signature center city park (3rd Ward Park), whereas Columbia has had one for years (Finlay Park). However, Charlotte did an excellent job with the tree canopy that now exists along Tryon Street. But I will say that in general, at one point I can somewhat see how someone would say that about the landscaping/greenery, but that has been changing for the past few years now with an increased emphasis on streetscaping, tree planting, and the creation of new downtown parks and open spaces. Check out some of these pictures:

Lincoln Street, which was streetscaped a few years ago:







Wide, planted medians on Senate Street:





At the intersection of Senate and Lincoln Streets:



Along Lady Street, which was recently streetscaped:









The planted medians on Bull Street:







Memorial Park, downtown in the Vista:



Finlay Park:



Planted median on Assembly:



Five Points after recent streetscaping/beautification:







Along Gervais Street:







Main Street, south of Hampton (the 2nd phase of the Main Street streetscaping project will start this year):







Small plaza adjacent to the First Citizens Bank HQ building:



There are other areas in and around downtown that have even denser tree canopies. I also didn't include areas like the Statehouse grounds, Devine Street, etc.

I'm even more suprised that a Charlestonian would have the gall to say that another city is cliquish and non-natives have a hard time fitting in.

And don't forget Uptown Charlotte's new dog park that will be finnished soon.

There are parks in Uptown Charlotte.

Marshall Park, 4th Ward Park, Frazier Park (kinda small ones).

Both are VERY nice cities, just nothing alike!

[Akhenaton06]

4th Ward Park is pretty popular, but it still doesn't serve as a central gathering spot for Uptown like Finlay does for downtown Columbia. And Marshall Park is an absolute joke--an utter failure of a park. I'm glad there are plans to get rid of it.

[waccamatt]

Which park is that in Charlotte where there is a little lake and an amphitheater? It reminded me a little bit of a less green and slightly smaller Finlay Park.

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Which park is that in Charlotte where there is a little lake and an amphitheater? It reminded me a little bit of a less green and slightly smaller Finlay Park.

That is Marshall Park.

I saw Stevie Nicks rock the house in Marshall Park years back.

Unfortunately they are draining the lake and gonna build residential & commercial business there.

We are getting another new Dog Park in Frazier Park by Johnson & Wales University over in 3rd Ward. I live in 4th Ward and LOVE 4th Ward Park.

Charlotte doesn't really have any land in the I-277 loop for a large park. Uptown Charlotte is to built up.

We have Freedom Park which is large and only a few miles from Uptown.

There are 20 new high rises either under construction or planned for just the next few years. Many 30-50 stories and alot of residential. Eventually (and it will not belong) every spec of land in the I-277 loop will be occupied.

I am glad I live Uptown. Real Estate prices have sky rocketed and made my Loft value DOUBLE in just 6 years.

Looking forward to warmer weather when I can really check out downtown Columbia & Riverbanks Zoo!

[blocknlot]

Coming from crowded Long Island NY ... we fell in Love with the Irmo-Chapin area of Columbia SC, right near Lake Murray!

We have been only to Charlotte a couple times, sometimes to the airport, and sometimes to the airport and mall.

We must prefer it here in the Columbia area, Charlotte gave us that crowded NY feeling all over again, in fact I felt like I was driving on the infamous Long Island Expressway when in Charlotte.

The Columbia area for us is much prefered!

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