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Hi, all!
My family currently lives in Summerville, SC, but we are considering a move to the Columbia area for my husband's job.
Where are the funky, hippie granola kinda families at here? : )
Im wondering where to start looking for a possible home. We will be looking to rent a 3+bed home in the $800-$1100 per month range. Walkability to a park, a grocery (whole foods/Earth Fare?), garden spaces, and kid friendly venues are all things we would very much like.
We are homeschooling, so school district/zoning isn't a concern.
I would choose rosewood if I were you. You can walk to earth fare and rosewood market (and whole foods Is close by as well) and there is also a park close by along with an urban farm (google city roots).
Hi, all!
My family currently lives in Summerville, SC, but we are considering a move to the Columbia area for my husband's job.
Where are the funky, hippie granola kinda families at here? : )
Im wondering where to start looking for a possible home. We will be looking to rent a 3+bed home in the $800-$1100 per month range. Walkability to a park, a grocery (whole foods/Earth Fare?), garden spaces, and kid friendly venues are all things we would very much like.
We are homeschooling, so school district/zoning isn't a concern.
I appreciate any suggestions!!
Shandon, Rosewood, Melrose Heights, Sherwood Forest, Old Shandon, Hollywood/Rose Hill. I would have included Elmwood Park, Earlewood, Cottontown and Keenan Terrace, but they don't have to closeness to Earthfare, Rosewood Market and Whole Foods. Of the neighborhoods I recommended, Rosewood is the most affordable. Welcome to Columbia!
I second this. You will like Rosewood and the Rosewood Market, Publix and nearby Earthfare, as well as the general Devine St area with its shops and restaurants. It's nearby to downtown yet far enough away from 5 points and Harden St projects so as to be safer.
My old city... I lived in for a few years. Many good times and good friends but as a progressive I did feel uncomfortable often. Columbia is like the opposite of Asheville or Savannah. It is conservative. There is mostly emphasis on football (not my thing) vs the arts or events. I was surprised most natives I met never heard of the Riverwalk or had been to the Congaree. Columbia has so much potential that it's just starting to realize though. Perhaps as more young people and liberals are moving in or something. For example, there is now a Whole Foods and various crunchy restaurants near it. Oh, that's right near Rosewood as well.
There is a lot of really great activity for you and your family though: Congaree National Park, the Riverwalk, the Zoo (which is really good), Lake Murray, Harbison Forest, etc. Unfortunately the few nice parks that there are downtown are inhabited by a zombie army of hobos like Finlay which could be nice if this wasn't so bad. At least it was until I moved away a few years back. It was actually surprising in that it's right next to the Governor's mansion. You'd think they'd at least put resources into there. Have they cleaned it up?
The city is not that walkable, or bikable, at least in the Assembly St area. Be careful, students die or get injured nearly every year trying to cross it. There's no dense or distinctive downtown, like Savannah or Charleston, in that the Main St is half abandoned although slowly adding things now from what I read here. The Vista while it has a few good restaurants is just that. (if that Cuban place is there though, well then, that is one of my all time favorite restaurants anywhere!) So the downtown is very spread out. The best area actually would be where you'd live: Devine St.
Oh another good thing about Cola is barbecue (yum) and emphasis on neighbors getting together for it and playing cornhole. That was fun. Also the Lexington area on the Lake is very nice and is safe but out of that price range it's expensive. The Lake is really nice and is very clean.
So, there it is, the good and bad, from one progressive's perspective. I respect that people have different interests and views.
I second this. You will like Rosewood and the Rosewood Market, Publix and nearby Earthfare, as well as the general Devine St area with its shops and restaurants. It's nearby to downtown yet far enough away from 5 points and Harden St projects so as to be safer.
My old city... I lived in for a few years. Many good times and good friends but as a progressive I did feel uncomfortable often. Columbia is like the opposite of Asheville or Savannah. It is conservative. There is mostly emphasis on football (not my thing) vs the arts or events. I was surprised most natives I met never heard of the Riverwalk or had been to the Congaree. Columbia has so much potential that it's just starting to realize though. Perhaps as more young people and liberals are moving in or something. For example, there is now a Whole Foods and various crunchy restaurants near it. Oh, that's right near Rosewood as well.
There is a lot of really great activity for you and your family though: Congaree National Park, the Riverwalk, the Zoo (which is really good), Lake Murray, Harbison Forest, etc. Unfortunately the few nice parks that there are downtown are inhabited by a zombie army of hobos like Finlay which could be nice if this wasn't so bad. At least it was until I moved away a few years back. It was actually surprising in that it's right next to the Governor's mansion. You'd think they'd at least put resources into there. Have they cleaned it up?
The city is not that walkable, or bikable, at least in the Assembly St area. Be careful, students die or get injured nearly every year trying to cross it. There's no dense or distinctive downtown, like Savannah or Charleston, in that the Main St is half abandoned although slowly adding things now from what I read here. The Vista while it has a few good restaurants is just that. (if that Cuban place is there though, well then, that is one of my all time favorite restaurants anywhere!) So the downtown is very spread out. The best area actually would be where you'd live: Devine St.
Oh another good thing about Cola is barbecue (yum) and emphasis on neighbors getting together for it and playing cornhole. That was fun. Also the Lexington area on the Lake is very nice and is safe but out of that price range it's expensive. The Lake is really nice and is very clean.
So, there it is, the good and bad, from one progressive's perspective. I respect that people have different interests and views.
Let me just address a few things. Students do not die every year trying to cross assembly/other streets. We do like any city our size or larger have incidents from time to time. In fact, I believe i remember most of the incidents off the top of my head over the last 5+years or so since they're always on the news. One was a few (or more) years ago where a drunk driver hit and seriously injured a student crossing assembly at 2 (or similar hour) in the morning, but this does not happen with great frequency. The last injury of car on student being reported that I remember was in five points a couple of years ago, again late at night Im almost positive. We also had the nurse who was hit in front of richland hospital by a cowardly person who drove off from the scene, but that's not a place anybody would be walking if you didn't work or weren't a patient there. They all survived though some of those did have serious injuries, particularly the nurse and person hit on assembly. The last person to die in the downtown core from what I remember was someone in a wheel chair who wasn't seen by a dump truck. That could happen anywhere though. It makes you wonder if perhaps those in wheelchairs on the steets should perhaps have flags on their wheelchairs to make them easier to see from high-up dump trucks. Very sad case but maybe others in wheelchairs can be safer now. So certainly we've had some incidents, but I just don't see Columbia as being any more dangerous than any other average metro area, though I admit some spots could be designed better. The concrete wall at the corner of Blanding and assembly comes to mind as something that needs to be removed.
When did you last live here ? Main st has changed a lot in the last 5 years. I live in the Tapps Art center and the city is incredibly walkable. I walk all over the city from Main Street and the farmers market every Saturday morning is absolutely wonderful and right outside my door. More people are moving downtown every year, building is exploding. Certainly not dead. Now admittedly main st past lady when compared to most of the vista after, say, 10 pm is not as lively, but it is improving slowly as more people move in. A ton of potential exists still for main st. still even with all of the progress already made. Columbia is really a pretty compact city. With the density that we are expecting over the next few years it really does have a bright future
Also, I agree this is a football town, but there are people of all stripes here who don't follow football one way or another. I tailgate with a gay man and an otherwise very diverse crowd who are all involved to some degree in the local arts scene (you can like both). I understand football is not for everybody and it is silly on some level how excited or depressed people get over it. But at the end of the day it adds some excitement to the city, regardless of whether you follow it or not (more people out, exposure to fans in the city from out of town/other school).
There are lots of positives about Columbia. But it lacked a lot of cosmopolitan city things in most other cities its size. And in urban design. Particularly for a capital city. But.. bbq. Oh wait, the bbq in SC is racist. There's KKK paraphernalia at Maurice's BBQ, a local Columbia BBQ chain. SC Restaurant Owner Refuses To Serve Blacks, Cites Religious Beliefs
But oh yeah I ate there along with plenty of black people. Hey, it's good food! Always two sides to a coin!
Let's keep it real. The OP sounds pretty crunchy liberal. I get along with people in real life. Then I like to go on here to keep it 100% real. It is a generally conservative city. Megachurch, football, drinking, Fox News. It perhaps depends more on the person and personality, than on politics, in terms of how one fares... but I wanted to offer a view from one progressive. I'm sure there are plenty of progressives on here that enjoy living in Columbia as well. I knew my views would differ. I enjoy stimulating conversations.
It was about 5 years ago. Main St then did seem pretty dead. Chick Fil A seemed like the only thing on the whole street besides abandoned storefronts and office towers. And then even that closed. The underground and the 'arcade' seemed like it could be cool but it was empty and decrepit. So much potential though. Now I was going off memory on the Assembly St crossing but I thought I remember a few incidents. One was a girl that was a talented ballet dancer or something, right? As far as being a dense city.. in this manner it reminds me of a mini Jacksonville.
Last edited by SavannahLife; 07-27-2015 at 02:32 PM..
I hear ya... But boy has it changed it 5 years. Chic fil a is long gone, it's a modern Mexican restaurant now in that spot. Also, people live above that spot as well. The old hotel there was completely renovated into a modern condo complex with pool. 800 students moved into the old scana building as well. The farmers market every Saturday on main is great with lots of local veggies and fruits , many organic, along with many food trucks/vendors. Every Saturday. The blueberries I picked up there Saturday had been picked the day before. They were some of the smallest blue berries I've ever had but were great tasting and came from our urban farm, city roots. The arcade you mention is about to undergo an extensive renovation. There's also a new bourbon restaurant virtually right across the street from the old chic fil a. I actually find the post-grad population here fairly liberal or at least not insanely conservative. Most people are not anti gay by any means. Is it california ? No but it's not greenbo Alabama either.
Also, we are much much more compact than Jacksonville. If you want to talk about an unwalkable city that's jax. My friend is a real estate agent there and he is impressed at what's available within walking distance in downtown now.
I hear ya... But boy has it changed it 5 years. Chic fil a is long gone, it's a modern Mexican restaurant now in that spot. Also, people live above that spot as well. The old hotel there was completely renovated into a modern condo complex with pool. 800 students moved into the old scana building as well. The farmers market every Saturday on main is great with lots of local veggies and fruits , many organic, along with many food trucks/vendors. Every Saturday. The blueberries I picked up there Saturday had been picked the day before. They were some of the smallest blue berries I've ever had but were great tasting and came from our urban farm, city roots. The arcade you mention is about to undergo an extensive renovation. There's also a new bourbon restaurant virtually right across the street from the old chic fil a. I actually find the post-grad population here fairly liberal or at least not insanely conservative. Most people are not anti gay by any means. Is it california ? No but it's not greenbo Alabama either.
Also, we are much much more compact than Jacksonville. If you want to talk about an unwalkable city that's jax. My friend is a real estate agent there and he is impressed at what's available within walking distance in downtown now.
I agree. I'm pretty progressive and I've lived in a lot of places and I would never, ever say Columbia is a Fox News-watching conservative town. If that's what that person experienced here, it says more about the poster than it does about Columbia.
Also, Savannah is a lot of things, but cosmopolitan it is not. So, if that's the yard stick we're using, the entire analysis is flawed. Not sure what the poster couldn't find here, but I'm pretty pleased I can shop at an organic grocery store, buy French cheese, Italian prosciutto, and stop in at a Korean restaurant all on foot from my downtown neighborhood. I can also buy spices at an Indian grocery store or get la lingua tacos in less than fifteen minutes. Columbia doesn't spoon feed its culture and depth to you, but it isn't hard to find...honestly, it's a lot easier to find than Fox News-watching conservatives around here, at least in town.
Sorry, SavannahLife, but your experience couldn't be further from the truth.
Hi, all!
My family currently lives in Summerville, SC, but we are considering a move to the Columbia area for my husband's job.
Where are the funky, hippie granola kinda families at here? : )
Im wondering where to start looking for a possible home. We will be looking to rent a 3+bed home in the $800-$1100 per month range. Walkability to a park, a grocery (whole foods/Earth Fare?), garden spaces, and kid friendly venues are all things we would very much like.
We are homeschooling, so school district/zoning isn't a concern.
I appreciate any suggestions!!
Elmwood Park and Earlewood would be great fits, as would Rosewood. Rosewood is closer to Whole Foods, EarthFare, and the eponymous Rosewood Market, but Elmwood and Earlewood are more affordable and"up and coming."
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Oh wait, the bbq in SC is racist. There's KKK paraphernalia at Maurice's BBQ, a local Columbia BBQ chain. 
