Forest Acres

[waccamatt]

^ Congratulations on the job offer and good luck in making your decision.

[melskybell]

Originally Posted by anonymous

It is more expensive because it is far more desirable. In my opinion, a lot of the things that make Forest Acres desirable are the subtle (yet very important) things that transplants and newcomers overlook when moving to a new place.

-No (or few) gated neighborhoods and/or neighborhoods with pretentious faux-aristocratic names
-An established tree canopy for shade, birds, and aesthetics
-Close proximity to the Vista, 5 Points, and the CBD
-Close proximity to the University, but not too close
-Great public schools
-Great (sometimes overboard) police force
-Great traffic design and planning (wide, safe thorougfares, people commute in all directions)

Compare this to a hypothetical brand new subdivision in Irmo or Lexington County, where:
-they clear-cut all the trees that take 50-100 years to grow
-the roads weren't designed to handle your subdivision's traffic, or your neighbors', or their neighbors'
-everyone drives the same direction to work & back, which exacerbates traffic problems
-You're close to... what, exactly? Strip malls, big box stores, and more treeless subdivisions?

I'm sure some Lexingtonians or folks from Irmo will step up and give me a verbal lashing, but I'd choose forest acres any day of the week. If this qualifies as "snobbery," then I don't want to be humble

I have to say the only area I've really spent time in in the Columbia area was Irmo, or near there (Country Suites?). I found the trails near the mall, along the roads, and around the lake in Harbison was quite nice, and certainly full of trees. So, I guess there are "nice" areas to be found about anywhere, although I'd prefer to be closer in, as I hear traffic is a bear from that area into Columbia.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by melskybell

I have to say the only area I've really spent time in in the Columbia area was Irmo, or near there (Country Suites?). I found the trails near the mall, along the roads, and around the lake in Harbison was quite nice, and certainly full of trees. So, I guess there are "nice" areas to be found about anywhere, although I'd prefer to be closer in, as I hear traffic is a bear from that area into Columbia.

Traffic is all relative, lol. I have co-workers that live in Irmo and get downtown during rush hour in about a half hour. The traffic on 26 is the worst in town, but the traffic isn't really that bad in comparison with larger cities.

[mmwm]

^ Congratulations on the job offer and good luck in making your decision.

Sadly, the spouse chose the NH job. I do appreciate all the Columbia help here and am sorry I can't make use of it (yet!).

[justNancy]

Wow, I came back to this forum and saw this thread that I started over a year ago still active. It's hard to believe I'm still in Florida. I feel as if I've been in a dense fog for a long time and need to move forward. I was going to buy a house in SW Florida, since there are so many bank owned properties, but I still want to live further north. I just read that the unemployment rate in SC is the 2nd highest in the nation which frightens me since it's very bad here too, over 12% in Lee County. Everywhere I look there's another store going out of business.

[cuebald]

What sort of work are you looking for?

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by cuebald

What sort of work are you looking for?

Thanks for asking, but it would be difficult to be specific on a board without getting too personal. In general, I've worked in sales and customer service for many years. I also hold an active Life & Health insurance license. One problem I've run into since I moved to FL is the lack of integrity & basic moral principles in the workforce. Maybe it's because I never worked in retail before or competed with others for commission. Although it's always nice to make a lot of money, that wouldn't be my first priority. I'm 58 and would mainly be looking for a pleasant work environment and benefits. Good individual health insurance for someone my age is very expensive and difficult to get.

[sara0107]

Hi ~

On this note, I found a house that I absolutely love in Forest Acres. (Reminder: I'm an incoming grad student at USC). Schools are Bradley, Sanders, Keenan. Though my husband and I won't have school aged kids by the time we leave Columbia, I'm concerned about reselling a house in that area. There are a number of private schools near the house, but I also don't want to lose potential buyers on the sole basis of the public schools.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[jlboney]

Forest Acres typically resales pretty well depending on the home and it's condition. A bad home in good location is still sometimes a tough sell.

[lagoon7]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Thanks for all of your comments. I tried to be diplomatic by leaving out something else she said which was "You'll see what I mean. Those people think they are better than everyone. Just look at the last names."

Being from a Jewish family, I really thought that's what she was referring to, which is why I never called her back. I've been on this Earth for a long time and I've heard blatant anti-semitism (not just a subtle hint) many times, so I'm certainly not going to point my finger at SC. Maybe I took what she said the wrong way. However, my gut told me that's what she meant by "look at the last names" but legally couldn't say it.

Stop being so paranoid and overly sensitive. She was obviously talking about "old money." It's common in aristocratic southern towns.





At any rate, we looked in Forest Acres for houses. There are some beautiful ones, unfortunately none of them were for sale! Nice area though.