Moving to Columbia area (West Columbia, Cayce: relocating, landscaping, travel)

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by eegm

Hello Again, I really appreciate everyone's help on this site. I have been scouring maps, real estate listing, etc. to determine which way to go. I have decided that Lexington County appears to be our best bet. I was hoping I could get some feedback on going further out towards Gilbert, how long a commute into Columbia from that area. I see that Gilbert and Zip code 29070 are still part of Lex 1 school district and the schools appear to be smaller than some of the Lexington schools. I am somewhat surprised at the size of the schools. I am a big proponent of small schools a student population of 1,500 to 2,000 in a highschool is a lot larger than I am happy with. Is there any advise you can give on the Gilbert area? Also is there any employment opportunities out towards Batesburg & Leesville? I'm also curious how Pelion ends up in Lex 1 when it is appears to be very south of the Lex 1 area? Can anyone tell me anything about the Gaston, Swansea, & the Pelion area. I see that it is somewhat more rural which is okay by us. Where we live now is considered rural- if anything in New Jersey is still rural. It gets more suburban everyday! We are planning a trip down in the spring to start looking but I am trying to narrow our area down so we can focus on where we want to be. Thanks so much for all your feedback.

eegm - while my subtitle on this post is simplistic, I think it reflects the tradeoffs between what you will find between the area immediately around the Town of Lexington and areas further out like Gilbert/Pelion/etc. First off, you should not have trouble purchasing a home in your price range - you are a little higher than the median home price in the Midlands and probably spot-on for a good 4-bedroom home in a good school district.

As I implied, in/around Lexington you will find the best schools in Lexington County south of Lake Murray. You will also be closer to downtown. The commute may get a bit hairy during rush hour, but it is still very manageable. Much of this area is largely suburban with subdivisions, soccer fields, and emerging shopping areas including a relatively new Target and much more on the way. You will also likely run into many transplants from other states including New Jersey, which should blunt any sharp culture shocks you may encounter.

Gilbert is further out and you will likely find more land for your money out there, but the commuter to downtown Columbia will get worse (you're looking at 45+ minutes at that point) and the schools aren't quite as good as Lexington, even though it's in the Lexington 1 school district (by the way, school districts around here don't follow any particularly "logical" boundaries - they don't follow town/city lines and even overlap counties occasionally, like Lexington-Richland 5 and Lexington 3 - see:

http://www.lex-co.com/Maps/Images/Ma...lDistricts.gif).

Pelion (which is in also in Lexington 1) is quite rural and rapidly becomes more "native South Carolinian". If you must have a larger lot at a good price, you may want to check it out, but I personally would rather be near Lexington or even Gilbert for schools, etc.

I would probably avoid Swansea/Gaston - they are in the adjacent Lexington 4 school district, and for all the cheap land/house you could get there, the schools are definitely not as good there. It is likely to be a pretty big cultural adjustment even if you currently live in rural NJ.

Batesburg/Leesville would be a real stretch in terms of commute, and it's also in another school district (Lexington 3) that are not as good as Lexington 1.

As far as employment goes, you are not going to find a whole lot of major job opportunities beyond Lexington aside from some local retail and scattered doctors/dentists/lawyers/etc. You may find a bit more luck near Gilbert as it is near both the lake and Interstate 20, but by far the biggest jobs center of the places you mentioned is Lexington.

So my suggestion would be to start looking in Lexington (29072/29073) and only move further out (probably towards Gilbert) if there is some compelling trade-off (e.g., a piece or land or a house you simply "must" have despite the commute or schools).

[waccamatt]

Chi2 gives good advice about Lexington County. I would reiterate his advice about avoiding Gaston and Swansea and add Pelion to that list. I think the northern half of Lexington County is more aesthetically pleasing and the schools tend to be better. As far as job opportunities in the Batesburg-Leesville area, I guess it would depend on your field, but in general that area does not have a large economic base.

[eegm]

Chi2 Thank you for your advice. I am keeping my search in the Lexington area as you have suggested. Originally we had hoped to just transfer with my husband's job but now that does not seem possible. He may be able to get a job with a branch of the company that is in Columbia but it will not be a transfer. The various branches of his company work independently. We are still interested in moving but he will need to find a job. He works in the lumber business as an inside sales rep. He does have a variety of experience in the lumber business including driving he has Class A CDL, has worked as both a warehouse/yard manager and operations manager before moving into sales. Are there jobs available in those positions in the area. Much of the building trades where we are have been hit pretty hard with the building slow down that is happening. Also any idea what the average pay is in those fields? I am also curious about withholding taxes, unemployment taxes, etc. How much of your pay does the state take? I'm assuming it has to be less than the state of NJ but you know what they say about assuming things! Any information you can provide is appreciated. Thanks again.

[blocknlot]

Hi, Hope this helps!

We chose Irmo-Chapin area in Lexington/Richland SD#5, Its a GREAT area, Great School District, Our daughter attends Chapin Middle School, Close to Lake Murray, easy access to one of the best malls and shopping areas in the entire Columbia SC area.

You just can't go wrong ... moved here from Long Island, NY a couple of years ago and also a real estate agent here.

I also have past clients who moved to and are very happy in Lexington and in the Lexington SD# 1.

There are so many great things about the Lake Murray area Moderator cut: edit

[blocknlot]

I think you may want to check out the Irmo-Chapin area, Maybe more so if you like a smaller school, Chapin will be just right for you, plus, it will be much more easy to drive into Columbia from Western Irmo and Chapin then through Lexington where the traffic gets pretty heavy. TO get into Columbia from the Chapin area, you just jump on I 26 and in 20 Minutes you are in Columibia, of course depending on which exit you are getting on.
Moderator cut: edit

[sdarnell]

You definately want to have a real estate professional to start emailing listings to you before you just start riding around looking for property.

[eegm]

Thank you everyone for your input- I do have another question. I have read many of the posts about the Palmetto bugs- are they as problematic as the posts would lead me to believe? Does everyone spray for them? While we do have some insects in the North that are not pleasant- giant flying roaches really concern me! I am getting the impression that they are everywhere_ any input is appreciated.

[Tommy1981]

Palmetto Bug is just a "pretty" name for a roach. They may be a little more common outdoors in SC because of the climate that is kinder to their life cycle. They're definitely not every where. I've lived in several apartments (some more scary than others) through my college and single years, and I never had any major problems. Occasionally we'd kill a roach or two and call the land lord to spray.

People who maintain a reasonable amount of cleanliness will not have problems inside their homes. You might notice them more outside than you see in other parts of the country, but they're not a major detraction to my quality of life here.

[elizabethcameron]

Gaston, pelion's land is cheap comparing to other locations, I can get you $10K per acre all day long. But the school is not lexington 1, and it is not a good school.

For $200K with 2 acres of land, unless you insisted on 0-5 years new home, otherwise, you still havel some choices. Batesville area is considered rural here. I have a house for sale there. And the population is small like 20,000. Walmart just opened 6 months ago.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by eegm

Thank you everyone for your input- I do have another question. I have read many of the posts about the Palmetto bugs- are they as problematic as the posts would lead me to believe? Does everyone spray for them? While we do have some insects in the North that are not pleasant- giant flying roaches really concern me! I am getting the impression that they are everywhere_ any input is appreciated.

Palmetto Bugs are different than the typical cockroach, they live mainly outdoors and are much larger than the normal cockroach. They do come inside on occasion, but I have found the large bait traps to work very well and eliminate most of them from coming back. Since they live outside, though, they will occasionally make their way through a crack or crevice. You will see them fly outside sometimes, but they are not aggressive towards people.