Considering Relocation To Columbia, Sc (Fort Mill: job, hospital, custom home)

[dtleres]

My husband and I currently live in New Orleans. We thought we could stick it out, but living here is becoming unbearable. My husband is self employed and I am in International Banking. We have no children. Would appreciate any advice/suggestions on clean, safe, quiet and affordable areas to purchase a home and whether or not finding employment would be difficult.

I just discovered the forum and see a lot of negative comments about Columbia. Is this just sour grapes? Is it not a nice city? Thanks.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by dtleres

My husband and I currently live in New Orleans. We thought we could stick it out, but living here is becoming unbearable. My husband is self employed and I am in International Banking. We have no children. Would appreciate any advice/suggestions on clean, safe, quiet and affordable areas to purchase a home and whether or not finding employment would be difficult.

I just discovered the forum and see a lot of negative comments about Columbia. Is this just sour grapes? Is it not a nice city? Thanks.

Since you are in banking, why not consider Charlotte - the #2 banking center in the country? Oh, and you need to post what you consider "affordable"

[dtleres]

We have considered Charlotte, but was concerned about the commutes. For affordable housing, we would be looking in a range of $100,000 - 120,000.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by dtleres

We have considered Charlotte, but was concerned about the commutes. For affordable housing, we would be looking in a range of $100,000 - 120,000.

I understand To live in the Charlotte area these days you tend to need to be able to go up to at least $150,000 in the north end of the county, or 200,000 in the south/southeast end of Charlotte. The job opportunities can be awesome here though, so don't write us off just yet. One of the easier commutes into uptown is to come from just over the state line from the little town of Fort Mill, SC. This is a great, safe little town but is getting expensive because of a few new developments of custom homes. However, a good realtor may be able to help you find an existing home at the $120,000 range. Best of luck to you!

[Akhenaton06]

Columbia has its plusses and minuses, but overall it's a city on its way to big things. Dtleres, you may find it insightful that New Orleans's newspaper did a story on the overwhelming hospitality Columbia showed towards Katrina evacuees. You may also find it interesting that USC has one of the best internation business programs in the nation. Columbia also has a pretty good job market.