pros/cons of living in Columbia (Charleston, Greenville: 2009, quality of life, most dangerous)

[innocence123]

well for me the PROS ARE
AFFORDABLE
WEATHER
AMMENITIES/SHOPPING
LIVING IN A CITY THATS MIDSIZED. OR NOT TOO SMALL TO ME THERE IS SOMETHING SCARY ABOUT SMALL SOUTHERN TOWNS SO A CITY MUST HAVE ATEAST 80K FOR ME TO EVEN CONSIDER IT. BUT I HATE BIG BUSSELING CITIES LIKE CHARLOTTE AND ATLANTA DUE TO CRIME AND TRAFFIC AND LOSS OF IDENTITY I KINDA WANT THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS. DOWN HOME CHARM AND SIMPLICITY WITH SHOPPING, DIVERSITY AND AFFLUENCE.

CLOSE TO THE BEACHES IN CHARLESTON/MYRTLE BEACH.


the only CON about cola is that IT'S NOT CHARLESTON.LOL

[cory_larousse]

how's the economy doing? i'm from maine, currently living in southern new mexico, need to get out of here and keep considering someplace in the carolinas, positive experiences with southerners, but have been told unemployment is at 12%; sorry to say it but i don't have a 'profession,' have done landscaping, some factory jobs, even call centers.

[NewGrad2009]

Pros:
more jobs than around the rest of the state because of USC and the statehouse being here.
Lots to do, there's the zoo, the museums, the games being held here, concerts, The Vista, Five Points, etc.
Close to everything. The Mountains, The beach, etc.
Cheap standard of living

Cons:
Very hilly, if you don't have a car.
Rather homogeneous in a lot of ways if you want to live in a diverse place.
The cops around here can be pretty mean if you're under a certain age.

[davey123]

For me, the pros are that it's affordable and slower paced.

It really is all relative to where you've lived before. I do not see Columbia as being diverse. And, it is far from being liberal. In fact, for me, it feels quite conservative. But again, it's all relative to where you come from. I'm not comparing Columbia to a place, such as NYC. I mean, there are many similar size cities to Columbia that are much more diverse and much more liberal. So, its lack of diversity and conservative-feel are both cons. The biggest con, however, is that Columbia is an "average" city masquerading as a great one. Of course, it is fine to be an average city, as many cities fall into this category -- and many of them are aware of it. However, people in Columbia seem to believe that so many things about Columbia are so great, such as the downtown and certain restaurants (in the downtown). Yet, they really are all "very" average. It is here where there is a benefit in having lived in different places. For me, having lived in many larger cities than Columbia, and also many smaller ones, it just feels that this city is average (and no one seems to acknowledge it). That is its biggest con.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by davey123

For me, the pros are that it's affordable and slower paced.

It really is all relative to where you've lived before. I do not see Columbia as being diverse. And, it is far from being liberal. In fact, for me, it feels quite conservative. But again, it's all relative to where you come from. I'm not comparing Columbia to a place, such as NYC. I mean, there are many similar size cities to Columbia that are much more diverse and much more liberal. So, its lack of diversity and conservative-feel are both cons. The biggest con, however, is that Columbia is an "average" city masquerading as a great one. Of course, it is fine to be an average city, as many cities fall into this category -- and many of them are aware of it. However, people in Columbia seem to believe that so many things about Columbia are so great, such as the downtown and certain restaurants (in the downtown). Yet, they really are all "very" average. It is here where there is a benefit in having lived in different places. For me, having lived in many larger cities than Columbia, and also many smaller ones, it just feels that this city is average (and no one seems to acknowledge it). That is its biggest con.

Just out of curiosity, what cities of similar size in the South would you consider liberal?

As far as people having pride in their city, I'm not sure why that would be a con. Sure there are cities with a more diverse slection of restaurants and a more vibrant downtown area than Columbia--but if a city's residents don't celebrate their strengths, who will? And in many cases, it's sheer boosterism that has played a very significant role in a city's road to greatness. I live in Charlotte, so I should know.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by davey123

For me, the pros are that it's affordable and slower paced.

It really is all relative to where you've lived before. I do not see Columbia as being diverse. And, it is far from being liberal. In fact, for me, it feels quite conservative. But again, it's all relative to where you come from. I'm not comparing Columbia to a place, such as NYC. I mean, there are many similar size cities to Columbia that are much more diverse and much more liberal. So, its lack of diversity and conservative-feel are both cons. The biggest con, however, is that Columbia is an "average" city masquerading as a great one. Of course, it is fine to be an average city, as many cities fall into this category -- and many of them are aware of it. However, people in Columbia seem to believe that so many things about Columbia are so great, such as the downtown and certain restaurants (in the downtown). Yet, they really are all "very" average. It is here where there is a benefit in having lived in different places. For me, having lived in many larger cities than Columbia, and also many smaller ones, it just feels that this city is average (and no one seems to acknowledge it). That is its biggest con.

Everyone is entitled to their opinions. I've traveled extensively and consider Columbia to be a great place to live. As far as diversity is concerned, you'd be hard pressed to find many cities in the South the size of Columbia that are MORE diverse or more liberal. When I look at whether a city is liberal or not, I look at city laws and I look at voting patterns and Columbia sure is a lot more liberal than most cities on both counts.

[cory_larousse]

hey all thanks for your response to my queries sorry i got derailed and didn't log in for a while. i think i'm getting a little bit of a a picture of what columbia is like (was there once for a week when i was 15, memory is spotty). it has GOT to be more diverse than Bangor, maine, or Las Cruces, New Mexico, so I'm not too worried about that. the truth is i do have a hippie appearance but i'm not a flaming liberal (no offence to anyone who is) and I would not be comfortable in a city like San Francisco or Seattle. I do own a vehicle but since making the north-to-south transition i just took advantage of the fact that it's never too cold to ride a bike (although i'm thinking the humidity could make it treacherous in the summer). i had been worried about employment just based on the stats, (&have family in the midwest trying to tell me the economy is much better there) but obviously you all are making a living. i appreciate you taking the time to reply.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by cory_larousse

i had been worried about employment just based on the stats, (&have family in the midwest trying to tell me the economy is much better there) but obviously you all are making a living. i appreciate you taking the time to reply.

I think that is a broad and inaccurate statement for them to say that the economy is much better in the midwest than the south. There are certainly pockets of the midwest that are doing ok as there are here in the south. But have they not seen any of the news coming out of Michigan (midwest)? Ohio isn't a lot better either; yes things aren't great in the Carolinas right now, but Columbia is right around the national average for unemployment in the mid-8% range. It also largely depends on what type of job/industry you are employable in as to where you will be able to find work.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by innocence123

the only CON about cola is that IT'S NOT CHARLESTON.LOL

While I love visiting Charleston, I don't view it as being a far better place to live than Cola. We aren't 8th in the country in crime rates - granted, I realize North Charleston is a big part of that - nevertheless, we're talking about metros here. And real estate/cost of living is much more reasonable than Charleston, plus, there are more professional type jobs available here than there - a lot of their economy is driven by tourism which tends to have lower-paying jobs.

[Ceezer]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

We aren't 8th in the country in crime rates - granted, I realize North Charleston is a big part of that - nevertheless, we're talking about metros here.

Not too far from it. Charleston-N.Charleston is the 21st most dangerous metro in the US (as of 2008). Sumter is 5th. Certainly some of that is spillover to/from Cola.

http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/Metr...8_Rank_Rev.pdf