Any info on rural areas outside of Columbia? (Aiken, Orangeburg: homes, high school)

[JessieP]

My husband and I are looking to relocate from FL to SC with our 1 yr old little boy. Our small town has grown into a big city with overpriced homes, crowded streets and rude people. We would like to move to a more laid back, friendly town, but want to be within 30 to 40 minutes driving distance to work. (I am a nurse and my husband is an auto/farm equipment mechanic). Schools are going to be important to us. Any suggestions on affordable rural towns with good schools near Columbia? So far, Gilbert, Prosperity, and Pomaria are ones I have found and seem to be decent...

[LARLAN13]

Hi Jesse, Where From In Fla, Because We Went Through The Same Thing Our Town Got Tooooo Big And To Rude It Is Spring Hill Fl Just North Of Tampa...we Are Actually Moving To Fort Mill ..about An Hour Away From Columbia , I Think Any How It Seems Like A Very Nice Quiet Town And Schools Are Excellent, Good Luck.

[JessieP]

We live in Bradenton, about an hour south of Tampa...Avg home price is approx $372,000. We are coming to SC this weekend, but are looking around Orangeburg. I'm afraid jobs will be scarce so I started looking around Columbia. We want to be in a rural area, but don't want to have to drive an hour to work...(Sounds kind of strange..)

[Nausikaa]

Small towns around Columbia that are nice: Lexington (which is growing fast), Chapin, Newberry and Camden. I would not consider Orangeburg a nice place to live. Newberry has a hospital, if you are a nurse. Schools are great in Chapin and Lexington 5. Don't know much about the others you mentioned. But not good in Orangeburg.

[Akhenaton06]

I would consider Orangeburg a nice place to live with a pretty good quality of life, but the schools aren't as good as they are in the major metro areas of the state.

[salatheel]

Add Lugoff and Elgin to the list.

[Scrubbybear]

I work in Columbia and live in Lugoff, which is about a 40-minute drive each way. I love it BECAUSE it's rural but has enough amenities to feel like civilization. Elgin is nice too ...

[neonrider]

Originally Posted by JessieP

My husband and I are looking to relocate from FL to SC with our 1 yr old little boy. Our small town has grown into a big city with overpriced homes, crowded streets and rude people. We would like to move to a more laid back, friendly town, but want to be within 30 to 40 minutes driving distance to work. (I am a nurse and my husband is an auto/farm equipment mechanic). Schools are going to be important to us. Any suggestions on affordable rural towns with good schools near Columbia? So far, Gilbert, Prosperity, and Pomaria are ones I have found and seem to be decent...

Try Town of North in Orangeburg county. It has very friendly folks, very affordable homes, a nice modern high school, takes 35 minutes to Columbia and 20 minutes to Orangeburg and 50 minutes to an hour to Aiken/Augusta.