What are these neighborhoods like? (Columbia, St. Andrews: low crime, homes, movie theaters)

[pvjd]

So, I have been doing some browsing on realtor.com. and have seen some great homes that might interest me if I choose to move to Columbia from Birmingham, AL. I have gotten great input thus far, and was hoping that I might get a bit of insight into some of the neighborhoods. Here are a few of the places I saw that were appealing to me: Pine Brook subdivision in NE Columbia (Richland), Elmwood Park sudivision in Columbia city (Richland), Chestnut Hill subdivision in St. Andrews/Irmo (Richland), East Lake subdivision in SE Columbia (Richland), Coldstream subdivision in St. Andrews/Irmo (Lexington), Whitehall subdivision St. Andrews/Irmo (Lexington).

These are the things that are important to me: being close to supermarkets, restaurants, movie theaters, etc., being in a relatively low crime area of town (I know it exists everywhere, I just don't want my car stereo stolen within the first month of living there), not being too far off from the city (15 minutes or less), considering I will probably be working for a mental health agency, and being someplace where I can walk a dog or ride a bike (i.e. sidewalks, park, etc.). Any input is appreciated, and thanks in advance.

[waccamatt]

I'm not familiar with many of the suburban subdivisions you've listed, but Elmwood Park is an awesome turn-of-the-century in-town neighborhood. It is very convenient to The Vista/Downtown, Dutch Square and being close to I-126, it is convenient to Columbiana Centre, too.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Chestnut Hill-should fit your needs. Very large subdivision with 615 homes in it, nice amenities. Features variety of different homes and prices from 130's to 450's. Beazer built most of the homes but also have some KB, Wickersham, Mike Lowman Homes among others. Lit sidewalks and nature trails along with Broad River access here, great place to ride bikes/walk dogs.

Coldstream and Whitehall are very similar. Both are neighborhodds built in the 60's/70's primarily by Mungo. Both feature mostly brick home with some wood or vynil mixed in and larger lots. Both are a little closer in than Chestnut Hills and may be a better based on the limited info you provided on area.

East Lake subdivision in SE Columbia (Richland) is a Beazer community as well w/o the variety of Chestnut Hills. SE Columbia is a growing area but doesn't offer the the same choices in shopping, restaurants etc. as Irmo/ Harbsion

Pine Brook is in the Summit which is a HUGE subdivision. It is also very convenient to theatres, shopping, things to do. I think you'd probably like the locations of NE Columbia or Harbison/Irmo better than SE.

Elmwood Park is a really nice intown location with many different kinds of homes. Only real downside is that it's zoned for Columbia HS and most people prefer Lex/Richland 5, Richland 2, or Dreher HS.

[Lauraslexingtonhomes]

Key word theses communitys as there are a lot of blogs out there on them.