What is it REALLY like in Sumter? (Columbia, West Columbia: fit in, crimes)

[Proud Air Force Wife]

Hi everyone my husband and I recently found out that we have orders for Shaw AFB. We are currently stationed at Good Fellow AFB in San Angelo TX where he is being retrained. He graduates from class in December and we are to report to Shaw no later than Jan. 31, 2010. We have been looking at houses online in the Sumter area and found two subdivisions that appear to be very nice but there are tons of homes for sale in that area despite the fact that the homes are brand new. We were curious as to whether the areas are nice or if there is a reason why there are so many homes available. The two subdivisions we found are Hunter's Crossing and Knight's Village. Are those subdivisions nice or is there another part of town or surrounding areas we should be pursuing? Any information would be greatly appreciated!!!

[danheit]

Well, I'll put it like this. There is absolutely no way to tell you how nice the areas are without knowing your version of nice. I have been in the process of relocating to Sumter for several months now, and have yet to find a place that suits my needs. I had several people as well as realtors tell me how nice certain areas are, and to put it honestly, I wouldn't let anyone I know live there. I have been a real estate broker for the past 10 years, and am currently going through the police academy, so I feel like I have great insight into two very important and specific areas. One thing I will certainly suggest to you is to use Google's street view program. You can actually pull a home up on google maps and zoom in to the point in which you are standing in the middle of the road and can physically walk up and down the road and look at the individual homes and neighborhood. ALSO, you can call the local PD and ask them about the calls for service in that area. They can tell you how many calls have gone to the homes on your street, what types of calls they were, etc. That way, if there have been many theft calls or murders on your block, it will help you make a more intelligent decision. Also, keep in mind that there are some fantastic real estate deals in Sumter. The area is just coming into a whole lot of foreclosures, and most Realtors don't know how to properly work them, which can greatly work out to your benefit. I would find a good local realtor and have them help you with your move.

[Ceezer]

Dan, I'm sorry to hear you're having such difficulty locating a home. I know that one of your limitations during training was that you had to live within city limits (or a set distance to them). Is that still an issue/restriction? And you have kids, too, don't you? I don't know how comfortable you'd be with sharing the information (you're more than welcome to shoot me a message if you'd prefer), but if you don't mind me asking, what are your needs in a home? And what is your price range? Since I'm not a realtor and have no stake in the matter (other than the smile I get from helping folks), I might be able to offer some unbiased suggestions.

[Proud Air Force Wife]

Danheit those are excellent suggestions! I have used the google street views several times but had not thought to contact the police department about neighborhoods and what not. It has been mentioned several times that Dalzell and Oakland is where most of the military and law enforcement live and I would definitely prefer to be in those areas since we are military. We do not have children so that is not a concern at this point in time. We are hoping to find a new construction home to minimize the need for repairs and updates since we have been through that already when we lived in Montgomery AL. I want to live somewhere safe with friendly neighbors since these moves have been hard. I had always lived in Alabama until June 2009 when we moved to Texas for my husband to change career fields and will move again in December to Sumter. I just pray this goes well!!! If you don't mind me asking...what agency are you using to find a home and are you happy with your realtor? We were VERY dissatisfied with the realtor that sold our home in Montgomery so we would want someone good. Thanks again for all the information and I hope you find a home soon to suit your needs.

[painterdude]

I left you with some suggestions as well on the other sumter thread. As I said, we just moved in during July. I mentioned Meadowcroft where we live. It is mostly Air Force or retired Air Force, but mostly those in their 30's and 40's. I used the Century 21 office of Hawkins and Kolb...my sales guy was Rusty Berry. He kept in contact with us over several months, and showed us maybe 20 homes that I'd narrowed on the internet. He has lived most of his life in this area, having grown up in Bishopville around 20 miles away. He has a great knowlege of the different communities etc. here in sumter and has been in real estate for around 10 years. As Ceezer has said to you both, we don't know your price range but here's his number 800 223 5821, or his Cell..803 428 8395.. good luck, Mark

[danheit]

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words and the great offers of help! I actually finally found a great home over at Swan Lake Gardens (no, not actually in the park for those of you funny guys!). Right across the road in a fantastic neighborhood. Neighbors are super, and I couldn't beat the price or proximity. ProudAirForceWife, I can't really reccomend a Realtor, as I am one myself, and didn't want to use one up here to help me find a home. Long story short, I would have been representing myself and collecting the comissions off of the sale, and would have ended up making someone else do a lot of work for absolutely nothing. I absolutely refuse to do that to another Realtor, as I wouldn't want it done to me. I actually got all moved in this past weekend, and will be getting everything organized and cleaned up over the next week or so. I have one more (this) week left in the police academy, and then I am in Sumter full time and ready to go! Just need to get out there and work a little bit with some real estate. If there is anything I can do, or if you just need me to point you in the right direction, please don't hesitate to ask/pm/ or even call me. I honestly don't hesitate to put my cell number out being that it is readily available on the internet anyways, so it is 843-455-0074. Feel free to call any time. Ceezer and PD, same goes for you! Thanks for all the help. Now to begin working on getting a nice bookstore/coffee house in Sumter.....

[Proud Air Force Wife]

Thanks daneit....that is very nice of you and congrats on finding a house...that is awesome. I will definitely keep in touch regarding our move and also for help with the area.

[donnacreation]

If you've ever lived anywhere in the country with an area population of 100,000 or more, you will be very disappointed with Sumter. It's poorly planned, very ugly, no shopping, except SuperWalmart-which is always jam packed because it's the only big discount store in town. Also forget about fine dining, people in Sumter have no idea what fine dining is and probably wouldn't appreciate haute cuisine anyway. It's an intolerant town-racist, homophobic, radically, suffocatingly conservative with a dumb, overpriced newspaper. Even though it's home to a large air base, Sumterites are very suspicious of outsiders,especially if they're not born again. And sadly, it won't get significantly better for decades.

[Ceezer]

Wow, somebody's bitter...

Poorly planned? In what regards? The street/highway system is one of the best I've ever seen. There is only 1 problem area that I can think of and that's Alice Dr Extension between Walmart & Lowes.

Ugly? Eh, it's not pretty, but it seems about on-par for a military town.

No shopping? True, but that's been discussed already and nobody is arguing that. Yes, Walmart is always 'jam packed' because it's the only discount store in town. They've talked about adding a second Walmart out 15 for years, and most of us would like a Target on the West end of town. That would really spread things out and help out a lot.

We have no idea what fine dining is? Because this is the only town we've been to/lived in, and/or couldn't get in our car and drive to Columbia for dinner? What an utterly ignorant statement. Especially for you to determine, on our behalf, what we would or wouldn't appreciate. Complete ignorance.

I won't even bother with the rest because it's apparent to us all that you've just got a chip on your shoulder. Good luck in your new city.

[Woodlands]

I had come across an old SCDOT highway study in the Planning Commission Office (SUATS) I imagine from the 50s that showed the 378 Bypass was the first phase of a "beltway" that was to loop around the City. It would have contined as a limited access "freeway" up past the Super Walmart along Broad Street to near Wilson Hall Road then head southwest to and along Loring Mill Rd... to near Lynam...along Lynam and Stadium Roads... eastward along what is roughly Guignard Parkway (industrial areas) to Mooneyham Rd... then onto Craig Road and back to the current split on Myrtle Beach Hwy/378 east of town.

The goal was to get people around Sumter and to move the truck traffic out of the City. I have heard various theories on why it never happened ranging from funding, political support, property owners not wanting to sell, and then ultimately being trumped by I-20....so the northern(current section) was all that was completed I believe in the late 1950s. The ramps, particuliarly at 378 and 15 north were poorly constructed by todays standards given the relatively new concept of "freeways" for most parts of the Country.

I-20 came through the state between 1965 and 1970s and many had wanted it to follow 378 through Sumter and connect up with the "Sumter Bypass" and then continue on to 95. Again, depending on who you ask, various hypothesis exist to why that never happened...mostly centered around politics..though I have heard people say either Sumter politcos did not want it OR Sumter politicos did not have the clout in Columbia to seal the deal... I am not sure which is true...

It would be interesting to see what Sumter would have looked like today if the Beltway had been built..Certainly the dynamics of the City would have been changed if I-20 would have followed this route.