Forgive me if this has been asked: Which city is more liberal, and which has more transplants: Columbia or Greenville? (Charleston: appointed, taxes)

[miamitransplant]

Where does Newberry stand in this debate? Relocating from Miami soon and so looking forward to a small town that seems somewhat progressive in nature.

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by miamitransplant

Where does Newberry stand in this debate? Relocating from Miami soon and so looking forward to a small town that seems somewhat progressive in nature.

I will say that Newberry is definitely a nice town - one of the nicer ones in SC that I have seen, and arguably the best "satellite small town" orbititing Columbia. The other alternative I would suggest is Camden, which is a similar distance northeast of Columbia near I-20 (Newberry is northwest, near I-26).

Please do keep in mind that when you say "progressive", be sure you are clear on what that means. I would say generally say that in SC's cultural context, "progressive" means relatively open-minded and forward-thinking, particularly in terms of economic development, but very rarely does it mean social liberalism (although small pockets do exist in the state, particularly in certain urban neighborhoods). That's why an otherwise quite socially conservative area like Greenville can be considered progressive - it is in the spirit of economic development and boosterism common in the Southeastern sunbelt, espeically the I-85 corridor. Progressive down here very rarely means what it does in, say, Berkeley, CA or Northampton, MA (again, there are places where you can find it, but they're few & far between).

[pdvincit]

Thirty years ago I walked through a picket line to see Monty Python's Life of Brian in Greenville. A few weeks ago I sat in a crowded Peace Center -- sans picket line -- to see Bill Maher expound on conservative folly.

The old saw about South Carolina's different cities is:
In Greenville, they ask you which church you attend.
In Columbia, they ask you who's your family.
In Charleston, they ask you what you are drinking.

[Columbiadata]

Those are all interchangeable for each city, but Charleston is definitely all about "who's your family."

[Akhenaton06]

Yeah, it's definitely more about your last name and your family stock in Charleston.

[nortonguy]

Columbia is the most liberal city in SC. Augusta is more liberal than Charleston and Greenville. Columbia is even more liberal than Augusta. Cola has a large university.

[motonenterprises]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

Columbia is the most liberal city in SC. Augusta is more liberal than Charleston and Greenville. Columbia is even more liberal than Augusta. Cola has a large university.

Too much liberalism to me is a bad thing. If Greenville is the most conservative city in South Carolina then I'm going to choose to be more conservative, because I like whats going on in Greenville. Values are important to me. What does Augusta have to do with this? Its not in SC, nor can it really compare with either city since its smaller.

[waccamatt]

That's great; I would prefer the more liberal-minded to make Columbia their home.

[motonenterprises]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

That's great; I would prefer the more liberal-minded to make Columbia their home.

When you say more liberal-minded what do you mean? Do you believe in family values? Not attacking you just asking.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by motonenterprises

Too much liberalism to me is a bad thing.

No city in SC in in danger of becoming "too liberal" anytime soon.