Young Military Family, No Kids, PCSing to Shaw AFB (Columbia: renters, crime)

[NMclau]

My husband and I currently live in central Oklahoma, but my husband has orders to PCS to Shaw AFB in mid-September. We are originally from Georgia, so we are both very happy about moving back to the "real" South.

However, we are a little apprehensive about where exactly to live near Shaw. We will probably live close to the base for a month or two, but then want to get away from the base if possible. We currently live 45 minutes from his base in OK, so we are perfectly fine with commuting. We just don't really like the atmosphere that exists around most bases.

We are looking at Columbia, but are not sure what kind of drive that would be. We're not afraid of commuting, but that may be a little too much. We would like to know what you think about the Sumter to Columbia commute and if there are any nice towns in between that are not trailer park havens and actually have access to some sort of civilization.

We are both in our early to mid-20s, have 1 dog and no kids. We currently live maybe 5 minutes south of a really nice college town, but are not quite "big city" people. We like the in-between. My husband is a big golfer and I am a liberal Democrat who likes diversity. Maybe a nice little neighborhood on the Eastern outskirts of Columbia would suit us well. Do you have any ideas?

Also, my husband has heard that the A-10 fighters are moving from Shaw to Moody AFB soon. Does anyone know anything about that? Will they be taking volunteers to move? When is this actually going to happen? Would they move an Airmen who hasn't been at the base very long? We need to know before we buy a house or anything.


Again, we are so excited to be moving to South Carolina! We just can't wait to get out of the Big 12 and back where they have sweet tea at most restaurants. Thanks for your help ahead of time!

[Intergalactic]

I would suggest Southeat Columbia; I have gotten the impression that the chief complaint is that the schools aren't the greatest there. Since you don't have to worry about the quality of the schools you can use city-data's interactive map on Southeast Columbia:
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...lumbia-SC.html

The map has many different settings, including where the renters vs owners are, people with doctoral degrees, members of the military, poverty levels and so forth that should allow you to make an educated guess.

[waccamatt]

Anywhere on the southeast side of town would be a reasonable drive to Shaw since it is 10 miles on the Columbia side of Sumter. I live on the north side of downtown Columbia and I can drive to downtown Sumter in 50 minutes, so I'd expect no more than a 40 minute commute from anywhere from the southeast side of downtown (the Shandon, Melrose Heights and Rosewood neighborhoods) on out to the southeast suburban areas around Garners Ferry Road and Leesburg Road. You'll find that most areas in Richland County are fairly diverse, so you won't have too much of a problem there. As far as schools are concerned, and the fact that you're a liberal Democrat, I would highly recommend the Shandon, Rosewood and Melrose Heights areas.

[Brandon Hoffman]

I'll 3rd SE Columbia. A lot of Shaw personnel live in SE Columbia.

[Intergalactic]

It seems that city-data is changing the form of their urls or a dash got lost somehow; try
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhoo...lumbia-SC.html

[Ceezer]

Well, the first thing I would ask is: What is it about military towns (or the 'atmosphere around the base') that you don't like? Because SE Columbia is right by Fort Jackson *and* McEntire Joint National Guard. All of the areas on the East side of Columbia are going to be jammed full of military personel.

You mention an 'in-between' town, which is how I refer to Florence. It's in between Columbia and Sumter in terms of size and entertainment value (actually, a little higher than middle on the entertainment). Florence is 45-50 minutes from Shaw, so you could live on the S/SW end of Florence (or in one of the small towns along 76, 10-15 minutes outside of Florence which would put you 30-40 minutes from Shaw) and be within the limits you're looking for. There should be plenty of golf courses around there plus you'd be just over an hour from the beach. They seem to have a very active civic center, an indoor football team, a university & tech college, and more.

[NMclau]

Intergalatic - Thanks so much for the map. That will probably be very helpful.

Ceezer - I had not thought about Florence. I will probably look into that. Of course, a lot of where we live depends on where I get a job. I work in editing/publishing/writing. I have assumed that I would probably get a job near Columbia. I assume that would be my best bet in finding a job, but we will see. I plan on beginning my job search next week. As for not liking living right outside bases, well, we kind of like areas that are a little quieter. My husband is probably the biggest opponent of living near bases because he says he doesn't want to live near a bunch of "stupid Airmen." He's an Airman himself, so I take his word for it. He has said that he doesn't want to see everyone he works with outside of work and that there is typically more crime in areas immediately outside bases. Also, here at Tinker, he said that the local police like to pick on military guys. If we have to be near a base, it may be best to live in a neighborhood that is mostly senior enlisted or officers. I know some of my husband's coworkers and they are wild. we may not have kids, but we're not partiers either. If you live near a base and like it, that's great. I just don't think it's for us. We both have a great respect for the military, obviously, and know that warfighters are all serious when it comes to the mission. However, in their leisure many are simply buckwild kids. The younger guys are like their own frat, they just aren't confined to frat houses behind a school; they're out there in the wild.

Thanks for everyone's thoughts, please keep them coming. Also, I have noticed a lot of mention about the Shandon area on some of the other threads. It sounds really nice.

[Ceezer]

You don't have to tell me. I'm a former Marine and used to put up as much ruckus as 6-8 Airmen... But that's why I asked. I figured it was something like that and wanted to warn you that Eastern Columbia is going to be somewhat similar (except that instead of just Airmen, you'd have Airmen, Guardsmen *and* Soldiers).

Is editing/publishing/writing not something you could do remotely/from home? I think a large part of the local writers are coming out of the Low Country/coas, too, which Florence would put you closer to. It probably wouldn't be too hard to find a publishing house in that region.

[Proud Air Force Wife]

Hi McLau, It sounds like you are in sort of the same situation and my husband and I. My husband is an NCO in the AF and we are moving to Shaw AFB in December. We do not have children but do have 1 dog. I agree that we do not want to live right by the base since bases are usually surrounded by run down buildings and crime stricken areas or so we have seen so far...not saying that is the case for Shaw since we have not been there. We have been stationed in Montgomery AL which Maxwell AFB is considered the area of the city "not to go into after dark" and Good Fellow AFB now which is not much better around the base itself. I have considered living outside of Sumter since I have a degree in Psychology and would like to find somewhere to work and it sounds as though Sumter does not have a solid employment base. My husband and I are also pretty calm and do not like to party. If you obtain good information on the area, especially housing information please let me know since we are discussing our options and being to develop plans regarding our move. Thanks!!

[M0J0]

We are also moving to Shaw AFB in december, thanks for all the good info so far!