Another stop on our retirement search -- Columbia (Charleston, Newberry: short sales, foreclosures)

[BoundtoRetire]

Early next month, my dh and I set off on a journey to see if we can find an area where we'd like to retire. Hudson Valley natives, we are rolling stones, having lived in California, far northern NY (the true upstate NY IMO), and Austin, TX . An odd twist of fortune returned us to the Hudson Valley where we've learned the truth of Tom Wolfe's remarks about going home. It's changed and so have we -- and we're looking forward to leaving.

So the question is where to retire. Many folks focus on being near their kids. Our only daughter is in Los Angeles -- and since we want to spend well less than $200K for our downsized home, it's obviously ruled out. Other family members (sibs, cousins, etc.) are scattered across the country.

After spending a lot of time studying the various city-data forums and figuring out what resources are critical to our next stage of life, we plan on making a stop in Columbia to look around the region as it is an excellent match for us offering an excellent medical community, universities & colleges, a great downtown, sunnier skies, low cost housing, a strong Arts community, diversity, etc. We also love Columbia's proximity to so many interesting places including Charleston and Savannah.

We would appreciate some suggestions on what places we should plan to visit while we're there -- inner city neighborhoods as well as some of the small surrounding communities. Are there any towns particularly noted as an antiquer's paradise? How about an Active 55 community that fits our price range (mid-100s --or perhaps for a resale)?

Thanks so much for your input!!

[waccamatt]

Are you interested in finding a condo or a house? Also, if you're looking for a house, how much space do you need inside and out? I would look at Melrose Heights, Cottontown, Earlewood Park and Rosewood for in-town neighborhoods where you can find a good house under $200K. If you're interested in a condo there would be more neighborhood options in your price range.

[BoundtoRetire]

waccamatt -- thanks for your response!

We'll be sure to check out those neighborhoods. We're mostly looking for a house as we have three cats -- and are concerned that we'll run into HOA or condo policies limiting us to two or perhaps one.

We also want to have a single story home again. At the moment we're in a very large late Victorian four-square home with lots of stairs.

Again thanks for any further suggestions!!

[BoundtoRetire]

Perhaps I haven't provided enough information about us... First of all we are not golfers (which certainly seems a big draw to the Carolinas). We like visiting the ocean but prefer fresh water lakes. DH likes kayaking (which I hope to take up once we retire) and biking.

My interests center around antiquing and reading. I've asked about antique centers because I've often thought I'd like reinvent myself by having a small antiques business when I retire -- a second hand book store might be appealing too. I also have a gym membership and visit it at least 3 times per week.

On the other hand, my dh loves museums -- art and history. An engineer by profession, he is also a good general handy man. I suspect he'll want to keep himself busy in retirement also and might pick up work in that area.

We both love theatre also and want to live in an area with local theatre groups and on the Broadway show circuit. In the past we lived in San Francisco and loved exploring its very diverse neighborhoods. Austin certainly had many of these also (and is still in consideration for a retirement destination). Also we both enjoy visiting historical sites.

That's a good reason why we are interested in Columbia -- interesting neighborhoods and historic sites abound. Plus it's a good jumping off place for visits to Charleston, Savannah, and other places we'd love to visit.

Since we moved North, I'm embarrassed to say I have been pretty much un-churched. The congregations here are aging (like me) and I haven't found them very welcoming, diverse in age, or lively and active. However, I do attend my old home church (Presbyterian) across the county when I can. So finding a new church is important--- and I know I'll have more success finding one in SC.

Hope that gives you more to go on.

[jlboney]

Any of the communities that Matt mentioned would be good for in town and near town living. If you are willing to live a little further from town, then Northeast COlumbia, Blythewood, and Lexington may be god for you as well. Lexington and Northeast Columbia each have their fair share of shopping, dinning, and nightlife, of course the nightlife will not be as busy as it would be down town in the Vista or the 5 Points areas.

In Northeast you may want to take a look at Lake Carolina, as there are many communities within it that you would be able to find a suitable home to fit your needs. There is a YMCA in Lake Carolina, I am a member there and find it to be a great place to work out. There are tons of other ammenities within the commmunity as well, such as the lake, a town center, a dog park, walking trails, etc.

Blythewood can also be another place to look at. Cooper's Pond, Beasley Creek, or Longcreek Plantation. Longcreek is on a golf course, but you don't have ot play golf. It's also an established community with the exception of a couple of new home communities that are found within it, Deer Creek and Heritage Forest. Blythewood is a little more rural than Northeast Columbia, but it is right next door and only minutes away from tons of shopping and dinning in the Village at Sandhill.

There is a decent sized antique mall on Two Notch Rd called Sping Valley Antiques that has a rotating stock of collectibles and various other antiques like furniture and coins. Truth is you never really know what you will see until you walk in the door. There's another larger one on Broad River Rd, plus a couple down town. The theaters for the most part are down town and the is always the Newberry Opera House is Newberry. Northeast and Lexington will put you about 30 minute from down town depending on what part you live in and of course time of day. Rush hour will add a little time to your travels.

As far as museums are concerned, there is always the state museum on Gervais Street across the bridge. There are also smaller museums in the surrounding areas like the town of Winnsboro museum on Congress Street in Winnsboro and the SC State RailRoad Museum off HWY 34 also in WInnsboro.

As far as kayaking is concerned and fresh water, the is of course Lake Murray. Lake Wateree can be accessed from Ridgeway in Fairfield and from Kershaw. Dreher Island State Park is also on Wateree and can be accessed just off I-77. I ride bikes at Sesquicentennel State Park just off Two Notch Rd in Northeast. They also have a lake and allow boating. There are a few nature trails, a 3.5 mile loop that walkers and bikers share, and a bike trail just over 6 miles. I will say that it's pretty sandy out there, so it's more for off road mountain bikes. Down town is Riverfront Park and the Riverwalk. Riverfront Park is off of Huger Street and is a great place to walk and bike. There Riverwalk is across the Gervais Street Bridge and can be accessed behind New Orleans restuarant. Both will walk you along the Congaree River. Harbison Forest gives you more opportunities to hike and bike off of Broad River Road.

There are also a few historic house museums in down town like the Robert Mills House on Blanding Street. 1616 Blanding if I remember correct and there is another just next to it. Columbia Museum of Art is downtown off Main Street and there are a handful of galleries around town. The Village Artists is in the Village at Sandhill in Northeast and it's a community of 26 or so artists who all work at and sell their art at the gallery. There are also a couple in the Vista.

Hope some of these helps. If you need more info on any of these just ask away and we will see what we can all remember.

[BoundtoRetire]

Thanks for all the great information, JL. We'll definitely keep it in mind when we are there.

We're not ready to buy now, but I'm curious how the market is holding up there. The downturn hurt the market here (about 75 mi. NW of NYC) quite a bit, but it's beginning to show signs of life now. How is the Greater Columbia market doing?

[jlboney]

I will not say that the markey did not see a downturn here in Columbia, that just wouldn't be true. However, we did not see the massive downturn that a lot of the country suffered from. The number of foreclosures in our market is not nearly as bad as a lot of the country and niether is the number of short sales that we see.

The tax credit has seen many first time home buyers come off the fence in order to take advantage of the offer and the low rates. Our average days on the market are up, but nice homes that are priced right and ready to move are still moving.

For the most part, it's our high priced homes here that are not moving very fast. Anything $250,000 and down is doing well, $150,000 and down is doing even better. When you stretch above the $300,000 mark, which would be the start of a lot of our executive type homes here, then things are a little rough. There are only so many people here that can truly afford a $500,000 home. So, with a large number of the higher priced homes on the market and reduced number of buyers, that market has suffered the most.

All and all it's not bad, it's just not as good as we want it to be. But in the end, even when the market is great we always want it to be better, that's just our nature. I doubt you would have any problems finding something that you want here within your range, and there will likley be many available to you, from new construction to resales. Many of the builders have started seeing a good increase in sales, but unfortunately the higher priced custom builders are still hurting some depending on the area. You would just need to visit and look around town or even get a tour to see where you would feel most comfortable here if you chose to move our way.

[waccamatt]

I'll add a little bit to the museum info...yes, there is the State Museum, but there is also the Columbia Museum of Art, a number of museums in historic homes (like the Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home), there is McKissick Museum at USC and the State House is a museum of sorts,

[BoundtoRetire]

JL and Matt... thanks for the information and additional suggestions. I wish we were leaving on this trip tomorrow... but we don't start off until 9/4.

We're really looking forward to our visit. Everyone has been so friendly -- especially in SC! Of course, that doesn't surprise me. It's one of the reasons I liked Texas too... Southern folks are so gracious and friendly!!

[Seattleite61]

BoundtoRetire - I am just wrapping up a house hunting trip here in Columbia. We will be relocating this fall from Seattle and were able to find a ton of homes for under $200k. We ended up buying a beautiful home in NE Columbia. Be sure to visit lots of neighborhoods as some are not as nice as others.

As an added note, the people here are very friendly in person, too!

Best wishes!!!