Charlotte or Columbia? (Greenville, Rock Hill, St. Andrews: credit, purchase, where to live)

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Queen City Lover

I didn't say WORLD Class shopping...I said 1st CLASS....Charlotte has...Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Saks 5th Ave is coming (and not the outlet), Tiffany & Co, Hermes...and on and on.

Columbia has what....

And no one ask you to stoop to any level...and I will not stoop to yours either.

I suggest you reread. I said 1st, you stated world. So Charlotte has a few expensive chains; if that is all you're concerned with...to each his own. Saks Fifth Avenue? You mean the one based in Birmingham? I agree with everything sonof had to say.

As far as men's clothes are concerned, I find everything I need, quite nicely, at Savoy, Weathers and Louries. I prefer to support locally-owned businesses anyway.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Charleston native

With Cola, Charlotte, and Atlanta doing this, Chas should've had Orangeburg, Colleton, and Georgetown Counties by now, for example.

Orangeburg County would become a part of Columbia's MSA before Charleston's. I don't see it joining any MSA anytime soon.

Colleton County will probably be added to Charleston's CSA eventually.

I believe Georgetown County is in Myrtle Beach's MSA.

It just all depends on the sizes and geographical configurations of the surrounding counties that determines which ones get added to an MSA/CSA.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Queen City Lover

OK..lets look at REAL city population since some people are bent out of shape with METRO areas.....below are populations 2006....city-data.com

Columbia, SC ----- 119.961
Charlotte, NC ----- 630,478.....over -5 times larger-

And do you also go around saying that Charlotte is larger than Atlanta, Miami, DC, and Boston? City populations figures are very arbitrary.

And I've found that that whole "armpit of SC" reference many times refers to the heat in Columbia.

Both places have their advantages and disadvantages, and size isn't everything.

[sandlapper]

It's funny I have a friend who lived in Charlotte and he hated it because it was becoming overcrowded, and crime ridden. I guess it just depends on what you look for in a home. Infact he ended up moving north out of the city and metro area.

[Charleston native]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

Orangeburg County would become a part of Columbia's MSA before Charleston's. I don't see it joining any MSA anytime soon...

I have to disagree with this. Actually, O-burg is really considered a split or "swing" county in its commute patterns. And many O-burg residents do commute to Colleton, Dorchester, or Berkeley counties. The county could go either way to Chas or Cola MSAs.

As far as Colleton, Chas doesn't even have a CSA yet. The county should become part of the MSA with commuters going from Walterboro to Chas and the other 2 counties in the MSA.

[Akhenaton06]

I was able to find some stats from 2000 online (I know that's 7 years ago, but they are the latest I could find). There are almost as many commuters that travel into Richland County alone for work (1,809) than there are that travel into Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley counties combined (1,954). If you throw in Lexington (1,110) and Calhoun (829) counties, that's almost twice as many Orangeburg County residents commuting into the Columbia MSA for work than the Charleston MSA. That's probably because the actual city (urban cluster) of Orangeburg, where the bulk of Orangeburg County residents reside, is more closely tied to Columbia than Charleston.

I understand that Charleston doesn't have a CSA yet, but I would actually expect Colleton County, which is its own micropolitan area, to form a CSA with the Charleston metro area first before it's added to the MSA.

[chrisunchained]

Columbia is growing as there are a few big companies located there. As for Charlotte, if you have a banking background this is the place to be. I think the IT makert is okay here - it depends on what your app experience is...but if banking is you..then make the move.

[justde87]

I'm looking for more information on Columbia. I'm NOT interested in the actual population numbers, just some hardcore facts.

In about 3 1/2 years I'm due to retire from the military and Columbia, SC is one of my choices for retirement. What is the job availiblity for ex-military there. Any chance of getting a good job on post (I'm in the Human Resource field) or out in the city? Also, what are the chances for an African-American to start his own business, regardless of what it may be?

As for housing communities, what's a good area to live in, that's not too upper class or upper middle class. I'm looking for middle of the road for middle class, but something nice. good schools is a must. Price ranges I'm looking at are $150-250k.

Also, my wife is into cosmotology. She really likes to do hair. What is the market for Hairstylist (prefer African-American, but she can do just about any type of hair).

Charlotte, Atlanta, and Jacksonville are all good areas for African-Americans, but way too big for me. Plus, too many people I know have moved to these places lookig for the next "Black Mecca". I'm just looking for some place that's diverse and have a lot of things to do culturally, but with a small, big town feel.

[waccamatt]

Columbia has a large number of African-American owned businesses and in the last census, I believe, was 10th in the country for African-American in-migration.

As far as schools and middle class neighborhoods, I would recommend Melrose Heights or Rosewood in-town (Dreher HS and its feeder schools tend to be the best in-town) or the Columbia Northeast (Richland District 2) in the suburbs. I don't specifically know about the cosmetology business, but I can tell you there are many shops catering to the African-American community.

Columbia is also home to many military retirees so I would imagine that to be no hinderance in terms of finding work and the availability of both a military and a VA Hospital would seem to be a plus. Thousands of civilians also work at Fort Jackson and Shaw AFB and McEntire ANG Base are also nearby.

[justde87]

hey waccamatt,

thanks for the info. still got some time to think about it, just needed a little info to get me started. thanks....