Charlotte or Columbia? (area, cities, place)

[domcroy]

Looking to retire in south in a short while. My wife and I are golfers and enjoy other outdoor activities. We mostly are interested in which area would be least expensive for retired folks. We are down-sizeing and will be looking for a community near affordable golf, shopping and good weather. Would appreciate any information you can give that will help us understand the areas better.

[Akhenaton06]

Columbia will be cheaper than Charlotte, but not by a huge amount. Charlotte will have a wider variety of shopping options, but depending on what suits your tastes, you may be satisfied with the options in Columbia. In terms of weather, the two cities are pretty much the same (Columbia might be 2-3 degrees hotter in the summer). Don't really know enough about golfing to answer that question. I'd give Columbia the edge in overall outdoor activities.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

In terms of weather, the two cities are pretty much the same (Columbia might be 2-3 degrees hotter in the summer).

For the most part you are right, but while it's usually a little warmer in the summer, that also holds true in the winter. For instance, this week, Columbia's been almost 10 degrees warmer every day than Charlotte (today's high is 77 here, 68 in Charlotte, tomorrow 74 here, 65 in Charlotte), while this isn't a huge deal, it does come into play when it gets cold and near the freezing mark and a storm approaches, often Charlotte will get snow/freezing rain while it will just rain in Columbia. That's not to say we never get snow or freezing rain here, but it's occurs less frequently here than in Charlotte - we didn't have any winter weather last year outside of one evening when we got a light snow that melted overnight.

So I would say it's more like 5-10 degree difference typically between the cities, which while not a huge deal, it can make a difference as I've mentioned.

[the 7 oh 4]

at 5pm today......18 degree difference in temperature

71 degrees - downtown Columbia (ZIP 29201)
53 degrees - Uptown Charlotte (ZIP 28202)

and EVERYDAY for the next 5-6 days...Columbia is 10-12 degrees warmer everyday or warmer. Charlotte has not hit 70 degrees since October (2 months ago).

Charlotte had their coldest November in 30 years...average temp was 46 for the month. I have no idea about Columbia...but Charlotte has been quite chilly until the last 2 weeks.

3 weeks ago on Saturday...we hit 13....and yesterday & Monday morning it was 18.

[waccamatt]

Same in Columbia, we had one of the coldest Novembers in memory. I think one thing to keep in mind is to compare the temperatures at both cities' airports. Columbia also has a downtown weather station, which is usually several degrees warmer than the airport. Charlotte does not have an official weather station downtown. The averages work out to only a couple of degrees difference, but depending on the position of the jet stream there can be days with significant temperature differences.

[the 7 oh 4]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Same in Columbia, we had one of the coldest Novembers in memory. I think one thing to keep in mind is to compare the temperatures at both cities' airports. Columbia also has a downtown weather station, which is usually several degrees warmer than the airport. Charlotte does not have an official weather station downtown. The averages work out to only a couple of degrees difference, but depending on the position of the jet stream there can be days with significant temperature differences.

I am comparing apples to apples...downtown Columbia (29201) to Uptown Charlotte (28202) on weather.com

The airport in Charlotte is in town (only 5-6 miles from Uptown) and not in a rural area where it might be cooler.

Happy Holidays!

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by the 7 oh 4

I am comparing apples to apples...downtown Columbia (29201) to Uptown Charlotte (28202) on weather.com

The airport in Charlotte is in town (only 5-6 miles from Uptown) and not in a rural area where it might be cooler.

Happy Holidays!

If you will look at the averages and records for Charlotte for both downtown's zip code (28201) and the airport's zip code (28208) you will see that the numbers are the same - because downtown Charlotte does not have a NWS station.

Average Weather for Charlotte, NC - Temperature and Precipitation

Average Weather for Charlotte, NC - Temperature and Precipitation

The same graphs for the Columbia Airport (29170) and downtown Columbia (29201) are linked below. As you can see in the comparison graph below they are different because Columbia has a downtown NWS reporting site. If you're going to compare data, at least compare like data:

Average Weather for West Columbia, SC - Temperature and Precipitation

Average Weather for Columbia, SC - Temperature and Precipitation

[the 7 oh 4]

You can't go by averages...there is NO average weather now a days...I went to weather.com and typed in a downtown Columbia ZIP code and an Uptown Charlotte ZIP code to compare apples to apples...thats all!

Not so much of a big difference in the summer...a few degrees...but in winter there are many days where there is a huge difference.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by the 7 oh 4

Not so much of a big difference in the summer...a few degrees...but in winter there are many days where there is a huge difference.

That's what I'm gathering.

[waccamatt]

Some days there are big differences, some days there are no differences, but you can't look at a few individual examples to make a point, you have to look at averages, it's the only thing that makes any sense.