Charlotte or Columbia? (Greenville, Lexington, Fort Mill: insurance, home, job market)

[Scathy]

Which city is nicer? greener? more cultural? a better place to raise a family?
Is the weather much hotter in Columbia? What is the IT job market like it in Columbia?

[Skyliner]

The weather is definitely hotter in Columbia. Otherwise, both are growing Southern cities with minor differences in the areas you inquired about. If I was to choose between the two, it would easily be Charlotte, based on multiple experiences in both cities. You will definitely want to visit both places before forming any serious thoughts one way or another.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by Scathy

Which city is nicer? greener? more cultural? a better place to raise a family?
Is the weather much hotter in Columbia? What is the IT job market like it in Columbia?

Your question should be Charlotte or Greenville - that would be a harder choice. Between Charlotte and Columbia I'd pick Charlotte - but it all depends on what you are looking for really. Is a job the most important thing? Do you prefer a smaller town or a bigger city? Columbia is only 90 miles from Charltotte, the weather is not THAT much different. Charlotte can be a great place to raise a family - at a certain income level. Columbia would be more affordable. With USC in Columbia you get a bit of a college town feel, which I personally like. There are more IT jobs in the Raleigh area, but of course we have some in Charlotte - though competition can be stiff for them. Not sure about Columbia's market. Hope this helps a little

[Sharpcarolina]

Having just moved to Fort Mill (Charlotte) from Lexington (Columbia), I would have to say based on what you mention, Charlotte would be better.

We loved Lexington and are certainly enjoying Fort Mill. You are in the south, it will always be hot. Downtown Columbia seems very hot, but it is due to the concrete and lack of multiple, centralized tall buildings. The sun is always shinning, where bigger city centers get some shade.

Best of luck.

[Nausikaa]

The high temperature difference = Columbia is usually 2 degrees hotter than Charlotte or Greenville on any given summer day. I personally can't tell the difference between 2 degrees. It's very very hot in in Charlotte, Greenville and Columbia. it's all about the same belive me. When you will be able to tell the difference is in the winter, when it's 10 degrees warmer in Columbia than Charlotte or Greenville. When Charlotte and Greenville are having ice storms, Columbia is usually okay.

[g-man430]

This should be Greenville or Charlotte, not Columbia or Charlotte.

[Nausikaa]

Originally Posted by g-man430

This should be Greenville or Charlotte, not Columbia or Charlotte.

Why is that?

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by Nausikaa

The high temperature difference = Columbia is usually 2 degrees hotter than Charlotte or Greenville on any given summer day. I personally can't tell the difference between 2 degrees. It's very very hot in in Charlotte, Greenville and Columbia. it's all about the same belive me. When you will be able to tell the difference is in the winter, when it's 10 degrees warmer in Columbia than Charlotte or Greenville. When Charlotte and Greenville are having ice storms, Columbia is usually okay.

I must completely disagree with this post. There is a much broader difference during the summer months, I can assure you as someone who has spent plenty of time in each city. The winter scenario is not accurate either. There is a chance for an ice storm every winter in Greenville, but it rarely occurs, and the temperature in Columbia is not typically 10 degrees warmer then.

[Nausikaa]

hi temps off Google starting with January.

Columbia Charlotte
55 51
60 56
67 64
76 73
83 80
89 87
92 90
90 88
85 82
76 73
67 63
58 54

[Akhenaton06]

It all depends on what you're looking for in a city. Most people have covered the temperature aspect.

Charlotte is known as a family-friendly city, and to some extent that is true. Columbia has its family-friendly areas, but it's not known to be as family-friendly as Charlotte.

In terms of greenery, I think both cities are very green (here are some "aerial" views of Columbia that show this). I think Columbia has more outdoor recreational opportunities (many of them in and around downtown), with the various parks, the rivers, the greenway, Riverbanks Zoo, Congaree National Forest, Lake Murray, etc. Living in the Charlotte metro area, I don't think Charlotte does as good a job as it could with open spaces. However, you have three lakes not too far from the city, the Sugar Creek greenway, and the U.S. National Whitewater Center that recently debuted.

As far as culture goes, I think with Columbia being the state capital and the home of the state's flagship gives it a leg up when it comes to culture and cultural events. Right now, there are two big cultural events happening in Columbia as we speak: Artista Vista and the Columbia Festival of the Arts (this is the first year of the festival). There are also several theatres and museums for one to enjoy. Charlotte does well, with attractions such as the Mint Museum of Art, the Levine Museum of the New South (WONDERFUL museum), the NC Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, etc., and is set to do even better with new cultural digs under construction (new Mint Museum, African American Cultural Center).

I would imagine there would be more IT jobs in Charlotte than Columbia (since Charlotte is a bigger city with a huge financial presence), but I don't have any exact figures. Here is a sampling of IT jobs available throughout SC, and here are some for NC (notice the significant difference in the number of jobs available for both states). Other IT jobs in Columbia would be connected with state government and with the insurance industry, which has a sizable, growing presence in Columbia. One of my fraternity brothers landed an IT job with Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, located in Columbia, about a year or so ago.

So in the end I'd say if you want a large, faster-paced, rapidly-growing metropolitan area with big city amenities and a burgeoning corporate profile, go with Charlotte. If you want a mid-sized, steadily-growing capital city home to a large university with all of the amenities that entails, go with Columbia.