Thinking about Relo to Columbia - seeking advice (Charleston, Lexington: for sale, home sales)

[jskosmo]

My wife is from Minneapolis, I'm from Milwaukee (both midwest / northerners). We have a big dog, no kids. I'm Caucasian, my wife is Korean (but she came here as a baby, so she's Korean only in looks). We're both in our 30's. We'd be moving for a job opportunity, so the relo would be covered.

Am seeking general advice in a few areas:
1) Anyone of relatively similar backgrounds that has made the move - are you glad you did it? Regrets?
2) Any wonderful things about the area - things that will pleasantly surprise us?
3) Anything negative about the area - things the 'relo experts' won't tell us - that we should be aware of?

Thanks in advance - your insight will help us out tremendously.

[Nausikaa]

There are quite a few Koreans in Columbia, I guess because of the military base and the university, so yr wife would not stand out as different. No one would give any thought to that.

You would be swapping extreme winters for extreme summers. No shoveling snow, but you will live in AC all summer.

Housing and prop taxes are very reasonable, compared to other parts of the country, which is why people are suddenly flocking here.

Columbia is a great place because it's 100 miles to the coast, and 100 miles to the mountains. It is the state capital, and there is a large university here. Charleston is a beautiful place to visit.

We really enjoy Lake Murray. If you could swing buying a used pontoon boat, you take yr dog out on the lake, and spend the day. You can swim in the warm clean water, fish, ski or just laze about.

Anyway, I think you will like it.

[waccamatt]

I totally agree with Nausikaa's response. I think you would be surprised by the city's large Korean population - there are many Korean-owned stores along Decker Blvd.

[salatheel]

Hopefully some Korean BBQ! I always wanted to try that.

[Cow_Lady]

Originally Posted by salatheel

Hopefully some Korean BBQ! I always wanted to try that.

Okay, that's one thing I miss from Los Angeles. MMMmmmm, the Korean/Chinese/Japanese buffets (complete with Korean BBQ, of course). They were awesome - had the best of each Asian menu all in one place!

I should really watch posting about food this close to dinner time!

[orioleorange08]

I moved from Minneapolis to Lexington, SC and I love the warm weather. The people here are very friendly! If you are looking for a house, I know of a lovely home for sale in Lexington. It has a pool and a fenced in yard for your dog. Even though there is a pool, there is still plenty of room for your dog to run around. Here is a link:

Successful Home Sales in Columbia