I neeed some advice... (Columbia, Charleston: apartment, to rent, crime)

[YeshuasGirl45]

Hello All.... Right now I am a student in college getting my Associates in Radiology to become a Radiologic Technologist; in layman's terms, I am learning and getting my degree in how to take x-rays. After I finish my education, I plan on moving away from the northern Atlanta Metro area and am contemplating between North Carolina and South Carolina. If this is of any help, these are the areas I am looking at:
--Raleigh, NC
--Charlotte, NC
--Jacksonville, NC
--Wilmington, NC
--Columbia, SC
--Florence, SC
--Myrtle Beach, SC
--Charleston, SC
**I know that I am posting under the SC threads, but I am going to repost this under the NC threads too.**
The type of area I am looking for has:
--Decent/Good Economy
--Moderate Crime
--Local Medium-Large Sized Hospitals
--Nice Residents/People
--Lower Cost of Living
--Art/History/Culture
--Decent Size(not a small town, but a small town feel...does that make sense?)
--Downtown Life
--Not extremely far away from the mountains and the beach
--Decent Weather (not too much snow or tornadoes/hurricanes)

I really am wanting to rent an apartment first and then see about purchasing a 3 bedroom/2 bath townhome for hopefully no more than $200,000.

Anyways, any help from you guys would be great! I still have another year before I move, but I really would like to be able to narrow down the area so that I can start looking for a job in that location when I am ready. Also, I do not have to live in a BIG city, but I do not want to be an hour away either.

Thanks ahead of time for any help that you guys can bring to me!

[waccamatt]

I think you would find what you're looking for in Columbia as well as some of the other cities on your list. The cost of housing is very reasonable here and there are a number of hospitals and a medical school. With 3 interstate highways it is convenient to travel almost anywhere and both the mountains and the beach are less than a 2 hour drive. Columbia has 2 major arts and entertainment areas in downtown so there is plenty to do.

[YeshuasGirl45]

Awesome! Thanx for the info!

[Skyliner]

Hi YeshuasGirl45!

I realize you didn't mention it in your list, but Greenville, SC, definitely meets all of your criteria as well. It is certainly worth a closer look.