Help to know more about Orangeburg .. (Columbia, Charleston: credit, buyer, preschool)

[Ramba]

I am currently living in southern California. Though, I like CA, the cost of living drives me to relocate to a nice and safe city. I am getting a nice offer from a company in Orangeburg, SC. I am thinking of relocating. However, I did not do lot of research about this area. I have a two kids going to elementary schools, they are toppers in the school. Is it a good move to relocate to SC? If so, where can we live (my work will be in Orangeburg - Husqavarna plant) particularly schooling and safety point of view?

[ellie]

Orangeburg is a lovely little town. I used to live near there a number of years ago. There's a nice park along the Edisto river, rose and azalea gardens, a charming downtown, and a few interesting places to eat.

You will probably have to rethink everything you currently know and understand because that part of South Carolina is probably the polar opposite of S. Cal. Just be mellow and don't judge. I found people to be very sweet and welcoming.

You'll have to get the school info from someone else, but I imagine they won't even come close to what you have out there.

[Racelady88]

Here is a link to the Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce.

http://www.orangeburgcounty.org/

[Akhenaton06]

Well, concerning the schools, I'll be honest and put it out there: most of the Black kids attend the public schools, while the White parents generally opt to place their kids in private schools. I was born and raised in Orangeburg County, attending elementary and middle schools in Orangeburg, and this was the trend. Once you get out into some of the outlying towns though, this holds less true.

[wsaiken]

In Orangeburg, I understand that there is a big gap between the haves and the have nots, and there aren't many have somes. I learned secondhand recently, that a relatively wealthy family recently moved from there because they didn't want their kids to grow up believing this true everywhere. (While this is just hearsay, it really is secondhand to me and not third or fourth -- use it for what it's worth).

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

Well, concerning the schools, I'll be honest and put it out there: most of the Black kids attend the public schools, while the White parents generally opt to place their kids in private schools. I was born and raised in Orangeburg County, attending elementary and middle schools in Orangeburg, and this was the trend. Once you get out into some of the outlying towns though, this holds less true.

Agreed. This holds true in Orangeburg, Sumter, Kingstree, Manning, St. George, and some other places in the lowcountry. Actually, I agree with all the advice given so far in this thread. It's a nice town, but Orangeburg is going to be extremely different from Southern California.

[ljkbsb]

We recently moved to Orangeburg from the Midwest and are having a hard time adapting to the cultural differences. There is still a lot of separation between races. I lived in California in the 80's and the difference is night and day. Most people who can afford it send their kids to private school since the public schools do not have good ratings on standardized testing. However, the private schools don't need to test, so how do they rank? Our child is in a private preschool and has not learned anything new this year. I have heard that a family moved in from the Midwest and their grade school student was way ahead of the students in the primary school here. My concern is if we move, will our child be way behind the other students? If our child was grown, I would enjoy the area better, but I am concerned for his future.

Housing would be great compared to California. The housing developments are nice and you can pick up great property with lots of trees relatively inexpensive.

Shopping is horrid. Most people go to Columbia, Summerville or Charleston. I wish I had thought to ask these questions before we moved. I hope this helps you make your decision.

[Nausikaa]

Originally Posted by ljkbsb

We recently moved to Orangeburg from the Midwest and are having a hard time adapting to the cultural differences. There is still a lot of separation between races. I lived in California in the 80's and the difference is night and day. Most people who can afford it send their kids to private school since the public schools do not have good ratings on standardized testing. However, the private schools don't need to test, so how do they rank? Our child is in a private preschool and has not learned anything new this year. I have heard that a family moved in from the Midwest and their grade school student was way ahead of the students in the primary school here. My concern is if we move, will our child be way behind the other students? If our child was grown, I would enjoy the area better, but I am concerned for his future.

Housing would be great compared to California. The housing developments are nice and you can pick up great property with lots of trees relatively inexpensive.

Shopping is horrid. Most people go to Columbia, Summerville or Charleston. I wish I had thought to ask these questions before we moved. I hope this helps you make your decision.

Good post. Not the best place to move to. You are right, research always pays off.

[Quark]

http://www.socialexplorer.com/pub/maps/map3.aspx?g=0

This will give you the uncensored truth about any town in the US. All courtesy of the US gov't.

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by ljkbsb

Most people who can afford it send their kids to private school since the public schools do not have good ratings on standardized testing. However, the private schools don't need to test, so how do they rank?

You're right that private schools can choose to do things that public schools are required to do; so it's very much "buyer beware" when it comes to private schools. But any private school worth its salt will be in SCISA (SC Independent School Association), and be accredited by SACS (Southern Association of Colleges & Schools). But keep in mind that "Joe Sixpack Christian School" may be an expensive private school that is not accredited - which I wouldn't recommend. Accredidation is very important, so you need to do your homework.

And they certainly do test. They don't always report to the same agencies as public schools, but that doesn't mean they don't test. I went to a SCISA school, and took one or two standardized tests every year, from Kindergarten until my senior year. We also took the SAT in 7th grade, the PSAT twice, the SAT again a few more times, and the ACT a few times.

Take Orangeburg Prep School, for example:
Average SAT:
OPS Class of '06: 1103
National average '06: 1021
S.C. average '06: 985

If I lived in Orangeburg, I'd make whatever financial sacrifices that were needed to send my kids to OP.