Best Big Cities in South Carolina

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by Greenville

The people who are loyal to the University of South Carolina seem to like Columbia, but those who are not affiliated with USC tend to be indifferent to Columbia. Maybe that is because USC dominates the scene there so much.

I'm not affiliated w/USC at all - although I'm looking into their graduate business programs w/the great reputation the Moore Business school has - having moved from Ohio, and I've really enjoyed Columbia and think it has a lot of great features for a city it's size. Granted, the shape a lot of cities are in up in Ohio, it doesn't take a lot to be impressed by other cities! However, for a lot of the reasons you mentioned in your post, we've enjoyed it, plus a couple of other things:

While Charleston is great, cost of living especially on real estate is much more affordable here than there.

While not exclusive to Columbia, the weather is great for about 10 or so months out of the year w/July & August being just a little too hot, but I'll take the trade-off for the mild winters. Plus, we're enough inland that hurricanes will not have a major effect on the city like they can and have had on the coastal cities.

More professional jobs than Charleston in large part due to the large influx of state/government jobs.

The schools at least when comparing Richland Co. to Charleston Co. grade better in Columbia; I realize that there are good schools in Summerville/Dorchester Co., but there are also some good ones in Lexington & Irmo here so kind of cancels each other out.

I think Charleston is great, and enjoy visiting there, but we chose Columbia over it mainly for those reasons. I have nothing against Greenville-Spartanburg either, honestly, we just liked being closer to the beaches and found jobs easier here than there, but I know that the upstate has a solid repuation and hope that it continues to grow and improve as it will help the state's reputation as well.

[NCN]

Tega Cay might not be big, but if I were moving to South Carolina, that would be my number one choice. I love Tega Cay.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Greenville

Columbia seems to leave an impression on visitors as being dominated by government and the University of South Carolina. For most, that is not a positive. The city does not project cleanliness, progressiveness, or refinement. There is something detached about it, and that is the opposite of what most people feel when they are in Charleston or Greenville. In both Charleston and Greenville, people see refinement, nice restaurants, luxury hotels, etc. That's not to say that Columbia does not have any of those things, because they do, but they do not stand out in Columbia like they do in the other two.

I think that's a fair point to a certain extent, and I think two factors can explain this. The first is that the city's first target of revitalization was the Vista in the early 80's, and the specific area that was initially targeted for the most investment--the Gervais Street corridor--only comprises a small part of the district. But that area has come an extremely long way over the past 25 years or so, as this
YouTube video shows. The second factor is that, as I've seen it written in an article in The State at one point, Columbia had gotten somewhat comfortable with its relatively stable local economy, and so didn't necessarily feel the urge to go the extra mile in many cases. That's recently changed with several projects, including streetscapings, but the perception has to catch up with the changing reality. On that last point in particular, I place that responsibility on Mayor Coble who's really more of a city manager than a visionary leader. Consistently progressive leadership can make all the difference in the world.

[Skyliner]

Originally Posted by Akhenaton06

...I place that responsibility on Mayor Coble who's really more of a city manager than a visionary leader. Consistently progressive leadership can make all the difference in the world.

That, in my opinion, is the most obvious difference between the development and perception of Greenville vs. Columbia - visionary leadership with a determined and progressive mindset regardless of what the public initially thinks. Greenville has been blessed with this element since the late 1970s, while it seems fairly new in Columbia, and may not have quite reached an equivalent level of intensity yet, despite tremendous recent improvement. The perception of people near and far regardoing Columbia will undoubtedly change, as you stated, and I think this is clearly evident already. Greenville's reputation began to take flight following the construction of the Peace Center, and has since soared to new heights with the additions of several regionally "iconic" jewels including Falls Park on the Reedy, RiverPlace, and the recent growth at Heritage Green.

[Akhenaton06]

Originally Posted by Skyliner

That, in my opinion, is the most obvious difference between the development and perception of Greenville vs. Columbia - visionary leadership with a determined and progressive mindset regardless of what the public initially thinks. Greenville has been blessed with this element since the late 1970s, while it seems fairly new in Columbia, and may not have quite reached an equivalent level of intensity yet, despite tremendous recent improvement.

Actually, I wouldn't say it's fairly new in Columbia. Mayor Kirkman Finlay, a predecessor to Coble, was an extremely progressive mayor, but Coble--not so much. I mean the Vista continued its progress under Coble, but that seemed to be more due to the Columbia Development Corporation than anything. There really isn't any one big redevelopment project that one can point to and say that it was his brainchild, like one can with Knox White and Falls Park or Joe Riley and Waterfront Park or the Charleston Place complex. But who knows, that might possibly change in the near future.

[Woodlands]

Aka Finley Park.. though it was his brainchild.. it actually started to move forward under Patton T. Adams... Coble actually opposed "Arsenal Hill Park" because the city had already begun to dump a bunch of money into it and the retaining wall near the waterfall began to fail and had to be repaired before the thing even opened. Many people, including Coble, thought there were other priorities...and most in the region thought it was INSANE to do anything downtown other than go to church, watch a parade, light the Christmas Tree, transfer buses at Taylor and Assembly, sleep on the street, or sell drugs (ok I am exaggerating a tad bit). But Mayor Finlay laid the foundation for the Vista.. the Palmetto Center (which was SC National Bank and the Marriott) and much of the first Main St streetscaping. Mayor Bob is not a horrible Mayor... he done alot of neighborhood development stuff.. but would like to have another visionary Mayor like Finlay...Don't know much about his son who is now on City Council

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Woodlands

Aka Finley Park.. though it was his brainchild.. it actually started to move forward under Patton T. Adams... Coble actually opposed "Arsenal Hill Park" because the city had already begun to dump a bunch of money into it and the retaining wall near the waterfall began to fail and had to be repaired before the thing even opened. Many people, including Coble, thought there were other priorities...and most in the region thought it was INSANE to do anything downtown other than go to church, watch a parade, light the Christmas Tree, transfer buses at Taylor and Assembly, sleep on the street, or sell drugs (ok I am exaggerating a tad bit). But Mayor Finlay laid the foundation for the Vista.. the Palmetto Center (which was SC National Bank and the Marriott) and much of the first Main St streetscaping. Mayor Bob is not a horrible Mayor... he done alot of neighborhood development stuff.. but would like to have another visionary Mayor like Finlay...Don't know much about his son who is now on City Council

His son isn't much like his dad, IMO. Like you said, Mayor Coble is a proponent of the neighborhoods (of which most Columbians are very proud), but he has also had a lot of success with corridor beautification. Gervais Street (in the Vista and in Waverly), Lady Street, Lincoln Street, Five Points and Main Street have undergone beautification during his tenure as mayor. My only complaint with Mayor Coble is that he is often unwilling to move forward with a project without consensus. Being a consensus builder isn't a bad thing, but sometimes you just have to fight for a good project or plan and go ahead with a simple majority, otherwise it takes too long to accomplish your goals.

[Akhenaton06]

^Very true. I don't know why Coble doesn't seem to understand that he can't please everybody all the time when it comes to every project. Hopefully he's also learned that the private sector can do a much, much better job when it comes to development than government can (e.g., CanalSide).