Aiken South Carolina/Augusta, GA (Columbia, Charleston: crime, house prices, neighborhood)

[Donald Brown]

We are looking to scale down and retire to a lower cost area but I want to be near a good turkey hunting and fishing like at Clarks Hill. We want to be fairly close to good medical care and shopping. Any suggestions on area would be helpful. We are considiering Columbia County, and Lincoln. Any suggestions?

[vortexx]

It's not totally cheap, but you could look into Evans, GA.

[SaveSouthCarolina]

There are a good bit of places that are dirt cheap, have great hunting and fishing nearby, and within 20 minutes of wal-mart etc. and within 45 minutes to the bigger cities of Greenville and Columbia.

Whitmire, SC...Hunters come from all over even out of state to hunt here! There is great Turkey Hunting, Squirrel, Deer, etc. House prices are dirt cheap..An 8br 5000Sq ft House just sold for $115,000..You can get houses for as little as $30K...Newberry is only 15 minutes with Super Wal-mart, An ok hospital. They also have an opera house, an historic downtown with some good places to eat! And you can go to the bigger cities of Columbia or Greenville in 45 minutes. The beach is 3 hours and the Mountains are 1 1/2 hours away. Whitmire is in the middle of the Sumter National Forest!

A few bad things..Whitmire is a gossip town, very small (2000 people), but No Crime and the people are very nice!

There are other places like this but I just thought to give you one to think about as Augusta is NOT a great place to live and Aiken has some great hunting but is more expensive but it may not be to you.

I hope this helps you.

[vortexx]

Originally Posted by SaveSouthCarolina

There are other places like this but I just thought to give you one to think about as Augusta is NOT a great place to live and Aiken has some great hunting but is more expensive but it may not be to you.

I hope this helps you.

Augusta isn't THAT bad. The only parts to stay away from are South and East Augusta. West Augusta is growing like crazy, as is North Augusta.

[SaveSouthCarolina]

Augusta IS that BAD! Just get on the interstate loop over near the Barnyard Flea Market and take a look at ALL THAT LOVELY POLLUTION coming from those factories. IT's FACTORY ROW! And you can also try eating at the Red Lobster right near all the lovely crime on a road that is filled with Pawn Shops and Alot more. Or, you can go to the "Good side" of town near the Mall and checkout all the "action"! NOT a great city!

North Augusta is nice and does not have alot of crime at all BUT you WILL GET THE POLLUTION from the factories in Augusta especially bad in the mornings!

[johndoeboy]

South augusta has very nice parts its just so much bigger in land mass than west & east augusta . Hephzibah or the tobbaco rd willis foreman area. Goshen & diamond lakes are gated communites in south augusta who offer amenities in the neighborhood.

[MaddieClaire]

Originally Posted by SaveSouthCarolina

Augusta IS that BAD! Just get on the interstate loop over near the Barnyard Flea Market and take a look at ALL THAT LOVELY POLLUTION coming from those factories. IT's FACTORY ROW! And you can also try eating at the Red Lobster right near all the lovely crime on a road that is filled with Pawn Shops and Alot more. Or, you can go to the "Good side" of town near the Mall and checkout all the "action"! NOT a great city!

North Augusta is nice and does not have alot of crime at all BUT you WILL GET THE POLLUTION from the factories in Augusta especially bad in the mornings!

And don't forget to mention the horrible stench... I hear it comes from the paper mills around Augusta but never knew for sure. Anyway, that stench is the worst! So bad in fact that some days t will float all the way to Aiken.
We flew into Augusta airport, and the stench was so bad that people were gagging - the pilot said, "welcome to Augusta!"
Some of the locals say the stench is in the fog, but it's from some sort of paper mill or fertilizer processing center or something. Wherever it comes from it is truly awful.

[scyogi]

mmmm............Aiken is LOVELY. Tons of people retire in little ol' Aiken. It has just enough to do within the city limits. PLUS you do have access to so much more.
Both Charlotte and Atlanta--2 1/2 hours away, driving the speed limit
Charleston-2 hours
McCormick --near the lake and hunting--1 hour
The Turkey federation is in Edgefiled, SC. (not sure of the purpose but fun to take your kids to)
A active art community, horse and animal lovers thrive in this charming city, a active downtown.......ok you get the point. (I love the town....no longer get to call it home)
Health care is good--not state of the art. Aiken Regional is getting better every year. They are always expanding and recruiting the best doctors.
As far as Augusta is concerned.......well everyone above that posted is correct. It has potential but it is a long way off from being a nice southern town.