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Columbia is hot and miserable. I would never live there. Way better spots in the Carolinas.
LOL, that's negligible given that Charlotte isn't significantly cooler in the late spring/summer, especially in the middle of this particular heat wave we're having. The upside is that Columbia is generally a little milder in the winter.
LOL, that's negligible given that Charlotte isn't significantly cooler in the late spring/summer, especially in the middle of this particular heat wave we're having. The upside is that Columbia is generally a little milder in the winter.
Charlotte doesn't average 90+ degrees for any month. Columbia does for 3 months. Add the 80%+ average humidity throughout the YEAR and you get the Hot and Miserable I mentioned. Charlotte has humidity but not nearly what is experienced in Columbia. Columbia didn't name their slogan "Famously Hot" for no reason... it is because everybody realizes how hot/humid Columbia is. Sure it's not to the level of inland Florida or Lousiana but it is pretty darn close.
Currently I live in the midwest but I have lived in both Charlotte & Columbia. I would choose to live in Charlotte again but never Columbia. The heat and humidity are far, far worse than Charlotte. The city of Charlotte and surrounding suburbs are just much nicer, in my opinion.
As far as schools go, CMS has its challenges but if you do your research I'm sure you can find good neighborhood schools.
The distance between Columbia and Charlotte looks small on a map, but there's a real climatological difference in the summers and winters. The summers have been discussed enough... winters in Columbia are milder, but when Charlotte gets a wet snow, it's probably sleet or freezing rain in Columbia.
Columbia strikes me as a sprawling mess when I've driven through it. Lots of commercial streets cluttered with ugly signage. It feels larger than it is. It can be interesting to visit for the riverfront or the zoo, but it's not as nice as Greenville IMO and doesn't have the variety of things you'll find to do around Charlotte.
Charlotte doesn't average 90+ degrees for any month. Columbia does for 3 months. Add the 80%+ average humidity throughout the YEAR and you get the Hot and Miserable I mentioned. Charlotte has humidity but not nearly what is experienced in Columbia. Columbia didn't name their slogan "Famously Hot" for no reason... it is because everybody realizes how hot/humid Columbia is. Sure it's not to the level of inland Florida or Lousiana but it is pretty darn close.
Actually Charlotte does indeed average 90 degrees for July and early August and averages 80%+ humidity for a good part of the year also. These are from the Charlotte city-data.com page:
Quote:
Originally Posted by NettieV6
Currently I live in the midwest but I have lived in both Charlotte & Columbia. I would choose to live in Charlotte again but never Columbia. The heat and humidity are far, far worse than Charlotte. The city of Charlotte and surrounding suburbs are just much nicer, in my opinion.
As far as schools go, CMS has its challenges but if you do your research I'm sure you can find good neighborhood schools.
On average Columbia is hotter and more humid, but I don't find it to be the drastic difference that many make it out to be. And as I said, the upside of that for Columbia is milder winters. And certainly, Charlotte and its suburbs have a whole lot more newer development (which is usually what most mean by "nicer"); that cannot be disputed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sean_CLT
Columbia strikes me as a sprawling mess when I've driven through it. Lots of commercial streets cluttered with ugly signage. It feels larger than it is. It can be interesting to visit for the riverfront or the zoo, but it's not as nice as Greenville IMO and doesn't have the variety of things you'll find to do around Charlotte.
"Sprawling mess"...interesting, as Charlotte certainly sprawls more--and that makes sense, because Charlotte is twice as big. I find some parallels in their suburban areas. Independence in Charlotte is somewhat like Two Notch in Columbia. Concord Mills Blvd and Harbison Blvd are similar. Northeast Columbia and University City are somewhat alike. It's pretty interesting that you'd say that Columbia isn't as nice as Greenville, but I suspect you're only talking about the urban core which is the only part of Greenville most outsiders are really familiar with. Outside of downtown Greenville, which is relatively small, you've got sprawling commercial corridors in practically every direction, with many of them not the nicest to look at but most people who access downtown via I-385 and don't venture anywhere else in the city, except maybe the Woodruff/Haywood areas, wouldn't see that. Greenville's urban core has more synergy and is more compact, but Columbia does better in overall city-wide investment IMO.
The distance between Columbia and Charlotte looks small on a map, but there's a real climatological difference in the summers and winters. The summers have been discussed enough... winters in Columbia are milder, but when Charlotte gets a wet snow, it's probably sleet or freezing rain in Columbia.
Columbia strikes me as a sprawling mess when I've driven through it. Lots of commercial streets cluttered with ugly signage. It feels larger than it is. It can be interesting to visit for the riverfront or the zoo, but it's not as nice as Greenville IMO and doesn't have the variety of things you'll find to do around Charlotte.
Sprawling mess? Not sure any city in the south is a picture of urban development at its best. Greenville has a nice Main St but sprawls way more than Columbia. Upstate SC is terrible for sprawl.
As for Columbia v Charlotte, they are different cities. Charlotte is much larger with more amenities. However, Columbia has a major research university, if you like college sports, Columbia beats Charlotte.
I think you would like Charlotte better especially south Charlotte. I am a real estate agent and whoever I moved to Charlotte in the past 10 years, they still love it!
I also agree, Columbia is a furnace/oven. There is no breeze, the humidity is higher, the temps higher, etc. It is unbelievably hotter than CLT.
Now, as it relates to living there or here, Charlotte is hands down the better option on all fronts. I cant think of one criteria where Columbia beats Charlotte. Just my $.02. If you travel, like a nice meal, need to raise kids, want a larger pool of employers, want professional sports/culture, etc.
I cant think of one criteria where Columbia beats Charlotte.
A younger demographic downtown, a downtown along a river, a signature urban park...those are a few that are mostly a function of design. Oh, and right now, Columbia's unemployment rate is lower and in this economic environment, that can mean a lot. I think the OP should land the job first in whichever city then make a visit to see if that city is a good fit.
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