Raleigh or Columbia? (best, place, bigger, schools)

[proudmommy2013]

Hi everyone, I've narrowed down to these two cities but not sure which one to go with.

I am currently expecting my 3rd child and am looking for a nice, family-oriented place to raise my children but still has a decent amount of activities. It is me, my husband, our 7 year old daughter and 17 year old son. Good schools, both public and colleges/universities are something we are looking for. We've visited Columbia once and thought it was a nice, charming little town to raise a family. We just got back from Raleigh and we're all loving it!

Before making a final decision, I thought I'd listen to others opinions about the two. Please be respectful.

[Mutiny77]

Raleigh's definitely bigger, growing faster, and offers pretty much everything Columbia does plus more. It's known for having some of the best public schools in the nation and the selection of colleges/universities in the area is broader and they generally rank higher. Columbia does well for itself and can compete pretty favorably with most cities in its tier, but Raleigh is pretty much in another category.

As a native SC'er, I'm biased towards Columbia but pound for pound, Raleigh outperforms it in most categories. Like I said, it's in a different tier.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Raleigh's definitely bigger, growing faster, and offers pretty much everything Columbia does plus more. It's known for having some of the best public schools in the nation and the selection of colleges/universities in the area is broader and they generally rank higher. Columbia does well for itself and can compete pretty favorably with most cities in its tier, but Raleigh is pretty much in another category.

As a native SC'er, I'm biased towards Columbia but pound for pound, Raleigh outperforms it in most categories. Like I said, it's in a different tier.

Agree w/pretty much everything Mutiny says. For us, we chose Columbia because it was a bit smaller which we liked, and because of it's proximity to the beach & mountains along w/a little milder climate - of course the flip side to that is it gets a bit hotter in the summer here than in Raleigh.

[Taynxtlvl]

And in Raleigh you see snow almost every year! Also top notch museums between here and Durham. Also the cities greenway biking/park system is splendid.