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My family and I are relocating to Columbia in June. My husband will be working at the Richland/Palmetto hospital downtown, so we are looking for homes on the NE side of town, b/c of shorter commute and better schools (we need a good elem. school). We are looking at a home that feeds into the Bookman Road Elem school, which is ranked well, but it's hard to go off a ranking alone. We would consider private school as well if this is not an excellent school.
Also, any information on the "Woodlake" subdivision???
Woodlake/Bookman Road is good, but also look at Lake Carolina and Round Top elementary schools
Quote:
Originally Posted by kcho
Hello all!
My family and I are relocating to Columbia in June. My husband will be working at the Richland/Palmetto hospital downtown, so we are looking for homes on the NE side of town, b/c of shorter commute and better schools (we need a good elem. school). We are looking at a home that feeds into the Bookman Road Elem school, which is ranked well, but it's hard to go off a ranking alone. We would consider private school as well if this is not an excellent school.
Also, any information on the "Woodlake" subdivision???
Karen
Karen - as I mentioned in another thread, Woodlake and Bookman Road are very good choices. I think you'll be happy with the choice. Might I also recommend looking into neighborhoods that feed into Lake Carolina and Round Top Elementary schools, which are at least as good as Bookman Road. While Lake Carolina and Round Top and their associated neighborhoods are further west towards Blythewood, access to Palmetto Richland Hospital and downtown is also good from there, via Interstate 77 (which I find a less congested highway option than the Clemson Road/I-20 route, which is probably how you'll be getting to downtown if you live in Woodlake). I would consider Bookman Road, Lake Carolina, and Round Top the best three elementary schools in the NE (in no particular order), so it might be a good idea to investigate beyond just Woodlake/Bookman Road.
Thank you Chi2Midlands (are you from Chicago? If so, I am as well). We looked at many neighborhoods, and if the offer doesn't go thru, we will revisit the area in April to consider LC and other neighborhoods on the NE side and Forest Lake/Arcadia Lakes.
Any thoughts on how the best public schools compare with the private schools (St John Neumann, etc.)?
Yes, I am a native Chicagoan - Links to my public/private school posts
Quote:
Originally Posted by kcho
Thank you Chi2Midlands (are you from Chicago? If so, I am as well). We looked at many neighborhoods, and if the offer doesn't go thru, we will revisit the area in April to consider LC and other neighborhoods on the NE side and Forest Lake/Arcadia Lakes.
Any thoughts on how the best public schools compare with the private schools (St John Neumann, etc.)?
I REALLY appreciate your input, thank you!
Karen - yes, I was born in Chicago and largely raised in the near-north suburbs. Glad to hear another Chicago native is moving down here!
The short answer to your question on schools is that the best public schools in and around Columbia generally compare favorably with private schools. I would put the best students at Spring Valley High School (with probably the most elite math/science magnet program in the state outside the Governors' School) or Dreher High School in the city or Irmo High School on the northwest suburban side of town head-to-head with the best students at private Heathwood Hall and Hammond. However, when you get to the nitty-gritty details, there are many differences and trade-offs to consider, because it can get kind of apples-and-oranges when you compare them, and you really have to know what your priorities are and what's important to you and your children (i.e., finances, social environment, academic environment, religious values, class sizes, extracurricular opportunities, parental involvement, etc.). Full disclosure: I will admit that I am biased towards public schools since I am a product of good public schools in north suburban Chicago, but I respect any perspective on the private-vs.-public debate (not the least of which is having to debate the topic many times with my Virginia-raised spouse who also went to public schools); we anticipate sending our children to Richland 2 schools.
I'm not going to make this post long, because I have written long answers to other folks' private school questions in this forum. I'm going to link to them here for you to read, and you can of course ask me any follow-up questions you may have:
I would have to disagree with your statement as far as better schools in the Northeast. The Lexington/Richland SD#5 is one of the highest rated schools and easy commute into Columbia. We have a number of homes available with walking trails right to the elementary school. Ballentine Elementary to be exact, Dutch Fork Middle School and Dutch Fork High School.
Moderator cut: edit
Last edited by christina0001; 03-02-2008 at 09:55 PM..
Reason: advertising (real estate)
Thank you Chi2Midlands - I read your prior posts as you suggested and appreciate all of the info. I grew up in Highland Park and went to the public schools (HPHS grad 1990), so the idea of sending a five year old to private kindergarten is a bit insane to me... but I am feeling more and more comfortable with Bookman Road. Now someone just needs to talk me off a ledge for buying a house during the current housing bust!
Thank you Chi2Midlands - I read your prior posts as you suggested and appreciate all of the info. I grew up in Highland Park and went to the public schools (HPHS grad 1990), so the idea of sending a five year old to private kindergarten is a bit insane to me... but I am feeling more and more comfortable with Bookman Road. Now someone just needs to talk me off a ledge for buying a house during the current housing bust!
You really don't have to be worried about a "housing bust" in Columbia. I'm not an expert, but I believe Myrtle Beach/Hilton Head are basically the only regions of SC badly hit.
The home prices in Columbia have never escalated like Florida, CA and Nevada. Everything has been going up at a normal rate here. There are no huge condo speculators, etc. The economy is pretty stable. Columbia is not a manufacturing town - it is a university, government, insurance - type of place. The foreclosure rate in SC is below the national average, at below 1% of all loans. Houses are still well priced, some of the lowest prices in the country. You won't see hundreds of "for sale" signs around. It's a good place to live. So welcome.
I would have to disagree with your statement as far as better schools in the Northeast. The Lexington/Richland SD#5 is one of the highest rated schools and easy commute into Columbia. We have a number of homes available with walking trails right to the elementary school. Ballentine Elementary to be exact, Dutch Fork Middle School and Dutch Fork High School.
Moderator cut: edit
Blocknlot: I don't believe I ever said that Northeast (i.e., Richland 2) schools are better than Irmo/Chapin (i.e., Lexingotn/Richland 5) schools. I was merely stating what schools within the Richland 2 district were better than others in the same district, since the original poster stated her preference for the Northeast and specifically mentioned Woodlake and Bookman Road Elementary. Plus they mentioned the commute to Palmetto Richland Hospital, which, while not impossible from the Irmo/Chapin side of town, is probably a bit easier commute from NE Richland. If someone was asking about living in the Irmo/Chapin area specifically, or if their commute was closer to the Irmo/Chapin area, then I would by all means suggest living in that area. I don't think you will find many folks posting to this forum who would disagree that Irmo/Chapin schools are great. I personally don't like to get too deep into comparing school districts that are more or less equally good. Between Richland 2, Lexington/Richland 5, and Lexington 1, there really isn't THAT big of a difference in terms of quality of education. And even in, say, Richland 1, there are a handful of very good schools.
I've discussed my views on Richland 2 vs. Lexington/Richland 5 schools before:
My bottom line on comparing the two districts boil down to:
(1) Both are excellent school districts and offer some of the best education in the Midlands and SC.
(2) Both districts are good enough that you don't have to make your commute to work longer and choose one over another.
(3) Lex/Rich 5 definitely has better test scores overall but Richland 2 has just as good students, teachers, programs, and opportunities. I would look beyond test scores to see what's best for your family. There are many happy families in both districts. Splitting hairs over whether Irmo HS or Spring Valley HS is better, for example, is utterly pointless.
(4) Each district has a slightly different flavor, vibe, and personality, but both are still very good districts.
Thank you Chi2Midlands - I read your prior posts as you suggested and appreciate all of the info. I grew up in Highland Park and went to the public schools (HPHS grad 1990), so the idea of sending a five year old to private kindergarten is a bit insane to me... but I am feeling more and more comfortable with Bookman Road. Now someone just needs to talk me off a ledge for buying a house during the current housing bust!
Karen - that's interesting - I'm a Niles North High School 1991 grad. One of my college roommates was from Highland Park (he went to private school), and I've been to HPHS during interscholastic competitions. Small world!
As Nausikaa stated, I don't think you will have too much to worry about in terms purchasing a home in Columbia. This is a very stable, affordable market. Being a state capital, university town, and home to a large army base tends to keep the housing market relatively steady. I don't think there has been any large drops in prices here since around the very early 1980s (when you had inflation and interest rates in the high teens). What tends to happen in and around Columbia when the housing market cools here (and it is cooling, but definitely not crashing here) is that houses tend to sit on the market a bit longer (say 4-5 months instead of 2-3 months) while prices don't really drop. In the newer houses out in the exurbs there is a bit of excess inventory that will take a bit of extra time to clear out, and I have seen one fairly new house in the market that was a corporate relocation, and they've been a bit aggressive in price reductions but they started pricing from pretty high up. At the very least, I would say the vast majority of homes will at least break even, and over the next few years I personally believe Columbia will be pretty resilient market as we never had a huge run-up in prices to begin with. In South Carolina, only Hilton Head Island/Beaufort County and Myrtle Beach are experiencing anything like a Florida-style housing bust. Coastal areas in and around Charleston are also a bit softer, but they aren't as bad. Columbia and Greenville, on the other hand, are doing very well. Greenville actually has the lowest foreclosure rate of any metro in the nation (only 0.082 percent), and Columbia is also one of the lowest (0.324 perent), compared to parts of California, Florida, Michigan, etc. (which are 2-5 percent). Conservatively I think you can count on a 2-3 percent appreciation rate in Columbia.
I'm currently house shopping as well, and I've seen quite a few houses on the market that have reduced their pricing. I guess most aren't losing money compared to the previous purchase price, but they're not getting the appreciation they want.
Also, with the competition from new home construction that offers perks like paying closing costs and a warranty, many sellers of existing homes are having to throw in more and more perks to keep prospective buyers from building or buying a new construction. So its costing more and more to sell a house in this market.
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Woodlake/Bookman Road is good, but also look at Lake Carolina and Round Top elementary schools
