Possible move to columbia (Lexington, York: affordable apartments, buying a home, unemployment rate)

[Matt548]

Hello everyone, my girlfriend has a possible job opportunity in Columbia and we are unfamiliar with the South, coming from New York State. We are interested in your comments about the city, and also about the Riverbanks Zoo.
Are there a lot of affordable apartments in the downtown area?

How is the nightlife? (we are used to clubs and bars open till 2am)

I've read that the unemployment rate is high however the job growth is good. For myself, I would have to start over looking into job opportunities.

Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by Matt548

Hello everyone, my girlfriend has a possible job opportunity in Columbia and we are unfamiliar with the South, coming from New York State. We are interested in your comments about the city, and also about the Riverbanks Zoo.
Are there a lot of affordable apartments in the downtown area?

How is the nightlife? (we are used to clubs and bars open till 2am)

I've read that the unemployment rate is high however the job growth is good. For myself, I would have to start over looking into job opportunities.

Any input would be GREATLY appreciated!

Some of the clubs here are open pretty much all night (only until 2 on Saturday nights) so you should be ok as far as the night life goes. They can only serve beer and wine after 2am, though. Columbia has 2 main entertainment areas in the downtown area - Five Points and The Vista. Restaurants and shopping in both area appeal to a wide group of ages, but the bars in Five Points mostly cater to college age up to around 30ish. The Vista cater more to the over 30 crowd, but some students, etc. hang out there, too. I guess "affordable" depends on the person, but you can still find some decent apartments in-town in the $500-$700 a month range in good areas. The unemployment rate in South Carolina as a whole is high, but it is at or below the national average in the Columbia area. Riverbanks Zoo is a great place to visit and it has an associated botanical garden, too. It has been named one of the top ten zoos in the country at various times and is located close to downtown on the Saluda River. I've got a lot of photos of the area on my website if you want to take a look around.

Waccamatt's page |

[Barber_kid]

We moved down from NY state (Orange County) and love it here. We chose Lexington because of the schools and it was close to everything. Riverbank zoo is a very nice and clean place for kids (or even adults). Ever think about buying a home?, we got a much nicer home than we had in NY for 100k less If you need a realtor reference, pm me.