Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Looking to make the move to South Carolina and have narrowed it down to these 3 cities based on schools, crime, housing, and job potential (greenville or Columbia area). I have two school aged children (11 and 13) and would like to know any pros and cons for each area. Looking at sense of community, recreation activities, things to do, houses, safety. I dont want to be in the middle of nowhere, but want to avoid being real close to a major city area. Obviously a lot depends on jobs, but if one of those areas stands out for a specific reason, I will concentrate my efforts there.
Looking to make the move to South Carolina and have narrowed it down to these 3 cities based on schools, crime, housing, and job potential (greenville or Columbia area). I have two school aged children (11 and 13) and would like to know any pros and cons for each area. Looking at sense of community, recreation activities, things to do, houses, safety. I dont want to be in the middle of nowhere, but want to avoid being real close to a major city area. Obviously a lot depends on jobs, but if one of those areas stands out for a specific reason, I will concentrate my efforts there.
I would drop Piedmont and add Lexington so now all within the greater Columbia area.
I would suggest Lexington or Chapin, nothing against Blythewood I just don't know enough about the area as far as living to make an informed suggestion. I know we raised our family in Lexington and rarely considered moving to improve our quality of life. Everything you mentioned wanting is available in abundance with the bonus of lower taxes and really good schools to boot.
Both Blythewood and Chapin are fine but for different reasons.. If you want more outdoor activities and slightly better schools... I would choose Chapin as it is close to Lake Murray and the Saluda River and many water type activities, Harbison Forest for hiking biking and on the way up to Greenville and the update for additional outdoor activities, and access to slightly better shopping.. its more rural to exurbanan..... Blythewood if you want more a suburban lifestyle and to be closer urban amenities in the form of downtown Columbia or even going up to Charlotte. Taxes may be lower in Chapin.. both areas have low crime.... Good luck
I live in blythewood and some schools aren’t that great compared to lexington from what I heard but even great school ratings rate some lexington schools lower lately. All you’ll hear is the lexington schools are amazing and would choose lexington only for that reason.
lake carolina and round top and bethel hanberry etc are all “rated” good too as far as school ratings.
It’s all the same to me anyhow. good schools here and there, small crime here and there… rich and poor neighborhoods.
I will say that traffic by lexington is horrendous. blythewood seems to have it a little better controlled though it can get busy.
i prefer lexington for costco access though! I would choose lexington if you can live on the lake to make traffic worth it.
blythewood really has exploded in growth though and cheap housing as well!
We moved to the Blythewood area 4 years ago. If we had to do it over, we would have moved to Lexington, Chapin, or Irmo (Dutch Fork area). We have loved the elementary school here, but have been disappointed with the middle school and high school. Also, we are outdoorsy people who enjoy fishing and hiking, but we don’t have a lot of options on this side of town, other than Sesquicentennial State Park and Lake Wateree.
I would suggest Lexington or Chapin, nothing against Blythewood I just don't know enough about the area as far as living to make an informed suggestion. I know we raised our family in Lexington and rarely considered moving to improve our quality of life. Everything you mentioned wanting is available in abundance with the bonus of lower taxes and really good schools to boot.
And another reason to love Lexington County....Just got my 2021 property tax bill and it went down $70 from last year. And I live within the city limits so trash pickup etc is included in that total. Not bad.
Last edited by LexingtonDad; 11-13-2021 at 06:28 AM..
Reason: Add more info
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
