Lots of Questions on Sumter (Columbia, Florence: for sale, apartments, rental)

[danheit]

I am interviewing for a government job in Sumter, and I am trying to get a little bit of info before moving there, so if you guys would be so kind as to humor me, I have a few questions.
1: Where is a nice INEXPENSIVE place to live near downtown Sumter? I will be supporting myself, my wife, and out 2 very young daughters off a salary of 26,500. I need CHEAP housing, but more than anything else, it MUST be safe. Living outside of town is not a problem, as I would prefer country living to being in the middle of the "issues" that Sumter has to offer, but I also love the homes available in the historic district of Sumter. Won't do a trailer, and really don't want to do an apartment, as it isn't as easy to pick your neighbors.
2: What is there to do in Sumter? We are moving from Myrtle Beach, and have book stores, outside shopping, movie theaters, the beach, tons of other stuff here. My main concern is for the wife and kids. I saw Sumters arts theater, but that isn't really kid friendly to a 3 year old and a 1 year old. Any good play places around? My wife LOVES to read, and we are used to being able to choose between several Barnes&Noble and Books-A-Million stores, all within 15 minutes of the house. Mainly, it is a good place to come sit and relax, have a cup of coffee, read, and let the kids play in the children's area.
3: Any good pre-preschool programs in Sumter? My oldest girl goes to an interactive program here 2 days a week from 9-12. We don't need a daycare, as my wife and I have chosen to make a few sacrifices and have her as a stay at home mom since the kids were born. We just want a good place for our kids to be around other nice children, away from the stereotypical day care biters and snatchers. Doesn't have to be a structured learning program, as she has plenty of time for that later on in life, but good interaction is key on this.
4: Churches- we come from a non-denominational community church that is very laid back. Come in shorts and flip flops, or a suit and tie, the choice is yours. We are a younger couple (I turn 30 in March), and we enjoy being around other couples our age as well. Really just looking for a good place to get connected.
5: Where are the best places to eat, shop, etc? I can tell you all of the local's secrets for Myrtle Beach, as I have grown up here, and I know that every town has them. What are Sumters?

I really appreciate whomever replies taking the time to read and answer this. We are coming from a very comfortable and happy life here at the beach and moving to a rather foreign environment, so I want to make the transition as easy as possibly for all my girls, wife included. The job market here is so dry that we are doing what ever we can to make ends meet. I haven't worked since last August, and time is a runnin out! No unemployement here either, as I am self employed, so I am happy to take what I can get! Thanks again, and I look forward to meeting some great people!

[Ceezer]

If you don't mind me asking, where will you be working. If you're on Shaw (you didn't specify what kind of government job) then I would definitely recommend a rental house in one of the Dalzell areas. If you're working downtown on a State/Federal level, and trying to be close to that, cost versus safety are going to become a serious issue. If you look through some of the other Sumter-related threads, you'll see that when we first came to town 5 years ago our 3 BR apartment cost us around $800/mo. There were only a few areas my wife felt comfortable living in and they were all around the same cost.

These were apartments, though, since we didn't know the area and didn't have a whole lot of time to look into out-lying areas. If you work downtown and don't mind a bit of a drive, I'd still look into a rental home in the Dalzell areas. We live in the Oakland North area, which is on the West side of Shaw (Dalzell proper is on the East side), and our neighborhood is primarilly military/law enforcement. My car did get broken into on Christmas Eve, but other than that I feel that its a good area. We're about 15 minutes from the West end of town (Walmart, Alice Dr, etc) and it takes about another 10-15 to get downtown (Tuomey, library, etc).

A bookstore is one thing I (and my daughter) would definitely love to see in Sumter. Unfortunately the closest one (aside from Waldens in the mall) is 40 minutes away in Sandhills. The new Sumter County Library, however, is very nice and I take my daughter there frequently. There are several nice parks in the area, including Swan Lake which has a walking trail around it and your girls would probably love taking a couple loaves of cheap bread to feed the swans & ducks.

The Learning Station is where my daughter went to preschool and does after-school on days that my wife is working, and during the summer they do a program where each day they go on activities like skating, swimming, theater, movie, etc. The ladies there are all nice and I've never heard any complaints.

Your daughters sound like they might be young, but the youth sports leagues in Sumter are run pretty well. They have a very nice little league baseball park complex off of Alice Drive, plus soccer & basketball that I know off. Miss Libby's does gymnastics & dance.

I also come from a non-denominational background and have tried a couple churches, but none have been a good fit yet (but I've only been to 2 or 3 so far). My daughter has been asking about going to church so I suppose I'd better start looking again. If I find something that feels good to me, which sounds like what you're looking for, I'll let you know.

You guys sound a lot like us, so let me make one suggestion: Bakers Sweets on Alice Dr. Yum! Other than that Sumter is full of the typical military-town commercial chains, but there are a few gems hidden here and there. I have not been to the Guinard Diner because either, a) I don't have cash on me and they don't take debit/credit, or b) I did have cash and it looked too crowded and I was too hungry to wait, but I hear they're very good. Palmetto subs is probably the best place to get a sandwich. Murray's Donuts has great chili dogs. There's another coffee shop/cafe downtown by the art gallery that's really good. I think it's called Brick Street... maybe? The best take-out Chinese is Hong Kong in the old Wynn Dixie shopping center where Wesmark meets Alice. There's more, I'm sure, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. If you go to Yelp.com, Jordan (a fellow I met on there but he got stationed out in Oklahoma now) and I have done a pretty decent job of covering as much of Sumter as we could.

On paper, Sumter looks boring. Truth be told, it is, but its simplicity is part of its appeal. Traffic is never an issue, thanks to a great highway system. And if you're motivated enough to look, there's plenty to do around here. It just doesn't get publicised very well so you have to dig to find it. Every weekend I hear about something I missed that was going on downtown or somewhere around town and I ask, "Why didn't I hear anything about that?".

You stated you grew up in Myrtle so I'm assuming you still have family there. The good news is you'll only be 1.5 hours from them. If you want more to do then you can get to various areas of Columbia in 40-55 minutes, or Florence in about 45 minutes.

Hope that helps.

[danheit]

Thanks Ceezer, I appreciate all of the insight. As far as my career goes, let's just say that it will be in the realms of law enforcement. No military though, it will be a little more localized. Let's just leave it at that. My office will be directly down town, in the center of the city, and I will need to be within a reasonable commute to there. I have no problem driving 20 or so minutes to work, but that will about top it out, simply due to the fact that gas will be going back upwards of $4, and I don't want to get stuck spending $200 a week in fuel. However, I am rather happy living on the outskirts of town, away from the "less desirable" areas. My main concern, as I stated before, is safety. I already am aware that I will not have a welcomed presence among a good portion of the miscreants of Sumter, and would like for that to not affect my family in any fashion.

As far as book stores go, I could only find one of the big chains in either Cola. or Florence. I really prefer not to make that trek if I can help it, as we are used to having one close by, but it is what it is. I really would love to be able to make use of the public library, but from reading some others' posts about the library (I think it was actually one of yours), the homeless seem to be trying to nest there. Obviously, this is something that I will take a crack at, but I really don't want my two little ones to be around that sort of element. My girls lead very sheltered lives, and the worst thing that they encounter on a daily basis is when the Wiggles go to a commercial break. I want to keep it that way. For now at least.

The learning station sounds like a good option, but is it more daycare oriented, or is it more school oriented? Daycares are a wonderful option for those that need them, but we prefer to steer clear of them due to the 15 or so percent of the kids that are dropped off to them that are a result of their poor upbringing. Also don't want to spend a mint on doctor visits from the kids getting sick all the time.
The sports programs will be a welcome opportunity, as I am rather involved here. We have been looking to get our oldest daughter into gymnastics, and I think that Miss Libby's will def. fit the bill. We will certainly check out some churches too, and if we find a great one, I will definately let you know.
As gloomy as this move seems to be, it is nice to hear that there are a few things that will work on our behalf. We(I) look forward to the small town atmosphere that Sumter offers, and hope that we can really make a nice life for ourselves there. We actually live just north of Myrtle Beach in a little fishing village known as Little River. I could walk to the border of NC. Salt water fishing is great, food is fantastic, everyone knows everyone, and people are friendly. Hoping to encounter that up there too. Thanks for all of your help, and I hope to get lucky and run into you and your family some time. You seem like you have a good head on your shoulders (from what I have read!), and I think that I could learn alot from some of your Sumter Wisdom.

[Ceezer]

If you get in the "Dalzell proper" area, the drive to town will be about 6-8 minutes (depending on how deep you go) shorter than from the side of Dalzell I live in. That side has a few sketchy looking spots but overall should still be primarilly military/law enforcement and thus, still safe overall.

Florence has BAM (down from the mall, at the shopping center where 26 and 76 come together) and B&N (in the mall). Columbia has BAM (Sandhills & Harbison) and B&N (Forest Drive mall & Harbison, across the street from BAM). There may be more locations but those are two of each that I know of. I'm not sure about a stand-alone Borders. Yeah, it's too far to drive every time you want to kick back with some coffee and look for a new book or flip through some magazines, but it's nice to know where they are if you're spending the day in Columbia.

I don't think the homeless in the library are an issue, yet. I probably blew it out of proportion because I don't want it escalating to the point that it becomes an issue.

Learning Station is more daycare oriented. I don't know of any accelerated/educational programs. I wish I did. When my daughter was at Oakland Primary School for K&1st they had an after-school program for the accelerated students, but now that she's in 2nd and has moved to Shaw Heights on base, they don't have that program.

I hope your move to Sumter is with a positive attitude - don't let the postings here, some of which are even mine (as much as I *try* to hype Sumter up, sometimes I just have to vent/rant) - because that's what we need more of.

There are some new comings-to-town that are opening or should be opening very soon (PetCo, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Firehouse Subs, etc). I'm hoping these generate enough revenue and interest to other investors out there so that we can get some diversity in Sumter. I'm not wanting it to blow up into a massive metro, or anything, but just enough growth to sustain us and keep us interested from week to week (as I've said before, a good book store is all I really need).

[Rophlmao]

If you are going to be in law enforcement, ask the cops for specific info in person so you get the straight info you need.

Dalzell is a nice area (lots of military and the better quality civilians), and Ceezer posts good advice

Don't live in town, and don't bother with apartments. Do not even consider anything anywhere near Cherryvale.

[painterdude]

there's a good chance that we'll be moving to Sumter this summer. My wife will be teaching in one of the high schools and we'll be looking at housing around the first of April. We've been given some tours of some areas and have kinda narrowed it down to areas like Idlewild, Beech Creek, Lakewood and things like Meadowcroft and the areas south of Sumter High, near the country club but not in it. Also have an interest in some areas off Alice. We're in our mid and late 50's and looking forward to the move from central Fl. 20 years of stifling heat have been enough for 2 former yankees. Keep reading about some problem neighborhoods, but those we're exploring seem to be well kept and growing. Any input is appreciated. thanks

[airforce backer]

Originally Posted by danheit

I already am aware that I will not have a welcomed presence among a good portion of the miscreants of Sumter, and would like for that to not affect my family in any fashion.

My girls lead very sheltered lives, and the worst thing that they encounter on a daily basis is when the Wiggles go to a commercial break. I want to keep it that way. For now at least.

but we prefer to steer clear of them due to the 15 or so percent of the kids that are dropped off to them that are a result of their poor upbringing.

good god

[airforce backer]

Originally Posted by painterdude

there's a good chance that we'll be moving to Sumter this summer. My wife will be teaching in one of the high schools and we'll be looking at housing around the first of April. We've been given some tours of some areas and have kinda narrowed it down to areas like Idlewild, Beech Creek, Lakewood and things like Meadowcroft and the areas south of Sumter High, near the country club but not in it. Also have an interest in some areas off Alice. We're in our mid and late 50's and looking forward to the move from central Fl. 20 years of stifling heat have been enough for 2 former yankees. Keep reading about some problem neighborhoods, but those we're exploring seem to be well kept and growing. Any input is appreciated. thanks

Hopefully Im getting orders out of this place this summer, Ill be putting my 2100 sqft home up for sale int eh williamsburg subdivision there are also a few houses avail in this area as well. all under 2 yrs old mine is just over a yr

[painterdude]

where is the Williamsburgh area? Is it right near the base? I'll be checking stuff out the first week of April. Sounds like you didn't like it in the area. Too far from home? Different kind of folks, or just not your cup of tea.

[Ceezer]

This area takes a while to really get used to. As I've stated before, when we first moved here we were happy and excited but then it didn't take long for the novelty to wear off and discover that there really wasn't much that Sumter could offer. Even though my wife grew up in tobacco country NC and I grew up in Appalachia and we both like a country setting, we were both bored here. But over time Sumter's nuances started to shine through and I came to realize that while there may not be any flash and bling, it's what you *don't* see that is appealing.