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I would appreciate any info I could get to help me decide about moving to the Columbia area. I am a native Floridian and I have family members who live in Columbia. They all want me to move there. I am concerned that I will have some culture shock.
They all live in the Irmo and Lake Murray area. Most are conservative people and they put up with my more liberal leanings. I am afraid I will be the only liberal in SC.
I am in my 40's with no kids and single. I imagine that the Irmo area is all about the family unit and I will be out of place a a single, middle aged woman.
Oh yeah...how's the job market?
I would love to hear from anyone who has relocated from Florida to Columbia.
The Shandon area of Columbia is a liberal/moderate neighborhood. It's very closely tied to the university, and has a good mix of different ages. Drive down some streets in an election year, and it's democrat signs as far as the eye can see - which is very unusual in SC.
Besides Shandon, Forest Acres is a good area. Bigger lots, more working families and few college students.
You're right about the Irmo area, that's going to be families and suburbia.
Having lived in the St Andrews/Irmo area, I can say that it is not all about families. It is suburban and not urban like Shandon which tends to be inhabited by the more liberal professors from the University of South Carolina which is nextdoor. But that is only because most of them want to insulate themselves from the outside world anyway.
With Columbia (and SC) rapidly growing there are plenty of jobs in any career field you desire. The pay might not be what you have in Florida, but the cost of living is much lower too.
Columbia has become a very cosmopolitan city which has so much to offer everyone, but don’t expect the politics to be very liberal. Most SC Democrats are much more conservative than Northern Republicans even if they don’t admit it publicly.
Thanks Mountainpilot...
The wages in Florida are quite low. I am a paralegal. As there are no shortage of lawyers in Florida, I am sure it is the same in South Carolina so I hope I will be able to find work there.
I believe Columbia has the largest concentration of lawyers in the state, so you should have absolutely no problem finding something in your line of work.
Being that you are single, in your 40's, and no kids, I would suggest that you look in and around downtown. I think those areas would be much more tolerable for you in terms of your political and ideological leanings, plus the amenities of downtown will be unlike any in the region. You're only blocks away from the university, the Vista, Five Points, Finlay Park, event venues, etc. And you get to be a part of the downtown renaissance that's occurring.
I don't know about the average wage in SC. What I am finding in my job market in Florida is that you must be bi lingual (spanish) in order to find work in an attorney office. Not only speak Spanish but then be able to live on about $11 an hour. Hard to do!
There are a LOT of non english speaking folks in my area. That is O.K. but it is a shame to have to speak another language in order to work in the U.S. Don't get me wrong. I think it is great when people have language skills beyond their native language but it should not be to the point where you can not find employment if you do not speak Spanish.
If it is of any importance to you, Richland County, the county in which the city of Columbia is located, is considered solidly Democratic. Local governments are dominated by Democrats, many of them liberals. Al Gore won the 2004 presidential election there by a solid majority. There is a joke in SC that the only Red county in SC is Richland. Lexington County, on the other hand is solidlly rabid right wing Republican. There is some validity to the idea that more liberal newcomers seek out homes in Richland rather than Lexington. And if you preferr suburban to urban, there are many such areas in Richland.
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