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Hello all...this forum is great...I have read alot of things on the columbia area...and we just came back from a visit there...comming from NJ/NYC area,
If we do relocate, we like the Lexington Area and also the Irmo area. My question for everyone.
I have done exhausting research on the internet on the schools and on the corporal punishment issue and also test scores..which is why we are leaning towards lex and irmo.
I would like some "honest" opinions on people who live there...what makes living in the columbia area so great, what things dont you like, do you feel isolated at all, do you worry about your jobs....(its seems like there only a couple of big companies..and if you lose your jobs..then you are out of luck).
Also looking at sperlings, forbes and fortune, South carolina (columbia especially) is the has the 5th largest crime rate in the country (violent and non violent). We have small kids...does this bother you. Its one thing that all towns have there good and bad areas..but its seems like columbia is sooo small that this statistic is rather alarming.
Also when you look at the website of that is entitled schoolmatters "dot com", I am shocked that the "Best" school districts only have a mediocre rate of reading and math ability, whereas the northeast have percentages in 90-100% range.
I love the area, we fell in love with the people..but we have small kids to raise..and any opinions, good or bad would help!
mom2gurls,
It's interesting to me that you consider the Columbia area to be that small. I guess coming from NYC it would be small. I moved here from a medium-sized town, and at the time, Columbia felt huge. Isolated? No. I feel isolated in Bishopville, or Pinewood. Columbia is a city.
Anyway, I wouldn't worry about school district too much. Worry about the schools. If you're 'shocked' by the poor education statistics, you're going to be in for MAJOR culture shock when you move here. I personally would send my kids to a private school. Or I'd be willing to pay a lot more to live in a neighborhood with decent public schools.
About the crime - maybe I'm just used to it. That little town I moved from was ranked as the #3 most dangerous city in America (behind Detroit & Memphis). Columbia is comparatively much safer than my hometown. I don't think about it. Right now I do live a few blocks from the ghetto, and do hear random gunshots at night. But I'll be leaving at the end of the month.
You just want to stay away from certain neighborhoods. There are large, poor, dangerous black ghettos scattered around Columbia. Don't live there. And make sure that the school your kids go to doesn't encompass the ghetto, either.
What makes Columbia great? Nothing, really. Probably football season. The people here are rude (too many Yankees), it's hot in the city, golf is expensive, and there's nowhere good to fish.
Thank you for the reply...I have to say the people that I met were very very sweet and the areas that we went to were very nice...and all the shopping was nearby...we are looking into private schools even though we would by in lexington or irmo or chapin..ben lippen, heathwood, hammond...but still I just wanted to get an idea of what the good and bad parts were..people that we spoke to that relocated from out of state, say its the best move they ever made...so I wanted to hear from the locals what they thought....
As far as gunshots....YIKES...could you be more specific as to what areas you are talking about...that way I know not to look for houses there?
btw...what does the term yankees mean..I hope you are not referring to just us northeasterners....lol..not ALL of live or work in the city.....lol...we may just live around it!
It generally means, anyone who lives North of VA (varies by opinion, some people say North Carolinians are yankees), and east of Wisconsin. New Jersey and Illinois would both be "yankee" states.
It is often (not always) a derogatory term, referring to people who move south and keep their "northern" culture. Northern culture is valued down here about as much as being a southerner is valued in NYC. Not very much at all.
Ironically, most yankees aren't even aware they have a "culture". It usually involves loud talking, horn blowing, frowning, and talking about "how much better things are back in Buffalo". And hair gel, black clothes, and volvos.
Believe it or not, I'm not trying to be rude. It just wears on you, after the stereotype re-affirming itself over and over again. Best-case scenario for both transplants and natives, is for transplants to make an effort to assimilate into Southern culture.
You're right, if you're moving to Irmo or Lexington, a private school would neither be practical or nessecary. I was thinking Columbia.
Many northerners live on Lake Murray. A professor of mine at USC was from Ohio, and lived in a neighborhood on the lake with 7 other families from Ohio. Lexington has always been (and in some ways, still is) a redneck town. In the past 10-15 years, though, Lexington has exploded in population. Many more affluent out-of-towners have come in.
It has caused some problems - the infrastructure can't keep up. I always read about the overcrowding in schools, roads can't handle the traffic, etc. The commute into Columbia is pretty bad. The roads into Cola aren't designed to handle as many people as they do, and more are moving in every year. But I think Lexington has good schools. While there may be ghetto areas in Lexington, I don't hear about them.
I can't tell you much about irmo. As far as I know, it's the exact same thing as Lexington, with similar problems. Irmo is connected by I-26, though. It's probably more accessible to downtown Columbia.
Columbia is a great city. Lived here all my life. Columbia has 3 major interstates (I-77, I-26, and I-20) which forms a beltway around the city. It's easy to get around. I recently moved from Downtown Columbia which was great. Now I live in Northeast Columbia. Richland District 2 has very good schools and the crime isn't bad out here. Communiting isn't bad except for the traffic.
Columbia is at the most an hour and 15 from Charlotte depending on what side of town you leave from. It's only an hour and half drive to the mountains OR beach. The winters are mild, you may get one day of snow and maybe two small ice storms but besides that the weather is great beside the hot summers.
Columbia's crime used to be high in the 90s but it has dropped significantly. There were alot of shootings, prostitutes on Two Notch, and alot of housing projects. The city has been tearing them down and putting decent homes in place.
You really can't feel small and isolated in Columbia. It's no NYC, not even Charlotte, but it does have a metro area of nearly 700,000. Columbia is a government town esc. Alot of people work for the state that live in the area.
Hello and I live in Cayce just outside of Columbia. I do not like columbia, it is full of college students from all over and their major thing to do is party. The people there are stuck up and only think of themselves. The crime is high and there are many dangerous black ghettos as well as spanish qhettos too. We have them in the small town that we live in too. We live about 4 miles from Columbia and have lived on the same street for 8 years and only know 3 of our nighbors. The rest stay in their yard or homes and never talk to you. We have 4 familys of spanish that moved in about 4 months ago. Each small duplex is two bedrooms and their are about 10-12 people in each duplex. They are very rude and have smelly fruit and veg sit on their trucks all week which stink and draw flies. They let their dogs run loose and have had animal control out their too many times as well as the police too. But nothing does no good. And our neighbor right next door has parties every weekend they drink and smoke pot. You walk out your door and all you smell is pot and nothing never happens to them either. The bad part is we have 3 police officers that live on our same street. Now 3 streets over we do not go too because this is the black area and you are not welcomed there so you stay away from that area. I am not a rasist person, I was born in KY and have lived in most of the USA and have lived with all kinds of people of all color, but never knew how much raseist people were till I moved here. Now I am 50 years old and I have a 8 year old son and two granddaughters and I drive them to school in Lexington. I would not let them go to school in this area. My son was home schooled and last year was the first time he had ever went to school. He started in the first grade, and he did not know how to read or spell and knew a little math. When he started out he was on 2nd level reading which is very low, (the level goes from 1-19 in reading) and the school was worried that he may have to go back to K-5 to learn how to read before going to first grade. But we when in and talk to them and they said they would give him the first 9 weeks to improve and we would see from there. They placed him in a reading class and math class and he took off from there. Also he had never been around other kids except my granddaughters and he did very well at making friends as time went by. By the time the school year was over he won 4 awards from his school, one for music (which he hates to sing) one for art and he hates art too. One for reading and one for math. He went from level 2 in reading to level 17 in reading. And he is a wiz at math and loves math and science. They did an excellent job with him. If I had a questions about him all I had to do was send an email to his teacher and she would email me back. And if I needed to come in to talk to her she would always make time to see me. Her name was Ms. Snow and she was great. The school they go to is Saxa Gotha Elementary and it is an excellent school with high standards. The schools in that area are great along with the High School. If I had a choice it would be Lexington area, which is why we are looking to move to that area and get the heck away from the Columbia area. We are also thinking of moving to N.C. but either way Columbia is not for us. But the choice is yours and people all have different opions of the area they live in. But good luck on your search.
I'm considering renting in the River Road/Skyland Drive area. Is this considered a "good area"? Is high crime prevalent in this area? Can anyone give me some general insights on the area - both good and bad?
I'm really not sure if the area you're talking about is ghetto. I don't know where River Road is. You might be talking about River Drive, but that is across the river. Or you might be talking about Riverhill Circle. I'm not sure.
But I see Skyland Dr. on a map. Maybe you're talking about that area right behind riverbanks zoo? I do know that you'll be near some ghetto areas, but they'll be across the river. So I don't know if that particular area will be bad.
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Thank you for the reply
