Possible relocation to Columbia...

Hi everyone! I'm Laura, postop 19 months, from Florida. Hubby is interviewing with a company in Columbia - it is looking good. I was exploring a bit on the web about Columbia (it is gorgeous!) but I need to talk to some people who actually live there. So if there is anyone out there who wouldn't mind answering some quick questions, I would so appreciate it. What is it like? Do you love it? What are some nice neighborhoods - with good schools? (we don't have kids yet, but are planning for next year). What is the weather like year round? Where would you recommend I look for real estate? Anything else you would be willing to tell me - thanks! Are there many WLS surgeons in the area? (just in case!) And here is the doozy of a question... what are the gas prices?!? Again, thanks in advance. I am looking forward to hearing from you! Laura RNY 12/14/2004 305/155 5'11

Hey Laura! I grew up about 30 miles north of Columbia in a small community called Prosperity, SC. So we went to Columbia for everything. I went to college in Columbia. My husband grew up in Columbis so I know that area quite well. For your questions...... In one word Columbia is HOT!!!! During the summer Columbia is what we lovingly refer to as the armpit of hell. It is hot and very humid. I think the heat index down there now is like 110 today!!! If you are from Florida though...you know about heat. Winters are pretty Mild. Not much snow at all. Occasional snow (maybe like once every 5 years) and everything shuts down!! I like Columbia. It has a lot of things to do and if you are looking for a football team to root for - the University of South Carolina would love to have you. My husband and I are huge South Carolina fans!! We go to all home games. But you might already be a gator fan...but you can pull for spurrier again!! I am not a good person to advise you on neighbor hoods but the Lexington area (suburb of columbia) is a great place. Great schools and neighborhoods. If you are looking for a place away from Columbia check out the Lake Murray area. Beautiful and great schools. There are some great WLS surgeons in the area but I can't tell you names. There are some ladies on here that are patients. Gas prices now (I'm in Spartanburg so it may be a few cents cheaper) are right at $2.70 a gallon. Let me know if you have any other questions. Take care Rachel

Hi Rachel! Thanks for responding... I love small communities, I will check out Prosperity (And that is a wonderful name for a town!!) Gas seems cheaper than Florida, and I am used to the heat (as long as it doesn't snow!).I grew up in NJ and snow is not my favorite thing. Thanks again! Laura

Hi Laura , Check out Chapin SC too .. a small community on Lake Murray .. We have the best school district DIS 5 alot of nice neighborhoods some on beautiful Lake Murray . Ruthie

oh laura, south carolina is wonderful. you will be in the middle of all the action. we have a great support group in the upstate and i hear they are trying to start one in columbia. the low country has a great group as well. i would love to get a big weekend started in charleston. the women here are the salt of the earth. i just don't know what i would do without them!! we moved here 3 years ago and i feel like i have a home for life (well, with the exception of my neighborhood but that is another story!!!). the cost of living is incredible. gas prices are better than the national average, about 2.65 right now. of course, that changes daily. really, you will be near mountains, beaches, and everything in between!!! email me if you have questions. i love seeing your posts on the national boards.

I Sherry - you changed your avatar! I love looking at the pictures of your daughter, she is so beautiful. Can't wait to have a daughter of my own! What I loved about living in California (we were in the San Francisco area for 5 years) was the beach on one side of the road and the mountains on the other. Florida = flat as a board. I would love being in that kind of environment again. My home here sits on a lot with a couple of palm trees - but that is it. To be surrounded by trees - I would love that. Even if DH doesn't get this particular position, I think we should concentrate our search on SC. Thank you!! Laura

you will love it. the cost of living is rediculous too. i mean i have a 2900 sq ft. 5 br/3 full bath house (only 5 yrs. old) and we paid 239900. the price has gone up a bit but my same floor plan sold last month for 259k. still not bad. my neighbors suck but that is very uncommon around here. i just got lucky!!!

Laura, yes Columbia is hot in the summer. We have several rivers through town so that accounts for the extra humidity. But I also lived in Florida, Davie just west of Ft. Lauderdale. Wasn't a whole lot different. We just have cooler winters (but definitely not cold) and we're 2 1/2 to 3 hours from the beach. We're also only a few hours from the mountains. Charlotte NC is about 60 minutes to the north on a great interstate (77). That city has great stuff. The zoo here is Columbia is top notch. It is a great place whether you have kids or not. I would suggest Lexington District 1 or 5 for schools. Richland County schools are so/so in my opinion. My daughter went to Lexington 5 (Irmo middle school) There is a good bit of traffic congestion now. The cost of living is pretty fair. Housing costs aren't too bad. You can find something in every range. Most neighborhoods have a diverse mix of people in them. Because of Ft Jackson, we have chinese, korean, german, restaurants and grocery stores. We have several good India restaurants also. It's only about 2 2 1/2 hours from Charleston also, if you like the quaint, Southern cities. As in all cities, there are good and bad sides of town. Just be clear to the realtor what you would be looking for in housing and neighborhood makeup. City is spread out so be prepared to drive a lot to get from one side to the other. Feel free to email me if you want more details. We have been here for 10 years now and have settled in pretty well. May even retire here. Good luck to your hubby in his job pursuits.

Thanks Tink! Now I have some more information to go on while looking at housing. I have heard that Lexington is good -so I will start there. More research for me to do today!! Laura

I forgot to mention, yes there are quite a few bariatric surgeons. The practice I go to is Surgical Associates with 2 bariatric surgions. There is also Riverside Surgical Associates that have 3 more bariatric surgeons. We have two hospitals that are Center of Excellence for bariatric surgery. Gas prices are on the rise again. This week is 279.9 Last week was 272.9 and week before 263.9 . We have a lower state tax on gas that keeps our gas prices a little on the lower side. At least 5 cents a gallon less than our neighbor to the north, North Carolina. The weather -- not as bad as you might think. Winter has been very pleasant, 60's some 50's . A few weeks of colder weather and time for spring. Sometimes the dogwoods bloom as early as March. Sometimes later. I honestly think it would be hard to find a spot with better all around weather. Most of the people are very friendly here. The exceptions would be apartment buildings. The folks are in and out of the apartments so fast, you don't really get to know them well at all. We have a large military presence here so the weekends at the malls you will see soldiers, but it is just a part of the scenery and they add so much to the economy. We have a pretty large spanish speaking community in the area also. We do have termite issues, so with real estate you will want to make sure that they have their termite inspections up to date. The realtor should make you aware of that also. We have trains that go through the city, almost everywhere. You will always hear the train whistles wafting through the air. It is kind of cool. There are a lot of churches. We sometimes refer to ourselves as the buckle of the bible belt. We have a new library downtown that is pretty amazing. The branches are pretty well stocked and the branch near us has a wi fi computer zone for studying. We have an art museum, that is pretty neat and the downtown area is being revitalized. New businesses moving in the Vista area. The capital building has some neat bronze stars on it that mark the cannon ball hits from General Sherman when he came through town. We have some Yankees in town. We also have some damn Yankees. The yankees are the ones that come to visit and the damn yankees are the ones who stay. Some folks around here still talk about the war of northern agression (Civil War) and there are a lot of places in the surrounding areas that do re enactments of battles from the civil war. For kids we have EdVenture. Lots of car dealerships of all ilks, Powerball lottery, State education lottery, Time warner cable (relatively expensive), Bell South, South Carolina Electric and Gas, heat pumps. Not too far west of here is a town with a Theater that brings in Broadway reviews, etc. The Civic Center downtown brings in rock, Jimmy Buffet concerts, quite a few different acts. The Game****s is the University of South Carolina nickname. Fierce football fans in this area. Clemson is the dreaded interstate enemy. I've probably given you information overload. To tell you the truth, until I started listing this stuff, I thought it was pretty boring here. HA HA