Columbia SC people come on in

[aaandht]

I might finally be escaping the People's Republic. I've got a good shot at landing a position near Columbia. However, my job search and research has been closer to Greenville, SC and Charlotte so I'm a little clueless about Columbia. Can some people clue me in such as how is the area(places to avoid when looking for apartments)? What are some things to do, also how is the car scene.

Also I do quite a bit of USPSA, anyone know of some good ranges(aside from PSA) and clubs in the area?

Thanks

 

[CompOrange04GT]

I live in Columbia, and absolutely LOVE it here.

There is a good car scene here you just have to know where to look.

and where I live in Columbia we shoot in our back yard haha.. My neighbor usually calls me and says " If you hear something loud, I'm not killin nobody"

 

[SID297]

Columbia has some great areas. It's about the perfect sized city. It has enough to keep you busy, but it's not so crowded that it drives you crazy.

 

[PureStang]

The city of Columbia is quite pleasant, but can get a bit rowdy around the college. From what I have seen of the area around Columbia is very nice, but, like any city, does have areas where you should stay away. Downtown has some very good restaurants, and if you're around college aged, the night scene can be great.

I dont live there or any where near there (I'm in PA), but my biggest customer is in Columbia (Westinghouse Nuclear) so I am down there quite a bit visiting their facility.

I also have a friend from who lives near Columbia and she loves it down there.

And SID has it pretty spot on, not over crowded.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

I agree on the college age..

The women here are GORGEOUS

 

[Katy TX5.0]

Don't live there but I have been to SC a bunch. I've always told myself if I got a great offer there the moving van would be loaded the next day.

Columbia is a great "small-big" city.

 

[Livinloud5]

Not a fan of SC. But I'm right across the river in Augusta, 45mins to an hour down I-20.

Not sure of their car scene, not much of one here.

We have a lot of USPSA, IDPA, IPSC, and 3-gun. You could shoot a match or two every week. Same with Columbia.

Blake.

 

[greenflash00]

I live about 30min east of Columbia but grew up going there all the time and still do. It's hot down here and Columbia's slogan is actually "famously hot" lol. It's a great city that doesn't feel like a big city. Tons of great restaurants and downtown is pretty hopping with night life and culture. It has it's rough areas as with any city down South but all in all it's pretty friendly.

The car scene is pretty good...nothing like Dallas or Miami but it's a semi-wealthy town so you're not going to see lambos or ferraris. For food I like Solstice kitchen and wine bar over off Clemson Rd. and for fast food Rushes is hard to beat! :beer:

 

[Stevedotmil]

I just left Columbia as I was stationed at Jackson as a Drill Sergeant for 3 years. I'm in Germany now and still own a house there. The NE of the city is really nice with great shopping, the downtown area where the college is can get a little crazy but if you are an adult then you won't have problems with anything down there. The NW part of the city near Lake Murray is nice too but expensive. The car scene is okay but I spent most of my time going up to Charlotte. I did see quite a few exotic cars in the NE, even a P51 Roush Mustang.

 

[Sixshootapb]

I've lived around here my whole life and wouldn't move for anything, hence why I stayed here after college. Its an hour and a half to the ocean or mountains. Columbia just had its first Cars and Coffee event this past weekend and while I wasn't able to attend the results I saw on FB were excellent. We have a local SCCA region that holds autocrosses monthly, and our big brothers to the North and South, CCR and Buccaneer regions host even more autocross and open track days.

If you want to live close to downtown there are some nice places, but if you want a short commute, Lexington and Chapin are excellent places to live with direct routes into Columbia.

What field will your new job will be in?

South Carolina Region – Sports Car Club of America
CCR-SCCA » Home
Buccaneer Region of the SCCA

 

[Onslaught 001]

I'm in Columbia for school, after a stint in the Navy. From my perspective, Columbia is a very good place to be. It has balance, neither too large or too small. Its central location is pretty useful. Charleston, Greeneville, Charlotte, Asheville, Atlanta, and Myrtle Beach are all within day/weekend trip range.

I did go to the cars and coffee. It was bitter cold, maybe 18 degrees with wind chill. Still many people showed up with all kinds of cool cars. Ford and GM were well represented.

I'm active with the campus sub-group of SCCA-SCR. Autocross is a really great way to have some fun and meet other car guys. In the autocross group mustangs aren't particularly dominant. For track days, Carolina Motorsport Park is not far away. Going there is like time travel, as its tucked away in the back woods of SC. The SCCA and NASA both have many events there. Drag racing is mostly focused in Darlington. I want to say its 1/4, but it might be an 1/8. I'm not particularly interested in drag racing.

Climate wise, Columbia is very hot in the summer, and also very humid. Shorts and tee-shirt is almost too much. Just last night we had snow for the first time in years, about 2 inches. That was enough to cancel class and many businesses are not open today.

 

[IronSnake]

Columbia's central to all the things you would want to do in SC. I live in Charleston. Best city in the state really, its just at the bottom and takes a ride to get up to all the tracks and car scene stuff. But its a beach town, so what else could you expect. Columbia has a solid car scene, and you'll enjoy it. Fortunately it's a hop skip and a jump from some serious racing events throughout the year

 

[aaandht]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I was just down there last week for the interview and got sometime to peak around. Its a really nice area!

I've got the offer now I just have to decide if I'll go through with it.

 

[KingBlack]

Sandhill is nice and you can hit 20 & 77 in 10 mins from there. I live in Myrtle Beach but i have a house in lower Richland for football season. Im in Columbia right now. Just outside of Ft Jackson literally minutes from the VA hospital. Its a nice city and centrally located to everything.

 

[mc01svt]

Ive been in columbia since 2010. The best way to describe it is has a good balance of everything. Not too big and not too small. The cost of living is cheap and salaries are equivalent to much larger cities like Atlanta and Charlotte. Home values are stable and there is a decent amount of growth.

Geographically i dont think theres another city that withins 2hrs of the mountains, 90 mins from the beach, 30mins from lake murray and broad river runs right through town. Also alot of people dont know this but there is a national park here called "Congaree," which has some of the largest trees on the eastern seaboard.

Also you are within a few hours drive of Atlanta, Charlotte, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach and Savannah. So its easy to wake weekend trips if you get bored.

I would reccomend living someone in the northeast, especially near sandhills, another good option would be harbision or forest acres. Avoid "5 points" late at night, since there are so many bars/clubs in a small area it seems to attract alot of riff raff. Theres been some gang related shootings and stuff down there.

The car scene isnt the best but every now and then you will see an exotic. Ive seen a ferrari, 2 lambos, ford gt, bentley and rolls royce since ive been there. Cars and coffee in charlotte is much better.

 

[Sixshootapb]

Cars and Coffee in Charlotte was cancelled this week due to a toolbox in 5.0 running out of talent and hitting a fire hydrant.

 

[Formula51]

No offense, but are all you Scolumbia lovers transplants!?! Columbia is hot as hell and a generally congested, crime ridden (relatively) and dirty city. Some of the suburbs, like Chapin, are okay but that city is a place most people I know avoid. Your original plan was right, move to Greenville/Greer. One of the best places in the country!

 

[CompOrange04GT]

No offense, but are all you Scolumbia lovers transplants!?! Columbia is hot as hell and a generally congested, crime ridden (relatively) and dirty city. Some of the suburbs, like Chapin, are okay but that city is a place most people I know avoid. Your original plan was right, move to Greenville/Greer. One of the best places in the country!

I live in North Columbia...

There is barely anybody where I live... There is zero crime in this area, and we keep it clean.



So.. yeah you're wrong.

 

[KingBlack]

No offense, but are all you Scolumbia lovers transplants!?! Columbia is hot as hell and a generally congested, crime ridden (relatively) and dirty city. Some of the suburbs, like Chapin, are okay but that city is a place most people I know avoid. Your original plan was right, move to Greenville/Greer. One of the best places in the country!

I have a home just south of forest acres so i can watch the gamecocks play but my primary home is myrtle beach. if you think crime is bad in columbia, dont ever go to myrtle beach.

Again, Sandhill is very nice. Traffic alone will keep me from Harbirson. I-20 and I-26 merging with I-77 around the corner = parking lot

 

[aaandht]

Well...I took the job. I'll be moving down to SC at the end of the month. Headed down this weekend to check out some apartments in the northeastern part of Columbia. Also looking to check out Lexington.

Thanks for all the advice, everyone!