SherrieA

I am going to stand corrected. I believe someone who graduated or had family graduate from Spring Valley HS would have better knowledge than I about that school. What I had heard is that they have an excellent honors program but that the general studies program was not that great. As I am the parent of a learning disabled child, my only knowledge was based on what I heard from other parents of disabled students. I should not have been so quick to judge and I am sorry. I do advise you to be very careful because 1 school district can have the best and the worst schools. A few months ago there was a report in The State newspaper that showed how each school and each grade level performed on the standardized tests. A search of the newspaper website might get those for you. I'm thinking sometime in the November time frame.

HulaDebbie is correct that many terrific stores are being built around the NE area. However, conjestion and all of that construction is why some people are looking elsewhere. I agree with GoTravel about the times to stay off the interstates. I see HulaDebbie's point. I didn't appreciate what a wonderful interstate system we have until I lived elsewhere and had to sit for hours in traffic. The traffic is horrible during the hours GoTravel mentioned but it does move unless you are going from Columbia to Irmo, that trip is stop and go the whole time.

I do suggest if you can afford a pool you get one. I can't so I use the lakes, rivers and in a pinch a mudpuddle!

As for sports. We have an excellent Little League and Dixie Youth Baseball program and the area schools have excellent programs also.

I know that you originally didn't ask about Lexington I schools but we do have an excellent school system. I live in the Three Fountains area (there are no fountains!)and there is alot of new construction in this area. My husband leaves for work at 8:10am and is downtown and at work by 8:30. The traffic is growing with new people moving in but with Jarvis Klapman Blvd., Hwy. 1, I-26 and I-77 traffic moves fairly nice.

If you have trouble finding the newspaper reports concerning the schools standing on the standardized test, I would be happy to try and find them for you. Just let me know.
[email protected]

travelrn

Someone recommended a subdivision known as New Friarsgate? Any info on this area? Thanks again!

SherrieA

New Friarsgate is in Irmo. Schools are elementary - Corley Elementary, middle - Dutch Fork Middle, high - Dutch Fork High. The real estate listing I saw (internet search) was for a house 1450 sq. ft. with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. I think you are most interested in Irmo. There are many fine schools and neighborhoods out in that area. Please remember though, seeing traffic in any area over the weekend is not going to let you see the congestion on Mon. - Fri. rush hour.

If you come to Columbia this weekend, please be careful. Apparently between where you are and Columbia is expecting an ice storm Saturday.

GoTravel

If you aren't willing to live in Columbia, at least look at Lake Murray.

travelrn

Thanks again guys...we are making the trip next thurs-sun. We plan to stay outside of Columbia, close to Irmo so we can experience the early am drive on friday. Husband has an 8 am at Providence heart in downtown. I would love to live in the "heart of the city" but the schools are just to bad..with the exception of private schools. I have heard good things about Lake Murray. How far "outside" of Columbia is it?

SherrieA

I am glad you will see the traffic for yourself next week. It may very well be that you live in a high traffic area and Irmo traffic will not bother you. Lake Murray is beautiful but SUPER expensive, at least imo. The closer you are to the lake, of course, the more expensive with high end homes costing $400,000 to the mult-millions. Irmo is on one side of Lake Murray and where I live is on yet another side (Lexington). You may wish to check out Lexington neighborhoods. As far as schools to do internet searches about .. Irmo is, I believe, Lexington/Richland School District 5 and includes Dutch Fork HS and Irmo HS. The Lexington side of the lake is Lexington School District 1 and includes Lexington HS and White Knoll HS. I'm not sure which school serves the Irmo side of Lake Murray (possibly Dutch Fork) but most of the children on the Lexington side go to Lexington HS. The prices of the neighborhoods vary greatly. My neighborhood runs from $120,000 - $400,000 and we are 20 mins. from the lake. The lake itself is about 30 - 40 mins. from downtown. Word of caution should you look at the Lexington side of the lake - most of those neighborhoods feed into Hwy. 378 or Hwy 1 (Augusta Rd) going into Columbia and it is not as crowded as Irmo but it is conjestion during rush hour. It all depends on what you want. Close to the lake - downside is conjestion be it Irmo or Lexington. And there are neighborhoods in Irmo comparable to where I live that get you 20 mins. to the lake or 20 mins. to Columbia (not counting added mins. for Irmo rush hour). I think you will find something you like on either side of the lake.

Please don't count out Richland County (City of Columbia) schools. Like elsewhere, there can be a school in trouble in one neighborhood but a school afew miles down the road that has won recognition as a school of excellence. It all comes down to the neighborhood - not the district as a whole. That is not unique to Columbia as I've seen that everywhere we lived where the city has grown and neighborhoods run together. No matter where you find a house you like, always ask what schools serve that neighborhood and then check out those schools. As said before, Dreher HS and someone mentioned Spring Valley HS. They both serve Columbia neighborhoods and I know personally that Dreher HS is a very excellent school.

GoTravel

I agree with SherrieA, you really can't generalize on the city schools all being bad.

There are so many other pluses to living in a place like Shandon. Lots of families, tree and sidewalk lined streets, people spend a lot of time outdoors and walking, you can walk to dining and shopping in Five Points.

Having bought my first home in Shandon in 1990, one of the most appealing reasons we bought there because Shandon had the shortest resale time of houses on the market than anywhere else in Columbia. Knowing we were only going to be there a couple of years, this was important to us.

Also, Finley Park has some wonderful outside free concerts every weekend in the summer. It is a beautiful park.

Downtown (which is a very short five minute drive) also has wonderful citywide festivals such as the annual Greek Festival. They regularly shut down the downtown streets and line them with vendors for pedestrian walking.

In a pinch one year, we were able to walk to Williams-Brice Stadium (seats 86,000) because traffic was backed up for a particulary busy football game.

We didn't have kids so schools were not important to us but our quality of life living in Shandon was excellent.

Please don't entirely blow off Columbia just because you heard all city schools are bad. Visit some of the neighborhoods.

GoTravel

Wanted to add Sherrie has been giving you excellent advice.

travelrn

Sherrie/Go...You have both been giving us GREAT advice. We are so looking forward to the weekend trip. We plan on checking out the downtown area and Irmo/Lake Murray during this trip. The idea of living downtown has always appealed to me so I am going to do some extensive research on the schools. Next trip we will bring Nick along and actually visit the schools to help narrow down the area we want to make our home. I hope that everyone in Columbia is as great as you guys have been! Where are you living now GO?

GoTravel

Hi Denise! I'm south of Charleston on the beach.

I really loved living in Columbia except for the summer. It gave new meaning to miserable. I think I once heard someone describe Columbia in the summer as being a foot above hell.

That said, fall and spring are beautiful and winters are short. The really hot weather only lasts a couple of months and it will stay balmy into November.

Forgot to add, my house in Shandon when I sold it only stayed on the market 8 days.

While you are in Columbia, visit The Vista and have dinner there and shop one evening. They have something called Vista Lights when all the shops stay open late and string quartets play in public spaces. This is a good link:

http://www.vistacolumbia.com/listing.asp?cat=2&subcat=8

The Vista's (Congaree Vista) main artery is Gervais Street (pronounced jer-vay) and ends at Huger Street (pronounced Hugh-gee). This area is revitalized downtown area with wonderful upscale shops and dining in 150 year old buildings.

I can tell you that the people in Columbia are wonderful. I made lifelong friends while living there and wouldn't trade it for anything. I loved living in a city and having quite a bit of culture at my fingertips.

I would drive around and just see Columbia. The University of South Carolina is right smack in the middle of town. Lots of arts and culture within minutes of both Forest Acres and Shandon.

The Richland County Library is massive. It is downtown and was built around 1990.

http://www.richland.lib.sc.us/

The Koger Center for the Performing Arts is also downtown and a beautiful building.

http://www.koger.sc.edu/dog/banner2.html

If I think of any more things, I'll post.

travelrn

Go..ahh to live at the beach! Lucky you! We will definetly hit the downtown Vista area over the weekend. Can you give me a ballpark on what we could expect to pay for a home in Shandon or Forest Acres...it is just the 3 of us and would compromise size to be near culture. We are coming from 2100 sq feet and are not opposed to downsizing a little. We are also not opposed to renting a house until we get a good feel for the area. Are there any rental homes in the downtown areas? How about townhouses? I would love to live in a big apt in one of the revitalized historic buildings but...with an 11 yr old and 2 dogs a yard is important. As far as homes go I would love an older home with a lot of character instead of a newer home that looks everyone elses in the subdivision. Trees are important as well..don't want to look out my back door and be able to see my neighboors yards for miles to come. Thanks again..hope your weather is better than ours this weekend.

GoTravel

I would be very surprised if you couldn't find something nice in Shandon for under $300,000 and probably less. Heathwood and Forest Acres in some areas will be more.

There are new townhouses near Finley Park that look really nice as well as very large lofts in The Vista.

Find a good realtor and see what they can dig up.

When I bought my house it was in in pretty bad shape from being rented out for so many years. I totally redid the plumbing (saved my bathrooms, gorgeous basket weave black and white tile), gutted my kitchen, and redid all the hardwoods, painted, etc. So many of the homes have been redone it is hard to find one that needs work but that is a good thing!

You will find so many charming qualities in the older houses. I can't wait to hear how it goes!

SherrieA

GoTravel is right in that Shandon is absolutely beautiful. You may be right also that you can find a house for under $300,000.. I haven't lived in that area for many years but it is popular and prices have soared in recent years. Perhaps you could check out www.thestate.com (local paper)tomorrow and read the real estate listings. The lake is wonderful. Irmo and Lexington are great. I love it out in Lexington but I will tell you that alot of the neighborhoods are new or fairly new. I think you would get more for your money (bigger yard/house) in Lexington County but to get the trees or an established yard you would have to look at houses outside of neighborhoods. That's what we did. We narrowed down the area of the city we wanted to live in and then chose to not be in the neighborhood but on the outskirts in an older area. However, if your heart is on high ceilings, 100ft. trees and old houses then Shandon/Forest Acres is definately where you should look. And it is very close to Providence Hospital - probably 15 mins. in rush hour. You probably will not find a house with a pool in that area for under $300,000 but there's always a chance. The Vista is wonderful. My husband and I enjoy visiting there and it being in the middle of the Columbia area is not to far from any of the areas you are looking at. For us it is about a 10 min. drive. In 5 Points (one side of Shandon) there is a college feel as it is so close to the University. It has shops, bars and restaurants that cater mainly to a younger crowd but the older/professional crowd is welcomed and finds many opportuities for shopping or eating there also. 5 Points has extended down Devine Street and there are many wonderful shops with everything from consignment shops to high end antiques. The Vista is a mix of college students, professionals - everyone can find something in the Vista. It is an artsy kind of place everything from coffee shops to restaurants, bars, handmade furniture stores and antique shops and even an establishment where you can make your own glass. The new State Museum is also located in the Vista and they have turned the old Confederate Printing Building into a Publix grocery with future shops coming. It is much like 5 Points but imo, with a calmer feel to it. Shandon is in Richland School District 1, I believe. Forest Acres is possibly in district 2 but it's hard to be certain as the 2 neighborhoods run together - at least for me. I believe Providence is on one side of Forest Acres. You have a wonderful idea to rent a house for a while to get the idea of where you'd like to settle down. Get yourself a feel for each of the different neighborhoods, see how the schools operate and let your husband get his feet wet at work. 15 mins. may be alot of time in extra driving or it may be quite time to relax and listen to music. You are going to find many wonderful people and they will give you help finding just the right place to live. GoTravel's advice of a real estate agent is great too. A good agent earns every penny they get as they will find houses you never could find by yourself. I wish you much luck on your visit next weekend. I hope the weather will be better. Oh my, I just thought of another area you may be interested in. I'm not sure what the area is called but it is around Riverbanks Zoo. There are beautiful houses and new developments also. Rolling hills, thick trees, quiet streets, alot of older homes with pools and it's built right on the riverbanks of the Saluda River. I'll see if I can drive over there Sunday and get the name of the subdivision. To me, it is the new middle of Columbia since it is 10 mins. to Irmo and 5 mins. from downtown/Vista - 10 mins. to Providence Hospital. It is on the Lexington side of the river and except for the thick trees and river view you could see the downtown lights. So, you see, you are going to have many choices to chose from. Good luck!

travelrn

We are looking forward to the weekend! You both have given us so much to think about. I feel like I need to take you out to lunch when we finally get down there! We have been working with a realtor by the name of Kathy Smith..she has been sending us a lot of great homes to look at. I will ask her for info on the area around Riverbanks..it sounds perfect! I will give you both a full report when we get back. Any suggestions on where we should eat while in the downtown/vista area?

GoTravel

My favorite is Motor Supply Company on Gervais Street in The Vista or Devine Food on Devine Street in Shandon/Five Points.

The Riverbanks Zoo area sounds wonderful! I never even thought about that!

Can't wait to hear how it goes!

leahinsc

Dear Denise - I hope you do end up finding somewhere in Forest Acres/Shandon. There's a nice Publix in Forest Acres and an Earthfare on Devine - I think that's right...I always enjoyed being so close to town when I lived in Forest Acres. Best wishes.

SherrieA

I'm sorry I didn't get back yesterday. My husband had a small accident and needed my attention. This morning I went out looking a little bit and here is what I found. The area close to the Riverbanks/Saluda River apparently is known by several names. One lady said it was Westover Acres and another one said it was Saluda Terrace. The homes are of mixed price range and size. The ones closer to the river are larger and therefore more expensive. You would turn off Sunset Blvd. (Hwy. 378) onto Hummingbird Drive. I saw a nice home on Saluda River Drive offered by Russell & Jeffcoat Realty. There is another one on Sewanee Drive offered by Coldwell Bankers. Neither of these were directly on the river. The area is so secluded and wooded that I kept getting lost so send your agent in there if you're interested. About 2 miles on down Sunset (toward Lexington) you can turn on Fairlane. This neighborhood is about 1/2 mile from Lexington Hospital (right off I-26 at 378). There are some nice homes in Quail Creek but I love Quail Hollow. This neighborhood also backs up to the Saluda River. I know they also have a country club with tennis courts, pool and I believe a golf course. This neighborhood also is hilly, secluded and heavily wooded. I saw several houses for sell and thought you might be interested in this website - www.midlandshomeshow.com This will offer you a virtual tour of numerous homes in the Columbia area. The particular home I saw is at www.midlandshomeshow.com/pl3 (that's l as in like) and would give you an idea of the Quail Hollow neighborhood. I wish I could give you my phone number in case you get lost or need help this weekend but we will not be home. We are going to Mardi Gras and will be gone the entire weekend. As I said before, both of these areas are about 10 mins. from downtown - not as far out as Irmo but not as close to Providence as Shandon. Leah could give you better advice about Forest Acres than I. I do think you get more house for the money in Lexington County but you don't get the convenience of downtown. My husband and I looked at Quail Hollow several years ago and we fell in love with it. The problems as we saw it were that I-26 and 378 is a terrible traffic mess during rush hour but the state is in the middle of a construction project to remedy that now. Back then there was no talk of fixing the problem and I didn't want my husband's bp going sky high everyday - yes, he yells at traffic! And to be honest, it's a little pricey for us. Then again, so is Shandon and Forest Acres for the most part. I hope you do take the virtual tour. I think it will give you an idea of the different neighborhoods and what is available.

GoTravel suggested some wonderful places for dining in the Vista so I bow to her advice. And Leah is offering great advice also about Forest Acres. So, between us you have eyes in all the areas you are interested in except Irmo. And while I'm not discouraging you from Irmo because there are some super neighborhoods out there, it's just that your husband will have terrible traffic problems getting to and from Providence.

Do not be afraid to stop and talk to people this weekend. I was alittle apprehensive about stopping the ladies today - they were out walking their furbabies (dogs) and I didn't want to frighten them but they were as nice as could be. I hope and pray that is your experience this weekend.

GoTravel

Here is a list of some of my favorite Columbia restaurants. I think they are either all downtown/The Vista or Shandon/Five Points.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...Supply+Company

travelrn

THANK YOU SO MUCH! You really did not have to go out of your way. Hope your husband is okay. I am going to let our realtor know about the homes you saw. She sent us info on some fabulous homes in Shandon but all of the ones I liked were over $300,000...we may need to wait until Steve is done with school for one of them...nurses make good money but not that good! Anyway, the area is beautiful and we are going to see if there is something a bit less expensive in that area..maybe even a townhouse. Again, my only concern would be the schools. I did request some info from a private school someone suggested to us in the downtown area..I think it is called heathwood hall? Lexington schools have great reports so I think if we had to go outside of the city we would chose Lexington over Irmo. I will check out the midlandhomes site right now and let you know what I thought. GO....would you suggest reservations at any of these restaurants seeing that it will be a weekend? Have a great time on your vacation Sherrie! I will keep you all posted on our progress...I can't thank you all enough!!

SherrieA

Please do not think I went out of my way. I had a physical therapy appt. this morning and these neighborhoods were on my way home. My husband will be fine. He tripped going to the bathroom in the middle of the night, fell and got a bad knock on his head. Except for a banged up nose, a headache and a bit of wounded pride he is fine. Thank you. Heathwood Hall is indeed a great school. It is located off Bluff Road. I'll let you get the tuition shock in the mail but let this be a warning to cushion the shock. The school is excellent but expensive with a capital E. I think this is why Lexington Dist. 1 & 5 are growing so fast. Great schools but public and consistant so you don't have to pick through so careful finding the right house and the right school. Still, there are great schools in Richland also. SC and education are strange. As Leah and ddcnga said, Spring Valley turns out some well educated students. The overall district score may be medium but I believe the 2 highest SAT scores for individual students in the state this year were both at Spring Valley. And one scored a top 1600 and the other 1598. I believe they were from Spring Valley but I'm not sure. I get confused when SC schools are called underachievers and yet we have our share of scholars and students who max the national SAT. I think we are doing a fine job with the exceptional students and even the average students but special education and students who lack motivation we are missing the beat on. Clemson University is extremely hard to get into (I couldn't) and yet ddcnga's nephew got a full academic scholarship there and he's from Spring Valley High, so it seems obvious to me that Spring Valley was an excellent school for him. Just kind of keep that in mind when you are looking at the schools.