We're back from our whirlwind 48 hours in Columbia. We arrived Thus night and checked into the Hampton Inn on Gervais downtown...LOVED the downtown area..it was great to walk to all of the shops and many restaurants..thurs night we just wanted a sandwich so we went over to the Wild Hare for a few beers and a snack. Friday we drove to the hospital which was a very simple drive. After Steve interview we headed down to the five points area to grab a bite. We ate at an Irish Pub..can't recall the name but it was near the big Starbucks. We looked around Shandon and fell in love with some of the big old houses but they were out of our price range. We then met with the realtor who took us around Irmo...we were a little dissapointed with the area..kind of run down and the houses were either really old or cookie cutter. I also don't like the fact that they put all of the 6th graders from Irmo/dutch fork at one school for the 6th grade and then send them off to their assigned district...too much change in one year for Nick so we have ruled this area out. We ate at the Blue Marlin on Friday night! Very good!! On Sunday we drove out to Lexington and really liked the area..more like Raleigh and what we are used to. More house/land for the money and the schools are excellent. We met with a realtor who will send us some homes to check out on our next visit in a few weeks. It was a quick trip but well worth it. Thanks again for all of your advice..Sherrie keep sending info on Lexington as you think of it!

travelrn, thanks so much for taking the time to post an update. Lexington is a nice area and a bit closer to the hospital than Irmo would be.

Love the Vista area. I think you all will like Columbia. Let us know of your progress!

I am so glad you enjoyed your trip to Columbia. It's hard not to love the Shandon/Forest Acres area. However, it's out of my price range like alot of people. When I was growing up way back in the dinosaur ages (at least my boys say that) of the 1970's you could buy or rent those houses for a reasonable amount, especially the fixer uppers but since the popularity of that kind of house has grown the prices have grown also and finding a fixer upper is almost impossible. There are some beautiful areas in Irmo. Not all are cookie cutter and all price ranges are there. You just have to dig. I'll keep an eye out for you but will be eyeing Lexington more since you seem to like Lexington schools. I'm hoping you have a map of the Columbia area. If you do, look at the Oak Grove, St. David Church Rd., Emmanual Church Rd. areas. These areas represent a large area of Lexington County. They are middle income - price range 120,000 - oh probably 300,000 - homes. A mixture of track and stand alone homes on good sized pieces of land. Some of the track neighborhoods are wonderful because they are older (not Shandon but 30 or so years old with established trees) Apartments in these areas run about 650 - 800 a month. Houses about 650 - 1100. Let me know if you have a map and I'll give you some road boundaries to look at. If you don't have a map I would not mind getting you one and mailing it to you. I also don't mind doing some footwork for you here. Taking a picture on my digital camera and emailing it to you. And before you think you'd owe me anything let me say blessings are best passed around and somehow always come back to you. Also, my husband is interested in us eventually moving so this would give us an idea of exactly what prices and home types are available. I couldn't do the footwork a real estate person would do but I can do some general checking and let you know about shopping, schools, etc. in neighborhoods you are interested in.

I just got a thought! The Avenues. This is becoming known as part of Vista West. The Avenues are in Cayce and up until afew years ago was not a popular place but that is changing. These are homes that have been kept up, brick/stone, about 1100 - 1700 sq. ft., large lots, established yards, probably 115,000 - $160,000.. These are not the stylish homes of Shandon but they are nice average homes. Their popularity comes from the fact that they are just across the river from Columbia, convenient to the Vista, safe neighborhood, on the bus line and at least half the price of Shandon. Actually, my husband and I are looking at the Avenues for a retirement home. It is close to the new riverwalk. See www.columbiasouthcarolina.com and click on rivers (at the bottom). They are building a walking/bike riding/ picnic trail from Columbia out toward Riverbanks Zoo along the riverbanks. This is beautiful and eventually it will have shops, housing and shopping along the trail (hopefully much like the famous riverwalk in San Antonio, Texas). My husband and I love to walk there. The Avenues are approx. 1 -2 miles from the riverwalk. They have a mix of retired and young families and are becoming attractive to people who want the in town feel but not the price of Shandon. Not the huge big houses of Shandon. This is more a working class neighborhood.

Well, I've got to get dinner in the oven. I truly am happy you enjoyed your stay in Columbia. There are some really nice people here (as everywhere else I'm sure)and I hope your move will be smooth and you run into these nice people. What hospitals are you looking at as far as employment? Believe me, we need your help. All the hospitals are searching for RN's as are doctors offices, nursing homes and private care establishments. I don't think you'll have any trouble finding a job. I have a cousin who works at Richland, one at Lexington and my sister who is an x-ray tech at Providence. I'm sure one of them would be glad to tell you the ins and outs of their particular hospital. I don't know anyone at Baptist (my personal favorite) but one of my relatives will know someone there to help you.

Sherrie,

Thanks again. We have several maps of the area. We have decided to look only in Lexington. We didn't see much of Lexington on Sat..we came down route 1 from Columbia and the past the middle school on route 6. We drove around a few subdivisions back behind the shopping center that has Old Navy, Kohls, and TJ Maxx. We got some info from the Century 21 office in Lexington so I will let you know what subdivisions we like once we narrow it down. The traffic was not bad at all. Worse in Raleigh. I know that I will have no trouble finding a job..I would probably look at Lexington Medical since it would be closer? If I end up working nights it won't matter because traffic won't be an issue. Please feel free to email me at [email protected].

Sherrie...We are coming to Lexington this weekend to have a closer look around and to show the school to Nick. Last trip we stayed in downtown Columbia in the Vista, this trip we want to stay in Lexington so we can get a good feel of the town. Any hotel suggestions? The only one I found online is The Holiday Inn Suites on Innkeeper Drive? Also, any info on these subdivisions: Farming Creek, Laurel Woods, Martins Grove or Shadowbrooke? We will also be checking out homes and our realtor sent us homes in these subdivisions. Thanks again! Denise

Any opinions on Lexington Middle School or White Knoll Middle School?
Thanks!

Can you give us some advice?
We are considering a move to Columbia and are interested in some information about housing.
We would be working at USC and want to live close to downtown to avoid traffic, enjoy the shops/restaurants, etc. We are interested in older houses, but the Shandon area is a bit out of our price range. Can you recommend some other neighborhoods that would have old houses and under $200K (roughly) for approximately 2000 sq feet?

We've read earlier posts & the advice has been wonderful...any comments would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Look in the Olympia and Rosewood neighborhoods.

Also, have you checked condos downtown?

Try the neighborhood of Brandon Acres / Cedar Terrace. Nice older houses from $80,000 to 150,000 to buy or rent. I know, I live there. It's in Dreher HS zone, a good school.Ten minutes to Providence during rush hour. A nice park and mostly older folks and families with kids. Quiet. Area values are just starting to go up as southeast Columbia develops like Irmo and Northeast did.