When you’re in a small city like Columbia and there's a ballet, live performance theater(even puppeteers) an orchestra, great restaurants, tons of bars and more sports activities than you can possibly experience, you can be pretty sure you’re in a college town. 

The University of South Carolina calls Columbia home and this is also the is capital of South Carolina which means you’re getting more here than cities 3x its size. That means 3x as much fun with only a 1/3rd the population!


The College Life

The Best Thing About Columbia?

It’s no shock that South Carolina is toasty but Columbia is particularly hot due to its distance from the coast and because its historically light tree shading can't absorb or store heat and cool things off a bit. 

There is a major planting initiative coming from the University and the Columbia Tree and Appearance Commission that will help with some of this down the road but in the meantime locals just try to stay inside during the summer months when the sun is shining bright. If you’re thinking about moving here from a northern climate you’ve probably already braced yourself for the southern heat but figured we’d give you one last warning. 


Famously Hot Columbia

The Worst Thing About Columbia?

As was noted, Columbia punches above its weight for cultural and social experiences. First, you get civic institutions like the [**South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra**](https://www.experiencecolumbiasc.com/listing/south-carolina-philharmonic/15793/). You get a live theater scene that includes more than a dozen venues and companies including [**Trustus**](https://www.experiencecolumbiasc.com/listing/trustus-theatre/15876/), a renowned professional theater company. You also get the [**Columbia City Ballet**](https://www.experiencecolumbiasc.com/listing/columbia-city-ballet/15391/) and the [**Columbia Classical Ballet**](https://www.experiencecolumbiasc.com/listing/columbia-classical-ballet/15392/) companies. 

The topper to all this is that the University of South Carolina also has departments of dance, theater, opera, music, sports and arts, all of which offer performances to the public. Trust us, you’ll have something to do virtually event night or day. 
The restaurant and food scene in Columbia have also been growing over the last 10-15 years. One joyful oddity to the food scene is the ubiquity of Pimento Cheese on the menus throughout town. The city claims to have one of the oldest published recipes for the cheese from a 1912 cookbook. It’s a thing. We could spend more time researching why instead chose to just enjoy the cheese and move on. Outside of that you get amazing BBQ and glorious southern cooking (the grits are world class). 

Families gravitate to Columbia in part due to the lower cost of living and growing suburban development. Outdoor play happens along and on [**Three Rivers Greenway**](https://www.traillink.com/trail/three-rivers-greenway/?utm_source=railstotrails.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=trailblog). Tubing, fishing and hiking and biking the trails along the river are all popular options. [**Saluda Shoals Park**](https://www.icrc.net/park/saluda-shoals-park) is another family-destination. It’s an environmentally sensitive riverfront park along the Saluda River and offers Tennis Courts, Baseball Fields, Ropes Course, Disc Golf Course and miles and miles of Wetland Preserve and pave and unpaved hiking and biking trails. 

Arts Rule

Lifestyle of Columbia? 

Columbia has several school districts serving students. The two big ones; [**Richmond School District No. 2**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/richland-school-district-no-2-sc/ ) and [**Richmond School District No. 1**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/richland-school-district-no-1-sc/), score an “A-” and a “B-” respectively on niche.com. The geographical dividing line is pretty much HIghway 20 with District 2 north of the freeway and District 1 on the south side. It should be noted that there are plenty of high performing schools in each district with [Round Top](https://www.niche.com/k12/round-top-elementary-school-blythewood-sc/?map) and [**Lake Carolina**](https://www.niche.com/k12/lake-carolina-elementary-lower-campus-blythewood-sc/?map) Elementary Schools and [**Spring Valley High School**](https://www.niche.com/k12/spring-valley-high-school-columbia-sc/?map) in District 2 all getting “A’s”. 

Rosewood, Brennan, Satchel Ford, and  Brockman Elementary Schools in District 1 all coming in with [**“A-" on niche.com**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/richland-school-district-no-1-sc/). And [**Dreher**](https://www.niche.com/k12/dreher-high-school-columbia-sc/?map) and [**A.C. Flora High Schools**](https://www.niche.com/k12/ac-flora-high-school-columbia-sc/?map) getting “A’s” and “A-’s,” respectively. There are good options throughout the city if you do your homework. 


Schools in Columbia

Plenty of college towns have seen real estate prices explode in recent years as young people and empty-nesters/retirees seek them out for their cool factor and manageability. Columbia has seen growth but not to the degree of other cities with similar cultural and social opportunities. If you’re looking for a city with big plans and room to run then Columbia should be on your short list. 


Movin' On Up!

Why You Should Move Here Now?

For a young professional you can’t beat the downtown district. The area includes the [Congaree Vista](https://www.vistacolumbia.com/) or just Vista, which is a hotbed of the social scene due to its more than 60 restaurants and nightclubs and the fact it is adjacent to the South Carolina State House and the University of South Carolina. While the single and couples crowd enjoys walking to the entertainment district that downtown affords, there’s also a ton to do her for families including the [**South Carolina State Museum**](https://scmuseum.org/) and [**EdVenture Children’s Museum**](https://edventure.org/#visit). 

Downtown also includes the [**Five Points**](https://fivepointscolumbia.com/) area  and local and tourist hotspots like the [**Nickelodeon Theater**](https://nickelodeon.org/) and [**Columbia Museum of Art**](https://www.columbiamuseum.org/). Five Points is Columbia’s original village neighborhood and is the center of the public arts district for the city as well as the host to many of the cities most iconic landmarks. 

Housing downtown includes condos in converted warehouses and plenty of newer development for rentals including: [**Canalside Lofts**](https://canalsidecolumbia.com/) and the [**Vista Commons**](https://www.vistacommons.com/). Median price for a condo in downtown Columbia is $319k and rentals run an average $1.3k. 


Young Professionals/DINKs

Downtown

If you’re looking for a bit more quiet and family-friendly vibes, check out Forest Hills. The area was developed in the 1920’s and the beautiful homes and tree-lined streets are so beloved and bucolic the community is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s pretty ideal for families who don’t want to be too far away from an active lifestyle as it sits just outside the Five Points and Vista neighborhoods so getting to nightlife and activities for the kiddos is a walk or short drive away.[**Citadel Park**](https://www.forestacres.net/little-free-library-citadel-park) is where families typical play, with picnic spots, playground area, and tennis and basketball courts. Kiddos in the neighborhood attend [**Satchel Ford Elementary**](https://www.richlandone.org/Domain/31), [**Crayton Middle**](https://www.richlandone.org/crayton) and [**A.C. Flora High School**](https://www.richlandone.org/Domain/45). All highly rated choices in [**Richland School District One**](https://www.richlandone.org/). 

The homes are mostly Colonial, Craftsman or Tudors, and were built between the ‘20’s and the 50’s and home sales average ~$340k. 


Families/DINKs

Forest Hills

Another popular historic neighborhood is Arcadia Lakes. It gives locals who want to be close to downtown a more suburban feel as a result of its rural roots. Most of the housing is single family and you can find super-premium homes on the lake with small docks and ample fishing and relaxing on the water. Homes on the hill offer beautiful views of nearby Lake Murray as well as seven other local lakes. There are several parks in the area including [**Sesquicentennial State Park**](https://southcarolinaparks.com/sesqui) (also referred to as "Sesqui"), featuring camping, kayaking and canoeing, fishing and plenty of playgrounds and picnic spots. There are also miles of trails for hiking and biking. 

Homes are typically ranches and split-levels although there are monster lakefront developments that pull in those looking for something more upscale. Average home sale price is $418k. 


Families

Arcadia Lakes

Columbia

What is living in Columbiyeah like?

Heyo! (Mandatory mobile warning) I went to school here and ended up staying in cola. The dating scene is great if you’re looking for younger 20’s. Usually after people graduate they move away. People are right, this is a very blue city in a red state. Every job I’ve had in the city has been in a liberally owned and mostly operated business. I used to work in politics based out of Columbia but traveled infrequently for events. Columbia is a very blue and crunchy city, mostly. This is still a red state so if you are looking to be involved in local politics and want to find your niche with red voters, you’ll find that too. We do have a very popular bar called CWP, they do country line dancing. I’ll recommend Earlewood for a place to live over any other neighborhood. Everyone there is gay, old, been here since they were born, or a couple who just bought their first house. When I moved in with my partner there I had neighbors come and welcome me and congratulate us. It’s also the safest place in cola I’ve lived. Another added bonus is that Earlewood is far enough away from the college campus you don’t have students messing up your drive. I would avoid living in five points or Shandon if you want to avoid loud evenings and congested traffic during the school year. When I lived in shandon i had my house broken into three times and my car has had two windows replaced from people breaking into it. Food in cola has only gotten better every year! Lots of really great places to eat. I recommend picking a direction and finding a place you’ve never been to and giving it a go! As for our entertainment? It really depends on what you want to do for fun. If you really like big crowds and drinking, you’ll love the bar scene. There’s always an art show or farmers market going on somewhere in the city. Soda City is our big open air farmers market that we do once a week. The zoo is cool (once). Our art museum has free admission days. It is a little more difficult to find things to do than in other cities, but you can find most things with a quick google. Yes Columbia is religious. Not very in your face, but lots of churches. If you’re moving from somewhere else in the south, it’s what you’re used to. We are the states capital so we do have our political moments, protests are common on the capital grounds. In general, I would not call Columbia safe. Even in a “college” neighborhood my roommates and I had our privacy violated multiple times. My friends from all over the city, no matter where they are, complain about it. The cops are next to useless in these situations too. I even one time had a brick thrown through my bedroom window, land on me while I was sleeping, only for the cop to ask if I did it. I got camera after that and I would recommend you do too. Now, I’ve only been chased to my car once and that was at a gas station in the Shandon neighborhood. Shandon on its face is nice, but when the sun goes down it’s not even remotely good. Same thing for five points. During the school year five points turns into a cesspool of drunken students and adults who never got over their glory days stumbling into a busy street. The bouncers don’t really check IDs, i watched one take a pizza coupon as valid identification. During the day, five points has lots of really great shops, restaurants, locally owned specialty stores, etc. I do recommend going in the day time! So if you move here get a ring camera, motion sensing flood light, and pepper spray. It’s a harsh reality but better safe than sorry. In general, the people are good! There are always going to be rotten apples to spoil the bunch but I can happily say that people are usually very pleasant. I work in the service industry, so I do see some of the absolute shit cakes of society but mostly we have people who say please and thank you which is always nice. Going out in the city you’ll generally find people who are friendly. If you want big town slow pace, Columbia during the day light hours will serve you well. You can even go float down the river in the warm months! Just do go out of your way to be safe, and make sure to look into what neighborhood you’ll be moving into. I wish you the absolute best of luck!!

**What is living in Columbia like?**

Columbia is fairly quiet for a major metro area. Most of the surrounding area is nice and only a few minutes from downtown (without traffic, as others have pointed out).

The surrounding towns like Irmo and Lexington have grown too big for the amount of people that have moved here, but I consider them to be the more upscale areas. All the money loves the areas surrounding Lake Murray.

Very large college age dating scene in downtown with plenty of restaurants/bars/entertainment.

You’ve got a lot of political fear mongers on here like this person “Sticking_to_decaf” who probably glare at people that walk by. They probably think to themselves, “ooh he looks like a nazi” or “yep that’s a racist right there” based on their skin color and how they dress.

I’m on the more liberal side and have found everywhere to be accepting. Everyone really minds their own business and is friendly. The state is conservative and the city is slightly more liberal.

When it comes to Columbia and the surrounding towns, it looks like the southern/eastern sides are the less safe sides. More crime in south/east Cola. More crime in south/east Lexington and Irmo.

Cola definitely meets the “big town, slow paced life” criteria while Lexington and Irmo are growing more into “big town, fast paced life” because of the exponential growth in the area and the traffic. Seriously, stay off the roads during rush hour and around lunchtime.

**Do you enjoy living in Columbia?**

I came here for grad school from a bigger and cooler city and never intended to stay. But my spouse and I both got great jobs and have been able to build a really nice life here. We are both in higher ed, which is a great industry to be in around here.

Columbia has come a very long way from when I moved here in 2010 (and I was definitely on Team Columbia Sucks for years), and it takes people a while to update their priors.The best thing about it though, is the genuinely good people we’ve met.

A lot of points have been covered above but I want to focus in on a few here:

The river walk is excellent and free if you’re into parks. I go all the time and love it.

Also, I’ve noticed a few people clocking the restaurant scene as inadequate, and I totally disagree. It used to be, but it is really great now. There are multiple fine dining options, lots of smaller hole in the wall places that serve everything from southern to Thai, really wonderful Chinese (Sun Ming in Irmo, omg), and when soda city opens back up, a huge offering of food trucks and cheap produce. And that is not even close to all of it.

Depends on where you are in life, I suppose, and what you want. The thing is though, it’s still cool to rag on Columbia. But that vibe of the city is changing as it continues to grow. Soon enough, the same people complaining about it will be the ones talking about how all the new growth ruined it. 🤷‍♀️

Review 2: 

All these things. I agree. Came here from the north for school, met my spouse and planning on raising our family here. We live in Rosewood/Shandon, and I love being able to walk to coffee shops, a library branch (which our library and art museum are small, but nationally celebrated) and my favorite garden store, not to mention great little parks for my kid.

Soda City market is fantastic, we know the founder pretty well (Cola is a small enough city that you eventually seem like you meet everyone).

I don’t know the last time I went to Harbison, as local shops and national chains (like on Devine Street or Trenholm Plaza) serve me well. Plus a Trader Joe’s - what’s not to love?!

The restaurant scene is def getting better! With more higher priced options downtown (and being able to take free public transportation from one district to another!), and the “ethnic food” boulevard on Decker, every craving I have gets satisfied.

Columbia, South Carolina

Cola

Looklyloo Score: 85