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My wife and I are going to be moving to Columbia, SC later this month and were originally thinking we were going to live in military housing, but we are thinking it would be nice to live in a house out in the community. Is there anybody who lives in Columbia or knows the area pretty well and could give us some advice on what part of town to house hunt, and what areas to avoid?

When I got stationed in San Diego, I made the mistake of not researching the area well enough and we moved into a neighborhood where our house got broken into twice.

I'm getting in touch with some of the people in the unit I'm going to, but I also just wanted to ask you guys if you had any ideas.

Thanks!

-Jason

I know it's on the opposite side of Columbia as Ft. Jackson, but check out Cayce. It's right across the Congaree River from the good part of Columbia (business and USC) and due to the zoning restrictions, it is mostly family/student houses and one or two story businesses along the main roads like Knox Abbott and Charleston Hwy; very community/family oriented. Only about a 10-15 minute drive to Ft. Jackson (hwy). You'll appreciate living off post and having the ability to hang out in an area where a majority of people are in their 20's and 30's. There are lots of pawn shops, fried chicken restaurants, a Krispy Kreme, a nice library and of course, WalMart.

West Columbia is kind of poor, but not high crime.

Look on a map and try not to RENT a place in the huge section between Harden St. and US77, it can get ghetto-esque really fast; even where Benedict College and Allen Univ. are... There are some small upscale patches, but for the most part, you wouldn't like it.

As with all college towns, print out a schedule of USC's football and baseball home games and stay off the roads unless you like stuck in traffic on game days.

Being close to USC is great, and get some lessons with Ron Davis, a great musician and a true professional in every sense of the word.

jon112780 wrote:I know it's on the opposite side of Columbia as Ft. Jackson, but check out Cayce.

We will look into Cayce. You're the second person to recommend that area to us. Thank you very much for the information!