Love/Hate Relationship
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7/3/2008
My wife and I are continually torn about this place. Some days we love it and others we don't. I can't say that we ever really "hate" it - it's not that bad - it's really just us. When coming from a major metro area the transition can be difficult. After having been raised in the heart of Silicon Valley and spending most of my life in the SF Bay Area, it's hard to go ANYWHERE and not feel like something's lacking. That being said, South Carolina has totally won us over when it comes to sensible government, low cost of living, southern manners, family values, clean air and open spaces. Most of these are things that have long since disappeared in California (believe it or not they once existed!). Unfortunately, Columbia is an area with virtually zero big-city amenities, aside from a nice zoo and a couple of decent museums. There just aren't a lot of quality services here so the standards tend to feel kind of low. People seem to be really okay with chain restaurants, strip malls and big box stores - not that those are bad things, but there are few alternatives. Downtown Columbia has some decent hangouts and restaurants, but you've got to look for them. The Vista and Five Points are basically it. People seem genuinely happy here and are really nice if you give them the chance, although not real sophisticated - and that's not meant as an insult - just not "citified". A lot of my dry humor just falls totally flat. On the other hand, you'll also find some very smart, educated, savvy locals but good luck getting invited to their dinner parties. There is very definitely a good ole boys network alive and well. And you'll have to go to church to get into certain other social circles. Lots of people are moving here, though, so the culture will definitely change - some for the better and some for the worse, no doubt. For recreation, there's a big lake nearby, Lake Murray, which is excellent, but that's about it. If we stayed here, I wouldn't regret it, but I'll constantly be thinking about where I could go for some real action.
Bp | Lexington, SC