Pleasant but unremarkable
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5/10/2008
Columbia is pleasant, but nothing special. In a way, it is kind of like the University of Missouri which is also pleasant but nothing special. Most of the national retail & restaurant chains are present (there is only one shopping mall). The weather is great in the spring and the fall, but the excessively hot summer period and excessively cold winter period are short in duration and easily survived. The University of Missouri dominates and the focus is on collegiate sports rather than academic excellence. There is the typical small town focus on high school athletics (but nothing on academics). The economy is driven by the university and the hospitals and this creates a stable, positive engine. People are friendly and crime is mostly isolated to the easily avoided areas (with university student-inspired property crime extending to student areas). Overall, Columbia is a solid C+ place to live. When you hear people praising it, they are probably from places which are less than a C+. If you hear people dumping on it, it probably just means that they used to live in B or A places.
Sean | Columbia, MO