Reviews & Comments
Columbia, SC
Better than Florence, but still nothing special. -
3/3/2020By and large, you'll find a better class of person than Florence, but that bar isn't particularly high. A vast, vast majority of folks have some ties to the university, the military, are from South Carolina, or have all 3 characteristics. If you are not in any of these groups, the people are ok, but you will kind of feel like an outsider. Again, people in Columbia are more hospitable than Florence, but I wouldn't exactly say that they welcome transplants with open arms. Business wise, there are more opportunities than Florence, but this is not one of the city's strong points. Columbia is not really a place to grow your career. The wages and growth opportunities are very low and still lag far behind most other cities in the U.S. I get the feeling that the attitude of many employers is "just be happy that you have a job." The attitude of the work force isn't exactly dynamic either. There isn't much energy here. It's just status quo. Maybe it is much better upstate, like in Greenville? Grocery and store wise, I will give Columbia credit. You have quality choices such as Whole Foods, the Fresh Market, Trader Joe's and Lowe's, which we have taken full advantage of. Retail wise, the shops at Trenholm Plaza are kind of nice. All in all, Columbia is not a bad place, just not a place I want to live for more than 2 years. There are few better places to live, even in the South.
Florence, SC
Incredibly boring, lacks culture, things to do. -
2/28/2020Some people have actually lived here for 30 years? I can't even imagine what your perspective is or what your life is like. Like anything in life, it's all about perspective. If you have lived your whole life in West Virginia, rural Ohio, or even Mississippi, you don't know any different, and God bless you because ignorance is bliss. If you have lived in a city that actually has some life and energy and positive vibes, then you will find life to be difficult here very quickly. My wife moved here for a job in a nearby city with a company in the middle of nowhere who pays a huge wage, inexplicably. I haven't lived in cities like I mentioned above. One, the traffic here is very bad, especially for such a small city with so few amenities and so little to offer. The city is just not planned well. The roads are very narrow, so you may wait forever just for the privilege of going to a Walmart. Two, a great majority of the employers pay an incredibly low wage. I'm having to work 100% remotely from my home office to make 40 bucks an hour for a company based in the East coast. I went on a few interviews for the same position which pay 13 bucks an hour.... Three, the people are not that friendly. It's not exactly Southern hospitality like you would find in other cities in the South. There is a high concentration of rednecks both in the city, and especially the immediate surrounding areas. We would be hard pressed to find any common ground with these types of people anyway. Four, the food and shopping here is pretty much non-existent. Family is in Greensboro, NC where there is Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and the Harris Teeter is actually really, really nice. They don't have anything like that here. The nicest grocery store here is the Harris Teeter, but it is worse than the worst Harris Teeter in Greensboro. However, some of the snooty locals actually think it's nice. Yeah, the joke is on you. Try going to the HT in Morrocroft Village in Charlotte, or in Greensboro at the Shops At Friendly HT, and then tell me the Harris Teeter here is nice. The mall here is most accurately characterized as a ghost town that is totally lifeless. Really, the mall I've never been to a worse mall, folks. The worst thing about here, it is profoundly boring here in a way that can really drain you on a daily basis. The cost of living is very cheap. It is very cheap because most people are poor or low income retirees who live on a very small budget. The fact that the wages are incredibly low also is certainly a factor. A friendly heads up; if you are from a bigger, more progressive city, it will not take long before you want to get out of here quickly. Just about the only saving grace I have for sanity's sake is being able to go to Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Charlotte, or Columbia every week-end, but even then the beach places are ones you want to avoid from Memorial Day to Labor Day.