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Lexington 5 vs Richland 2 schools...?


MatthewsMom

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If your husband is still worried about "diversity" maybe yall should move away from the Columbia metro because no-matter where you go he is gonna have to interact with people of different cultures that's just a fact. In fact I would encourage moving as far away from Columbia, the state of SC, and the southeastern US, as you can if that's the case, seriously!

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Hey there,

Well, we drove to Cola. and we will either buy a house or rent. It's between River Springs Elem. area (Kennerly Rd.), Lexington (Midway Elem. or Lake Murray Elem.), or NE Richland (the new Sandlapper Elem.). Any ideas on which area would be more friendly, family-oriented, accepting to newcomers? And also what the traffic is like in each area? My husband will work in Harbison at first and next year might be working in NE Rich.

Also, what area do you suggest would be best to get the most equity if we sell in the future? We're on our way there today in a few hours to look in Irmo.

My husband is from Irmo. He's not totally happy w/ NE Rich. because he thinks it's too diverse... it doesn't matter that much to me. I just want a safe, friendly area w/ the best schools. He was leaning toward Lexington, but to me it just seems like there's NO diversity. Don't mean to offend anyone of color... that's just my husband... Also, I have some Spanish in me (but I'm adopted and born in PA) so I'm not lilly-white, and I'm worried about being accepted, etc. Never had to worry about that stuff until I moved to the South.

Anyways, any info would be great. Also, does anyone know about the new Sandlapper Elementary in NE Richland? I heard they'll have the top technology.

Thank you,

Lisa

I'm white with blue eyes, fair skin and very British/Welsh features, and when I visit my dad and his wife in Lexington I feel like I'm in Aerian nation. All three areas you listed have traffic problems. But that's suburbia.

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If your husband is still worried about "diversity" maybe yall should move away from the Columbia metro because no-matter where you go he is gonna have to interact with people of different cultures that's just a fact. In fact I would encourage moving as far away from Columbia, the state of SC, and the southeastern US, as you can if that's the case, seriously!

Sandlapper, I'm not happy w/ his views myself. In fact, I didn't know he felt this way until after we were married. I think it's just the way he was raised, although there is no excuse for this train of thought. He doesn't understand that Irmo is a different place now and it's not the 1970's anymore. I told him (jokingly) that maybe he'd be more comfortable in Idaho! Don't know if I would be though.

Anyway, I agree w/ you 100%... diversity is everywhere (I guess except Lexington). I want my son to grow up respecting and getting along w/ all different kinds of people, and I'm teaching this to him now. It's hard though when I have to protect his little ears from my husband's rants.

I'm leaning more toward NE Richland... it's newer and has everything. The schools seem geared toward technology also. Lexington has a few great schools, but the extreme lack of diversity makes me very uncomfortable.

Lisa

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I thought I'd chime in here since my wife and I moved hear a year ago and went through the exact same decsision process (i.e., comparing Irmo, NE Richland, and Lexington, and the respective Lex/Rich 5, Rich 2, and Lex 1 school districts).

First, I would say between these three school districts, which I would consider the areas top three by far, they are not so different in academic performance and quality that it's worth to sacrifice a short commute. In other words, for example, if your husband's job is in the Harbison/St. Andrews area, it would be perfectly rational and logical to buy a house in the Lex/Rich 5 area. My job happens to be on the NE Columbia/SC 277 side of town, so NE Richland / Rich 2 made sense for us, and it was in retrospect an even better decision because my office is now moving to I-77 at Farrow Road, even closer to our house. So all else being equal, it's not, in my opinion, worth the long commute to, say, live in Lexington and work in the Garners Ferry Road area. Of course, people in larger, more expensive cities often have to bite the bullet and make even bigger commute/convenience/school/house trade-offs (it was not uncommon in Northern Virginia near DC, from where we moved, for young families to live over an hour away from even suburban job centers, just to get a decently-priced single family house with good schools).

You've already gotten a taste of what the different "flavors" of the suburban areas in Columbia are. Again, in my personal opinion, there aren't significant differences in basic quality of life and school performance between these areas such that one is markedly "superior" over the other. That being said, here's how I would describe the areas:

(1) Irmo/Dutch Fork: this is probably the most familiar suburban area to Columbians since it is a bit more mature than NE Richland and Lexington (i.e., much of the housing and commercial development dates back to the 1970s and 1980s), and also because it is the premier retail area with the region's flagship Columbiana Centre Mall anchoring a dense swath of stores and shops around it along Harbison Blvd. Lake Murray is the major recreation draw, and if your family likes boating, it's a huge plus. As has been discussed on this board, it was originally (i.e., 20-30 years ago) a fairly homogenous bedroom community that has blossomed into a busy suburban commercial node with many jobs near it. It is the closest thing Columbia has to a suburban "edge city", like Marietta and Roswell/Sandy Springs near Atlanta or the Research Triangle Park/Cary area near Raleigh. Besides the excellent schools many choose this area because it is very convenient to many areas - downtown off I-126, Lexington to the west on I-20, NE Richland to the east on I-20. Of course, this area has the worst traffic of any suburban area in Columbia, especially with the I-26/I-20/I-126 "Malfunction Junction".

The schools in Lex/Rich 5 are as good as you will find in South Carolina - they consistently have among the highest test scores, both on the stat PACT and high school SAT scores. On paper you will not find better schools. I will say that some have criticized Lex/Rich 5 schools for excessive concern with keeping high test scores - understandble as this is something some parents and school officials want to guard and preserve. However, many folks, including students, may not like that because it detracts from true academic excellence. I find Richland 2 schools in NE Richland are more open-minded about what test scores mean (see below). In my opinion, the school district elecorate can, at times, seem more reluctant to pass bond issues because of fear of triggering higher taxes later (compared to Richland 2). Nevertheless, you can't go wrong with schools in the Irmo area.

In terms of diversity, the Irmo/Dutch Fork area is mostly white, but as it matures and gradually urbanizes, particularly further south near the city around the St. Andrews and Broad River Road areas, it is becoming more diverse, both racially and socioeconomically. Some of the schools the older, southern parts of the districts are learning to adapt so they can teach poorer and lower-middle class students. Some schools like H.E. Corley elementary have programs in place to adjust. Many in the district area aware that the area is changing and needs to respond accordingly. Unfortunately, some drag their feet and still think they are in quiet bedroom community. Not all of the area is like that anymore. Some folks will have to change their attitude to adjust to reality. I will say that you can live further north up I-26 in the Ballentine and Chapin areas and still be in Lex/Rich 5 with excellent schools, but as you suggest, the diversity there drops rapidly and becomes more like Lexington. You would also probably have to look into the Ballentine/Chapin areas if you want a newer, larger home for a good price. There is a denser, slightly older feeling in the older parts of Irmo/Harbison/St. Andrews even though it is still suburban in form.

(2) Lexington: the areas around the town of Lexington, including White Knoll and Red Bank, are fast-growing, new bedroom communities. Lots of new, young families and transplants from other cities/states. That has forced the local authorities to change their orientation from rural to suburban, and for the most part they are responding. Traffic is becoming a headache because the "legacy" arterial roads like US 378 and US 1 can't keep up with the traffic heading to Downtown, West Columbia, and Irmo/St. Andrews. There are not as many jobs, or least as much job density, as you will find in Irmo/St. Andrews, although the town of Lexington does have a decent commercial base, as it is the county seat with the attendant downtown, county courthouse, restaurants, shops, etc. Big-box retail is filling in rapidly, as there is already a Wal-Mart SuperCenter on 378 and a Target coming soon, too, but does not have the retail density of Harbison (I imagine it never really will - 378 will probably look like US 1/Two Notch Road in NE Richland eventually). There is no major mall, town center, or "lifestyle center" on this side of town (yet). Lake Murray is also close by and offers great water recreation if you're into that.

The schools in Lex 1 are just about as top-notch as Lex/Rich 5. The scores are just about as high. They are newer, and some of the facilities are state-of-the-art as well, such as White Knoll High School. As you mentioned, Lexington is not very diverse at all, although I would not say it is super-intolerant, at least not in the newer subdivisions (again, they're mostly populated by young, educated, professional families, with many transplants, so it makes it a bit more cosmpolitan than otherwise, but it's still much less so than Irmo/St. Andrews and especially NE Richland). The Lexington area, for example, recently elected an Indian-American woman to the SC House of Representatives, who is a young businesswomen with two small kids in a newer subdivision. She defeated at 30-year "good ol' boy" incumbent in the Republican primary - so it's again indicative of the area thinking more and more about things like developing libraries and soccer fields for kids than just the very bare bones basics of government services.

Personally, Lexington is only compelling if you have a job near there, such as Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia on US 378 off I-26, or in the greater West Columbia/Cayce area, or perhaps even in western parts of Irmo/Harbison. But it is the least convenient suburban location overall, although you do get your choice of many newer areas.

(3) NE Richland - economically it's not all that different from the other two areas - it is middle-to-upper middle class, has lots of new housing development, and has growing traffic problems. Two Notch Road is the main commercial strip, with Target, Wal-Mart SuperCenter, several other big boxes like Circuity City, Lowe's, Kohl's, Petsmart, etc. Increasingly Clemson Road and the I-77 corridor up to Blythewood is attracting retail development due to new housing areas. As you mentioned, the big difference between NE Richland and other suburban areas is it's significantly higher racial diversity. I personally take this as a huge plus (my wife and I are of Asian Indian descent), but I also live further out in the newer parts of NE Richland, which means it's pretty diverse ethnically, but pretty consistent by class (again, middle-to-upper-middle class). NE Richland not only has a larger African-American population, but also the Columbia region's highest concentration of Asians and Hispanics. There are significant Korean and Puerto Rican populations, for example. Probably more so than the other areas, NE Richland has the highest number of transplants. I've hear it being called the "Yankee side of town" and the more sophisticated side of town, and there is much truth to that, I think. NE Richland residents tend to be tied to professions and job centers that attract a cosmopolitan outlook: Blue Cross, state government, USC, Fort Jackson (which is a major factor in the diversity of NE Richland residents), Computer Sciences Corporation, even job centers in Kershaw County like DuPont and a Target distribution center. Similar to Irmo, there are older areas of this side of town which are urbanizing and changing away from standard middle-class bedroom community to a wider socioeconomic range, particularly around the Two Notch/Decker Blvd. area.

The schools in Richland 2 are also great and top-notch in the state. At first glance some might notice the test scores a somewhat (but not a lot) lower than Lex/Rich 5 and Rich 2. However, in my opinion, the district more than makes up for it because it is the most innovative in developing a wide swath of specialized and magnet programs that try to cater to as many different types of students as possible. This is why you see a lot of technology and other investments in the district, relative to others. The district is probably the most progressive and most aware of it's wide spectrum of urban-suburban-rural development patterns (compare the Decker Boulevard area to Spring Valley to Blythewood, for example), and of course it's racial, ethnic, and economic diversity. I will say if you absolutely MUST have a school with the highest test scores, than Lex/Rich 5 or maybe even Lex 1 will fit your bill. But for thost a little open minded and flexible on test scores, Richland 2 schools can offer much to its students. And in many cases, the test scores are that high anyways, without sacrificing diversity - Lake Carolina Elementary and Spring Valley High get "Excellent" ratings on PACT scores across the board, for example. There seems to a higher willingness to vote for bond issues, etc. I'm not criticizing other school districts' residents for voting down such measures, but it is a difference to be noted. I personally don't feel there will be quite as much controversy in Richland 2 over capital investment into new schools - it is too fast growing of an area to avoid the issue.

My wife and I have been very happy with our decision to move to this area - I wouldn't say it would be the best for you, especially if your husband's job is far away. But I thought I'd say that it has been a good move for us.

I will add a fourth area for you to consider, especially if your husband is working near Garners Ferry Road:

(1) Forest Acres/SE Columbia: I would strongly consider this area if you don't mind being in a slightly more expensive area (in terms of bang-for-buck on your house) and a slightly older area (in terms of both the age of housing/development and the age of residents). This is a very mature, upper-middle-class suburban area with many 40- and 50-something professionals. You will not beat convenience and access to downtown and the city, and it is not too far from NE Richland either. As I mentioned, it is the closest nice area to Garners Ferry Road. I mention this area because it has the best schools in Richland 1 (a district which otherwise tends to get criticism for sub-par schools, not all of which is fair). Stay within the Dreher High School and A.C Flora High School and their feeder elementary/middle schools, and you can't go wrong. The schools are approximately as diverse as those in NE Richland, perhaps slightly less. They are much more diverse than Lex/Rich 5 or Lex 1. However, many parts of Forest Acres/SE Columbia (including neighborhoods like Arcadia Lakes, Lake Katherine, Rosewood, etc.) are not very racially diverse, but most residents are very forward-thinking and cosmopolitan. That, and being a very mature suburban area means you also have more ecclectic, independently-owned stores, galleries, and shops (like along Forest Drive). That's not for everyone - if you want a brand-new bigger house with just a Target and Olive Garden nearby, then you'll be fine in newer parts of NE Richland, Lexington, etc. This area is analogous to Myers Park/Providence in Charlotte, or Dunwoody near Atlanta.

My wife and I strongly considered this area (it would have been our #2 choice behind NE Richland), but she really wanted the newer house with more space, so we moved further northeast. But I think you should strongly consider this area if you are willing to sacrifice a newer/bigger house. The schools are actually probalby better than any of the other three areas I mentioned, but they are often overlooked because the area is older and the overal district is not as good. Be open minded and good luck!

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Great post, Chi2. I found it amusing that you said NE Richland is the "yankee" part of the metro. Being a transplanted "yankee" myself, I've often said that Richland County is a Northeastern U.S. county in the middle of South Carolina. I think this is a good thing and it is one of the reasons that I remain in South Carolina.

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Great post, Chi2. I found it amusing that you said NE Richland is the "yankee" part of the metro. Being a transplanted "yankee" myself, I've often said that Richland County is a Northeastern U.S. county in the middle of South Carolina. I think this is a good thing and it is one of the reasons that I remain in South Carolina.

I agree. Great post. Long time viewer, first time writer here. Hope I'm doing this right.

We too are moving to Columbia this summer from the Washington metro area (Bethesda, a few blocks north of the DC line). After visiting all the areas, talking to many residents and reading UP posts religiously for the past year, we are moving to the NE area for all of the reason Chi2 states. I'm going back and reading everything Chi2 has written over the past few months. We would love to be closer in to town for the diversity, culture, creative class, more progressive politics maybe (?), etc, but after living in a smaller, older home for many years with 3 kids, the bigger houses with big yards are a nice change. My real estate agent jokingly told us that NE was where they put all the Yankees. (I grew up in the deep South though).

Just a word of thanks to all the posters who I've learned from. Most of you sound like people I'd like to share a cold beer and a good discussion with some time. Really looking forward to living in Columbia, rooting for the Gamecocks and enjoying those rivers and lakes.

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I agree. Great post. Long time viewer, first time writer here. Hope I'm doing this right.

We too are moving to Columbia this summer from the Washington metro area (Bethesda, a few blocks north of the DC line). After visiting all the areas, talking to many residents and reading UP posts religiously for the past year, we are moving to the NE area for all of the reason Chi2 states. I'm going back and reading everything Chi2 has written over the past few months. We would love to be closer in to town for the diversity, culture, creative class, more progressive politics maybe (?), etc, but after living in a smaller, older home for many years with 3 kids, the bigger houses with big yards are a nice change. My real estate agent jokingly told us that NE was where they put all the Yankees. (I grew up in the deep South though).

Just a word of thanks to all the posters who I've learned from. Most of you sound like people I'd like to share a cold beer and a good discussion with some time. Really looking forward to living in Columbia, rooting for the Gamecocks and enjoying those rivers and lakes.

Welcome to UP, and to Columbia! I'm glad that you have found Urban Planet such a useful tool in your moving process. I hope that you will continue to stop by and share youre thoughts about your new city with us! :)

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I agree. Great post. Long time viewer, first time writer here. Hope I'm doing this right.

We too are moving to Columbia this summer from the Washington metro area (Bethesda, a few blocks north of the DC line). After visiting all the areas, talking to many residents and reading UP posts religiously for the past year, we are moving to the NE area for all of the reason Chi2 states. I'm going back and reading everything Chi2 has written over the past few months. We would love to be closer in to town for the diversity, culture, creative class, more progressive politics maybe (?), etc, but after living in a smaller, older home for many years with 3 kids, the bigger houses with big yards are a nice change. My real estate agent jokingly told us that NE was where they put all the Yankees. (I grew up in the deep South though).

Just a word of thanks to all the posters who I've learned from. Most of you sound like people I'd like to share a cold beer and a good discussion with some time. Really looking forward to living in Columbia, rooting for the Gamecocks and enjoying those rivers and lakes.

I'll second the welcome. I think you'll find Columbia to have a nice intermediate pace where you won't have to deal with extreme traffic, but there's still alot to do. We've tried to arrange for a group visit to the Arcade Building, but it hasn't come about yet. Maybe one of these days...

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Thanks for the kind words. Looking forward to joining in from time to time, though I generally prefer to listen (read) rather than talk (write).

Since this is a "schools" thread, I will throw out that, from my research, I'm pretty impressed with Richland 2, particularly what I've seen of Spring Valley HS and we are moving from arguably the best school cluster in one of the best school districts in the country (Montgomery County, MD). Professional and prompt staff responses to all our questions, inovative programs, apparently good parent involvement, diversity and what appears to be a pro-active guidance center (evidenced by college visits and resource web site)- all more important IMO than a few points either way on standardized tests.

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Since this is a "schools" thread, I will throw out that, from my research, I'm pretty impressed with Richland 2, particularly what I've seen of Spring Valley HS and we are moving from arguably the best school cluster in one of the best school districts in the country (Montgomery County, MD). Professional and prompt staff responses to all our questions, inovative programs, apparently good parent involvement, diversity and what appears to be a pro-active guidance center (evidenced by college visits and resource web site)- all more important IMO than a few points either way on standardized tests.

Yes - you echo my thought process exactly. We moved from Fairfax County, VA (West Springfield to be exact) - which you know is more or less a mirror image of Montgomery County in terms of schools. If we were so obsessed with test scores, we would have never left the DC area. There is more to a good school than a 1100 or 1200 SAT average. I think Richland 2 is pragmatic and open-minded about test scores - they don't ignore them, but they are not slaves to them. The district, as I mentioned, seems to work very hard to serve all of its students by developing as many programs as reasonably possible to serve the different learning styles. Also things like citizenship, leadership, etc. seem to be offered if not emphasized, something you don't always find even in elite public schools.

I also think it's obscene that housing in some public school districts in some cities (you know the deal in the DC area) means that you have to fork $400,000 or more for a house (and not some giant mansion, but a 1960's ranch or even a townhouse). If that's the case, then you are almost paying de facto private school tuition in some cases to be in an elite "public" school area. That is what is so nice about greater Columbia, and the three or four school distrcts mentioned - there is not a huge "good school premium" to live in Irmo, Lexington, or NE Richland.

P.S.: You will find many DC-area transplants (and from other cities & states, of course) in NE Richland, if not all over Columbia. We have at least two just on our street. Another sign - the new Village of Sandhill "town center" style mall in NE Richland even has a Five Guys Burgers & Fries (they're based in Lorton, VA); we actually ran into the manager who just moved down from the DC area (we saw a Virginia license plate). It is very common to see out-of-state plates all over NE Richland. I've ran into a Subway clerk from Manassas, VA and a Firestone manager from Herndon, VA. At a wedding just this past Friday we even met someone who lived in Burke, VA, practically down the street from our previous home.

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Wow, who would've known so many DC-area transplants were relocating to Columbia? DC is a place I wouldn't mind living for a few years (while I'm still a spring chicken, LOL) but for the long haul, I'd definitely want to be in a place like Columbia.

Well, I don't think DC-area transplants are more in number than any other area (I've observed transplants from New York (state and city), New Jersey, Chicago, Ohio, and more). Except perhaps folks from Pennsylvania, particularly Pittsburgh and Western PA in general (I've seen lots of them) - perhaps it's the I-79/I-77 migration route that made it easy for lots of folks from that area to move down here. I believe Charlotte has a big Pittsburgh transplant population as well - enough that they try to schedule the Steelers to play the Panthers in the pre-season as often as possible, I think. Yes, I do use the "sports team clothing/caps" method of gauging where transplants are from, along with college flags outside homes and license plates.

Regardless, I think Columbia tends to attract a healthy variety of folks from different cities - it's better than narrower one-to-one transplant routes like New York->Fort Lauderdale (the I-95 route) or Michigan/Ohio/Indiana->Fort Myers (the I-75 route).

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Thanks for the kind words. Looking forward to joining in from time to time, though I generally prefer to listen (read) rather than talk (write).

Since this is a "schools" thread, I will throw out that, from my research, I'm pretty impressed with Richland 2, particularly what I've seen of Spring Valley HS and we are moving from arguably the best school cluster in one of the best school districts in the country (Montgomery County, MD). Professional and prompt staff responses to all our questions, inovative programs, apparently good parent involvement, diversity and what appears to be a pro-active guidance center (evidenced by college visits and resource web site)- all more important IMO than a few points either way on standardized tests.

You're right; my nephews and went/still go to Churchill High School in Potomac and have had good success getting into the colleges they've wanted from there.

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You're right; my nephews and went/still go to Churchill High School in Potomac and have had good success getting into the colleges they've wanted from there.

Funny you mention Churchill / Potomac - it's exactly the type of area I had in mind when I was describing desirable suburban school districts (such as those near DC) with now-exhorbitant house prices. My wife's best friend grew up in Potomac and went to Churchill. She now lives in Greensboro and loves being in the friendlier, slower-paced, and cheaper South. However, if money were no object I would still love to live in an area like Potomac (hence why we still considered looking for a home in Forest Acres down here - it was the closest thing to Potomac near Columbia). There's something about older leafy trees with good middle-aged housing stock that I find comforting (you could say I grew up in a nice "poor man's" version of Potomac near Chicago). With any luck, NE Richland will mature into something like those established suburbs.

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I'm with you there. Forrest Acres looks good to me, but not a lot of newer homes for sale there for the larger family.

I had not really noticed the part of Potomac around Churchill HS until my son played rec league basketball there this winter. Great area and Churchill is a superb school. I'd only seen the River Road/Avenel/Mega-mansion part of Potomac previously (driving up to Great Falls, Homestead Farms). In the words of Jimmy Buffett, thats "a whole nuther world".

I agree with your previous statement about Fairfax and Montgomery counties being mirror image school systems. We have friends over there.

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Funny you mention Churchill / Potomac - it's exactly the type of area I had in mind when I was describing desirable suburban school districts (such as those near DC) with now-exhorbitant house prices. My wife's best friend grew up in Potomac and went to Churchill. She now lives in Greensboro and loves being in the friendlier, slower-paced, and cheaper South. However, if money were no object I would still love to live in an area like Potomac (hence why we still considered looking for a home in Forest Acres down here - it was the closest thing to Potomac near Columbia). There's something about older leafy trees with good middle-aged housing stock that I find comforting (you could say I grew up in a nice "poor man's" version of Potomac near Chicago). With any luck, NE Richland will mature into something like those established suburbs.

Chi2, that is really funny. My middle nephew graduated from Churchill (and Maryland) and is now living in Greensboro, too.

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Chi2, that is really funny. My middle nephew graduated from Churchill (and Maryland) and is now living in Greensboro, too.

That reminds me of two more transplant stories:

The properietor of the Melting Pot fondue restaurant on Colonial Life Blvd. used to work at the Rockville, MD location. We had a good chat with him about DC.

The waiter at the Greensboro Melting Pot location (on Battleground) was from New Jersey.

Of course, if you want to be where you can't spit without hitting a transplant, you go to Charlotte or Raleigh. Or Atlanta. Even that doesn't compare to Florida, though.

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That reminds me of two more transplant stories:

The properietor of the Melting Pot fondue restaurant on Colonial Life Blvd. used to work at the Rockville, MD location. We had a good chat with him about DC.

The waiter at the Greensboro Melting Pot location (on Battleground) was from New Jersey.

Of course, if you want to be where you can't spit without hitting a transplant, you go to Charlotte or Raleigh. Or Atlanta. Even that doesn't compare to Florida, though.

I had dinner at the Melting Pot last night. You've given me a great idea for a new thread, though!

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  • 2 years later...

Instead of starting a new topic I thought it best to pose my dilemma here.

I will have my first child going to Kindergarten in public school soon. I currently live in Irmo but my house is too small. So a move is in the near future but whether to stay in NW or go to NE is the issue. My concern is that my wife has a new job in the NE starting in a few months. I have read all previous threads but want more advice to my situation. Schools are the number one concern. However, driving time is up there too. I would like to know if anyone knows of any good websites with real parent comments? I checked out ed.sc.gov and it is a nice site but lacks comments. I went to Lexington schools and my wife to Dutch Fork so we only know them. I want to focus on Elementary schools now. I feel in less than 5 years we would move again so where the Elementary schools feed into isn't a great concern.

If you have any specific choices you can suggest or say heck no to please let me know. Also again if you know of any free resources for comments on schools please share.

Thank you

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Instead of starting a new topic I thought it best to pose my dilemma here.

I will have my first child going to Kindergarten in public school soon. I currently live in Irmo but my house is too small. So a move is in the near future but whether to stay in NW or go to NE is the issue. My concern is that my wife has a new job in the NE starting in a few months. I have read all previous threads but want more advice to my situation. Schools are the number one concern. However, driving time is up there too. I would like to know if anyone knows of any good websites with real parent comments? I checked out ed.sc.gov and it is a nice site but lacks comments. I went to Lexington schools and my wife to Dutch Fork so we only know them. I want to focus on Elementary schools now. I feel in less than 5 years we would move again so where the Elementary schools feed into isn't a great concern.

If you have any specific choices you can suggest or say heck no to please let me know. Also again if you know of any free resources for comments on schools please share.

Thank you

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^ Thank you so much for that web site and suggestions. Its a huge decision and I continue to sort through all the data. Richland 2 consists of many school but there are two large areas for Bethel-Hanberry and Round Top. I am leaning towards them. Bookman Road seems hard to get into at first glance. The school attendance area map has a very small area feeding into that school. I think at all cost I will stay away from the Summit.

I will continue to work on this...if anyone has any other advice please share.

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