Columbia a best choice for retirement

[CorgiMatt 79]

In their January-February 2007 issue, "Where to Retire" magazine, a thick slick back with beautiful photography and excellent writing, picks Columbia as one of their 25 best choices. They categorize the 25 choices as follows: coastal, 4 seasons, desert, budget and undiscovered. Columbia is in the budget town category. On the page that introduces the 5 cities they picked for this category, there is a picture of the beautiful Sylvan Jewelers building, and on the page about Columbia there's a fantastic shot of Finlay Park with the lake in the foreground and the highrises in the background (Columbia's other skyline).

The article about our category says if you're looking for a low-cost locale, forget about bleak landscapes where there's little to do and even less in the way of services. They talk about each of the five choices for our category, and for Columbia they say, "Choose a sophisticated state capital with Southern charm, trendy restaurants and no traffic hassles."

Then they go on to say, "These budget-stretching towns come with lots of advantages, not the least of which is getting more for your retirement dollar."

In their article on Columbia they say, "As the state capital, Columbia has the cultural and recreational perks of a big city but without the hassles." They list the Columbia Museum of Art, Edventure Children's Museum, Riverbanks Zoo ("impressive"), the opera, modern dance, the ballet, theater and the Philharmonic as amenities. And yes, they include the convenient location two hours from the mountains and two hours from the beach. They say retirees who want easy access to cultural offerings and good restaurants, and who want a change of season with mild winters and the ability to take hot summers, and the convenience of being halfway between New York and Miami are finding Columbia attractive. Other attractions discussed in their wonderful article are Lake Murray, Congaree National Park, the three rivers and eating and shopping in the Vista. "The three rivers that run through town, the Congaree, Saluda and Broad, lend a grace to the city and provide good strolling along the Three Rivers Greenway."

They quote a retiree who chose Columbia: It's a young-thinking city, thanks to colleges and universities. We like the beautifully restored neighborhoods.

They end each city's article with a paragraph called HOT NEIGHBORHOODS. For Columbia, they say, "Both retirees and the younger crowd are choosing to live in downtown neighborhoods to be close to theater, shops and dining."

I can't link the article to the forum, because when I visit their website I only see options to learn more about their magazine and to subscribe. Sorry.

Charleston is featured in their coastal category. I'll leave it up to someone in the Charleston forum to sum their entry up.

[krazeeboi 115]

Good press for the Capital City.

[waccamatt 8]

That sounds like a great article; maybe alot of "halfback" wannabees will read it and look into Columbia.

[Captain Worley 0]

^That'd be good!

[CorgiMatt 79]

The magazine is on the shelf at Books-a-Million now.

[krazeeboi 115]

In their January-February 2007 issue, "Where to Retire" magazine, a thick slick back with beautiful photography and excellent writing, picks Columbia as one of their 25 best choices. They categorize the 25 choices as follows: coastal, 4 seasons, desert, budget and undiscovered. Columbia is in the budget town category. On the page that introduces the 5 cities they picked for this category, there is a picture of the beautiful Sylvan Jewelers building, and on the page about Columbia there's a fantastic shot of Finlay Park with the lake in the foreground and the highrises in the background (Columbia's other skyline).

[CorgiMatt 79]

To go along with this, according to the RetireHomeSmart.com survey of retirement cities, Columbia and Gainesville, FL are ranked as America's best retirement cities.

It seems as though cities that are home to large universities tends to fare pretty well in retirement rankings, which makes sense as many retirees want to be in cities with an array of cultural amenities, and universities definitely provide that.

[waccamatt 8]

Columbia, the inland oasis. That's great news! Their website could use some work, though.

[krazeeboi 115]

^Yeah, I saw that too and had the same reaction.