Your thoughts on Columbia

[Charleston native]

As for crime, you claim that crime is as bad as Atlanta without quantifying it.  What kind of crime?  Violent, property?  Per capita, gross?  Take a look at the 25 most dangerous metro areas as measured by Morgan Quitno's 11th annual rankings:

http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05pop.htm

While I'm alarmed that so many SC cities made this particular list, Columbia didn't.  Does that mean that I don't think crime is a problem?  No, there are criminal hotspots sprinkled all over the city, and I'd love to see Columbia step up and take care of them.  But this also illustrates that your perception may not be indicative of the city as a whole.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Whatever your source is, I don't think their data is clear. Here is data obtained from the FBI, courtesy of an article from Columbia's Free Times:

Crime Rates Per 100,000 Residents (2003)

City All Violent Crimes Murders Rape Armed Robberies

Atlanta 1,969 34 70 858

Charleston 879 15 33 245

Columbia 1,137 13 48 389

Florence 1,434 18 63 465

Greenville 1,007 4 58 187

Myrtle Beach* 2,400 16 252 780

New York 734 7 13 321

Source: FBI

*Myrtle Beach's rates are inflated by large numbers of seasonal tourists.

On your data, the dangerous MSA ranking is high for Chas-N. Chas because of specifically the North Area, or N. Charleston. That part of the city is indeed bad, but many other parts of the city of Charleston are very safe, especially DT. The same cannot be said of Cola, Florence, or MB. That is the problem with the MSA ranking...one area of the city can make it appear like living in Summerville or James Island is VERY dangerous, based on the MSA ranking. At least, that's the impression it gives.

My experiences here in Cola have shaped my way of thinking. I can't help that. If you've had better experiences in this city, then you are going to have a higher opinion of it.

[HOTSPOTTNY]

I live in Atlanta. Trust me, I have NO envy of Charlotte.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

well there you have it ...and your point is like atl is ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS....LOL.....COME ONTHIS IS GETTING SO BORING......ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK ATL IS SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT WHICH IS TRYING TO SAY THAT THEY ARE A LITTLE NY I DONT THINK SO I LIVED THERE AND I WOULD RATHER HAVE CHARLOTTE ...A CITY WITH A SMART GROWTH PLAN AND ALOT OF THE SAME THINGS YOU CAN FIND IN ATL AND THE REAL BIG PLAYERS...NY,CHI,LA

[Spartan]

Urbansoutherner you evidently have envy against Charlotte but like I said Columbia is great and i have family there but to say it's on the same level as Charlotte is just ignorant...but in defense of Columbia I think it will be he next booming city in the south along with Greenville....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

What is it that makes any city a great city?

Generally it is things like entertainment optinons. Can you see a concert? A football game (or any other sport)? A play? Is there a nightlife? A variety of living options? Diversity? Higher Learning? Museums?

Columbia has all of these things. Charlotte does too- but IMO, Columbia has a better grasp on them.

I can't stress enough that I am not trying to say Columbia is a bigger or better place. Population isn't everything.

What I am saying is that when it comes to deciding where to live, Columbia can offer all the things that Charlotte can.

[UrbanSoutherner]

well there you have it ...and your point is like atl is ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS....LOL.....COME ONTHIS IS GETTING SO BORING......ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK ATL IS SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT WHICH IS TRYING TO SAY THAT THEY ARE A LITTLE NY I DONT THINK SO I LIVED THERE AND I WOULD RATHER HAVE CHARLOTTE ...A CITY WITH A SMART GROWTH PLAN AND ALOT OF THE SAME THINGS YOU CAN FIND IN ATL AND THE REAL BIG PLAYERS...NY,CHI,LA

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not really. I went to school at USC and have great affinity for Columbia. That is my bias. I will say my positive impressions of Charlotte to make the direction of this thread more positive:

BofA Tower and Hearst Tower are both great skyscrapers.

Fair amount of street activity downtown.

Impressive downtown housing efforts.

Nice old neighborhoods (Dilworth, Myers Park, Elizabeth, etc.).

Big corporate community with lots of good jobs.

Plans to build a light rail system.

Mint Museum is a nice art museum for a city Charlotte's size.

[Spartan]

Not really. I went to school at USC and have great affinity for Columbia. That is my bias. I will say my positive impressions of Charlotte to make the direction of this thread more positive:

BofA Tower and Hearst Tower are both great skyscrapers.

Fair amount of street activity downtown.

Impressive downtown housing efforts.

Nice old neighborhoods (Dilworth, Myers Park, Elizabeth, etc.).

Big corporate community with lots of good jobs.

Plans to build a light rail system.

Mint Museum is a nice art museum for a city Charlotte's size.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

These are good points. I hope that Columbia reaches the point where there is a demand for residential towers of the magnitude that Charlotte has.

[UrbanSoutherner]

I am curious about HOTSPOTTNY's point about a smart growth plan. What are the details about this plan? Also Spartan or some SC forumer, what about Richland County's town and country plan. What is going on with that? I think every southern city virtually without exception has to get a handle on sprawl.

[lastweek]

Whatever your source is, I don't think their data is clear. Here is data obtained from the FBI, courtesy of an article from Columbia's Free Times:

Crime Rates Per 100,000 Residents (2003) 

City                All Violent Crimes        Murders        Rape        Armed Robberies

Atlanta                  1,969                      34                70                  858 

Charleston              879                        15                33                  245 

Columbia              1,137                      13                48                  389 

Florence                1,434                      18                63                  465 

Greenville              1,007                      4                  58                  187 

Myrtle Beach*        2,400                      16                252                780 

New York                734                        7                  13                  321

Source: FBI 

*Myrtle Beach's rates are inflated by large numbers of seasonal tourists. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ok, first, your data doesn't even come close to supporting your claim that Columbia is as unsafe as Atlanta. My source's data is very clear, if you pay to look at it. Fortunately the synopsis (list) is free.

On your data, the dangerous MSA ranking is high for Chas-N. Chas because of specifically the North Area, or N. Charleston. That part of the city is indeed bad, but many other parts of the city of Charleston are very safe, especially DT. The same cannot be said of Cola, Florence, or MB. That is the problem with the MSA ranking...one area of the city can make it appear like living in Summerville or James Island is VERY dangerous, based on the MSA ranking. At least, that's the impression it gives.

Ok, I know you dislike Columbia, but to claim that there is no safe parts of this city is absolutely proposterous. They have city rankings on the link I provided for you, if you prefer.

So I assume by your posts that you live in Columbia for another reason than to fulfill a lifelong dream of residing here. Same with me. But, I'll stay for a little while, and then probably move on somewhere else. Columbia has attracted the both of us for one reason or another, and I see the numbers of people like us moving here growing exponentially in the future. I'll make the best of my time here, and leave this city better than I found it.

[krazeeboi]

Wow, I hate I even mentioned Charlotte in connection with this thread. But oh well.

To continue in UrbanSoutherner's vein, there is a LOT of activity going on in Charlotte presently, and I'm excited to be living in the metro area to experience a lot of it firsthand. I just passed by the 3030 South development just a few minutes ago on my way home. It's going to be a really nice mixed-use development. You've also got the new uptown arena which is going to be REALLY nice, the Mecklenburg County building, and hopefully it will finally be decided when the implosion of the old convention center will take place so that the Epicentre can go up. Loads of activity.

OK, now back to our regularly schedule discussion. More thoughts on Columbia, anyone?

[Spartan]

Town & Country is a start, and most importantly it is a plan. Nobody can say its not It its fairly comprehensive. I haven't actually read the thing, but from what I understand it has good ideas. It advocates concentrating things in clusters. Alot of high density nodes with very low density in between, rather than alot of random/mixed density scatterer thorughout the county. Maybe someone else can explain it in more detail.

I know that in SC every municipality has to have a plan. Urbanized counties have plans too.

[UrbanSoutherner]

Back to Columbia, one thing I like about the city is the wealth of historic church architecture. The three antebellum churches are great--Trinity Episcopal (Gothic), First Presbyterian (Gothic), and First Baptist (Greek Revival). From what I have seen, this cluster of churches is one of the best collections of antebellum churches in the South outside of the obvious old port cities like Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans.

[krazeeboi]

Good point UrbanSoutherner. I even like some of the more recent structures, like the ARP and United Methodist churches.

[HOTSPOTTNY]

Well im going to close by saying....." I am very happy and impressed with the south as a whole and all the growth that they are experiencing and I chose to move to Charlotte along with many other friends and northerners that are very pleased at the city and the feel of the city and the oppurtunites that this city has to be an upcoming mid/large city so to speak....almost 8 times out of 10 when I go out and explore the city malls,bars ,clubs,and etc...I hardly meet anyone from Charlotte ..everyone is like from the west coast or the north and we are all very excited and glad to pick a good place to live...but i'm sorry for taking so much space on here but Go Columbia and I hope many many prosperous years for not only Columbia but the whole state

[peaceloveunderstanding]

what are some new projects going on in Columbia?

[TruantSpeakEZ]

no safe parts in columbia. the city is NOT that bad. let's be real.

[waccamatt]

what are some new projects going on in Columbia?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

This thread has a fairly recent list. We also need to add the $300 million Richland Mall "Village within a city" redevelopment and a $100 million condo development on Lake Murray.

Columbia developments

[Spartan]

This thread has a fairly recent list. We also need to add the $300 million Richland Mall "Village within a city" redevelopment and a $100 million condo development on Lake Murray.

Columbia developments

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

With issues like this I'd like to mention them in the developments thread, but keep the main discussion about it in its own thread. Other big topics like CanalSide, or the Bull St hospital should also have their own thread.

[Charleston native]

Ok, first, your data doesn't even come close to supporting your claim that Columbia is as unsafe as Atlanta.  My source's data is very clear, if you pay to look at it.  Fortunately the synopsis (list) is free.

Ok, I know you dislike Columbia, but to claim that there is no safe parts of this city is absolutely proposterous.  They have city rankings on the link I provided for you, if you prefer. 

So I assume by your posts that you live in Columbia for another reason than to fulfill a lifelong dream of residing here.  Same with me.  But, I'll stay for a little while, and then probably move on somewhere else.  Columbia has attracted the both of us for one reason or another, and I see the numbers of people like us moving here growing exponentially in the future.  I'll make the best of my time here, and leave this city better than I found it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Look, I'm not saying that Columbia is as dangerous as Tijuana, "Hell"-A, or Miami, but I haven't been able to see many safe spots in this city. I've had my wallet stolen in a gated apartment complex, somebody was held up at gun point and had their car stolen in a new complex I moved into, and everytime I'm running DT, the only area I feel safe is around the Vista and USC. When I made my police report, I also got to see how many auto break-ins are in this city. The officer said that they have one of the highest rates of break-ins in the state. Anyway, my experiences here have not been good, so what else can I go by?

Cola never attracted me...I believe that I was led here because USC was the only PT school I was accepted to. I know that I am supposed to be here, but just like my time in the Air Force, that doesn't mean I have to love where I live. Columbia is not bad, but I've seen better. Maybe I had high expectations before I came here. Who knows? The point is that you cannot downplay the high level of crime that this city has. I believe that Columbia will be very safe place if the city hired more police officers and more patrols were done.

I might continue to live here for another 3 years, pending on my acceptance to USC law school (PT school was not for me). I will make the best of where I live. But I will always continue to pursue a city that is more of a fit for me and my future wife.

[Spartan]

Certainly you don't have to love where you are. It is the difference of opinion that you (and others) have that make this an interesting place to discuss our common intrest. Think how boring it would be if we all had the same opinion! We have all had different experiences that have shaped our opinions of Columbia. I am sorry that yours happen to be more negative. We appreciate your different thoughts

[waccamatt]

I've lived in or around downtown Columbia for the past 17 years. I was broken into when I lived in Cottontown in the late 80's, but (except for my ex breaking into my house and you can't blame that on Columbia) I've never had any problems. IMO, Charleston and Noth Charleston have some much seedier areas than any part of Columbia.

[UrbanSoutherner]

I was never a victim of a serious crime in my time in SC (a lot of my time was in Columbia and Charleston), so take this for what it is worth. I really never felt any safer in Charleston than in Columbia. The fact is that pretty much all SC cities have relatively high crime rates (especially Myrtle Beach with its property crimes). At some point, this debate is over degrees. The reality is that high crime is a fact across the state's cities. The state has one of the highest state violent crime rates in the country (fifth or so I think). Most other southern cities are little better if any. The South is high crime. And it has been historically. If you look up the highest crime rate American cities around 1900, you will find southern cities like Charleston, Memphis, New Orleans, etc., right up there. There are many explanations for this that have been proposed by historians and sociologist, and that could constitute a topic in and of itself (e.g., gun culture, honor culture, hot weather, lower socio-economic indicators, etc.). I live in Atlanta's city proper and have been the victim of property crime but not violent crime. I feel pretty safe in the area I live in, but there are other areas that I do not feel safe in during broad daylight. I think every city has relatively safe and relatively dangerous areas, sometimes in close proximity to each other. I know Charleston has a rather large police force (larger than Columbia's the last time I saw the numbers and for a smaller city population) under a nationally known and respected police chief, but the crime rate is still rather high there. I do not know what the answer is, but high crime does seem to be endemic to southern cities.

[The_sandlapper]

I'm curious to those who think Columbia will not take itself to the next level in the coming decade specifically why? Despite being listed as one of the best places to live, start a business, etc...what would hold the city back from being able to take itself to the next level such as similar sized towns at the time such as Austin, and RDU. All three areas have much in common, state capitals, highly educated population, high quality of life index, brain power economic engine (granted USC is in the process of building it), college towns, cheap cost of living, landlocked cities (except for lake murray, and travis in Columbia & Austin), proximity to outdoor activities, cities in the nations fastest growing states etc..?

[lastweek]

Well I think local government and leaders need to get out a can of image polish and start buffing vigorously. The thing about Austin and RDU in my mind is that the image of both cities varies dramatically from that of the state at large. In Columbia's case, I don't think that applies in the minds of people from other areas. If they know that Columbia is even a city in SC, they probably figure that it's the capital of a backwards state, and associate all the same things that they would associate with SC as a whole. Columbia has no defining quality right now.

Unfortunately, a lot of the images and connotations that young go getters have of South Carolina are pretty negative. Some hold true (bible belt, poor, bad schools), and some don't (everybody is still upset about the Civil War, etc). Most of the press about South Carolina is negative, or even a mockery (see Daily Show, LOL) and people automatically lump Columbia into that bucket because they have no reason to believe otherwise.

Once you get past the image hurdles and actually get people to take a look around the city, usually their perceptions change.

I was invited to a press conference in Elmwood Park not too long ago for the Community Development Corp, and talked to Mayor Bob briefly. He was razzing me (half joking, half serious) about us young techies going to work without a tie on (I was wearing a dress shirt and pants, which was a step up from my usual jeans and a tshirt). Well, us 'non-tie' techies seem to be the exact people you want to come to Columbia, so perhaps a mentality adjustment may be in order for some of the decision makers (now I dont mind the mayor at all, and I know there are many more staunch people in power here than Mr. Coble).

Oh, and getting rid of the Blue Laws would be helpful too. I about crapped myself when I first found out those were still enforced.

[randy1]

Well I think local government and leaders need to get out a can of image polish and start buffing vigorously.  The thing about Austin and RDU in my mind is that the image of both cities varies dramatically from that of the state at large.  In Columbia's case, I don't think that applies in the minds of people from other areas.  If they know that Columbia is even a city in SC, they probably figure that it's the capital of a backwards state, and associate all the same things that they would associate with SC as a whole.  Columbia has no defining quality right now.

Unfortunately, a lot of the images and connotations that young go getters have of South Carolina are pretty negative.  Some hold true (bible belt, poor, bad schools), and some don't (everybody is still upset about the Civil War, etc).  Most of the press about South Carolina is negative, or even a mockery (see Daily Show, LOL) and people automatically lump Columbia into that bucket because they have no reason to believe otherwise.

Once you get past the image hurdles and actually get people to take a look around the city, usually their perceptions change.

I was invited to a press conference in Elmwood Park not too long ago for the Community Development Corp, and talked to Mayor Bob briefly.  He was razzing me (half joking, half serious) about us young techies going to work without a tie on (I was wearing a dress shirt and pants, which was a step up from my usual jeans and a tshirt).  Well, us 'non-tie' techies seem to be the exact people you want to come to Columbia, so perhaps a mentality adjustment may be in order for some of the decision makers (now I dont mind the mayor at all, and I know there are many more staunch people in power here than Mr. Coble).

Oh, and getting rid of the Blue Laws would be helpful too.  I about crapped myself when I first found out those were still enforced.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I agree with the statement of defining quality. Columbia really doesn't have anything that defines it any different than any other state capitals of its size like Hartford, Harrisburg, Tallahassee, and even Springfield Illinois. It has USC, which is good, but other than that Columbia would really need to step it up a notch to gain momentum.

[The_sandlapper]

I'll agree SC and thereby Columbia has an image problem. The good thing though as stated earlier once people get to the area and see that people there have jobs, drive cars, have insurance, live in houses, wear clothes, etc...then they can see it's really not too much different from anyplace else. I think Columbia has only itself to blame as far as image. The city is just now beginning to aggressively get the word out that there is more to it than just a state capital. I'm not angry I just think for the longest time the city has sold itself short in this area. One way it started was the slogan change Columbia Riverbanks Region: "Where friendliness flows". The other thing that I really think hurt Columbia in the past was the lack of a convention center. I read an article that stated Columbia was one of the last cities of its size in the nation to obtain one. I think the more conventioneers that get into the city and see for themselves that it is a thriving town with limitless potential the word will get out there. Either way these are excellent starts to get the name out there. I also think that with the hiring of spurrier Columbia via USC will get more recognition. If I'm not mistaken the garnet & white game will be televised on espn this spring. I just hope that the program is succesful and keeps attention on the area. However I would much rather see the research campus become succesful because that would mean more to the area economically and push it above the threshold.

[emerging.me]

Unfortunately, a lot of the images and connotations that young go getters have of South Carolina are pretty negative.