Home » Best Places » south carolina active adult retirement communities » Columbia-SC
Columbia-SC Active Communities
 

Columbia-SC : South carolina

Columbia-SC retirement communities
Columbia-SC retirement communities
Columbia-SC retirement communities
Forward to a Friend
Click to Enlarge
Discuss Columbia-sc
 

What it's Like to Retire in Columbia-SC

Columbia has frequently been rated as one of the top retirement towns in the USA.  CNN Money included it in its 25 Best Places to Retire for 2009 because it has the amenities of city life, Southern Hospitality, a low cost of living, outdoor recreation, and a temperate climate. Consumer Reports compared the CNN Money list with the U.S. News list of best places to retire and found only one city common to both lists - Columbia. U.S. News described it as "a colorful capital city with a riverfront esplanade" with relatively low median home prices. On the other hand, Portfolio.com named Columbia as one of the worst places to retire in 2011 (it does have a very high crime rate). Columbia, a growing city of about 129,000, is the state capital. It is fortunate to have a number of parks including Finlay Park.  The University of South Carolina has a main campus here which offers free tuition to SC residents over 60.  The city was named as one of 30  of America's most livable cities. Photo of Elmwood Park and photo of Robert Mills House, built in 1823, courtesy of Wikipedia and Akhenaton06, Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0/
 

Where to Retire in Columbia-SC and Home Prices

The city has many attractive neighborhoods, such as Elmwood Park, along with its suburbs. There are also active communities in the area.  The median price of a home in the 1st quarter of 2020 was $185,100, according to the National Association of Realtors.

 

What is special about Columbia-SC

Downtown Columbia has been the scene of ambitious and successful urban renewal projects. The historic Congaree Vista is a large district in the central business district near the Congaree river. It has many historic buildings that have been rehabilitated. The University, which is located downtown, has Innovista, a unique "innovation district"  between the campus' core and the banks of the Congaree River. This project integrates public and private sector research and researchers with retail, restaurant, residential, and recreational facilities in a contemporary urban landscape. The Robert Mills House (pictured above) is one of the local historical attractions.
 

What is not special about Columbia-SC

The traffic can be heavy in this growing and bustling town. The crime rate is high.
 

Who will like retirement in Columbia-SC

People who want to retire in the Carolinas but be near an mid-sized city with a lot to do might enjoy Columbia. The population is about 50% white, 41% African-American, and the rest mostly Hispanic.
 

Local economy is driven by

As the State Capital Columbia benefits from government as an employer. Other contributors are the University and its over 20,000 students, Palmetto Health, and Fort Jackson - the largest US Army training base.
 

Climate and Physical Environment

Columbia is located in the center of the state. The median January temperatures are in the mid to high 40's. The July median is in the low 80's. The city is on the Congaree River.
 

Restaurants & Cultural Scene

The Town Theatre, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has been here since 1917m and is just one of several theatres in Columbia. The South Carolina State Museum has exhibits in technology, history, and the arts. It  one of the largest museums in the Southeast. The Columbia Museum of Art is here, as is the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbia's resident orchestra. The revitalized downtown has an assortment of good restaurants. The South Carolina State Fair and Riverfest Celebration are 2 of the larger festivals held in Columbia. The Koger Center of the Arts.
 

Crime

The crime rate is almost twice the national average, although that will vary by neighborhood. In a recent year there were 13 murders and 68 rapes.
 

Medical facilities

Palmetto Health is very large health care provider with multiple locations. There are other hospitals including a VA hospital.
 

Transportation

CMRTA moves over 2 million passengers a year on its bus lines. There is Amtrak service and Columbia Metropolitan Airport.
 

Valuable Links

Columbia Convention and Visitors Center

 

What people are saying about Columbia-SC

No Comments

Leave a Comment

To comment you must be a registered member of Topretirements.com

Login Here
Remember me on this computer.
 
OR

Create Your Free Membership Account
 
Suggest a community we want to know about your top retirement spots
Please note that all contributions to Topretirements may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you don't want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then don't submit it here. By submitting content and/or photographs here you agree to give Topretirements.com the rights to use them in any manner without cost or attribution.You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Project:Copyrights for details). DO NOT SUBMIT COPYRIGHTED WORK WITHOUT PERMISSION!
 
 

Site Map | About Us | Contact Us | Site Rules | Advertise | Free Baby Boomers Guide | Privacy | Newsletter | Newsletter Archive | Blog

State | Communities | Press | Join Us | Help | Reviews | Classifieds | Active Adult Communities | Add Your Community | Q and A

Copyright © 2006-2020 Topretirements.com. All Rights Reserved.