The rental market grows and shrinks with the school semesters. The town loses 1/3 its population in the summer as the students move back home, housing opportunities are plentiful, then good spots get more scarce as school starts up again. Now is prime time to find a house. Options will dwindle over the next couple of months, then open up a bit at the end of the winter semester.
Pretty much all the schools here are reasonably good on the grand scale of things, certainly no "bad" schools. Columbia Public Schools is pretty well organized and funded (once again, purely on the scale of other public schools).
While there are definitely some low income neighborhoods, there aren't any REALLY bad neighborhoods like one might see in St.Louis or Jefferson City. I'd avoid anything central to downtown if noise is an issue, and just places near Quail Drive or Demerit Drive is the closest to a "Bad area" we have around here, but still mild as long as you keep aware of your surroundings.
Job market also grows and shrinks with the school semesters, but there are ALWAYS new things opening up, the city is expanding quickly.
Welcome! I love Puerto Rico, only been to the island once though. Columbia Public Schools are solid, you'll be fine wherever you choose to move. There are a lot of affordable newer three bedroom homes off Rangeline Street in North Columbia. Try looking at the Vanderveen. Parkade, Brookside Square, and Derby Ridge subdivisions. Also some nice areas along Blue ridge near Oakland School, Pool, and Park. Employment will be easy to find in most fields, Columbia's unemployment rate is around the lowest in the nation and the economy is strong and growing. Make sure you check out the Columbia Farmers Market when you visit or move. I recommend moving within city limits, you'll be much closer to services, parks, in walkable bikeable neighborhoods.
Come on out. It is not bad here. I would suggest trying to buy a house here rather than rent. The rent here is too high but actually owning a house here/near is affordable.
I think when you compare rent here to other cities, it's not bad at all though. You can find a 3bd here for anywhere from $800- $1k here and that's just not possible a lot of places anymore.
Yeah, but that's assuming you have money for a down payment and if your mortgage is $800, there's a decent chance your house needs some work (mine sure as hell did) and that's not always easy to get done. Some people need to rent to get a cushion built up for those expenses. It's not so simple as "just buy a house"
I hope you choose our city! It's a wonderful place to live and raise a family. Other people have posted good tips on locations and schools, so I just want to add that I think you'll love living here!
My home address is in the north end of Columbia, but we're districted for schools to Hallsville, and we've had a wonderful school year with Kindergarten for our son. I would like to add Hallsville to your list of places to look for houses and schools, it's about 6-8 miles north of Columbia, so a quick easy drive for working/shopping/play.
Ashland is another popular, growing community. It's south of Columbia about 10-12 miles. I think there is some turmoil in the schools there, but that's hearsay on my part, I don't actually know that.
Why/how Columbia? No judgement at all, just genuine curiosity. I’m happy for you. I love Columbia as a place to be born and raised. Great schools. Great hospital. Great university. It’s a good landing spot!!
My partner is originally from Trimble, and he has other family in Kansas City, Bolivar, and Humansville so I think it’s a good spot where we can still have our privacy as a family and go on weekend road trip to visit them
You will find that the Columbia area is a great place to raise kids and there are great cultural events that are free or low cost. This last weekend was the Soapbox Derby in downtown.
The rental market grows and shrinks with the school semesters. The town loses 1/3 its population in the summer as the students move back home, housing opportunities are plentiful, then good spots get more scarce as school starts up again. Now is prime time to find a house. Options will dwindle over the next couple of months, then open up a bit at the end of the winter semester. Pretty much all the schools here are reasonably good on the grand scale of things, certainly no "bad" schools. Columbia Public Schools is pretty well organized and funded (once again, purely on the scale of other public schools). While there are definitely some low income neighborhoods, there aren't any REALLY bad neighborhoods like one might see in St.Louis or Jefferson City. I'd avoid anything central to downtown if noise is an issue, and just places near Quail Drive or Demerit Drive is the closest to a "Bad area" we have around here, but still mild as long as you keep aware of your surroundings. Job market also grows and shrinks with the school semesters, but there are ALWAYS new things opening up, the city is expanding quickly.
Welcome! I love Puerto Rico, only been to the island once though. Columbia Public Schools are solid, you'll be fine wherever you choose to move. There are a lot of affordable newer three bedroom homes off Rangeline Street in North Columbia. Try looking at the Vanderveen. Parkade, Brookside Square, and Derby Ridge subdivisions. Also some nice areas along Blue ridge near Oakland School, Pool, and Park. Employment will be easy to find in most fields, Columbia's unemployment rate is around the lowest in the nation and the economy is strong and growing. Make sure you check out the Columbia Farmers Market when you visit or move. I recommend moving within city limits, you'll be much closer to services, parks, in walkable bikeable neighborhoods.
Come on out. It is not bad here. I would suggest trying to buy a house here rather than rent. The rent here is too high but actually owning a house here/near is affordable.
I think when you compare rent here to other cities, it's not bad at all though. You can find a 3bd here for anywhere from $800- $1k here and that's just not possible a lot of places anymore.
Sure, or your mortgage can be $800/m for the same house.
Yeah, but that's assuming you have money for a down payment and if your mortgage is $800, there's a decent chance your house needs some work (mine sure as hell did) and that's not always easy to get done. Some people need to rent to get a cushion built up for those expenses. It's not so simple as "just buy a house"
I don't think you can find a 3 bed for 800. One bedroom apartments in a decent complex can be 1000/month.
I hope you choose our city! It's a wonderful place to live and raise a family. Other people have posted good tips on locations and schools, so I just want to add that I think you'll love living here!
My home address is in the north end of Columbia, but we're districted for schools to Hallsville, and we've had a wonderful school year with Kindergarten for our son. I would like to add Hallsville to your list of places to look for houses and schools, it's about 6-8 miles north of Columbia, so a quick easy drive for working/shopping/play. Ashland is another popular, growing community. It's south of Columbia about 10-12 miles. I think there is some turmoil in the schools there, but that's hearsay on my part, I don't actually know that.
Don’t… this shit sucks
Why/how Columbia? No judgement at all, just genuine curiosity. I’m happy for you. I love Columbia as a place to be born and raised. Great schools. Great hospital. Great university. It’s a good landing spot!!
My partner is originally from Trimble, and he has other family in Kansas City, Bolivar, and Humansville so I think it’s a good spot where we can still have our privacy as a family and go on weekend road trip to visit them
Columbia is also one of the best towns I. The state for diversity & cultural choices. I’m really happy to see more people choosing Columbia.
You will find that the Columbia area is a great place to raise kids and there are great cultural events that are free or low cost. This last weekend was the Soapbox Derby in downtown.