Columbia, SC

[joneskie]

On 1/24/2017 at 3:03 PM, The Shade King said:

Ok, so I went to USC as a undergrad and I actually spent time in Lexington Kentucky as well so I can give you some perspective between the two places. 

Columbia is the typical capital city in the south. USC is in downtown which is surrounded by suburbs and exurbs.You might want to explore these areas for shopping and such.  As far as where grad students live, I didn't really interact with many when I was an undergrad but I can imagine they lived downtown close to campus. I know that many professors who were not SC natives mentioned they lived in the rosewood area.  Now pet friendly is going to be something I am not sure of as I lived in the country as a child where pets were not an issue. I would ask about your pets and I would assume its easier to have cats than dogs. 

As far as your stipend, you will be fine. Columbia is very cheap even compared to Lexington. The sales tax up until the mid 2000s was 5%. Its 6% right now as far as I know. Food and gas will definitely be cheap as well. 

The campus seems to have grown by leaps and bounds since I last visited. Its a really pretty campus and its built into the downtown not unlike the University of Kentucky. I would imagine your experience would depend on the department you are in.I still keep in touch with a few faculty there and the ones that left did not leave because they were happen it was  more of an offer they could not refuse. 

As far as things to do, Columbia is a lot slower than Lexington in my respects. I would say socially it depends on your department but you have a lot of options such as going to the wetlands, the zoo, some folks raft on the broad river, college football is big there as well no matter how well they do or  not do. You are only 2 hours or so from Charleston, Charlotte and about 3 hours and come change from Atlanta.   .. Please remember this is the bible belt so Sunday is still very much dominated by Church and church activities. SC  has blue laws i.e. you cant buy anything outside of food from the store on Sunday until noon. Also the sale of alcohol stops at  5 or 6 pm on Saturday( watching folks rush to get it is always amusing).

I would say the people are very friendly in comparison to other states that i have lived including Kentucky. I would think your greatest resource for very specific details would be from graduate students currently in the program. I was hesitate to reach out to them but the few I talked with from prospective schools were very insightful. Hope this helps you. Good Luck. Oh, remember its very wet in the spring and summer, much hotter than Lexington, with mostly mild winters but if snow does occur things will totally shut down. Also sleet and hail are common. So get your umbrella and rain boots ready. 

 

This is all really helpful! Thank you!

My goal is to live close to campus but with minimal interaction with undergraduate students. I will have to check out rosewood. As I've been browsing online, it appears that rent prices are in the same range as Lexington!

I've communicated with some of the professors already, and they all seem pretty welcoming and friendly. I'm not so much worried about the department as I am with the overall feel of the campus. But I guess when I visit I'll get an idea!

Good to know about all that ahead of time...I'm not a religious person, so you probably saved me from looking like an a-hole on Sunday mornings.

Thanks for the advice!

[BunnyMeadows]

I'm currently finishing a master's degree at USC in Columbia. I rent a nice 1950s bungalow (950 sf), 2 miles from campus, for $700/month (I got lucky, because the place should rent for about $850/mo). You may know there was a terrible flood here in October 2015 so if you rent a house in any of those affected areas be careful that there isn't hidden damage/mold. 

In the winter months, I keep my thermostat set to 67 during the day, 69 at night, and my electric bill is about +/- $150 per month. In the warmer months (late May through October), a/c drives that up to over $200/mo. Water is about $30. I live 5 minutes away from Trader Joe's and two other supermarkets, and am about 20 minutes away from a brand new Costco. Moving here from Southern CA has been a cultural adjustment - people have asked me things like, "What church do you attend?" - which was a little shocking. I met a professor who said, "We like to take our time to get to know you here." So while people are very nice, and will go out of their way to help you, I suggest socializing with other students or looking to Meetup.com for social groups. 

Not sure what your political bent is, but I'm told that Columbia is "blue" and Lexington is "red."  

In response to the person who commented about change for parking, there is a mobile app called Passport that I use all the time to pay for parking with my debit card.

Finally, another great source of information about cities are the forums on Citydata dot com. It was someone on the Columbia forum who told me about my the house I ended up renting.  Good luck!

 

Edited January 29, 2017 by BunnyMeadows

[Aucitronvert]

This is all such good info about Columbia! Does anyone bike around campus/downtown that can speak the bike culture (are there cyclists? Do motorists really hate them?) and the cycling infrastructure and roads (someone said hills)? 

I'm waitlisted for a PhD program there and am very curious about the city since the cost of living is so much cheaper than where I'm at and the culture is much different!

[The Shade King]

1 hour ago, Aucitronvert said:

This is all such good info about Columbia! Does anyone bike around campus/downtown that can speak the bike culture (are there cyclists? Do motorists really hate them?) and the cycling infrastructure and roads (someone said hills)? 

I'm waitlisted for a PhD program there and am very curious about the city since the cost of living is so much cheaper than where I'm at and the culture is much different!

 

I attended USC a few years ago but biking happens there, many professors I knew did it but you have to be careful of drivers. The southeast, and Columbia especially,  is a car dominant city. Public transit is not a thing. I never took the bus outside of the campus shuttles my entire time there. 

Yeah USC is downtown and it's not flat like most of the geography in Columbia. For instance, as you go away from the center of campus to the gym its an incline so coming up it's a steep hill. I hated walking up on days when I was running late. Now if you live behind the campus its not issue  So if you are east you are fine but if you are west that's where the uphill battle is.

[Aucitronvert]

7 hours ago, The Shade King said:

I attended USC a few years ago but biking happens there, many professors I knew did it but you have to be careful of drivers. The southeast, and Columbia especially,  is a car dominant city. Public transit is not a thing. I never took the bus outside of the campus shuttles my entire time there. 

Yeah USC is downtown and it's not flat like most of the geography in Columbia. For instance, as you go away from the center of campus to the gym its an incline so coming up it's a steep hill. I hated walking up on days when I was running late. Now if you live behind the campus its not issue  So if you are east you are fine but if you are west that's where the uphill battle is.

I saw another user say that Rosewood was a good place to live, which is east. If I visit I'll take some long walks to scope out the potential bike routes too. Thanks so much! 

[tomorrowforgotten]

Best place to live? Preferably somewhere with utilities included! 

[catsnbikes]

Hello anyone! I am coming to Columbia this weekend to visit (recently accepted to a PhD in Social Work). Is there anything I must see/do? A part of town to tour? I love local book shops and coffee shops. Also planning to hit up the bike shops around town. 

 

Thank you in advance!

[raul.carmo]

Hey guys, anyone attending UofSC for Fall 2018?

[LiterarilyInclined93]

Hi! I am considering USC's English PhD program for Fall 2018. Anyone currently attending? 

[Histo]

I'm considering South Carolina for this fall. All the info in this thread is super helpful. How possible is it to live off of a stipend of around $16k in Columbia? Everything I've read says it's a fairly cheap city. 

Also, at what point is it usual to start looking into accommodation for an August move in?

[MSW2020]

On 3/22/2018 at 2:28 PM, Histo said:

I'm considering South Carolina for this fall. All the info in this thread is super helpful. How possible is it to live off of a stipend of around $16k in Columbia? Everything I've read says it's a fairly cheap city. 

Also, at what point is it usual to start looking into accommodation for an August move in?

I am a senior undergrad at USC now and will be starting grad school here in the Fall! My rent for the past three years has been around 600, not including utilities. Most places are around $550-650 (that price may or may not include utilities, etc). It has been possible to find places for $450-550 if you are lucky enough to find a house but if you want to live close to campus and the downtown area, places this cheap are not going to be very nice or safe. However all of the places my friends and I have lived are geared towards undergrads and there are several apartment and condo complexes that will house 1000 sophomores-seniors. I have lived in one of these places for three years now and I cannot imagine it being a good fit for a grad student. It is typical for students to start signing leases Feb-April, but again that is for places geared towards undergraduates. I just got accepted last week and am trying to find a place very quickly! Most of the places I have looked at are $900-1000 a month, these are places where a lot of graduate students and young professionals are living. The city itself is pretty cheap, but I cannot imagine 16k being enough to live comfortably while also paying rent if you consider paying for food, activities, etc. If you pay for your utilities you are looking at around $150 a month, and the standard internet and cable package is $120 a month. All apartment and homes in the area use the same utility company and most but not all use the same cable company. You can DM me if you want and I can give you a list of many of the apartment complexes I know graduate students live in!

[BL250604]

Hi all! Hoping to start my Ph.D. next year at U of SC. I would like to walk into campus everyday (LeConte College, kind of near the Russell House). Does anyone have any recommendations on good spots to live within walking distance, or where to look for apartments? Thanks@

B