re: Is Columbia SC a nice city?

Awesome. I'm going to need to make a trip for this sometime.

disclaimer: georgia got their fricking arse kicked when i went to columbia. everyone has both good and bad experiences with cities and my experience is just one example, so it is not to be taken as anything other than shitty anecdotal evidence.

anyways, i thought it was pretty damn below average. tailgating and pregame were both pretty solid, honestly. after the game, though, it took fricking forever to get to the bars because they are so far away. then we got to the bars and police officers came in and everyone just left (i assume it was the underage folks). that happened at 2 different places. just not a good bar scene really.

getting a cab was pretty shitty as well because they wouldnt let us in a cab that had other people in it. i dunno how normal that is for college towns, but in athens that is not at all the case.

the fans were also giant dickheads dumping beer and shite on us left and right. that just made everything exponentially worse. any good interactions were completely soured by the numerous pieces of shite we encountered.

No. A lot of people really shite on it, calling it the "armpit of the south," but I don't think it's as bad as all that. But, it's not great. That's not to say you won't have a great time, because you will.

It has a terrible heroin epidemic.

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Why aren't there more commercial establishments around the stadium? I realize that there are only 6 or 7 games a year but there are a lot of apartments in the area to support establishments.

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Well, there are a few, but they're scattered and you have to know where to find them. The Loose Cockaboose, for example, is one.

As for Columbia not having a decent bar scene, as the UGA poster with the disclaimer said, that's utter horseshite. There are two distinctly different bar districts that cater to different crowds. Five Points for the college set, and the Vista for the professionals. If you don't have a good time out at the bars, then either you're not trying, or your team got their asses kicked. Can't help you on that one.


All that said, there is a lot about Columbia that is awesome. The river park is nice, there are some beautifully maintained old homes to check out, the campus is gorgeous, the bar scenes are a blast, and the statehouse grounds are pretty much unrivaled in terms of history and general upkeep. One of the main problems with all of this, however, is that everything is spread about the city. You can't simply walk from, say, the stadium to the statehouse to the river park. But campus to the statehouse is a simple walk, and worthwhile.

I like Columbia, and would strongly consider moving back there for the right opportunity.

Columbia reminded me of Jackson, and that's not a good thing.

its nicer than most sec capital cities and is getting nicer every year. The Vista is great at night w/ a ton of bars and great places to eat. the stadium is about 3/4 miles from there though. I would suggest you stay downtown near the vista and drive over to the stadium early to get decent parking where you can tailgate. Most of the nicer tailgating spots are reserved though.

I feel like I have a pretty good neutral opinion of Columbia.

I was born and raised in East TN and went UT. After graduating I moved to Charleston about 7 years ago. I've been to 4 TN-SC games now over the years.

I had to do a 6 month stint in Columbia for work from last August to this Feb. so I had a chance actually live there as well.

Columbia has some major issues but also some decent bright spots, you just have to know where to look for them.

We lived in the Forest Acres area of Columbia and it really is a really nice pocket. Some cool bars and local spots. (Pizza Man, Basil, Cantina 76 and Henry's are good spots).

The Vista area is also really nice with a bunch of good eateries and a couple rooftop bars.

The BIG problem with Columbia and visiting for a football weekend is that the stadium and tailgating area is NOWHERE near any of this. It isn't like any other SEC campus where you can get down to your tailgating spot early in the morning and not worry about having to drive again later that day.

The Cockabooses are fun, but like it has been said in this thread, good luck getting into them without having a great connection. Usually my tailgating experience is filled with a bunch of my Gamecock and Tennessee friends spread out at different tailgates across the fairgrounds and me wandering aimlessly between them trying to see everyone. It is very spread out and can be really confusing.

I have a ton of Gamecock friends so the fans are always very nice and hospitable. I've sat right in the center of the SC section before alone as the only TN fan and had nothing but good natured banter come back at me.

So in summary, the city has a couple good areas surrounded by some really bad ghetto's and if you could move the stadium up to campus you could have a great setting, but in it's current state it will always be in the bottom third of the SEC...IMO.

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A lot of people really shite on it, calling it the "armpit of the south,"

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That's all I hear said about Columbia when I'm in Charleston. I love uninformed people.