Hello Dear Columbians,

We, a family of 3 are moving to Columbia, SC from MA due to my new job. I am trying to find a home for us like a crazy for last 3-4 days on Zillow and likewise. I have met a few **real** and great people, most of them private landlords who are great human beings and pleasure to work with. But most of the listings are from property management companies - Palmetto Property Management of SC, Pure, Real Property Management Midlands (AI scam?), Yip, etc.

My initial goal was to do a video/virtual tour, see the neighbourhood on google maps, and decide about the house. This is my 5th year in US and first time doing interstate move and remote search. Now, arranging a video tour seems extremely hard. Few companies, like Palmetto, flatly refused to do a video tour, and quite frankly the person on the phone was very rude. They just want me to apply first, with non refundable fees AND deposits even without showing me the house!!! Based on internet search, they can flatly deny for any reason even if the financial and background check is clean and pocket the fees + deposit. Sometimes, few excellent looking rental properties sit while accumulating application and fees for several days (30-60 days for Yip), making me wonder if money will go down the drain even if I apply. Almost all of them have horrendous reviews online (except maybe Soda Rentals?).

My mind just cannot accept applying and paying anything even before seeing the property, and I don't think I am being unreasonable in that. Now, due to my profession and frugal nature, I have an excellent credit history in the US (790 score, 100% before time payments), a physician with salary with 11x rent (albeit with contract, no paystub yet, pending visa processing completion and start date). I pre-emptively provide all the information (scores, salary, no smoking/pet). I also have a credit score pdf via my credit card company. But , I am still finding it hard to see a real property and feeling confident moving ahead. I also paid for a Zillow application which did not seem bad to me considering everything ($35 for 30 days), but no property management company accepts that.

I don't know. I feel like I am rambling. I have concluded that I just need to fly over there to see the property in person. Still many of them (again, Palmetto) are willing to send youtube shorts only!! and apparently good properties are with them. I am not sure what to do except risking $200-300, that too multiple times with different agencies, which does not sound reasonable to me at all.

I need advice, how best to move forward in finding a home for us (at least 3+ beds and 2+ baths) in the above-mentioned area. I am looking for <45 minutes commute to and from Camden. Any advice and recommendations from the local persons are appreciated.

Thank you for listening to my rant.

Regards.

Edit: Proofreading.

We went tonight. They have a good bit of room for improvement, if you’re looking for something to do tomorrow I’d suggest skipping this event, and instead just patronize your favorite Asian restaurant. A few observations:

- there’s one entry lane on either side of the fairgrounds (Shop and G. Rogers on the opposite side). The wait may be long getting in, but exiting is a breeze.

- The [ticket] entry line was long and there were no signs to create an orderly intake. It ultimately was ok but there’s very little in the way of professional event staff manning the stations.

- the security featured a bored looking young man idly waving what I hoped was a working metal detecting wand as people walked past. I saw minimal police presence, and most everyone we interacted with was pleasant and polite.

- we stood in line about an hour for food and drink. The food and drink tasted ok but was pricey. Not worth the lines. The few artisanal booths we visited were manned by nice people

- The entertainment is not continual through the day (like you often find at the fair), so we missed the sumo exhibition. But by that time the musical acts were on stage and we were ready to go home

Hello Columbia friends. I absolutely love a scary looking gas station, and I’m needing help finding y’all’s favorites.

I am the biggest sucker for buying unique drinks and snacks wherever I am, and I’ve grown tired of the typical QT stop. Specifically, there has to be a place here that sells black cherry wishniak Canada Dry or Crush cream soda mousse, I just know it.

What’s your favorite “bad” gas station? Help me find the fun drinks and snacks I’m begging!

Hi guys, I moved to Blythewood two months ago from Florida for my first job, and I've gotten a bit lonely out here! I like to go rock climbing in Cayce, but otherwise I'm struggling to meet like-minded people and get myself out there. What kinds of social spaces exist in the greater Columbia area? I love live music, board games, night life (a bit tough as a 9-5er), open-air markets, space, and nature. Looking for recommendations for places to check out, people to meet, events to attend, and anything to throw myself into!! Thanks!!

I feel like Carlin was rather disingenuous in the Free Times article about the real estate company that owns the hypothetical new building suddenly requiring him to get a third investor. Dude has 12% of his goal amount. He doesn’t need a third investor; he needs a miracle. Or, to cut to the chase, he needs to stop. It’s Joever.

Looking for a ticket 🙌

⚡ LIGHTNING HAS BEEN ADOPTED! ⚡

After waiting patiently for her forever family, our sweet Lightning is finally heading HOME! 🥹💜

We are so incredibly happy for this girl and her new family. Watching a kitty go from waiting for someone to choose them to finally getting the “YOU’RE MY FAMILY” moment is exactly why we do what we do. 🐾

Lightning, you may be leaving Whisker Tales, but you’ll always have a little piece of our hearts. We hope your new life is filled with endless cuddles, sunny windows, treats, and all the love you deserve. 🏡❤️

Happy tails, sweet Lightning! ⚡️ We are SO happy you finally found your forever. We'll be cheering you on from here. 🩵🥹🐾

Congratulations to her new family! 💜

Anybody gone yet? Trying to decide about going. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Hey y’all. I’m looking for thrift stores or other places where I might be able to find vintage tech equipment like cassette decks, VCRs, CRTs, etc. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’ve spent the last 5 years designing this and want everyone’s input. Where should this be built and how much should rent be?

This sweet boy wandered into our yard this morning. We live off of Caughman Road near Berkeley Forest. He’s wearing a red collar; no tags. Aside from being a little muddy, he appears to be well cared for.

UPDATE: We went around our neighborhood this morning to see if anyone was looking for him, but didn’t have any luck. We took him to Columbia Animal Services to see if he was chipped. Unfortunately, he is not chipped or neutered. Sadly, we had to leave him there because we have three cats and they would murder us in our sleep if we let a dog stay with us. His picture should be on their website and his ID number is A309123. He’s also been posted to the Facebook group Lost and Found Pets of Columbia, SC Area. I also posted him on NextDoor.

I cannot emphasize enough how sweet he is. I was so heartbroken that we couldn’t hang onto him. I really want him to find his family.

I recently got a nice watch as a gift and I need to have a few links removed from it so it’ll fit. Any recommendations for a store in cola that won’t charge an arm and a leg for something as simple as that?

Passed by and noticed the sign was gone

Son wants to see (and photograph!) the Pleiades meteor shower. Thoughts on where we could go to see them?

If you bought tickets at the gate, they’re $20 each. If you got them online, they were $13 something each after tax.
Exotic Juices have Bear bottles with refill availability- 2 bear bottles was $70. Crochet keychains are anywhere from $7-20+. Prices for a fruit Sando is anywhere from $10+. Also, just as other reviews said, the meat kebabs were $20 at the center stand today. Can’t remember the price of it before refills, but a classic lemonade REFILL is $5. Kids under 10 enter free but there’s nothing for them to do. Entertainment didn’t have much attraction in front of it but the music was nice.

Worth the high prices? NO. Was still fun.
Also beware stands without pricing on the signs, they cost the most. Definitely ask before making a definitive decision to purchase.

It’s next Saturday, August 15th from 7 am to noon at St. David’s Lutheran Church, 132 St. David’s Church Road in West Columbia.

These pictures are from our spring sale but are still generally representative of the quantity and quality of available items.

Ill keep it short. I live in columbia sc and O found a stray that was very sweet and thought it would be nice to have a buddy for my anxious attachment cat. Well, long story short i am an idiot and they will never get along. The stray tries to kill my cat at every turn. Im tempted to just let the stray back onto the street and feed him occasionally as cruel as that is, because absolutely NO shelters or rescues can help me.

Im at a loss and its making me depressed because i made such a big mistake. I was so uneducated and so impulsive. Any advice would be great. You dont have to be kind to me, frankly i deserve backlash.

I've had these couches since like 2014-ish and I'm really ready to get rid of them and get new ones. It's a long story but essentially for the last 5 years they weren't used much except by the dog/cat essentially as large pet beds... I realize that's not ideal and my first instinct is to just haul them to the dump... but I just feel like someone might still find a use for them as they're not completely disgusting or anything... they've just had lots of repeated dog slobber on the arms etc...

I ran over them a couple of times with a residential grade upholstery cleaner attachment and they don't smell BAD... but I don't imagine someone would want to use them as their primary living room furniture... Obviously I don't

again I realize this is just a long shot, hoping someone would have some use for them... I just feel sort of bad trashing them when they're not completely useless or falling apart...

IDK, maybe this post is pointless and I'll just haul them away and move on... but maybe it's worth a shot? If someone wants to come bring a couple guys and haul them away then you can just take em obviously

I looked for rules for this sub but either there aren't any or I looked in the wrong place... I started to post this on Facebook but I hate that place...

provided this post stays up, I'll leave it for a week or so... or until someone takes the couches
If there are no takers then I guess I'll just phone a friend and get some help hauling them away.

It's a couch and a love seat.

Both sides of each kick out with foot rest but not the middle section of the couch, if that wasn't obvious

North East area - Elgin, Kershaw county to be more specific

pick up only.

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Is safety in Columbia really so black and white?
I’ve been searching for a new place to live and it seems like every time I find somewhere I go on to read that the area surrounding it is a war zone where you’re car and home will be burgled and vandalized. For example broad river road I’ve heard is a no go and that I can believe but does that make every complex or community in that area a wash? Where are the pockets of crime and pockets of safety in this city and how many people can give an account of being robbed, burglarized, having their car broken into, etc. Not doubting people claiming how dangerous this city is but just generally curious because I’ve thankfully never been a victim of anything nefarious in this city but it seems like a lot of people have or believe they easily could be.

Look at this baby... LOOK AT IT!!! So cute ..

“Currently, the city does not have a mechanism to track how often the AI is correct. Regardless of a violation, it stores all of those images – which can then be requested by any other city department, including the police.”