Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife and I will be relocating to Columbia this summer, and we've found a rental house that's perfect for our purposes in the neighborhood between Forest Lake and Percival Rd (Arbor Dr). However, a friend went to check out the neighborhood yesterday and reported that the Hunters Way apartment complex on Percival looks pretty sketchy.
I don't mind some sketchiness (lived in New Haven, CT, for years), but I've done a bit more research and the neighborhood does seem to have a higher than average rate of shootings and drug-related crime. Can anyone confirm if that is the case?
We really like the look of the Forest Acres area (love all the pine in particular) but unfortunately there aren't many rental options at the moment, so would be happy to stick with the Arbor Dr place if it's relatively safe. Or would we be better off moving a bit closer into town, say around the Forest Dr/Beltline area?
Many thanks for your thoughts! Looking forward to arriving in Cola...
I would avoid Percival Road - it is a very transient area next to Fort Jackson. While Percival Road is near the Forest Lake neighborhood, they are very different. What is your price range?
Thanks for the advice, waccamatt, duly noted! Our price range is $1,000-1,500/mo. or so, planning to rent for the first year before taking the plunge next summer. What would you say is the outer limit of Forest Lake to the east?
Thanks for the advice, waccamatt, duly noted! Our price range is $1,000-1,500/mo. or so, planning to rent for the first year before taking the plunge next summer. What would you say is the outer limit of Forest Lake to the east?
Overcreek Road, probably. With your price range you'll have tons of options. In order of preference, what do you want out of a location and an apartment?
We really like the look of the Forest Acres area (love all the pine in particular) but unfortunately there aren't many rental options at the moment, so would be happy to stick with the Arbor Dr place if it's relatively safe. Or would we be better off moving a bit closer into town, say around the Forest Dr/Beltline area?
Forest Drive/Beltline is Forest Acres too.
Stay away from Percival. It was sketchy when I moved away 15 years ago. It is now worse.
Agreed on Percival. A friend on Arbor struggled to sell his nice house for several years, the area around there has gotten rough over the years.
Overcreek area is nice, and between Atascadero and Trenholm is nice, too. Just be careful of the rentals, lots of post-war housing in Columbia leaves a lot to be desired.
Thanks everyone for warning us away from the Percival area, looks like we dodged a bullet there (literally)! We'll aim for Forest Acres proper (up to Overcreek) then. Waccamatt, we're looking for a 3BR house reasonably convenient to downtown but with plenty of pine trees. I'll be joining the faculty at USC, so something like a ten-minute drive to campus would be ideal. However, since I haven't seen too many Forest Acres rental options online so far, we're also considering SE out along Leesburg Rd since it's convenient to Congaree NP (we're big hikers). Any thoughts on that area vs. living closer in?
Thanks everyone for warning us away from the Percival area, looks like we dodged a bullet there (literally)! We'll aim for Forest Acres proper (up to Overcreek) then. Waccamatt, we're looking for a 3BR house reasonably convenient to downtown but with plenty of pine trees. I'll be joining the faculty at USC, so something like a ten-minute drive to campus would be ideal. However, since I haven't seen too many Forest Acres rental options online so far, we're also considering SE out along Leesburg Rd since it's convenient to Congaree NP (we're big hikers). Any thoughts on that area vs. living closer in?
Location: South Carolina - staying with brother in Columbia
596 posts, read 937,571 times
Reputation: 188
Forest Acres has some of the tallest and thickest pine trees I've ever seen. Freak pine trees. Maybe that is why they didn't bother to cut them down when developing this area back in the day.
My brother is renting on MacGregor road in Forest acres I think in the price range you are looking for. These road is near the Trenholm Road-Beltline intersection. He was living out in Lexington, and Forest Acres is a lot easier to get around in than Lexington. There's not a lot of congestion and most of the main roads are 4 lanes and you have access to a lot of restaurants and retail nearby on Forest Drive and the Devine Street intersection with some other roads.
If you insist on living in Forest Acres and are willing to pay $1000-$1500 a month for an apartment rental, I'd recommend 42 Magnolia on Forest Drive.
Definitely stay away from Percival Road, especially the section between I-77 and Forest Drive. In addition to being unsafe, the road is often congested because of the school buses and city buses that stop there. It's a two-lane road that has a lot of left turns leading to sketchy apartment complexes.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
