pricemiller

My visit to Columbia was great! Being away for 3 years, I can see so much change and progress and see how so much more is happening. Columbia just feels bigger and better than ever. I loved the new Hilton and the streetscaping that has been completed. I enjoyed seeing the new residential downtown . . . so much to see, so little time, and boy was it HOT! Hope to return when the weather is more moderate. Great night life and more daytime activity downtown than before. Unfortunately I did not have time to go out and do a lot of photos like I had hoped to do. i will post what I did get, though. Some of the same but perhaps a bit of a different angle on some of the shots. Next trip I hope to devote more time to exploring and photographing. Probably thisi Fall or winter I will be back! With the little time I had to photograph (I ended up having to go to Georgia on business in the midlle of my visit), I did not get to go out and explore and take more interesting shots. Hope these are appreciated anyway! I am working on getting them uploaded from Photobucket! It has been a while, so . . . City Art That Beautiful Gervais Street Bridge, a nice stop on entering the City Under the Bridge . . . I felt like a troll in all that Heat! Palmetto Center from below at my hotel, the Marriott A few shots from hotel room on 9th floor looking north A shot from elevator lobby . . . This view will change dramatically when Vsion is commpleted. A shot of the nearby buildings up close from the parking garage!

I always check out this thread. I will be in Columbia next Thursday for 6 days and I will bring my camera! It has been 3 years since my last visit to this fine city. I am sure I will see a lot of stuff that wasn't there then. I hope I can get some good photos, hopefully something interesting enough to post here!

I am going to plan a trip to Columbia in the next few months. As a Columbia native and an artist, i want to begin looking for a second home there. In the city of course and something suitable for living and working as an artist. I don't even know what kind of budget I have yet, but I am interested iin Columbia Forumers ideas on where to look for live/work spaces/loft/studio, etc. I was considering just a condo, but since I seem to be doing lots of painting, I will want paint whenever there as well.

An AOL feature this morning mentioned Columbia as #14 in top cities for jobs by measuring the numbers of jobs posted on CareerBuilder.com. Interesting for Colubmia watchers: Survey: Top Cities and Industries for Jobs Matt Ferguson, CEO, CareerBuilder.com Following trends in hiring in the last six months, U.S. employers anticipate they will be recruiting at a moderated, yet stable, pace through the remainder of the year. The latest GDP report from the U.S. Commerce Department shows subdued economic growth in the second quarter, which clocked in at an annual rate of 2.6 percent compared with a brisk clip of 5.6 percent in the first quarter. The National Association for Business Economics is forecasting that the GDP will hold steady at 2.6 percent through the end of the year, warding off some speculation that a slowing in the economy will lead to a recession near-term. Job growth has decelerated since March, dropping from a monthly average of 176,000 in the first quarter to 128,000 in the third quarter, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Uncertain about the economic impact of higher energy costs, mid-term elections, the war in Iraq and other factors, companies and workers are likely to apply caution in regard to recruitment and job changes going into the fourth quarter. According to CareerBuilder.com's Q4 Job Forecast, the number of hiring managers planning to add jobs in the upcoming quarter dropped from 47 percent in June to 37 percent in the most recent survey completed in September. At the same time, 17 percent of hiring managers reported plans to cut their headcounts before the end of the year, up from 13 percent in the previous survey. Forty-three percent of hiring managers do not expect to make any adjustments to their staff levels. Those adding headcount in the fourth quarter are recruiting for a mixture of both permanent and seasonal positions. While 21 percent plan to recruit 10 or fewer employees, 18 percent expect to recruit more than 50. Although workers may be skeptical about the job market, some plan to take advantage of the tightening labor pool for better opportunities. Eight percent plan to change jobs by the end of the year while 14 percent plan to do so in the next six months. Top Spots for Hiring For those workers seeking a change in employment, CareerBuilder.com designed a fast guide to strong areas for hiring. Tracking its own data of more than 1.5 million jobs posted in real-time, the guide serves as a leading indicator of locations and professions that are offering more opportunities to today's workers. The following areas for job postings on CareerBuilder.com have increased by more than 20 percent year over year: Top 10 Job Areas for Hiring 1. Health Care 2. Sales 3. Accounting 4. Finance 5. Engineering 6. Information Technology 7. Customer Service 8. Administrative/Clerical 9. Skilled Labor and Trades 10. Retail While large metropolitan areas have more jobs listed by default because of their size, they may not always be the ideal places for a job search because of the number of people competing for each position. Measuring the number of jobs posted on CareerBuilder.com in relation to the overall population in the area, the following designated market areas (DMAs) are identified as having the most job openings per resident: Top 20 DMAs Based on Jobs Per 100,000 Residents 1. Jackson, Tenn. 2. Lafayette, Ind. 3. Phoenix 4. Boise, Idaho 5. Biloxi-Gulfport, Miss. 6. Reno, Nev. 7. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 8. Palm Springs, Calif. 9. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. 10. Tucson, Ariz. 11. Baltimore 12. Orlando, Fla. 13. Philadelphia 14. Columbia, S.C. 15. Lafayette, La. 16. Fort Myers-Naples, Fla. 17. Binghamton, N.Y. 18. Utica, N.Y. 19. Rockford, Ill. 20. Wichita-Hutchinson, Kan.

I think they should open an In-N-Out Burger! Would probably be the 1st on the East coast. They are so popular in California, that they cause traffic jams on opening day! A great burger made to order! Popular in LA for 50 years and recently going to other markets.

I have flown to columbia many times via non-stop flights fromChicago on United Espress. Good to hear that American is offering some competition in the market. I have had to use Charlotte a couple of times at last minute, when it is really difficult to get good fares, but always try to use CAE (Columbia) when I can. I wish Southwest would start in Columbia.

I agree that building should go! Really ugly! But I always thought it would be cool for various artist to do art pieces, light projections onto the building to create some amazing images. I saw this done years back on a relatively plain church facade in Florence, Italy, and it was an amazing event! In that case, the images were still photo projections. A large plain sided building would be ideal for a great "light show" or . . . just an idea. I have no idea where people could gather for viewing, but I would fly in to see it if it ever were done! I love Cola!

I would like to see a Crate and Barrel Furniture store in Columbia. Columbiana Center would be great, but I would love to see that kind of retail moving into the downtown area.

How many posts does it take to have your PM enabled? I am sure I will get there. Thanks for the info for more accurately dating this photo I posted.

My impression of Columbia and especially after all your comments, is that when Columbia "grows up", it will be a very interesting, beautiful and cosmopolitan city. I think I would enjoy living there. (I wonder if I can re-scan that photo I posted earlier to get a higher quality if anyone is interested).

Taken from a private plane out of Owen's Field in the late 80's or around 1990 . . . This is the photo I mentioned earlier . . . Hope it uploads OK. Not the best quality photo, but I think of some interest. Enjoy.

I appreciate all the responses to this post so far. Definitely, you guys make Columbia sound like a place I want to live. I am not sure when it will happen. Business has been slower than ever lately after an amazing 4 years (real estate in Palm Springs) so not sure when we will make the move to get another place. Whenever I make a move to Columbia it would be as a retiree and I would hopefully be able to purchase a property. I do consider myself more left in recent years because of the far right current administration, but could still consider moving South part time. Social issues are critical to me. Human rights, gay rights in particular and what will make everything better is education and the arts being emphasized! I would like to be part of a comunity where I can work in some way to help positive change come about. By the way, I have on my computer a great aerial shot of Columbia taken from the SE of DT in 1988 (I believe?) by a friend also from Cola in LA that I lost track of. Can any of you guys give me some pointers on how to post this shot on UP?

I grew up in Columbia and have lived in California all my adult life. I am considering moving to Cola with my partner part time. A loft condo or a new high-rise would be great. I love that Columbia is a city "on the verge of great things" and would like to be in a mid-sized city like Cola. I like that Columbians are friendly and seem to be genuinely excited about the things happening there economically and culturally. I am a moderate progressive politically. I love art and probably would be doing a lot of painting with my time in Columbia. I would love to here from those familiar with the city what you think Columbia might offer someone like me. Thanks.