OK Homies, where are you originally from?

[waccamatt]

Born in Greensboro NC; moved to Statesville at age three and lived there until college. East Carolina University - Greenville NC - 1976-1981.

Moved to Columbia in June of '81 and have been here pretty much ever since. (Blythewood, Winnsboro, Irmo some of that time.)

Columbia and I make a good fit. I live a couple of blocks from Waccamatt in the Keenan Terrace neighborhood. I like my new home very much. Work in the Wilbur Smith building downtown. It's great being less than three miles from the office after commuting from the Winnsboro and Irmo area for several years.

And may I add - Hooray for Publix!!! Being able to duck in there for take-home sushi and a bottle of wine is the best!

Ain't that the truth! Publix is only 4 blocks from my office and right on the way home. The Bilo on North Main just doesn't carry enough good stuff so I only go there when I need a few things.

[Ellen]

I tend to avoid the BiLo, especially after dark. There's just something about walking past metal detectors on your way to get a quart of milk...

Last week the sushi chef at Publix fixed up a Combo plate special when I inquired about it. I like their service as much as their offerings.

[TruantSpeakEZ]

I'm probably the young one here, but i've been born and raised in Columbia since 1984

I think that's me, 1985. Saluda born. I lived out there until I was six then moved to 48 south of Rosewood Dr off of Superior and stayed with my uncle and his girlfriend until I was 10. Then I moved up to Bonnie Forest -- actually just outside of it, I'm on the Piney Woods side -- to live with my grandma and stayed there until I was 17. Finally I made my way up to my mom's house in NY to finish high school. Took a little time off, and I'm planning to start school in the fall. But I'm definitely going to go back down that way.

[TheSuperPope]

This could be a close finish, but I was also born in 85 at the Anderson Medical Center. Then moved to pensacola, fl for a little while. Then back to the Seneca/Walhalla/Lake Keowee area of SC for my adolescent years. Now I live in Cayce while attending USC.

[GamecockEngineer]

Born in Augusta, Ga - lived there until I was 5

Moved to Florence, Sc - Grad. HS there.

Attend Carolina and now I'm in Cola.

I'm graduating in May, and trying to decide if I'm going to take a job here in Cola, in Hotlanta, or in Charlotte.

[BrasilnSC]

Born in Sorocaba, Brazil then moved to Sao Paulo shortly after. Lived there until I was 10, then moved to Orangeburg, SC (culture shock). Moved to Columbia in '98 to attend USC and have been here since.

[krazeeboi]

I can imagine a move from Brazil to Orangeburg (my city of birth) would indeed be a culture shock.

[BrasilnSC]

From a city of 15 million to Orangeburg took a bit of adjustment, but I was only 10 and didn't mind it too much. My mom however cried for weeks. It was nice to have a huge backyard with woods all around instead of living in a highrise apartment. Although, I do miss it now.

[krazeeboi]

^Yeah, it's not a bad place; has lots of potential.

[Chi2Midlands]

Born in Chicago 1973.

Lived for four years in an apartment on the north side of the city (Albany Park neighborhood), then lived in a near north suburb (Skokie to be exact) up through high school gradutation.

Went to Washington University in St. Louis 1991-1996 - B.S. in Civil Engineering (yes, I did take some urban planning and transportation planning courses).

Attended Virginia Tech 1997-1999 (completed graduate coursework, but did not complete my degree - my mind wasn't esoteric enough to get into advanced graduate-level transportation & aviation planning and complete a thesis).

Returned to Chicago for work 1999-2001. Got married to a Virginia girl in 2001, and requested a transfer to Alexandria, VA near Washington, DC. Worked there until 2002, then moved to another job in Northern Virginia until 2005.

Moved to Columbia in March 2005.

[TheCarolinaKing]

Born in Chicago 1973.

Lived for four years in an apartment on the north side of the city (Albany Park neighborhood), then lived in a near north suburb (Skokie to be exact) up through high school gradutation.

Went to Washington University in St. Louis 1991-1996 - B.S. in Civil Engineering (yes, I did take some urban planning and transportation planning courses).

Attended Virginia Tech 1997-1999 (completed graduate coursework, but did not complete my degree - my mind wasn't esoteric enough to get into advanced graduate-level transportation & aviation planning and complete a thesis).

Returned to Chicago for work 1999-2001. Got married to a Virginia girl in 2001, and requested a transfer to Alexandria, VA near Washington, DC. Worked there until 2002, then moved to another job in Northern Virginia until 2005.

Moved to Columbia in March 2005.

With out prying, what moved you here?

[Chi2Midlands]

With out prying, what moved you here?

New job - with the added bonus of a huge cost-of-living and quality-of-life improvement over the DC area, where we were before. Since I did not have to take a pay cut to move here (even with Columbia's lower average salaries), it was a no-brainer.

We weren't looking to move specifically at the time, but I was not completely happy at my last job, and the opportunity I found in Columbia seemed very good and right for the time. We also wanted a better place than the DC area to raise a family (and in fact we had our first child born in January). My wife definitely wanted to leave the DC area eventually, even though we probably could have stayed a few more years there without too much trouble.

[TheCarolinaKing]

New job - with the added bonus of a huge cost-of-living and quality-of-life improvement over the DC area, where we were before. Since I did not have to take a pay cut to move here (even with Columbia's lower average salaries), it was a no-brainer.

We weren't looking to move specifically at the time, but I was not completely happy at my last job, and the opportunity I found in Columbia seemed very good and right for the time. We also wanted a better place than the DC area to raise a family (and in fact we had our first child born in January). My wife definitely wanted to leave the DC area eventually, even though we probably could have stayed a few more years there without too much trouble.

Well congrats on the baby!

[Matt83USC]

Born in Columbus Ohio, 1983

Moved to Raleigh when I was 1

Then Moved to Centerville Ohio (suburb of Dayton) when I was 2

Moved to Spartanburg in 1991

Came to Columbia in 2001 for school

Graduated in 2005, didn't want to leave, bought a house in Laurel Hill and work on Main St.

I'll always have a soft spot for Spartanburg, as it's my hometown; however I like Columbia a lot better. I think this place has a tremendous amount of potential, and I'm looking forward to seeing the city realize it over the next few years.

[shahram72]

Born in Tehran, Iran in 1972. My family came to the US in 1973. I was raised in the Orlando, FL area and came here in December of 2004. I, like a previous poster, was looking for a change and a nice house that I could actually afford. However, I learned the hard way that the grass is not always greener on the other side and the adjustment and homesickness has been almost debilitating on myself and my wife. We like it here, and are doing our best to adjust, we just miss home but could never afford to live there again. I have had to change careers which has added to the stress, and this area is not the hottest for my line of work and I don't know a lot of people, but both of those things are changing quickly. I used to work in commercial and residential construction and now I am a real estate agent here in Columbia. I see many nice things happening in the city and lots of nice places to go, but we don't know many families here to go with. I see many of you have moved cities several times in your life. I should have remembered the shock when I went away to college. It is not easy for all of us. Anyway, I'm going on and on. This is a great city and I hope to meet more people and watch it grow (steadily, not rapidly) and I think many in the nation don't know about this well kept (or forgotten) secret called Columbia.

[Doug L]

Born in Tehran, Iran in 1972. My family came to the US in 1973. I was raised in the Orlando, FL area and came here in December of 2004. I, like a previous poster, was looking for a change and a nice house that I could actually afford. However, I learned the hard way that the grass is not always greener on the other side and the adjustment and homesickness has been almost debilitating on myself and my wife. We like it here, and are doing our best to adjust, we just miss home but could never afford to live there again. I have had to change careers which has added to the stress, and this area is not the hottest for my line of work and I don't know a lot of people, but both of those things are changing quickly. I used to work in commercial and residential construction and now I am a real estate agent here in Columbia. I see many nice things happening in the city and lots of nice places to go, but we don't know many families here to go with. I see many of you have moved cities several times in your life. I should have remembered the shock when I went away to college. It is not easy for all of us. Anyway, I'm going on and on. This is a great city and I hope to meet more people and watch it grow (steadily, not rapidly) and I think many in the nation don't know about this well kept (or forgotten) secret called Columbia.

Welcome to Columbia! I hope your transition will be smoothe and your life here will be rewarding.

[waccamatt]

Welcome to Columbia! I hope your transition will be smoothe and your life here will be rewarding.

Ditto; I hope you've found the area to be warm and welcoming. I'm sure it is difficult to find a niche in a new city.

I'm a little late, but did anyone go to the international festival last weekend?

[shahram72]

Ditto; I hope you've found the area to be warm and welcoming. I'm sure it is difficult to find a niche in a new city.

I'm a little late, but did anyone go to the international festival last weekend?

I didn't even know it was going on. I woudl have liked to attend. There was also kid's day at Finlay park this last weekend. Would have liked that as well. Is there a good source on the internet for all these events in the area. I seem to be missing many of them.

[waccamatt]

I didn't even know it was going on. I woudl have liked to attend. There was also kid's day at Finlay park this last weekend. Would have liked that as well. Is there a good source on the internet for all these events in the area. I seem to be missing many of them.

Check out the State newspaper's weekend section online and Free Times, also. The city's website has alot of listings too. The Three Rivers Music Festival is coming up in a couple of weeks, too.