I lived in Columbia for 7 1/2 years and liked it quite a bit...eight months out of the year. Then there’s summer.
SC’s not a bad state. I really liked it, it sort of rivals Texas in the sheer ornery attitude of the citizens toward the Feds. And it’s got Jim Demint and Joe Wilson...of course, it’s also got Jim Clyburn, but noplace is perfect.
I’m a proud native of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and I do have to say, if you get outside the DC suburbs, Virginia is a fantastic state to live in. Taxes aren’t (or weren’t) bad, there’s history all around, the people are friendly, it’s beautiful in many areas.
}:-)4
My only real experience was a few weeks at Norfolk Naval Base with a can stuck in drydock while Gulf War I came and went. I didn’t have a vehicle with me (long story) but I heard tales of the nicer parts of VA outside of Norfolk.