6AM City In-house

City

Where are Soda Citizens from?
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McKissick Museum is located on the Horseshoe in the center of the USC campus. | Photo by COLAtoday

Be honest, are you from Columbia?

According to Migration Patterns — using data from the United States Census Bureau — 43% of Columbia residents were born and raised in the Capital City. We poked around on the map, which shows where people moved between the ages 16 and 26, and found a few interesting facts:
  • 69% of residents who moved to Columbia by age 16 elected to stay through young adulthood.
  • 31% chose to leave the city
  • 14% stayed in SC — 3.2% moved to Charleston, 2.8% moved to the Charlotte metro area on the Carolina border, and 2.7% moved to Greenville
  • 63% of Columbia residents came from out of the city.
  • 17% came from other areas of SC — 2.8% came from Florence, 2.7% came from Sumter, 2.4% came from Charleston and Greenville
View the Columbia map — or any other US city — for yourself.

🌎 Where do most USC students come from?

USC’s most recent incoming freshman class included more in-state students than ever before. Of the 6,596 new students, 3,400 are South Carolina residents, including one from each of our state’s 46 counties. 43% of the student population comes from out-of-state, the most coming from North Carolina, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Georgia.

🌎 Talent retention in the Soda City

Higher education plays a significant role in the Soda City economy and keeping bright minds around after they graduate is a major goal of the Capital City. Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR) is the greater Columbia community’s organization that works to attract and retain students, recent graduates, recent arrivals, and young professionals.

🌎 Get involved

Crash Course Columbia, a COR program, is hosting a free mini-tour on Friday, Dec. 16, from 1-6 p.m. The tour will have a community leader at each spot and cover the Main Street District, West Columbia, Cayce, and the Vista to explore Cola’s history, recent development, public art, and food scene. Register here for the tour.
MORE SODA CITIZEN STATS

What city did you call home before you moved to Columbia?
LET US KNOW
Lexington Medical Center

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Thursday, Dec. 8
  • Holiday Bizarre | Thursday, Dec. 8 | 5-8 p.m. | NoMa Warehouse, 2222 Sumter St, Columbia | Free | Enjoy sips and snacks while you shop and chat with these local makers.
Friday, Dec. 9
  • A Christmas Story: The Musical | Friday, Dec. 9-Sunday, Dec. 11 | 7:30 p.m. | Town Theatre, 1012 Sumter St., Columbia | $15-$25 | Don’t miss this nostalgic show that follows the holiday adventures of Ralphie, who knows exactly what he wants for Christmas and will do whatever he can to get it.
Saturday, Dec. 10
  • NOMA Cookie Crawl | Saturday, Dec. 10 | 3-6 p.m. | NoMa Warehouse, 2222 Sumter St. | $20-$30 | You will receive a professionally designed cookie tin and browse nine locations to pick up freshly baked holiday cookies from the district’s talented bakeries and merchants.
  • Meeting Street Artisan Market | Saturday, Dec. 10 | 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Interactive Art Park, 425 Meeting St., West, Columbia | The market includes vendors selling original art, crafts, foods, and produce.
Sunday, Dec. 11
We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.
100+ MORE EVENTS
Trinity Partners - COLA

Weather
  • 70º | Mostly cloudy | 12% chance of rain
Biz
  • Japanese electric vehicle battery company Envision AESC plans to open a battery gigafactory in Florence County, about an hour outside of Cola. The $810 million investment will create 1,170 new jobs over the next several years + produce battery cells in a partnership with the BMW Group plant in the Upstate. 🔋
Open
  • Abney Seafood celebrated its grand opening last week in its new location in the Northside Plaza at 6317 North Main St., near the Piggly Wiggly. In addition to fried fish, the restaurant offers fresh crabs, shrimp, oysters, and a variety of fresh fish. 🐟 (Carolina Panorama)
Number
  • $5.5 million. That’s how much Palmetto Millworks, a home column producer, will invest to expand its operations in Richland County. The new facility at Lightwood Industrial Park, at Interstate 20 and Farrow Road, aims to create 47 new jobs. (The State)
Closing
  • Cupcake DownSouth, located at 1213 Lincon St. in the Vista across from the Blue Marlin, has closed. The locally-owned shop cited rising costs and inflation as the primary reason for closing. 🧁
Cause
  • Nonprofit registration is open for the upcoming Midlands Gives Day happening on May 2, 2023. Now in its 10th year, the annual 18-hour online giving challenge hosted by the Central Carolina Community Foundation is a celebration of philanthropy, amplifying the missions of local nonprofits. 💟
Community
  • Stop by the Cayce City Hall at 1800 12th St. to pick up a free 2023 Cayce City Calendar. Next year’s calendar highlights the city’s scenic views — think the riverwalk, murals, and natural landscapes. 🗓️
Shop
  • ‘Tis the season to shop items from our online shop Six & Main. Our gift guides feature shirts, jewelry, gourmet popcorn, coffee, and more. There’s no time to waste, let the shopping begin. 🛍️
Award
  • Congrats to our healthcare partners Lexington Medical Center, Prisma Health, and MUSC Health for showing their commitment to the community by winning several South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) Zero Harm Awards. The awards recognize hospitals that demonstrate patient safety, reliable care, and error-free medical procedures. See the full list. 🏥 *
Health
  • Open enrollment for individual and family health insurance is now. Enrollment events are happening this week at Insurance Advantage at 511 Meeting St. in West Columbia Fri., Dec. 9 from 12 p.m.-7 p.m., and Simplesurance at 4326 Ft. Jackson Blvd. in Columbia on Sat., Dec. 10 from 10 p.m.-5 p.m.*
Try This
  • Give the gift of a quality shave month after month with a Harry’s trial set and blade subscription. Choose your handle color, refill frequency, and let the good shave days roll in for as little as $5 on sign-up (yes, you heard that right). 🪒*
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6AM City In-house

City

Home for the holidays
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Views like this make us glad to call Cola home. | Photo via @afersner
If you’ve been traveling this holiday season and feel like the grass is a little greener on the other side, we’ve got some statistics for you. Turns out, the overall cost of living in Cola is lower than the national average, and lower than the rest of the state.

For example, compared to Raleigh:
  • The cost of living is 21.2% higher in Raleigh, NC.
  • To maintain our standard of living, we would need to bring in $60,592 to our Cola household.
  • The median cost for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,631, which is $310 more than Cola.
There really is no place like home for the holidays.

Looking for more facts about the cost of living in Columbia? We’ve got you right here.
THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by David.

Editor’s pick: Like many Soda Citizens, I moved here to go to school at USC and stayed after graduation. As the area continues to grow and new businesses keep coming in, hopefully, this will become the trend and young adults will stay and help our city thrive.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Check out our roundup of new developments in West Columbia, here.
Connect with us.

Editorial: Samantha Robertson, David Stringer, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Emily Shea | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Lindsey Rhinesmith | Advertise with us.

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