Inside Enemy Territory: South Carolina

#26
#26
Volunteer08 said:
I imagine they're similar in size as you say, but the cleanliness and feel of Knoxville is much different. Even the pockets in the respective cities are much different. I think Knoxville has experienced and benefited from the newer age restaurants and "hip" movement of retail stores and shops moreso than Columbia which is just now beginning to experience that. I think its safe to say that Knoxville has upgraded significantly over the past 10-15 years and I just don't see that with Columbia. Maybe they are but not as fast or maybe it's just not as noticeable?

In an effort to better describe my point - Knoxville is "the strip" today. Columbia is the way "the strip" used to be. I think Knoxville is a little more sophisticated than Columbia.
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Maybe Kville might be more up and coming or doing changes quicker compared to Cola. I live in Charlotte, so from the outside, it's easy to see how Knox and Cola compare, because they certainly don't compare with CLT.
 
#27
#27
sameolvol said:
I liked your post, Don D, because you're a lot right...but a little off, too. I can put my coupla' cents worth in here for these reasons: I, too, am a UT grad. I'm from Kingston and a graduate of Roane County High School......class of '69). I'm retired now, but still run my horse operation where I live in Bethune, which is about fifty miles northeast of Columbia. I've visited the Sig Ep house at USCjr. several times and gone to some of their games with some brothers. I've done some post-graduate work there and up at Clemson (but not a fan of either of their sports regimes), and we should both agree that the ignorance label coming out of East Tennesseans (remember where we're frum), can easily be perceived as hypocritical from outsiders looking in. Neither of these two ultra-red states are famous for having sophisticated societies. Charleston? I love, love, love Charleston! It's one of the finest cities anywhere. 82 Pearl Street's world's best she crab soup, Shem Creek seafood (and world's 2nd best she crab soup), the scenic charm of old Charleston, the Battery's class and beauty, old slave market, Sullivan's Island, etc., etc....just too nice. Right on, too, about the Greenville area. It's not as impoverished up in those scenic hills as are the midlands, and folks are...well...they just come across as better educated, and that's what brings me to Columbia. I don't know how long you've been in Charleston, but the gang violence and, heck, crime overall, is almost Chicago-ish in Cola, and has been the past few years. I used to enjoy five-points, but now it's an artsy-fartsy war zone. Now. Columbia's a lot like Knoxville? Is Columbia as homer-ish as is K-Town? Just about equal in that respect. That...THAT...is where it stops, though, Don Diego. From a home-town university perspective, UT is light years ahead of USCjr...from A-Z. The football experience in Big Orange Country, alone, eclipses the sum total of cocky land's very average sports endeavors (except for recent ladies' b-ball). Knoxville's a whole lot larger, has tons more to offer to tourists...beautiful countryside ,lots and lots of excellent restaurants, parks, rivers and lakes, commercial access of all sorts, and so on. The only intellectual centers in SC are located around Clemson and Charleston. The areas from Greenville, et al, have lots of wealth via old and imported money, so there's more high-end manufacturing (like BMW), lots of equine activity, which always indicates plenty of moolah's there. Most the rest of this state is pretty much a clear-cut trailer park...except for the world's loveliest beaches. As for USCjr fans: An inordinant number of them hate us UT Vol's fans for absolutely no reason. I'll be seated on the first row, 40 yard line on UT's side Saturday, wearing all orange. Except for a handful of very nice South Carolinians who truly do exist, and those good ones really are great folks, I expect some really dufus-like remarks from the cock supporters here. Let's whoop 'em big time, Vols! Thanks for your comments, Brother Diego. Will you be at the game?
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I think the hate comes from the fact that we are an orange team too..we can just go down with Clemson. It usually doesn't help that they always seem to have the orange crush scheduled together usually every year. Us, then FLA, then Clemson.
 
#28
#28
Volunteer08 said:
I imagine they're similar in size as you say, but the cleanliness and feel of Knoxville is much different. Even the pockets in the respective cities are much different. I think Knoxville has experienced and benefited from the newer age restaurants and "hip" movement of retail stores and shops moreso than Columbia which is just now beginning to experience that. I think its safe to say that Knoxville has upgraded significantly over the past 10-15 years and I just don't see that with Columbia. Maybe they are but not as fast or maybe it's just not as noticeable?

In an effort to better describe my point - Knoxville is "the strip" today. Columbia is the way "the strip" used to be. I think Knoxville is a little more sophisticated than Columbia.
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This is part of it, but there are not a lot of similarities outside of the population and geographic size. For one we have the mountains as a nice back drop here, they have well not much of anything. Like you said Columbia has more of a run down look and feel.
 
#29
#29
volwindy said:
Maybe Kville might be more up and coming or doing changes quicker compared to Cola. I live in Charlotte, so from the outside, it's easy to see how Knox and Cola compare, because they certainly don't compare with CLT.
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Meh, Charlotte used to be a dirty city many years ago, they have been working hard to fix their infrastructure. I would still rather live in Knoxville than clt, it is nicer now, but seems like more of a hipster city. So to each their own.
 
#30
#30
OrangeByBirth said:
l lived in SC. Columbia is a cesspool and the stadium is the worst in the SEC. The upper deck is really the rear deck and the stands are extremely "flat" rather than any vertical construction. The 40th row is probably about the same elevation above the field as the 10th row at Neyland. Allow them to wallow in their ignorance.
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Colombia is a huge sh!thole.
 
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#33
#33
Volunteer08 said:
I don't disagree with your post, but comparing Columbia to Knoxville...no way. I've been to Columbia many times for games and visit family. It may compare to south Knoxville, but aside from that I see no similarities.
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Hey! I grew up in South Knoxville! You watch your filthy mouth! Most all of us could read, write and even... oh never mind. It was a dump. Lol.
However, good times in the Summer consisted of a bike ride to the Kenjo to have my buddies mom who was the “head cashier” give us free Mountain Dew slushes. Late night pick up basketball at friends house and being able to hear the canons go off at Neyland in the rare occasion I missed a game. Great times actually. SD Class of 95. 👊🏼
 
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#34
#34
sameolvol said:
I liked your post, Don D, because you're a lot right...but a little off, too. I can put my coupla' cents worth in here for these reasons: I, too, am a UT grad. I'm from Kingston and a graduate of Roane County High School......class of '69). I'm retired now, but still run my horse operation where I live in Bethune, which is about fifty miles northeast of Columbia. I've visited the Sig Ep house at USCjr. several times and gone to some of their games with some brothers. I've done some post-graduate work there and up at Clemson (but not a fan of either of their sports regimes), and we should both agree that the ignorance label coming out of East Tennesseans (remember where we're frum), can easily be perceived as hypocritical from outsiders looking in. Neither of these two ultra-red states are famous for having sophisticated societies. Charleston? I love, love, love Charleston! It's one of the finest cities anywhere. 82 Pearl Street's world's best she crab soup, Shem Creek seafood (and world's 2nd best she crab soup), the scenic charm of old Charleston, the Battery's class and beauty, old slave market, Sullivan's Island, etc., etc....just too nice. Right on, too, about the Greenville area. It's not as impoverished up in those scenic hills as are the midlands, and folks are...well...they just come across as better educated, and that's what brings me to Columbia. I don't know how long you've been in Charleston, but the gang violence and, heck, crime overall, is almost Chicago-ish in Cola, and has been the past few years. I used to enjoy five-points, but now it's an artsy-fartsy war zone. Now. Columbia's a lot like Knoxville? Is Columbia as homer-ish as is K-Town? Just about equal in that respect. That...THAT...is where it stops, though, Don Diego. From a home-town university perspective, UT is light years ahead of USCjr...from A-Z. The football experience in Big Orange Country, alone, eclipses the sum total of cocky land's very average sports endeavors (except for recent ladies' b-ball). Knoxville's a whole lot larger, has tons more to offer to tourists...beautiful countryside ,lots and lots of excellent restaurants, parks, rivers and lakes, commercial access of all sorts, and so on. The only intellectual centers in SC are located around Clemson and Charleston. The areas from Greenville, et al, have lots of wealth via old and imported money, so there's more high-end manufacturing (like BMW), lots of equine activity, which always indicates plenty of moolah's there. Most the rest of this state is pretty much a clear-cut trailer park...except for the world's loveliest beaches. As for USCjr fans: An inordinant number of them hate us UT Vol's fans for absolutely no reason. I'll be seated on the first row, 40 yard line on UT's side Saturday, wearing all orange. Except for a handful of very nice South Carolinians who truly do exist, and those good ones really are great folks, I expect some really dufus-like remarks from the cock supporters here. Let's whoop 'em big time, Vols! Thanks for your comments, Brother Diego. Will you be at the game?
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I live in Kingston, love the small town feel, but close enough to Knoxville to do the big city stuff. Great fishing here though.
 
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#35
#35
DonDiego said:
I am a Tennessean, and I am a UT grad and a lifelong Vol, but I've lived in SC now for 30 years. It is not a bad place and the people are not ignorant. In fact, the economy and growth in Charleston and Greenville especially, are pretty much off the charts. I lived six of the 30 years in Columbia (live in Charleston now), and as a matter of fact, Columbia is a nice town, very similar in a lot of ways to Knoxville. I know most of the posts are all in fun, but still...just sayin'.
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I've actually been to Columbia a couple of times and really enjoyed some of the local brews. Hunter Gatherer Brewhouse FTW.
 
#36
#36
DonDiego said:
Nope sameol, my wife and I just got back from a little mountain vacay and I neglected to make arrangements for tickets and a trip up to Cola. I'll just catch it on the SEC Network and get to look at Laura Rutledge. I actually hated Columbia when I lived there, since I went straight there from Knoxville, but the few times I've been back for business and a couple of ballgames, it just seems to have gotten better--I don't know, you probably have more insight than I do on it.

Re Charleston, I don't think I've met hardly anybody across the country who doesn't have the same sentiments as you do. It is a pretty incredible place, although I sure miss the mountains sometimes. BTW, I think you might be talking about 82 Queen when it comes to that soup. Charleston has some of the best restaurants in America.
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Dogonnit! I don't know why I sometimes call it 82 "Pearl" Street. I've screwed that one up more times than I can count. Ask my wife. She lived on the Isle of Palm for a couple of years and laughs herself silly whenever I call it that.RE Columbia: Aside from five-Points, downtown Cola is striving to make some improvements with some good people with some progressive ideas, and in some aspects they're making some notable progress. If only...at least...a handful of legitimately good restaurants could get established there, then maybe-just-maybe my ratings on old Cola would go up a bit. There's just nowhere all that good to take my NYC born and bred wife for an evening of fine dining, except for road trips Myrtle Beach or Charleston. Since you can't make it to the game, cheer extra loud for us orange-clad diehards up here in the midlands. Some of my buds and I will be on the first row right behind the Vols' bench.
 
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#38
#38
sameolvol said:
Dogonnit! I don't know why I sometimes call it 82 "Pearl" Street. I've screwed that one up more times than I can count. Ask my wife. She lived on the Isle of Palm for a couple of years and laughs herself silly whenever I call it that.RE Columbia: Aside from five-Points, downtown Cola is striving to make some improvements with some good people with some progressive ideas, and in some aspects they're making some notable progress. If only...at least...a handful of legitimately good restaurants could get established there, then maybe-just-maybe my ratings on old Cola would go up a bit. There's just nowhere all that good to take my NYC born and bred wife for an evening of fine dining, except for road trips Myrtle Beach or Charleston. Since you can't make it to the game, cheer extra loud for us orange-clad diehards up here in the midlands. Some of my buds and I will be on the first row right behind the Vols' bench.
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My wife and I had the opportunity to go to a game at WB Stadium several years ago and sit in a luxury box--I was the only Vol fan in the area, but everybody was super nice and respectful. We stayed--I believe--at the downtown Marriott. There was a restaurant across the street that we had to walk down steps from street level to get to (try that in Charleston at sea level..lol). We had the time of our life--don't know if that place still exists, but it was definitely worth the trip.

I'll be yelling for the Vols--you may hear me up I-26. Ignore the bad words if things aren't going well. ;) BTW, I'm still working my wife a little to make the quick drive up and grab a couple of scalped tickets--might be cheap.
 
#39
#39
DonDiego said:
My wife and I had the opportunity to go to a game at WB Stadium several years ago and sit in a luxury box--I was the only Vol fan in the area, but everybody was super nice and respectful. We stayed--I believe--at the downtown Marriott. There was a restaurant across the street that we had to walk down steps from street level to get to (try that in Charleston at sea level..lol). We had the time of our life--don't know if that place still exists, but it was definitely worth the trip.

I'll be yelling for the Vols--you may hear me up I-26. Ignore the bad words if things aren't going well. ;) BTW, I'm still working my wife a little to make the quick drive up and grab a couple of scalped tickets--might be cheap.
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BTW, if your wife lived on the IOP for a couple of years, cudos to you for snagging her...lol. I'm pretty sure the mean housing price on the IOP is maybe 2.5 to 4 mil..lol. I live five miles from there and prices here are crazy enough. IOP is prime property.
 
#41
#41
84Volfan said:
I will respectfully disagree. Brutus buckeye is the worst mascot in the nation....
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One of my former running buds graduated from UC Santa Cruz, home of the mighty Banana Slugs. A trippy looking banana slug at that. Their bookstore usually can't keep gear in stock though, e'erybody loves the Banana Slug all over the world but it IS the worst mascot in the NCAA.
 
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