1,000% agree- I just moved to West Cola, barely across the Gervais st bridge- literally less than 2 miles from my office in the Vista! Used to live in the NE so it gives me back over an hour of my life each day... the commute is awesome but I got a bigger/nicer house than I could afford in the Elmwood area which is where I started looking and it cost me $30-40k less! Because I am in West Cola, lots of bills are lower and I feel like- as close as I am to downtown- the home values are on the rise in this area... Regarding the OP- Lexington is nice, but go look in Saluda Gardens area- you can ride up Sunset and be in Lex in 10 minutes, or go a ross the bridge into the heart of downtown Cola in about 5 minutes. (Plus- really quiet, river walk right around the corner, zoo right beside it..) Home prices are lower for older, better built homes in a more convenient area. The problem with Lexington is not the people or the town it is TRAFFIC. There are two main roads to get in and out of Lexington and that’s it- so EVERY morning and evening is a solid traffic jam on the I and on Sunset. Every single day. If you live in Lexington and have to go to Columbia often you will get sick of that real quick! Schools are great but West Cola is mostly in Lex county and their schools are fantastic as well- Lex/Richland SD is very good compared to the downtown schools. I have lived back in West Columbia (previously lived there like 15-20 years ago) and I have yet to regret anything about choosing that area! Every week I feel like I find something new close to me that makes me love it more.