I would recommend that drivers avoid the interstates and other major thoroughfares during morning and evening rush hour. While they are not as bad as many major cities, they definitely can slow you down. The same holds true for the streets around the capitol building and the University of South Carolina at certain times of the day. You want to get a feel for when the congested times might be. Oh, and like most cities in our area, Columbia is not set up as a grid, other than the downtown area. You truly should rely on GPS or maps to help you get around the winding roadways.

You have the advantage of having other cities fairly nearby, like Greenville, Charleston, and Charlotte, which makes online car shopping much, much easier. You can really strike a nice deal if you are willing to consider shopping around in that manner. This holds true, as well, for a place like CarMax, as there are a number of locations nearby with free vehicle transfers. Of course, there are also clusters of car dealerships, near the Columbiana Mall or in Lexington, for instance, if you prefer the traditional brick and mortar dealerships.

There is a street in Columbia called Huger St. The first time I encountered this particular street, I was with a friend of mine. I had a good laugh pronouncing is as though something was larger, or more "huge," than something else. My friend, a native of Columbia, quickly began laughing, and told me that I was pronouncing the street name incorrectly. As it turns out, it is actually pronounced You-gee Street. I couldn't begin to believe that, so we jokingly argued about this pronunciation for quite some time, and that experience has been a lasting memory for both of us and for our friendship.

I-26. If I'm on I-26, it means that I'm getting out of town to go on vacation, either to the beach or the mountains. Columbia isn't the most exciting town and most of us really enjoy getting OUT of town, especially considering that there are so many awesome things to do in other parts of the state!

I think that Columbia is a pretty normal town to drive in. The one thing that annoys me is the amount of stoplights we have in our downtown area. I would recommend driving in other areas to avoid the stoplights. It's not very enjoyable - at least for me - to basically be in stop and go traffic.

My last car buying experience was wonderful. A friend of mine's father owns a business where he basically brokers cars for people. We told him what we wanted in a car. Our factors were, good gas mileage, sedan and reliable. We had a price maximum which we gave to him as well. He found us a Toyota Corolla which we knew we would like because my husband already had one. He recommended a local credit union for financing. The whole process was easy, quick, and painless. I have thoroughly enjoyed the car and would go through him for all future car purchases.

My favorite memory of driving in Columbia is when I was learning to drive. My dad took me to a nearby elementary school parking lot on the weekend and gave me the wheel. At the time I felt like I did a fantastic job and was really proud of my skills considering I had never driven before. Looking back I'm sure I was terrible. This is my favorite memory because I felt very grown up, driving for the first time. I had a late birthday so was younger than a lot of my friends who were in my grade in school so I got my driver's license later. I felt like it was finally my time. I also enjoyed the time spent with my dad.

Interstate 26. I-26 is my favorite road to drive because I hate stop and go traffic. I feel like traffic in Columbia is not very efficient. I live close to downtown, so driving through downtown is a lot of stoplights. I much prefer driving on the interstate because you can literally just drive without stopping.