Well, it's the South. We were in the mid-90's yesterday in Raleigh and, according to weatherunderground, it felt like 110. Looks like we'll cool down to a frosty 95/feels like 105 today, but the point is, if you're in the South, it gonna be hot in the summer. I was more talking about the amenities, anyway. I would've certainly agreed with your assessment, even in that regard, back in the 80's and 90's. Seemed like Colo was jarhead central back then. Not that I went there often, although I did see the Dead's one and only appearance in SC on Halloween '85 (great show).
When my stepdaughter told us she was applying to USC, I rolled my eyes and basically said the same thing you did about Columbia. But when we went for her recon visit, I could see that a sea change had taken place, at least in terms of the amenities I value (bars, restaurants, accommodations, shopping, etc). She ended up going there and we looked forward to visiting. That was a fun four years...