My sister lives near Columbia and I do not care for it.
It’s very dry and scrubby, and sandy.
North of there, south of NC, more in the mountains is much nicer.
If it’s between TX & SC pick TX. You wouldn’t like SC. It’s so humid and HOT and expensive. Same for N.C. In Texas I have to say that Amarillo was the greatest little city our band ever played. We covered all 48 states.
We finally retired to WV. The weather is anything you want. Where we live is rural on the Ohio River. The climate is as good as it gets. Very few extreme weather events, but you can find ski resorts and mountains in WV. It’s cheaper than most states. Taxes reasonable and fewer people. The people are suspicious at first, but once they know you there are no finer neighbors. Our state went full Trump.
I lived a lifetime one year in Columbia when I was in Grad School at the real USC.
I found that, besides being cold in winter, and VERY hot in Summer, everyplace I wanted to go was on the other side of town. No matter where I was, and, had to go, it was WAY over on the other side.