Canton IS improving (Columbus, Cleveland, Akron: home, theater, high school)

[mkeller234]

One more thing about Danner printing. Danner was a union shop, and the owner of Danner closed it ON HIS OWN. Then he opened Press of Ohio which is a non union shop. Danner is not a victim of our economy, Danner was a victim of internal union busting. I also work with former Danner and Press of Ohio employees.

[Buckeye in SC]

I really hope Canton does improve, we moved to Columbia last summer, and have really enjoyed all that it has to offer and are very happy about our move. Granted, Columbia's MSA is more comparable in size to Akron and it is the state capital which gives it a more stable economy, but it has a lot more too offer than we found in Canton. It was sad having lived in the area for the better part of my first 26 years, and seeing it continually go downhill, with little or no growth. I keep tabs on the area, plus having a lot of family still there, we have been back already 3 times. I think one of the biggest problems is this 'old mentality' of we're a manufacturing area and that's the way it is. School districts need to consolidate - Richland County is roughly the same size (population & land) as Stark County, yet we have 2 school districts here serving 47,000 students, while Stark County has close to 20. It's ridiculous, way too much overhead, no need for 20 superintendents for example. While I realize that wouldn't save a ton of money, it would help the suffering school budgets, instead of having to continually slash teachers due to reduced funding. Taxes here are more fairly spread out i.e. renters help contribute to pay for the schools, city & county government due to a vehicle tax and sales tax making up a substantial portion of the school funding. Our property taxes here on a nicer, bigger, newer house (built in 2001) are nearly half of what they were in Louisville for a house built in the late 1940s; not to mention there are no ridiculous city imposed 2% income taxes, the city gets a portion of your property tax here. Tell me why small districts East Canton, Marlington, Fairless just to name a few need to have their own district? Why not create Eastern Stark Co. School District, Canton City & Western Stark Co. School District? The short answer is there is too much pride among these communities to allow it. We initially moved for jobs, while I had a good-paying job w/my 4-year degree, my wife had been laid off twice, and we were tired of it, we now are pretty content on being here for the forseeable future. Canton & all of Ohio already have bad stigmas like being the 'rust belt' and not to mention the weather doesn't help that part of the country. Don't get me wrong, Columbia is not perfect and has plenty of it's own problems, but the weather is far better here, economy is stronger, a lot of cultural and entertainment offerings and we are 2 hours to the beach, 2 to the mountains, and 90 minutes from Charlotte, hard to beat. Canton has to create a desirable image and show innovative ideas to make it more desirable, the downtown renovations are a start, and that is great that they are going to convert the old Hercules plant, but there needs to be more of a joint mindset in the county to make things work. The local paper here is always trying to promote unity w/in the county, Columbia, and some of the smaller suburbs. I saw were Mayor Healy is part of the NE Ohio joint commission deal they have going on which is a good start, but even locally. It almost always felt like a competition between Canton & the other cities, I don't know if it's b/c of the Massillon/McKinley rivalry or what. Even in an earlier post I read, someone from North Canton was dogging Canton and saying they are so much better than them, real mature by the way. But the city & township councils & leaders need to understand that if 1000 new jobs come into Canton, that all of the surrounding cities benefit too. I think the cities really need to rethink the income tax they levy, b/c I think that drives a lot of this ridiculous fighting over annexing & lack of concern for the neigboring communities.

That's my 2 cents on the area - I really would love to see Canton rebound and come-back, b/c the area is home to us, but even after only 11 months here, I can't forsee us ever moving back, that's assuming there are good comparable jobs for us to come back to in the first place!

[rich crabtree]

re doing down town canton, is just like putting rosebushes around a out housewhats the reson behind that ?canton allways been a sh!! hole. GO TIGERS !!!!!!!

[mkeller234]

Originally Posted by rich crabtree

re doing down town canton, is just like putting rosebushes around a out housewhats the reson behind that ?canton allways been a sh!! hole. GO TIGERS !!!!!!!

Funny you should mention "sh!!holes" when Massllon has a steady smell of sewer wafting in the air. Go Bulldogs!

[whitmeyer]

Originally Posted by mkeller234

Nice points NEOhioBound. I'm glad someone can appreciate this city for what it is.

It's a tiny Midwest city that's cheap to live in, with nothing to do. That's why it's cheap. That's why rent in all small towns are cheap.

Good lucking shopping unless you wear Abercrombie or American Eagle. Closest decent shopping center is in Beachwood about an hour away. The nightlife is virtually non-existent, not a single place even worth mentioning. It's an OK place to raise a family (decent schools), but that does not change the fact that there is not much to do around Canton.

[mkeller234]

Originally Posted by whitmeyer

It's a tiny Midwest city that's cheap to live in, with nothing to do. That's why it's cheap. That's why rent in all small towns are cheap.

Good lucking shopping unless you wear Abercrombie or American Eagle. Closest decent shopping center is in Beachwood about an hour away. The nightlife is virtually non-existent, not a single place even worth mentioning. It's an OK place to raise a family (decent schools), but that does not change the fact that there is not much to do around Canton.

Well... that all depends on what you consider "stuff to do". For example, I am a cyclist and I can leave my doorstep in the city and pedal into the country in about 15 minutes. This area is perfect for riding, long stretches of rolling country roads with light traffic. I can put 50-70 miles in without the hassle of city obstacles, absolutely perfect.

There is some nightlife, I really like Joe's bar downtown. It draws a young crowd, has great beer and even better music. If my wife feels like dancing we drive 25 minutes to Akron and go to Thursdays bar. Have you ever been to First Friday? It's a blast and downtown is packed full of people.

Our region also has great assets like the Cuyahoga Valley and the towpath trail, and if thats not enough Cedar Point is only 2 hours away. This is a city of under 80,000 citizens, it's not going to be comparable to a big city.

I don't wear either of the two brands you mentioned but I manage to stay clothed. To say that we are limited in that regard seems to be inaccurate in my opinion. Is Canton perfect? Not by a long shot... but there is little doubt that Downtown is drastically better that it was 10-20 years ago.

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by mkeller234

Funny you should mention "sh!!holes" when Massllon has a steady smell of sewer wafting in the air. Go Bulldogs!

I've only noticed that smell in the Walmart/Lowe's parking lot. ...seems appropriate to me...

Go Panthers!

[mkeller234]

Originally Posted by JR_C

I've only noticed that smell in the Walmart/Lowe's parking lot. ...seems appropriate to me...

Go Panthers!

Ha, appropriate is right! Don't forget to throw Applebees into that steaming pile!

+1 Go Panthers... as a former benchwarmer!

[whitmeyer]

Originally Posted by mkeller234

Well... that all depends on what you consider "stuff to do". For example, I am a cyclist and I can leave my doorstep in the city and pedal into the country in about 15 minutes. This area is perfect for riding, long stretches of rolling country roads with light traffic. I can put 50-70 miles in without the hassle of city obstacles, absolutely perfect.

You're right about that...but there are thousands of cities that are great for bike riding. Many of them also have things to offer than Canton does not.

Originally Posted by mkeller234

There is some nightlife

I guess we will have to agree to disagree on what is considered nightlife.

[JR_C]

Originally Posted by whitmeyer

You're right about that...but there are thousands of cities that are great for bike riding. Many of them also have things to offer than Canton does not.

Like what? What makes Canton, and other Ohio cities, so exceptionally boring? Please anwer, because no one else ever does.