What's With The Streetcars? (Columbus, Cleveland: how much, neighborhood, theatre)

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

As I said, it could have been a typo on your part. If you go back and re-read your original post (which by the way I quoted, only adding emphasis to indicate the part I was questioning) there is no 's following the word employee. It changes the context of the statement considerably.

Don't want to start an argument. But I will stand by the context. In the normal use of language I do not see any significant difference between employee income tax and employee's income tax. It is pretty obvuous the employee pays the tax, not the employer. What is your point? Trying to intimate the employer companies of Cincinnati are carrying the bill? I am definitely smart enough to know this will not be the case. Once their financial people tell them Cincinnati is no longer a place to do business in for the employees they desire in the area, it will be wham-bang-thank-you-mam as they scurry out the door.

[Wilson513]

I think most people realize that there is a cost to obtain the services of employees and that is what the employer has to pay. If you are in NYC it is a lot because of the state and local taxes, to a lesser extent Cincinnati. But, it is ultimately paid by the employer in the form of higher wages to do business in Cincinnati as opposed to the unincorporated part of Hamilton County. So, while the tax is withheld from wages that would otherwise belong to the employee, the employer has had to pay more because the employees is getting less from his check.

[UKUKUK]

/facepalm

ANYWAYS, how's the streetcar vote looking? Think it'll pass?

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by UKUKUK

/facepalm

ANYWAYS, how's the streetcar vote looking? Think it'll pass?

My guess is that it probably will. But, again, it passed as recently as 2009 also. Should it win again, we'll be right back voting on the same thing in 2013

[j.conger]

Hi there. I read about the streetcar online. Is this happening. I am a recent college grad looking for a mid-sized metro to move to. I had heard Cincinnati was a good destination as there is a lot of development going on. However, after reading most of your posts, it appears this may just be a marketing smoke screen. It's a shame; some of your neighborhoods look really nice.

As for your Portland argument, I have many friends that have recently moved to Portland. They cite the transit system as one of their favorite parts of the city. They are all young, and have degrees and decent jobs. Should I be looking at Cleveland instead? Transit and projects in general will fail if they are not well thought out. But good infrastructure (not lazy attempts at such, but actual functioning infrastructure) always leads to progress. Anyway, sorry to usurp your board, but I would really like an update of where the project is at. Ya know, because I might want to move here.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by j.conger

Hi there. I read about the streetcar online. Is this happening. I am a recent college grad looking for a mid-sized metro to move to. I had heard Cincinnati was a good destination as there is a lot of development going on. However, after reading most of your posts, it appears this may just be a marketing smoke screen. It's a shame; some of your neighborhoods look really nice.

As for your Portland argument, I have many friends that have recently moved to Portland. They cite the transit system as one of their favorite parts of the city. They are all young, and have degrees and decent jobs. Should I be looking at Cleveland instead? Transit and projects in general will fail if they are not well thought out. But good infrastructure (not lazy attempts at such, but actual functioning infrastructure) always leads to progress. Anyway, sorry to usurp your board, but I would really like an update of where the project is at. Ya know, because I might want to move here.

I'd say that you will be happier in Cleveland and even happier in Portland since you are a person who has focused on perhaps the least important part of Cincinnati's infrastructure for your one post. Both Cleveland and Portland have more trains.

And, what is it exactly that should make the City need to please you and your friends with trains when you can live in Cincinnati and easily locate your residence so that you can walk to work or drive in 10 minutes or less or take a bus in 20 minutes. You can move here, take up residence on Madison Road in Hyde Park and get on any one of the 20 or 30 buses going down town at rush hour every 10 minutes. And be down town in 15 to 20 minutes will all local stops.

Let me ask you, would you rather have a 45 minute train ride in Portland or a 20 minute bus ride in Cincinnati? That will tell us a lot about whether you like good infrastructure or novelties.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by j.conger

Hi there. I read about the streetcar online. Is this happening. I am a recent college grad looking for a mid-sized metro to move to. I had heard Cincinnati was a good destination as there is a lot of development going on. However, after reading most of your posts, it appears this may just be a marketing smoke screen. It's a shame; some of your neighborhoods look really nice.

As for your Portland argument, I have many friends that have recently moved to Portland. They cite the transit system as one of their favorite parts of the city. They are all young, and have degrees and decent jobs. Should I be looking at Cleveland instead?

There are a ton of positive developments here. It's pretty much an ideal city for someone who wants to be part of revitalization. It is an old city with old city problems and assets. It is unlike Portland in almost every way. There isn't a lot of sparkle. Our economic woes have been minor compared with other more industrial rust-belt cities. Construction is beginning on the streetcar next year.

Regarding the marketing smoke screen. Cincinnati is a hierarchical, formal city. So the people in charge aren't exactly cutting-edge thinkers. So sometimes the marketing efforts are tragically unhip and horribly overdone. Other times they come off like your 50s-something aunt on facebook. An example is this billboard downtown, it is for a real estate group that owns a ton of apartments in an around downtown. The billboard reads, in big, bold capital letters: "hip, urban living spaces in downtown Cincinnati." and then there's some photo from stockphoto.com of a lady having a martini. It's like, wow, you're trying way to hard with all those words. It should just read "living spaces downtown" or "urban apartments."

Wait, what was the question again?

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by j.conger

Hi there. I read about the streetcar online. Is this happening. I am a recent college grad looking for a mid-sized metro to move to. I had heard Cincinnati was a good destination as there is a lot of development going on. However, after reading most of your posts, it appears this may just be a marketing smoke screen. It's a shame; some of your neighborhoods look really nice.

As for your Portland argument, I have many friends that have recently moved to Portland. They cite the transit system as one of their favorite parts of the city. They are all young, and have degrees and decent jobs. Should I be looking at Cleveland instead? Transit and projects in general will fail if they are not well thought out. But good infrastructure (not lazy attempts at such, but actual functioning infrastructure) always leads to progress. Anyway, sorry to usurp your board, but I would really like an update of where the project is at. Ya know, because I might want to move here.

Given the fact that the streetcar's been discussed on these boards far past the point of absurdity, my first reaction to your post was to not take it seriously.

But to address your question, whether or not it should be taken at face value: I'm a Cincinnati area native who lived away for many years and returned 11 years ago as a middle-aged woman. It's my home, and I have reasons for liking the place. It has a lively arts community and beautiful natural terrain, two things that are important to me, for a relatively low cost of living.

That said, it's just about the last largish size city on the face of the earth that I'd recommend for someone in your position. The community is conservative in just about every respect you can think of and the municipal government of Cincinnati itself is inept and marked by infighting and cronyism. Despite these problems and against all odds, there is indeed some redevelopment occurring. But I think if you're free to choose anyplace you want to settle, you can probably do much better than Cincinnati.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

But I think if you're free to choose anyplace you want to settle, you can probably do much better than Cincinnati.

I think it is hard to find a better place to live, work and play, raise a family or retire than here in Cincinnati. People who prioritize their wish list with things like trains, professional sports, hip bar scene, etc. are people who want to see themselves in a different way. They want to be trendy, cutting edge and hip. It is not about the city, a person can be totally hip here in Cincinnati. I'm sure the poster is not close to as cool as Peter Frampton who makes Cincinnati his home without becoming a dud. People see themselves as taking on these city characteristics although every place they go, they are exactly the same person. No improvement, no deteriorization.

Cincinnati is affordable, easy to get around, and most importantly, highly egalitarian. Meaning that if you are an entry level dude like the poster in question, he can actually participate in just about everything the city has to offer without having a surname that people recognize or a M.D. at teh end of his name. Of course, he may not be allowed to play golf at the Triple C Ranch, but that is about the only barrier here.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

I think it is hard to find a better place to live, work and play, raise a family or retire than here in Cincinnati..

We chose to come here and it has been great. With my job, we could have moved anywhere in the US. Our family being nearby (within 3 hours) was a factor.

Still, I know where Sarah is coming from. No one should move to any city (or neighborhood) and expect to be something other than what it is.