Disappointment - Cincinnati: is this really it? (Mason, Baltimore: real estate, transfer)
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Hi,
as I posted before, my employer wants me to move to Cincinnati.
I am currently living in Baltimore.
I am on a visit in Cincinnati with my wife and child. We are so disappointed!!!
Please, please you posters tell us we are wrong, tell us about those areas we have not seen that are great!
Why are we so disappointed?
yes, the housing situation and what you get for the money is great.
But...
Where are the URBAN areas where you park your car and walk around to inhale urban life. Restaurants, Cafes, Stores?
Baltimore in comparison has tons of problems yes, but downtown at the inner harbor you can walk around for an hour or two and be entertained. It is actually nice there, there are many tourists.
Our realtor drove us thru Oakley and Hyde Park. Hyde Park looked nice, but where is the area consisting of a couple of streets where you can walk around for an hour and get entertained by what you see. It has to have more then residential homes to be interesting.
That is the thing, it needs more than just one square with three restaurants.
We went to the "banks" area. OMG, there is nothing. It could be so nice. There is no promenade with cafes or a park. When this construction is finished will it be able to entertain me for an hour or two - walking along the water, having a cup of coffee, enjoying the scenery?
I heard Cincy has large companies headquartered in the city? Those well paid executives...where do they go to be entertained the urban way?
Where is the stuff we have not seen yet?
Yesterday I drove over to Covington. At first we thought oh not too bad. But the we drove three blocks south from our hotel (right at the river) and over to Newport. Utter despair grabbed us. All this looked like Baltimore downtown in the 80ies - from pictures I have seen.
HELP! What have me missed?
I found the following recommendations in this forum?
Anything else out there?
Hyde Park,
Oakley,
Mount Lookout
Clifton Gaslight to the OP. (the area around the UC campus)
East Walnut Hills
Mount Adams
Over the Rhine
Portions of Norwood
Pleasant Ridge
You missed a lot.
Yes, check out Mt. Adams, Clifton on Ludlow, Maybe even Clifton Hts on McMillan, check out the Gateways quarter of Over-the Rhine/Main Street.
Did you actually see Hyde Park Square?
Frankly I think Cincinnati is one of the best midwest cities for walkable/compact neighborhoods.
I think one of the issues might be, is that although there are those neighborhoods, enough people in Cincinnati prefer suburban living, so they would more likely show you the houses in Hyde Park or wherever.
Dont worry whoever made this thread, cincinnati has big plans downtown, hyde park and oakley. you might have to wait a couple of years or maybe just one but dont worry their on their way. They all have been approved and just need to be constructed!
Hi,
as I posted before, my employer wants me to move to Cincinnati.
I am currently living in Baltimore.
I am on a visit in Cincinnati with my wife and child. We are so disappointed!!!
Please, please you posters tell us we are wrong, tell us about those areas we have not seen that are great!
Why are we so disappointed?
yes, the housing situation and what you get for the money is great.
But...
Where are the URBAN areas where you park your car and walk around to inhale urban life. Restaurants, Cafes, Stores?
Baltimore in comparison has tons of problems yes, but downtown at the inner harbor you can walk around for an hour or two and be entertained. It is actually nice there, there are many tourists.
Our realtor drove us thru Oakley and Hyde Park. Hyde Park looked nice, but where is the area consisting of a couple of streets where you can walk around for an hour and get entertained by what you see. It has to have more then residential homes to be interesting.
That is the thing, it needs more than just one square with three restaurants.
We went to the "banks" area. OMG, there is nothing. It could be so nice. There is no promenade with cafes or a park. When this construction is finished will it be able to entertain me for an hour or two - walking along the water, having a cup of coffee, enjoying the scenery?
I heard Cincy has large companies headquartered in the city? Those well paid executives...where do they go to be entertained the urban way?
Where is the stuff we have not seen yet?
Yesterday I drove over to Covington. At first we thought oh not too bad. But the we drove three blocks south from our hotel (right at the river) and over to Newport. Utter despair grabbed us. All this looked like Baltimore downtown in the 80ies - from pictures I have seen.
HELP! What have me missed?
I found the following recommendations in this forum?
Anything else out there?
Hyde Park,
Oakley,
Mount Lookout
Clifton Gaslight to the OP. (the area around the UC campus)
East Walnut Hills
Mount Adams
Over the Rhine
Portions of Norwood
Pleasant Ridge
I know I just replied, but I can't stress it enough, you did NOT see all that Cincinnati has to offer in terms of urban living!!
Like I mentioned, Cincinnati, more than most other midwest cities of its same size, absolutely has more to offer in terms of compact urban living. Way more. Truth is, you did miss things. Cincinnati is the oldest midwest city and has more of the rowhouses, cornershops, and narrow streets than anywhere else in the midwest. While obviously not comparable in size, amenities, I might even say it can even give Chicago a run for its money in terms of charming, walkable urban neighborhoods.
You're kidding, right? I mean, Baltimore is the armpit of the nation. It has the poorest, most violent people in the US. the average income in Baltimore is half what it is in the rest of the state and the crime index is 400% of the US average which is not all that good.
I would think a move to Newark NJ would be a breath of fresh air.
Hopefully, you will not find anything here that even begins to remind one of Baltimore.
Baltimore has lost 10% of its population every year since Hector was a pup. You are lucky to get out. When you get to Fountain Square, kiss the ground, be glad you are here.
I have absolutely no idea how Cincinnati could win over a “disappointed” Baltimore person. However, the challenge reminds me of an old TV show, the Dating Game, in which three guys (the contestants) would compete for a date with a gal (the prize), or sometimes vice versa, sight unseen. The routine was for the prize to ask the contestants a series of provocative questions, typically in a coy fashion, after which the prize would pick one of the contestants as the lucky winner.
Cincinnati, like Baltimore, has a lot to offer and can be a fun place. But what’s fun is a matter of personal preferences. Of course, it’s always true that everything could be better, but chances are you may find things to like. I’ll not enumerate.
Our realtor drove us thru Oakley and Hyde Park. Hyde Park looked nice, but where is the area consisting of a couple of streets where you can walk around for an hour and get entertained by what you see. It has to have more then residential homes to be interesting.
That is the thing, it needs more than just one square with three restaurants.
As a fairly recent transplant from Indy, whose been to Baltimore, I think I know why you are dissapointed, Many of the locals, lived here all my life do not know what is going on in urban rebirth in other cities. Cincinnati is 10-20 Years behind other cities but it is rapidly changing.
Mt Adams, may be an option for you. If you are looking for rowhouse/loft types of units OTR is likely going to be your best bet along Main and parts of Walnut. You should visit Findlay Market to get feel for that. There are many downtown luxury loft units too.
If your goal is larger home with a yard ,you might want to look at Dayton street, old mansions, most need rehab but many are livable and occaisionally a restored one comes up on the market. If you want to be a little farther out fron city center Columbia Tusculum has some great architecture.
My suspicion is you may not have good realtor match, I'd suggest contacting one of the more downtown realtors, like Comey-Sheperd on Main St, as they know the areas well.
Cincinnati can be an entertaining place. You asked about the executive and where they live? Some live downtown in high end, condos and in Mt Adams but most are farther out in the burbs ( which I suspect would bore you to death).
I moved here for the architecture and was not dissapointed. I have made many friends and found that this city is more about spending time with friends, occaisional dinners out etc.
I Know where you are coming from, but I find something new to see everyday, but its not like Chicago or New York, but I think you will find it an interesting place to be.
You're kidding, right? I mean, Baltimore is the armpit of the nation. It has the poorest, most violent people in the US. the average income in Baltimore is half what it is in the rest of the state and the crime index is 400% of the US average which is not all that good.
I would think a move to Newark NJ would be a breath of fresh air.
Hopefully, you will not find anything here that even begins to remind one of Baltimore.
Baltimore has lost 10% of its population every year since Hector was a pup. You are lucky to get out. When you get to Fountain Square, kiss the ground, be glad you are here.
Not to start a flame war here, but it sounds like you've been watching too much of The Wire. I'm actually surprised by the misconceptions and inaccuracies in your post, especially coming from you. And I'm assuming you probably haven't been to either city within the last decade. Cincinnati's redevelopment is at least a decade behind that of Baltimore and Newark's.
Your comment about Baltimore being the "armpit of the nation" is sheer ignorant hyperbole and many, many people say the same thing about the state of Ohio.
I also wouldn't be so quick to talk about poor cities or population loss considering that Cincinnati lost over 10% of its city population compared to Baltimore's 4% this past census. Both metro areas are essentially treading water with not even 1% growth in the metro area, although Baltimore's metro growth is slightly higher (without even counting DC).
Cincinnati also consistently ranks as one of the nation’s top 10 poorest cities, while to the surprise of many, Baltimore is usually not on the list. It is also to unfair to compare the average income in Baltimore to the rest of the state, being that Maryland is one of the wealthiest states in the country.
I'm not too familiar with Newark, although when I was there in 2009, they had a lot more redevelopment going on than Cincy. Camden on the other hand....
Sounds like the OP's post struck a chord with you, propelling you into an out of character ignorance laden rant.
Btw OP, even if you do feel that way, you could've used a better choice of words. The tone of the post is very condescending.
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I have absolutely no idea how Cincinnati could win over a “disappointed” Baltimore person. However, the challenge reminds me of an old TV show, the Dating Game, in which three guys (the contestants) would compete for a date with a gal (the prize), or sometimes vice versa, sight unseen. The routine was for the prize to ask the contestants a series of provocative questions, typically in a coy fashion, after which the prize would pick one of the contestants as the lucky winner.
