Progressive Culture in Cincinnati? Cincinnati v. Portland? (Cleveland, Dayton: transplants, homes)

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by neilworms2

Yellow Springs though would fit the OP better than absolutely anything else mentioned except for it being pastoral.

I gotta disagree with you on this one. There is no way that anything in Yellowsprings competes with Northside, OTR, Clifton, etc. And I have been to Yellowsprings many, many times.

[Joeytraveler]

And while yellow springs may be a fit in spirit it wouldn't the place to start a new business. Your confining yourself severely physically by doing so.

[Dayton Sux]

Funny how quite a few of us Daytonians basically disown our hometown

Hah....Chicago is my hometown...

@@@@

But yes Yellow Springs. The OP would enjoy a day trip there (methinks they are already aware of the place). Northside is not quite as "bourgois bohemian" or "boutique" as Yellow Springs is becoming (Clifton would be a better analogy perhaps).

Northside.

.... is more funky, real, edgy, more "city"...still has old fashioned things like that corner drug store, barbers, little hole-in-the-wall places like that chili parlor and Blue Bird restaurant, an old hardware store...and second hand stores, Taco Bell, White Castle, that foreign (African?) market, etc...as well as the alt/indie stuff...like the gardens, the bike co-op, the gay center, stuff like Prarie Gallery, Sidewinder (my favorite Cincy pit-stop, btw)...

So a neat mix in Northside....all sorts of folks...closest vibe was the River West area in Milwaukee.

YS used to be more that way, but its losing it to commodification & the affluent "weekend hippie" phenomonenon.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by neilworms2

Yellow Springs though would fit the OP better than absolutely anything else mentioned except for it being pastoral.

Wrong on several accounts... First, in his #1 post, the OP stated his interest in Cincinnati for specific reasons that included closeness to family and the advantage that their combined ties to the huge medical complex of Uptown/UC would provide, especially if this PNW couple pursued their wishes to become employed in holistic healing; second, in his #74 post, where the OP explicitly reiterated the very same things--i.e., in reaffirming that he wasn't interested in anywhere else in Ohio.

As we all know, over a time period that stretches back farther than many people reading this were born, Yellow Springs, Ohio gained a reputation for being some kind of hip and in tune place, some sort of esoteric educational encampment for those who were truly with it and who truly understood. And in that "yesteryear," the years of My Lai, Kent State, Tricky Dickie, and Agent Orange, Yellow Springs (and its Antioch College) really did serve as an alternative reality to all the lies and horror of "In Country." But not today. Antioch (that Antioch) disappeared years ago and, today, Yellow Springs is little more than a relic of that past. And this Nowhere Land somewhere east of Dayton, is certainly not a "Buddhist/Taoist Nirvana" light-years ahead of what's happening down in the Queen City. Yes, there's "The Yellow Springs Dharma Center," but then why practice the Dharma somewhere in Nowhere, Ohio when it can be practiced in Northside, 100 ft off of Hamilton Ave. on Modine Ct.? That is, within the "Buddhist Dharma Center of Cincinnati."

Buddhist Dharma Center of Cincinnati - Home

[neilworms2]

I've been to the PNW (Portland, Seattle and Vancouver), and Berkeley. The only place I've been to in SW Ohio that really comes close is Yellow Springs in terms of people and vibe, though I'll admit I haven't been there in like 6 years (though I did go to summer camp at Glen Helen a few years growing up many of the counselors were Antioch students). Not only that but the nature near Yellow Springs is top notch by Midwest standards too, Glen Helen, John Byrant etc are very nice parks in the upper reaches of the little Miami river. The stronger than average connection to nature also makes it seem more like those west coast bastions of progressiveness.

Clifton and Northside come closest in Cincinnati, I'll agree (and I should have read the OPs post much closer), but there still is a lot of Cincinnati parochialism even in those parts as progressive as they are. They are the places people who don't fit in go to when they grow up in the Cincy area, but there still is a tribalism towards those areas, esp Northside with many not even really leaving the area. I feel Clifton has much more of a neo-hippie vibe than Northside which is completely hipster/artist. Plus there isn't as much of a connection to nature (big urban parks yes, but not like in Yellow Springs).

OTR has much more in common IMO with an urban neighborhood in a larger city, a mix of hipsters and young professionals (yupsters - yuppies with hipster tastes) when it gets a bit more developed I probably could compare it to Wicker Park or Williamsburgh. Its just got a bit of a ways to go. I've heard anectdotally that a lot of people moving into OTR were former Bostonians who worked at Gillette looking for something similar to back home after the company merged with P&G which coincidentally was the same time as OTR started turning around.

[TomJones123]

Yellowsprings is too small to compare to any of the cities mentioned, even Dayton. It's barely more than a crossroads out in the country. It's just a bad comparison, and another place the OP never asked about.

And I keep hearing about how provincial everything is supposed to be around here in Cincinnati. Yet, I haven't really experienced it for myself. Perhaps it's overblown? Or perhaps it's here, and people like me live and move in parts of the city where it's not an issue. And those sections of the city are by no means small or insignificant.

[Peter1948]

Hey guys, lighten up. The Natti is one of my favorite US cities. I lived there for 2 years. My only point is Cincy is not a big city compared to Louisville. No one in Louisville sits around and says, let me go to the big city, let's go to Cincinnati. If any city in the region is even marginally like Portland, however, it is Louisville. That said, if the OP has family in OH, either city would make a great choice.

To me, the most impressive hood in the city is actually Mt Adams, although it is a bit yuppified for me.

I am due for a trip to Cincy. It has been almost 2 years since I have been over there (not counting airport and driving through), and I am interested to see how downtown/OTR is progressing, especially with the Banks moving along.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

...My only point is Cincy is not a big city compared to Louisville... ... If any city in the region is even marginally like Portland, however, it is Louisville. That said, if the OP has family in OH, either city would make a great choice...

^ There's no problem with you admiring Louisville, but you make a mistake by continually injecting it into discussions that specifically refer to other cities--as you did earlier this morning, over on the City vs. City forum, when you injected Louisville into the "Kansas City vs. Omaha vs. Pittsburgh vs. Columbus vs. Des Moines" thread. And you make another mistake by misrepresenting the sizes of Louisville vs. Cincinnati. Yes, Louisville's "city-proper" population is 602,000, while Cincinnati's is 296,000, but their MSA's are very different. While Louisville's MSA is app. 1,300,000, Cincinnati's MSA is close to 2,200,000 (and if the emerging "Cin-Day" becomes official, that MSA figure will likely become app. 3,200,000). Lastly, if it's your perception that Louisville is most like Portland, that's fine. But, IMO, this thread is simply the wrong place to debate its attributes. Over on the City-vs- City forum, why not initiate a thread with Louisville the focal point in a comparison with other cities?

[cali3448893]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Hey guys, lighten up. The Natti is one of my favorite US cities. I lived there for 2 years. My only point is Cincy is not a big city compared to Louisville. No one in Louisville sits around and says, let me go to the big city, let's go to Cincinnati. If any city in the region is even marginally like Portland, however, it is Louisville. That said, if the OP has family in OH, either city would make a great choice.

To me, the most impressive hood in the city is actually Mt Adams, although it is a bit yuppified for me.

I am due for a trip to Cincy. It has been almost 2 years since I have been over there (not counting airport and driving through), and I am interested to see how downtown/OTR is progressing, especially with the Banks moving along.

People in cincinnati always call Louisville the south...how about that. Anyway i think we already answered the OP question just with a couple of trolls in the way wanting this couple to move to wherever they said. First nobody says that "gee i think i will go to the big city" second i wont even start on cincy is not a big city compared to louisville.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by Peter1948

Hey guys, lighten up. The Natti is one of my favorite US cities. I lived there for 2 years. My only point is Cincy is not a big city compared to Louisville. No one in Louisville sits around and says, let me go to the big city, let's go to Cincinnati. If any city in the region is even marginally like Portland, however, it is Louisville.

Louisville is in no way bigger than Cincinnati.

Louisville – Before and After Merger

(2000 Census, US Census Bureau)
Before After
Area (sq. miles) Before: 60 After: 386
Population Before: 256,231 After: 693,784


So, to be fair, Hamilton County is more populous than Louisville, since it ate the county.


Hamilton County = 802,374


It has already been mentioned that the Cincinnati Metro is way larger than Louisville. Which is the only comparison to really make considering that Louisville has consolidated city/county governments, and the Cincinnati area is a vast stretch of contiguous cities, towns, villages, townships, etc.


Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN 2,149,819 Rank 27


Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN 1,310,641 Rank 42


Source:


Provo in the fastest-growing metro in population rankings - The Business Journals