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Old 12-05-2012, 04:43 PM
 
28 posts, read 84,836 times
Reputation: 22

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Hello Everyone!

Thanks for taking a moment to read this thread.

I am a native of Wisconsin who has been living in Seattle Washington for the last 6 years. I moved out here for a variety of reasons, most prominently to go to school for Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine, but also because I enjoy the progressive culture that the Pacific Northwest cities offer. Now my fiance & business partner and I are thinking of moving to Cincinnati at the encouragement of her family, who is connected to the medical and business community there. Financially it is a great fit-- we are fortunate to have an open-minded MD in the family who is excited about promoting our East Asian medical practice-- while Seattle and Portland are notorious for having relatively "saturated" markets for our field. Also, real estate is obviously more affordable and frankly of higher quality in Cincinnati, which is nice. However, we are concerned about whether we will fit in and be able to enjoy the way of life, culturally speaking, that we do out here in the PNW.

To give you an idea of our cultural disposition, Portland is kind of our ideal city. It is bikeable, transit-oriented, has composting and other green programs, supports local business and art, and hosts one of the most socially progressive populations in the country, while still maintaining a not-too-big, almost small-town feel. Seattle is also great, and similar culturally, but is more expensive and much harder to get around due to topography. Seattle has more ethnic/racial and international diversity, which is a plus, but cost of living and navigability push us more toward Portland. Both cities also have a great culture of supporting local, organic foods.

We are both Buddhist/Daoist and feel great to have those communities out here in the PNW. We realize that moving to Cincinnati would be sacrificing that--none of the lineages we practice are represented there. However, part of Buddhist/Daoist living is finding a way to take the middle path, lead a moderate life and be able to actually spend time meditating and cultivating. The more reasonable cost of living and the financial prospects that Cincinnati offers certainly support having more freedom in that sense. Also, Cincinnati seems to need people teaching things like meditation and Qigong, which we can do! Most of our family and connections in Cincy are Catholic, which we love and respect, but we are concerned about finding acceptance and more importantly like-minded community.

We don't hunt, we're not into professional sports, I drink microbrew beer (love those German and Belgian beers too!) and only fair-trade coffee or tea, we eat mostly organic, we like to dance to house music, world-beat, salsa, samba, etc or listen to progressive folk music live, and we are not planning to have children. We make green choices, support local business and artisans and generally refuse to shop at big-box retail. My ideal existence would involve walking and biking as my primary modes of transportation.

I am 28 and my partner is 30. I personally don't identify as "intellectual" and see the word a little pejoratively as a person who tries to lead a Heart-first existence, but when I lived in Wisconsin it was a frequent charge against me by people who found my resistance to eating processed food products and shopping at Walmart unreasonable and "elitist." My partner is known for being more liberal and outspoken than I am on many social issues.

Will we fit in in Cincinnati? Certainly we are encouraged by seeing more urban renewal in the OTR region, which probably has the potential to support our more walkable, bikeable and urbane existence in the near future. And I personally LOVE Cincinnati's climate-- best in the nation perhaps only second to Oakland, CA, in my opinion. The architecture is also phenomenal and we are excited to see the OTR Foundation promoting sustainable and green redevelopment in the region while preserving historic architecture.

So can a progressive/green, early 30s, Buddhist/Daoist couple not planning to have children really find community in Cincinnati?

Last edited by Yac; 12-18-2012 at 01:03 AM..
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Old 12-05-2012, 05:22 PM
 
7,112 posts, read 10,102,210 times
Reputation: 1781
You are a perfect fit for Cincinnati. Kroger's and Procter and Gamble's corporate culture already embrace your lifestyle.
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Old 12-05-2012, 06:31 PM
 
Location: OH
364 posts, read 713,143 times
Reputation: 483
I think a move to Cincy would be setting yourself up for misery.
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Old 12-05-2012, 06:38 PM
 
Location: Cincinnati(Silverton)
1,607 posts, read 2,827,882 times
Reputation: 688
^How so?
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Old 12-05-2012, 06:56 PM
 
Location: Mason, OH
9,259 posts, read 16,732,242 times
Reputation: 1956
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wahl_Wrighter View Post
I think a move to Cincy would be setting yourself up for misery.
So should they come to Maryland? Or do you just permit misery for cities in other states where you do not live?
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:08 PM
 
Location: Birmingham, AL
88 posts, read 158,839 times
Reputation: 87
Was Mathman being sarcastic? This is a question I would like the answer to as well, since I fit that demographic and I recently stopped in Cincinnati for a short day trip while making a longer drive and was quite impressed by the phenomenal architecture as well...would like to know the real nitty-gritty about the place!
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Old 12-05-2012, 07:13 PM
 
2,886 posts, read 4,959,291 times
Reputation: 1508
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wahl_Wrighter View Post
I think a move to Cincy would be setting yourself up for misery.
I won't go that far, but I will say with no judgment of you intended or implied that I think your options for finding a community of like-minded people would be severely restricted in the Cincinnati area. There must be many, many better options for you than this EXTREMELY CONSERVATIVE area. It's an attitude of conservatism that pervades every area of life you can think of. It is in fact the way of life here. This is not to say that the area has nothing going for it. But based on your self description, I think the negatives would far outweigh the positives.
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Old 12-05-2012, 08:14 PM
 
Location: Philaburbia
41,788 posts, read 74,825,163 times
Reputation: 66720
Of course you can; you just won't find it on the surface. You'll actually have to work for it.
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Old 12-05-2012, 08:26 PM
 
865 posts, read 1,466,686 times
Reputation: 315
I think it will largely depend on the area you intend to relocate to. You would probably be happy in OTR or Northside, but I agree with the others that Cincinnati is mostly conservative and may not be to your liking. I have never met a single Buddhist in Cincinnati, so I'm not sure what kind of community you will be able to find in that area. Also, I've never been to the Pacific Northwest, but from what I've heard the liberals in Cincy are pretty conservative by Portland standards.

Ohiogirl said it best. Try to get in touch with someone in OTR who lives a similar lifestyle before you move. That way they can give you more relevant advice and information. Check out the UrbanOhio forum, or try to get in touch with someone at urbancincy.

Good luck, hope you find what you're looking for!
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Old 12-05-2012, 08:34 PM
 
Location: Chicago(Northside)
3,681 posts, read 7,192,567 times
Reputation: 1697
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wahl_Wrighter View Post
I think a move to Cincy would be setting yourself up for misery.
Another troll fellas...What would really put people in misery is living in maryland, high taxes, high crime, progressiveness is a no no their and i wont say the last one because it would be very ignorant of me to say! Cincinnati rocks!!!
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