Chicagoan who visited Cincy (Cincinnati, Dayton: appointed, 2015, rent)

[UrbanCheetah]

All I have to say is wow! I am impressed!

I went to Cincinnati this weekend, and while I have been before I really never saw the city. I hung out in downtown, Mt. Adams, Over the Rhine, Northside, Clifton, the UC area, Eden Park, and Covington and Newport in KY, the riverfront area and drove through a ton of other areas. Here are some of my thoughts:

Pros:
-Beautiful landscape. So lush, green and hilly. Love the hilly streets and almost everywhere you look there is some type of lush hill in your view.
-Architecture. Coming from Chicago I must say I am very, very impressed. While I think Chicago is very special for architecture, I think Cincy in regards to pound to pound beats it as from what I saw almost all of the city has that beautiful charming architecture. In Chicago the core has it, but towards the edge the architecture is bland. Was really surprised by that.
-Charm. Easily one of the most charming cities out there. The mix of the hills, architecture and culture make it one of the most charming cities IMO.
-Food. While I didn't eat that much I was very pleased with the food there. I had Indian, Thai, Mexican, and it was all very good stuff. When I have gone to places like Indianapolis, I was disappointed by the food, but in Cincy, while it might not compete with the big boys, what it does have is very good. I also went to the Taste of Cincinnati which was very good as well.
-Resurgence. You can feel it that this city is on the upswing and it adds a very positive dynamic to the city.
-People. The people in city were very friendly and very nice.
-Nature. Birds everywhere, lizards, but I didn't see pigeons (a good thing for me)! Seems like the lushness also really brings in a lot of nature.

Cons:
-Poverty. As charming as the city is, it reminded of New Orleans, where you see more poverty than you see middle class and upper class neighborhoods. It seems like this is changing though.
-Diversity. Too black and white, although I noticed a sizable Indian population. Outside of that other minorities were rarely seen.
-Broken up urbanism. While the hills are what gives it its flavor, it seems like that city is fragmented in how it is built up. It seems that by foot there are certain areas that would just be a pain to get to.
-Not walkable. Yes there are areas that are walkable, but they also seem isolated which could be made up for if there was good public transportation, but it seems like Cincy doesn't have that either. Some lightrail and a solid bus system could really make this a dynamic place where it's easy to live without a car.

A side note, we spent one day at King's Island. It was fun, but at the same time it seemed so trashy. Not the park but the people. However, I got the impression that these were people not from Cincy per say but surrounding areas. It just seemed so redneck and hillbilly-ish. Did not enjoy the guy with the Nazi tatoo either while I was in line who was in front me. I feel that this isn't a reflection of Cincy of course, just an observation of the type of people I saw at King's Island that in habit the surrounding areas of Cincy.

I will say this though, Cincy is now my second favorite Midwest city after Chicago. It's so unique, has so much soul and so much going for it. I think it even cracks my top ten favorite cities in the US now. You guys are lucky to live in such a cool city!

[motorman]

Thanks for such a detailed, generous assessment of Cincinnati--much appreciated! ()

[mimi in cinci]

Glad you had a great time. I really appreciate your assesment.

[Coseau]

Cincinnati would have had some light rail linking the Clifton area to the downtown area and heavy rail linking up to Dayton if it would not had been for Governor Kasich withdrawing state funding for the projects. Governor Kasich even refused federal money to build passenger rail infrastructure for Ohio so the money went to California instead yet this genius and whoever is charge of this city found 50 million dollars for a highway bridge and ramp from I-74 to Central Parkway that will save commuters 5 minutes of commute time . I bet Kasich's vision for Cincinnati and other Ohio cities is to bulldoze entire neighborhoods and pave them over with 10 lane highways.

[t45209]

I agree on the trashy comment regarding Kings Island. I grew up going to KI, and even worked there for a few seasons, and while the park has had many changes over the years, once Paramount bought it, in my opinion, it has been on a downward spiral. The park has lost its family appeal, and dumbed down the experience to thrill rides and getting wet. Gone are shows, the well manicured landscaping, and the local flavor that once was a hallmark of KI. When I was a kid, there was truly something for all members of the family at KI...the kids could ride thrill rides, there were more leisurely rides for the less thrill minded, the older folks could see any number of shows, they had a fine dining restaurant, and the shops on International Street sold real merchandise...not just a bunch of cheap novelties.

One thing that is particularly annoying to me is the number of rides that have the sole focus of getting you wet. I thought they had a water park for that? I may sound like an old fogey, but part of the fun back in the day was whether or not you MIGHT get wet on the old log flume. People used to line up just to watch to see if one of the boats got wet. Now you're lucky to come home without mildew in your underwear. It's no wonder that standard attire at KI is a wife-beater, ill-fitting trunks and flip flops.

The handful of times that I have been there in recent years, I've noticed the same thing as you...a low rent crowd. It's like someone shook a trailer park upside down and they all landed there. I hate to sound like a snob, but the crowd at KI is really off-putting. I can't get my wife to go anymore, and I'm starting to understand why.

[goyguy]

With this post the OP vaults into a solid second place for the coveted (and just invented) Best Cincinnati Forum Follow-Up-per Award for 2015!

Even if you only took one "jog" - which is one more than I would - it sounds like you covered a lot of ground in a short time. And the astute observations showed notes were being taken.

Mass transit, more accurately the glaring and sore lack thereof, is a big raw spot best not rubbed. You know for next time. "Our" moribund subway - construction stopped permanently during and due to the Great Depression - probably outperforms the CTA on some days, though.

Chicago definitely has Cincinnati beat in terms of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture, but there are a few houses in scattered suburbs which are "his" as well as seemingly gazillions of "mid-century modern" and Wright-protege dwellings. I like Chicago skyscrapers better, though; besides the Art Deco masterpiece Carew Tower da 'nati's "real REAL tall" buildings are pretty generic.

Unlike with many a Windy City expressway, you can easily live someplace which allows for a reverse commute wherein you zip by lines of as-good-as-stopped vehicles headed in the other direction.

Indian food there is fairly run-of-the-mill unless you were lucky enough to happen upon my favorite, Amma's Kitchen, with its lunch buffet that always has me going back for fifths (and not of whiskey.) All meatless, all the time, and all "homemade"...in a kosher-certified place that has at most a few dozen Jewish people living within a mile. Incongruity often makes for awesome, for some odd reason.

No need to keep on rambling as part of a follow-up thread...thanks for the check-in; glad you enjoyed your visit; c'mon back!

[SWOH]

Glad to hear it as well, thanks for the write-up!

[WILWRadio]

I can see I am not the only one that is less than enthused about the quality of the dining establishments in the Indianapolis area. :-) Cincy eateries are a far better dining experience.

[Coseau]

OP your post is the perfect example is why people want the city of Cincinnati to preserve its old stock of housing and buildings. Without it the city loses its appeal. You had a car and time to really explore the city but just think if the city had a street car system that allowed out of town visitors without a car and 3 or 4 days to really see the city like you did in one day. You would hope our civic leaders would figure this out and how much revenue $$$ this would bring to the city in tourism but instead our civic leaders are more focused on building highway ramps and interchanges and demolishing old architecture in favor of new stuff like any other generic American city being ignorant of the value they are sitting on top of.

[ProkNo5]

Coseau, I completely agree with everything you're saying...but this seems like the wrong thread for local politics. They're just sharing how much they enjoyed the city.