Just moved here from Washington DC...Help! (Cincinnati, Mason: 2009, condos)

[Shopaholic08]

My husband and I are in our twenties with no kids and just moved to Cincinnati (actually mason) after 10 years of living in Washington, DC. I'm WELL aware of the fact that Cincy is NOT DC, but what do people do here at night and on the weekends? We've done Newport on the Levee and walked the streets of Mount Adams, but where are the young people? Where are the cafes, the coffee shops, the clubs, the eclectic restaurants, THE SHOPPING (and I don't mean chain stores)? Is there one centralized location or do we have to drive 30 for each thing? We almost bought a place downtown, but found out there IS no downtown. I mean, there IS one, but it "closes" when the streetlights come on. I'm not trying to down Cincy, but it has sooo much potential. There is so much space to do some many great things. What is going on? And where can we go out? We're pulling our hair out over here LOL. I'm really trying to like it here, but so far, no dice. Any advice?

[Briolat21]

Well, first of all Cinci (cinci proper) only has a population of just over 300,000 people. So, its not a BIG city. That said, there are cafes/theatres/etc.. but they might not be where you are? Hyde Park has a square with boutiques, coffee houses, wine bars, etc.. Oakly has a neighborhood square with a theatre (music venue, I believe), bars, cafes, shops, etc.. Northside has a quirky neighborhood downtown with some restaurants, bars, shops (Shoetopia - got to love shoetopia!), etc..

These are all neighborhoods within CINCINNATI proper. I do not know what the CBD (central business district) is like at night... so I don't know how much there is to do there. But all of the cinci neighborhoods have some things to do.

Yes, you may need a car/bus to get from one neighborhood to the other. The hills and culverts make the city a challenge getting around. Its not flat and mapped to a grid like DC.

Oh, downtown there's also the symphony and some off-broadway theatres. I don't know if those are in the CBD or not.

Pick up the alternative presses and look for what's happening on the weekend (or weeknight for that matter) and start mapping out your places to visit!

Oh, and in the spring summer it picks up more with a lot more outside (in some of the big parks) festivals and parties...

Welcome to Cinci, its small, but a really neat city.

[Traveler87]

What about Fountain Square, I know some really nice restaurants have opened up down there with the new renovations. The Banks is being built on the central riverfront, and many new shopping districts, restaurants and condos will be built. Its a huge project that will take many years, but will be built in phases. Some of it will be done in 2009.

[Cincy-Rise]

Shopaholic08, you simply cannot compare the two cities. For one, the city's pop. is over 570,000 people and it's MSA is double that of Cincy's (2.1 million). Cincinnati is not a small city by any means (categorized as mid-sized). A closer comparison would be St. Louis, Indianapolis, etc ... Also, you're not exactly placing yourself in the middle of the cultural center of the region (Mason), but that's ok ... You're not that far.


I would give Mt. Adams another shot ... the place is usually packed with YP's. Just park and walk. Check out the Pavilion, Blind Lemon, Alive One, and Teak.

Another great area is Mt. Lookout ... Check out The Stand, MLT's, and Millions.

Hyde Park, Awakenings is an awesome cafe. Beluga, Cumin, Vineyard Cafe, Arthur's Cafe, and Tellers.

Downtown is where we spend most of our time ... Check out Bang Night Club, Twist, Nada, Lodge Bar, Sully's, Via Vite, Rock Bottom Brewery, Palominos, Oceanaire (opening soon), Coffee Emporium, Cue (on Main).

In Clifton (mainly Ludlow) ... Arlin's, Olive's.

Northside ... Northside Tavern.

Definately check out the Cincinnati Art Museum, tied with the Chicago Art Museum in the Zagat Survey, Contemporary Art Center, Cincinnati Symphony, & Observation Deck of the Carew Tower.

Also, it's no Lake Tahoe, but the prices sure as hell aren't either ... If you like skiing there's a great place only 25 minutes away from you!
Perfect North Slopes - Ski and Snowboard

Here are a few sites you might want to check out:

"Bang Night Club loading"
Beluga Restuarant
:: PAVILION ::
:: aliveOne ::
The Blind Lemon | Live Music Nightly
Cumin Indian Fusion Cuisine - Restaurant - Cincinnati, Ohio
Awakenings Coffee and Tea Company - Cincinnati Ohio
Welcome to Teller's of Hyde Park
Sully's Saloon Cincinnati
Lodge Bar Cincy -- The PEOPLE -- The PARTY -- The ENTERTAINMENT!
Arlin's Bar & Restaurant - Cincinnati, OH, 45220-2002 - Citysearch
Via Vite Italian Restaurant
Northside Tavern | Cincinnati, OH
NADA
Zipscene | Pigall’s Twist Lounge & Bar

Contemporary Arts Center Cincinnati :: Contemporary Arts Center
Cincinnati Art Museum | Home
http://www.cincinnatisymphony.org/
http://www.pki.com/


Each place has it's "best" night or time ... so if you have any questions, feel free to let me know!

I hope this helps!

[Shopaholic08]

Thanks for all your help, guys! My husband and I are going to give it another shot!!

[jlrosen]

Go downtown, and to OTR, Northside and Gaslight Clifton

[jlrosen]

your problem is that if you want "cafes, the coffee shops, the clubs, the eclectic restaurants, THE SHOPPING (and I don't mean chain stores)" Mason was the wrong place to move to. If you want a lot of yard work, peace and quiet, and driving, mason is the place to be

[Shopaholic08]

Originally Posted by jlrosen

your problem is that if you want "cafes, the coffee shops, the clubs, the eclectic restaurants, THE SHOPPING (and I don't mean chain stores)" Mason was the wrong place to move to. If you want a lot of yard work, peace and quiet, and driving, mason is the place to be

I know that Mason is far away from the "downtown" area, but it was actually downtown that I was describing. We'd have lots of driving to do even if we lived down there. I guess we're just used to there being several CBDs that are in close proximity to one another. I don't mind Mason for a living arrangement, I just wanted to be able to go "downtown", park, and walk around for a few hours and discover the Cincy city experience. But like others posted before, and like I said earlier, Cincy and DC are two different animals, to be sure. We just have to get used to driving around more to get to the trendy pockets. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic08

I know that Mason is far away from the "downtown" area, but it was actually downtown that I was describing. We'd have lots of driving to do even if we lived down there. I guess we're just used to there being several CBDs that are in close proximity to one another. I don't mind Mason for a living arrangement, I just wanted to be able to go "downtown", park, and walk around for a few hours and discover the Cincy city experience. But like others posted before, and like I said earlier, Cincy and DC are two different animals, to be sure. We just have to get used to driving around more to get to the trendy pockets. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

Good Luck!

[jlrosen]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic08

I know that Mason is far away from the "downtown" area, but it was actually downtown that I was describing. We'd have lots of driving to do even if we lived down there. I guess we're just used to there being several CBDs that are in close proximity to one another. I don't mind Mason for a living arrangement, I just wanted to be able to go "downtown", park, and walk around for a few hours and discover the Cincy city experience. But like others posted before, and like I said earlier, Cincy and DC are two different animals, to be sure. We just have to get used to driving around more to get to the trendy pockets. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!

if you lived in the urban core, you wouldn't have any of these problems, I don't know anyone who lives downtown and has a lack of things to do, but if you live out in the suburbs, you never find out about the really nice stuff to do downtown. I don't know why this is, but It seems like everyone I know who moves out to the burbs complains about it being boring and the people I know who live in the city just love it.