What kind of City is Cincinnati (Columbus, Cleveland: amusement park, how much, townhomes)

[brri]

Hi. Interested in Cincinnati and what it has to offer. I presently live in Charlotte but am from the New England area. Charlotte is a very nice, clean and progressive city but if I were to live anywhere in the Midwest it would probably be Ohio. I actually considered moving to Columbus.
I drove through Cincinnati about nine years ago and was impressed by what I saw from the freeway. and enjoyed my time there. Is Cincinnati "a real city". What kind of "city life" does it offer? Do you considered Cincinnati a "big" city, "small" city or somewhere in between (explain).
What are things to do there for a visitor or a resident. How do you compare Cincinnati to Boston or Providence, RI. How are the housing prices?
I like Charlotte a lot but do not plan to stay here more than the next five years.

[drakeeng]

I don't live in Cincinnati, but I watch many areas in the usa in the last few years.
I have been watching alot of my friends and others leaving the northern states since 1984, moving to NC mostly.

Ohio I feel has been on a slow downward slump since the last 20 yrs, and its not the fastest deflatting state, Cincinnati looks like it starting to go down in the last 2 yrs, it could speed up, but I hope not.

The south would save about $300 average a month on winter heating if you lived there, I think since fuel prices are getting out there more, I think it will be a faster exitious to the south sooner than later.

To the Post: If I could choose between where, Charlotte, NC is in my opion to live.

I like the people in ohio, I think there one of the nicest people iv'e ran accross in my life, I don't know about the additute of people in some of the south, but nothing forward is nothing gained.

I've lived from coast to coast, there are many interesting places down Your road.

I think I would like Danial Boone state better than ohio, if i had to choose between them. I'm just going by my forcast of the tomorrows market.

It's not how much money you make, it's how much You Keep !

[Ohiogirl81]

Of course Cincinnati is a real city.

It's considered medium-sized, and there's plenty to do for a city its size. The arts are first-rate. Every weekend from May through October there's some sort of street fair or festival.

Progressive, perhaps in some areas and definitely not in others, but that definition in the eye of the beholder.

Cincinnati's economy is more diverse than in the rest of Ohio, and has been less affected by economic struggles than the rest of the state.

The people are down-to-earth and genuine. Although they can be somewhat suspicious of newcomers, that fades quickly.

[hillside]

cincinnati is more of a real city than charlotte. it is dense, urban and very old with townhomes and rowhouses. it is in love with sports and skyline chili. local food and shops are big here, as it's a storefront city. i would choose cincy because it feels like a real city and behaves like one. cincinnati is hilly, somewhat southern in culture (and summer weather. yikes!) but it's still ohio and gritty. even with it's downsides it's still a very unique place to call home.

[1watertiger]

i second what hillside just said ! cincy ANY day over charlotte... and i would also like to add this comment. i feel sooner, than later, the population shifts will come back to the great lakes/midwest states where the fresh water is.

[captaincatfish]

Originally Posted by hillside

cincinnati is more of a real city than charlotte. it is dense, urban and very old with townhomes and rowhouses. it is in love with sports and skyline chili. local food and shops are big here, as it's a storefront city. i would choose cincy because it feels like a real city and behaves like one. cincinnati is hilly, somewhat southern in culture (and summer weather. yikes!) but it's still ohio and gritty. even with it's downsides it's still a very unique place to call home.

LOL...the two of you always seem to beat me to the punch answering these kinds of questions, but I'll throw my hat in the ring here too...

Hillside was right on the money, as was Ohiogirl, about the type of city Cincinnati is...funny, but I had been hot about trying to get my DW (devoted Wife LOL) to see the merits of Charlotte, but Hillside made me stop and think---Cincy is first and foremost a city of neighborhoods...it's both sleek and gritty in the same breath, with wonderful pockets of old Midwestern architecture cheek by jowl with modern, futuristic buildings...it's a place where, within blocks of each other, you can get chili dogs (Skyline) and down-home fish dinners (Alabama Fish Bar), and upscale seafood dining (McCormick and Schmick's downtown)...we have 2 pro teams with somewhat rabid followings (Reds and Bengals) as well as 2 outstanding crosstown collegiate rivals (Xavier and U of Cincy)...there's an amusement park just north of here (Kings Island, not unlike Carowinds) as well as many venues where you can get live music as well as a shot and a beer, if you're so inclined...Cincy is an old city, and sometimes its 'creakinesss' tends to show in its politics and its opinions on current issues...but it is a doable, walkable, living breathing coss-section of Midwest America, that you would beremiss if you didn't at least visit to experience its sights, sounds and smells for your self

[Ohiogirl81]

Stop it with the food references already. I can't take any vacation time until mid-May.

Cincinnati is indeed a city of neighborhoods, and there are even neighborhoods within neighborhoods. Parachute yourself down anywhere in the city, and walk five minutes in any direction. The place you wind up in will be completely different in appearance and vibe from your starting point. Therefore, it's impossible to paint even one individual neighborhood with the same brush; for instance, there are parts of Westwood that I wouldn't consider living in, but other parts of it are quite lovely.

[wavemakersdj]

From my lifelong time of living in cincy, I have got to say there must be something about it that keeps people here because very few ever go. If you live here you know exactly what I mean. You can enjoy a big city environment dowtown, a suburb landscape 10 minutes north, and a rural-ish landscape 10-15 minutes south. I don't know of many other places in the country that are like that.

I admit there have been many times I would like to leave this area and see what else is out there, but short of living on the beach, there aren't any places I know of that would have anything different than what cincy has. If you want something specific in your environment, you can find it in the queen city (minus that darn ocean).

The price on most things are fair, and it seems like eveywhere you go away from here has higher prices on most things, except the airport here. Almost always better prices driving 40 minutes to an hour to indy, dayton, or louisville.

Food is whatever the heck you want on just about any corner of any town. Traffic is really only bad 2 hours out of the day on the weekdays, and even then only in certain sections of the highways.
Most people here are from a family line that have been here for quite a while, with very few fake people. I understand the notion of breast implants and other cosmetic surgeries are common place in a lot of cities. It's still pretty taboo around here, knowing that someone has had that done always seems to spawn lots of questions instead of it being normal.
If you are into a live music scene, cincy is second to none. There must be something in the water here that spawns musical talent because the local night spots are full of talent in all different genres. People here take the most pride in their hard work, sports, and music.

I would have to agree when it's said cincy is a big jumble of the midwest in one place. You get a large mix of people, opinions, styles, everything. You are just as likely to see a souped up honda as you are an escalade, or an lifted truck, or a porsche. Most of the time regular cars though, pretty normal place.

[brri]

Thanks for all the terrific answers! I asked if Cincinnati was a "real city" because many people overlook the draw of "big city" amenities that mid-sized cities have often without the big-city hassles. I prefer mid-sized cities over very large ones for that reason. Having grown up in Providence, RI a small city but very dense and urban, it being about 45 minutes by car from Boston enabling me to spend much time between the two places. Boston is a great city, some think the standard by which "real cities" should be measured, but I could not live there. Just too congested and way too expensive for me.
Charlotte is not very urban, but it has most "big city" amenities and is a very pretty place. The cost of living is relatively low and I think it has a great quality of life. Charlotte has been good for me and my family for the past almost 3 years. It just don't fell like it's home here though and I don't want to go back to New England for various reasons. I visited Columbus several years ago and was plesantly surprised by it. As I stated, I drove through Cincinnati and thought it was a very nice place from the highway (although it was night time).
I think I could live in one of Ohio's cities but probably not Cleveland ( no offense, just a little too big). What is there to do in Cincinatti besides pro-sports? How is the library system and the arts? Where are the nicest suburbs or inner city neighborhood that are visually appealling?
Thanks!

[hillside]

captaincatfish and ohiogirl81 have this one wrapped up. cap'n, your summation about "creakiness" was perfect . brri, personally i classify cinti and cleveland as two different kinds of big. if you want a large, somewhat dense but almost contiguous urban area, it's cleveland. if you're looking for a notably urban city core and less urban, more sprawled suburbs, it's cincinnati.