So Here's The Deal (Cincinnati, Toledo: apartments, neighborhoods, movie theater)

[idiotek]

Hello guys,

I had an interview for a position in Boston a couple weeks back. I had an awesome feeling when I left the interview. Thought to myself I'm finally escaping Detroit, and moving to a lively city. Even as expensive as Boston is, I felt it was the change I needed. Not to mention all the wonderful universities, museums, and rich history in the area, and the whole Northeast vibe that I love.

You might wonder what the heck this has to do with your city. Well, the interviewer finally called me back and I did in fact get the position *yay*, but it's gonna be in their Cincinnati offices instead of Boston. *sigh*
Maybe I'm being a bit judgmental. I've only been to Toledo, which I thought sucked, and really don't know much about Cincinnati, but the things I've heard people say has not created a favourable image of the city for me.

Well with all that said, I still like the job, so I'm almost certainly moving to Cincinnati. In a year, I'll probably be persuing a grad degree at UC (instead of Boston Uni as I had hoped). So I'm going to Cincy for the long haul

Hence I will be relocating in the coming weeks. So where is the best place for a single young person looking for some sort of adventure, and a lively social scene. I prefer the urban life, but I'd rather not get mugged. I also don't get along very well with close minded people, and republicans. I like indie music, going to concerts, being around a young fun crowd, playing sports though I don't follow pro sports. I guess I'm looking for the closest thing to a college town. I had fun times in Ann Arbor. Is there anything close to that in the Cincy area.
I'm looking on Craigslist right now for apartments, and the prices seem low, but I don't know anything about the environment. Please point me in the right direction.
Maybe this move is all for the best!

Thanks

[idiotek]

I guess I should have used question marks in my above post.

My questions are:

So where is the best place for a single young person looking for some sort of adventure, and a lively social scene?

Is there anywhere in Cincy reminiscent of Ann Arbor?

Is there a lively young crowd in the city?

[QueenCty]

While certainly not the hippest city in the world Cincinnati has plenty to offer. If you are looking for more of an Ann Arbor feel you probably want the Ludlow Avenue area of Clifton. This is the gaslight area and only a couple of miles from UC. If you are single and want to live near other singles and bars I would suggest Clifton, Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park, Oakley, or Mt. Adams. There are plenty of bars and young people in those neighborhoods. The old entertainment district downtown is going through a transition (with some new places opening but being past its prime), and other new bars are opening along 7th St and 4th St downtown so something should emerge soon.

Mt. Adams and Hyde Park will be the priciest of the neighborhoods listed. There are a lot of YP and active social clubs as well - you will probably start with a social group at work (or maybe within your neighborhood), but it helps to get involved with a social club at least at the beginning. This site has a lot of information on the city: www.greater-cincinnati.com/, and this site has some good information specific to Mt. Adams: http://www.mtadamstoday.com/. Good luck!

[idiotek]

Thanks QueenCty. I heard Clifton was dangerous. I thinck I can adapt though as I like the urban life, and even lived in Detroit for a couple months until I was fed up. I probably need to come and see for myself. Are there better and worse parts of Clifton?

[QueenCty]

Clifton is not dangerous - I actually grew up there so I know the neighborhood. There are parts around UC that can be a little iffy (but you are technically getting into parts of Corryville and Mt. Auburn - and to your question some parts of these neighborhoods are worse than others), but not around what I would consider Clifton proper. UC is actually in Clifton Heights although many people simply refer to it as Clifton. Anything north of Good Sam and especially around the neighborhood strip on Ludlow Avenue should be fine. I am not sure if you would prefer a two-family set-up or an apartment building or purchase, but there are some cool apartments near the intersection of Ludlow and Middleton. Ludlow also has a couple of bars, a Skyline Chili, Graeter's Ice Cream, Tinks Cafe restaurant, some Thai and Indian restaurants, and an independent movie theater with 6 (although some are small) screens. The neighborhood as you head north of Ludlow and bounded between and around the parallel s***** of Clifton and Middleton becomes more established with more primary residences, but there are plenty of apartments to be found. This also puts you close enough to campus for some of the bars there, and there are also some good bars in Northside, which would be a couple of miles away. This link does not get into much detail, but it is functional for some background:

http://www.cliftoncommunity.org/index.htm