Why does Cincinnati and all of Ohio have such a bad rep? (Columbus: apartment complex, motel)

[progmac]

Originally Posted by esya

Funny that you have to describe the geography of Ohio, but you do. I think we learn way too little geography and local history along the way somehow....for lots of places other than where we live.

We are a big country and learning all the sub-geographies is just so hard (wahhh). The temptation is to give each state a label and just stick with that. It means we don't have to spend too many brain cells actually analyzing and we can focus instead on opinionizing and stereotyping. We are of course guilty of that here in Cincinnati, too; the region certainly has stereotyped opinions of the northeast or the west or wherever that are just as untrue of how those places see us. (those in Buckland are a little "off" reckon those in Hobbiton, and vice versa)

There is a thread somewhere on City data about the stereotypes of states, cities, etc.

[Arctic_6]

And here's another instance of the good ol' "My reality is bigger than yours" complex. I love Ohio; I love Cincinnati. I've lived in North Carolina and Virginia and I like Ohio better than both. I actually think big skies and flat land are beautiful (not that those geographic terms describe all of Ohio), as are mountains, coastline, lakes, rivers, etc.

People get sold on generalizations because people operate on heuristics (grouping items into a category to make them easy to identify). Thus not many people think of the mining and deeply rural parts of Virginia when they visit Northern VA or the coast, or consider that there are many parts of NC where you will be pulled over for DWB (driving while black). These things, however, don't define those states either.

Basically, it's easy to inject negativity. That's why when you go online to review sites for apartments/hotels most reviews are negative. People don't generally go out of their way to praise something the same way they do to condemn it.

Unfortunately many people become caught up in thinking their decisions/opinions apply to everyone. This occurs especially on the internet, where communication often takes a more stand-offish or aggressive form. No amount of lambasting Cinci or Ohio will change the minds of those of us who like it. I do see the immense problems with Cincinnati (it's hard not to do so as a sociology grad student) but I see similar problems in many Midwestern cities.

A little perspective goes a long way. Blatantly defending stereotypes and generalizations basically amounts to patting yourself on the back for believing what you believe. It's the problem with politics (Democrats vs. Republicans), race relations, the language of the "gay agenda" (whatever that is), and so forth.

It makes living for yourself easier but living with others harder, and at the end of the day I'd rather be part of a community than be off to myself. If that's not what drives you specifically, good luck to you in your exploits. But please stop stereotyping everything that doesn't follow your worldview.

[kjbrill]

Yea guys hammer them. Ohio has as much to offer as any of the 50 states, and when it comes to the values of its people more than most.

[kjbrill]

I am fairly confident in saying that during my 45 year plus working career I probably had the privilege of visiting just about every town in the US of 50,000 population or more and a number a whole lot less.

One of my favorite towns was Yankton SD, population July 2011, 14,500. Why did I like Yankton? Simple, we had a customer there, independently owned, who had moved their business from Chicago due to some SD tax incentives for new employees. They were very high tech and very successful. Their employees would die to work for them as there wasn't a similar job in the entire region of SD. What impressed me was how well they both treated their employees and paid them. Together they exploded economically. The employees who came to Yankton achieved well over their income. The cost of living, especially the cost of property, was so low, they all were living the good life. When I would go to visit, it was frankly great as the local steakhouse restaurant was to die for.

As much as I liked Yankton, I would never trade it for Cincinnati. Why? Simple, Cincinnati is Home. All of the cities I had the privilege to visit had their good points. But there was not a single one when it came time to come back home I felt like telling the wife I want to move, this is much better than Cincinnati.

I am probably very naive. But when I returned to Cincinnati, my feeling was coming Home. Cincinnati has such a variety of citizens, people with different backgrounds, a mixture of cultures, a mixture of everything. To me if they want to call the US the melting pot, Cincinnati is the melting cauldron of the entire country. I can think of no greater melting pot than we have right here.

[ProkNo5]

^^^amen!

[WILWRadio]

I never knew that Cincy had a bad reputation. Never heard about it.

To the guy from Boston. I don't know if you have lived in any other areas other than Boston or Cincy. I have lived in ten different states and in many cases, more than one community in some states. Each area is different. The story you tell is similar to the story of life in the Kansas City area where I presently reside. But I have lived in many other places where I had few if any real issues with the people. Examples:

I lived in nearby Middletown, OH for a couple of months in 2000 and did not have any issues with the neighbors or the local people. Nobody bothered me. Same thing when I lived in Cannon Falls, MN for about six months. I also lived in the Twin Cities a couple of times for a period of roughly two years sum total, and again, while not perfect, I did not have a lot of trouble with the people. Indianapolis for about six months. Almost no trouble. I did not get harassed or bullied like I have in the Kansas City area.

Kansas City and environs? Nothing but trouble. I spent the first 27 years of my life in the Hartford area where I am from originally and during my now nearly 10 years of time in the KC area (spread out over 3 different periods of time) I have easily had two or three times as many problems here during a period of time that is 1/3rd that of the entire time I spent living in Connecticut.

In a nutshell. Every area is different and for some reason whatever personality or character traits you possess may not mesh very well in Cincy. I have found the people in Cincy to be alright for the most part and during my stays in the area I rarely have experienced any trouble.

[bjimmy24]

I live in Boston right now and I do like it. Yeah, I guess it seems really historical if you go downtown and walk the Freedom Trail. But, despite having a ton more people in the metro, I still don't feel the same energy from the people that I feel from places in Ohio, like Cincinnati. Take that for what it's worth.

[alastad]

I see that this was posted back in 2010 but I still wanted to comment on this. The reason South Carolinans see Ohions that way is probably because they are right! Even though the only part of Ohio I ever lived in was the Upper Ohio Valley and that was only for a little over a year of my life, I was happy to get the **** out of there ( pardon my french). From what I saw there, there were a bunch of old houses not kept up in the best of shape. All of the wooden frame ones looked like they needed to be washed down with a power washer, and most of the businesses are closed down, some of them even boarded up, talk about ugly! As far as the people, there's lot of able bodied people on disability, and the ones who do work are mostly all blue collar workers. There's also a lot of druggies, and the prostitutes can be seen working their corners at night. I also know of a few incestuous stories ( no, I am not joking)

[alastad]

Originally Posted by Montrell

From my experience, I think the view is accurate. You go outside of Cincinnati and a few of the other big cities and the majority of the people at least come across as white trash hilbillies. That's just the way it is. Also, Ohio residents have a reputation for going to the same places for vacation as well. If you're from Ohio it is likely you've been to Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg and Panama City before. It seems at times like those are the only 3 places Ohio-ans go.

That reminds me of the connection I heard of that supposedly exists between Tampa and the Upper Ohio Valley. According to someone I know who lives in that part of Ohio and has lived in St. Pete, there's a lot of people from the Upper Ohio Valley who move to the Tampa, area and I guess people from Tampa love them. I can believe it too because I also knew somebody else from that part of OH who lived in Tampa. I just don't understand how the hell people from the valley can afford to live in the Tampa area. There also seems to be a lot of people from that part of OH who moved to Cali. I sure as hell don't know how the hell they get by there! They must be like the low life characters you see in TV shows and movies which take place in Cali, i.e., two or more people living together in motel rooms and hanging out in seedy bars and women walking along the freeway prostituting themselves in the middle of the day, yeah, you get the picture, kind of like dessert rats I think you call them? IDK.

[flashes1]

Originally Posted by alastad

I see that this was posted back in 2010 but I still wanted to comment on this. The reason South Carolinans see Ohions that way is probably because they are right! Even though the only part of Ohio I ever lived in was the Upper Ohio Valley and that was only for a little over a year of my life, I was happy to get the **** out of there ( pardon my french). From what I saw there, there were a bunch of old houses not kept up in the best of shape. All of the wooden frame ones looked like they needed to be washed down with a power washer, and most of the businesses are closed down, some of them even boarded up, talk about ugly! As far as the people, there's lot of able bodied people on disability, and the ones who do work are mostly all blue collar workers. There's also a lot of druggies, and the prostitutes can be seen working their corners at night. I also know of a few incestuous stories ( no, I am not joking)

Hmmmm.....sounds like you're talking about South Carolina. Outside of where wealthy Ohioans have bought their vacation homes in Charleston and Hilton Head, South Carolina is one of the most poverty-stricken states in the Old Confederacy....and that's saying a lot.