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Hi yall. I'm wondering what y'all like better Cleveland, Columbus, Cincy, Toledo vs Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro, and Ashville. Which states cities offer y'all the best COL, QOL, jobs, weather, scenery, culture.
North Carolina by far in nc you have very large urban areas just like Ohio but also has beautiful mountains and the ocean. Also nc seems to have a better quality of life overall. I just prefer the sunbelt over the rust belt
I choose NC (to be fair, I live in Charlotte so certainly there is some bias). But I'll take Charlotte or Raleigh summers over Cleveland or Toledo winters. While I'd usually choose a Great Lake state in a poll like this, Lake Erie still doesn't fancy me even after its clean up the past 2 decades. No one is going to beautiful Sandusky for their summer get-aways if they have the option of other Great Lake destinations. Lake Michigan, Huron and Superior all trump Erie and Ontario in my mind, quite easily.
Cost of living in NC is cheaper and jobs are likely par right now. And NC blows Ohio out of the water in regards to scenery, it's an extremely diverse state geographically.
Some don't like southern culture and that's fine. I don't really know what Ohio culture looks and sounds like. Ohio is a midwest/northeast buffer state so it kind of blends a little of both. I'd probably lean slightly towards Ohio on culture over NC though. But I think as the "old guard" southern culture continues to devolve in the southeast, NC will become the winner in that regard, again, over time.
No one is going to beautiful Sandusky for their summer get-aways if they have the option of other Great Lake destinations. Lake Michigan, Huron and Superior all trump Erie and Ontario in my mind, quite easily.
Um... Cedar Point, one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Midwest? Bad example. Lake Erie has lots of attractions, including the beautiful Lake Erie Islands. In my mind there is really very little difference between the 5 Great Lakes. They all look basically the same, all have little vacation towns or islands, all are cold and snowy in the winter. I have no idea why those other great lakes should trump Lake Erie. Lake Erie has the advantage of being the warmest out of the great lakes in summer, because it's the shallowest. It's also the first to freeze in winter, putting an end to lake effect snow.
Cost of Living: Ohio. NC is more expensive. Quality of Life: Draw. It's too subjective and depends on individual tastes. That said, surprisingly, tourism revenues for both states are not that close. People talk about the mountains and beaches of NC, but apparently, they're not quite the draw people might believe.
In 2013, North Carolina did $20.2 billion in tourism spending. That same year, Ohio did $29.9 billion. NC's visitors increased 3.8% 2012-2013, while in Ohio they went up 4.6% in the same period. More people are visiting and spending more money in Ohio. While this doesn't exactly measure quality of life, there's something to be said for being able to attract people to visit. And Ohio is more populated and that won't change for a long, long time even if NC continued to grow at present rates, which is very unlikely. Jobs: Ohio. Despite its reputation, it has a lower unemployment rate and a better average income. Poverty levels are greater and have increased faster in NC as well. Weather: Draw. This is another subjective category and it just depends on what you like. For me, summers in NC are every bit as miserable as winters in Ohio can be (though I actually like winter and would pick it over a very hot, humid summer every time). Scenery: Draw. Depends on what you value, but Ohio has a coastline (different kind, but looks similar to me) and it has the same mountain range that NC does in the southeastern sections. Perhaps not as tall, but it's about the same. And as the tourism number show, people seem to be choosing Ohio at a greater rate, for whatever reason. Culture: I would have to go with Ohio on this. I don't find people in NC anymore friendly than they are in Ohio. I don't like the bible-belt conservatism. Sorry, Ohio is just not as politically conservative. It's a swing state and has been for just about all of its existence. NC has not. Proof can be found in historical elections. For food, they both have their highs and lows, but there's so much exchange anymore that you can find the same stuff in both places anyway for the most part, regardless of where it originated. Ohio has better cultural institutions, from symphonies to theaters to library systems. This is common with Northern vs. Southern states in general. From a history standpoint, Ohio has contributed more culturally from its people. More presidents, more world-changing inventions (though NC loves to take credit for one of the more famous), more famous people, etc. Sports-wise... Ohio. The first professional baseball team was in Cincinnati, and there's a reason why the pro football hall of fame is there. All the pro teams, and even some of the college teams, have a greater legacy and history than anything in NC. NC is most famous for NASCAR, which is 500 left turns. And as just mentioned above, Ohio has world-class amusement parks. That alone is good enough for me to pick Ohio.
Um... Cedar Point, one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Midwest? Bad example. Lake Erie has lots of attractions, including the beautiful Lake Erie Islands. In my mind there is really very little difference between the 5 Great Lakes. They all look basically the same, all have little vacation towns or islands, all are cold and snowy in the winter. I have no idea why those other great lakes should trump Lake Erie. Lake Erie has the advantage of being the warmest out of the great lakes in summer, because it's the shallowest. It's also the first to freeze in winter, putting an end to lake effect snow.
I find Erie to be rather bland. Erie is the least forested of any of the Great Lakes, by a significant margin, due to heavy urbanization around it. Superior, Michigan and Huron are littered with islands and interesting bays. Erie and to some degree Ontario by contrast (from an geographic standpoint), offer very little. They are also more polluted, though much improved from the 70's.
That said, if you are a diver or historian, Erie is the most interesting. It has a plethora of really neat shipwrecks. I'm not "anti-Erie". But if I had to pick the worst great lake, it would be Erie. It plays a large role in Ohio's biodiversity, so in my opinion that's a negative for the state from a scenic standpoint. I will say, in my previous post on Ohio, I didn't take into consideration it's more hilly regions in the southeast where it borders West Virginia and Kentucky, which is unfair, so it certainly has that going for it as well.
Cost of Living: Ohio. NC is more expensive. Quality of Life: Draw. It's too subjective and depends on individual tastes. That said, surprisingly, tourism revenues for both states are not that close. People talk about the mountains and beaches of NC, but apparently, they're not quite the draw people might believe.
In 2013, North Carolina did $20.2 billion in tourism spending. That same year, Ohio did $29.9 billion. NC's visitors increased 3.8% 2012-2013, while in Ohio they went up 4.6% in the same period. More people are visiting and spending more money in Ohio. Jobs: Ohio. Despite its reputation, it has a lower unemployment rate and a better average income. Poverty levels are greater and have increased faster in NC as well. Weather: Draw. This is another subjective category and it just depends on what you like. For me, summers in NC are every bit as miserable as winters in Ohio can be (though I actually like winter and would pick it over a very hot, humid summer every time). Scenery: Draw. Depends on what you value, but Ohio has a coastline (different kind, but looks similar to me) and it has the same mountain range that NC does in the southeastern sections. Perhaps not as tall, but it's about the same. And as the tourism number show, people seem to be choosing Ohio at a greater rate, for whatever reason. Culture: I would have to go with Ohio on this. I don't find people in NC anymore friendly than they are in Ohio. I don't like the bible-belt conservatism. Sorry, Ohio is just not as politically conservative. It's a swing state and has been for just about all of its existence. NC has not. Proof can be found in historical elections. For food, they both have their highs and lows, but there's so much exchange anymore that you can find the same stuff in both places anyway for the most part, regardless of where it originated. Ohio has better cultural institutions, from symphonies to theaters to library systems. This is common with Northern vs. Southern states in general. From a history standpoint, Ohio has contributed more culturally from its people. More presidents, more world-changing inventions (though NC loves to take credit for one of the more famous), more famous people, etc. Sports-wise... Ohio. The first professional baseball team was in Cincinnati, and there's a reason why the pro football hall of fame is there. All the pro teams, and even some of the college teams, have a greater legacy and history than anything in NC. NC is most famous for NASCAR, which is 500 left turns. And as just mentioned above, Ohio has world-class amusement parks. That alone is good enough for me to pick Ohio.
Ohio does not offer the same mountain range as NC, I'm sorry. The highest point in Ohio (Campbell Hill) is 1550 feet. Compared to Mt Mitchell at 6684. That's 4x the height. The Allegheny Plateau is not a fair comparison to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Ohio does not offer the same mountain range as NC, I'm sorry. The highest point in Ohio (Campbell Hill) is 1550 feet. Compared to Mt Mitchell at 6684. That's 4x the height. The Allegheny Plateau is not a fair comparison to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
It's still part of the Appalachian chain, that was the point. There are plenty of elevation changes in the state. I currently live in a place that I can see 18,000 foot peaks. They don't provide jobs or make me any happier than I would be if they weren't there. I think most geography is overrated as it pertains to quality of life.
It's still part of the Appalachian chain, that was the point. There are plenty of elevation changes in the state. I currently live in a place that I can see 18,000 foot peaks. They don't provide jobs or make me any happier than I would be if they weren't there. I think most geography is overrated as it pertains to quality of life.
But the category was scenery. OH just can't match NC when it comes to mountains and beaches in particular, just like NC can't match OH when it comes to things like historic urban cores. It is what it is.
When it comes to the differences in tourism figures, I'd guess that has to do with three sizable cities in OH atracting people for a wide range of reasons (conventions, sporting events, etc.) compared to mainly Charlotte in NC and Raleigh to a lesser extent. Also NC attracts its fair share of leisure tourists but doesn't really have ultra-touristy mountain destinations like Gatlinburg or coastal destinations like Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, or Charleston.
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