Mansfield, OH vs Columbus, OH (Westerville, Marion: low income, foreclosure, crime)

[carcar]

I am interested in people that know the Mansfield/Ontario area and what they think of Columbus, OH area, like Worthington, Westerville, Gahanna.

Is the lifestyle different. Are people fairly friendly. I have lived most of my life in Mansfield...and the crime has increased terribly. The City Schools even though they are knew...the kids have tore off the toilets from the wall, and the water fountains. The kids don't seem to respect anything new.

I wondered if these areas I have mentioned - have these kinds of problems.
I don't know if it's because there is quite a bit of low income families and kids try to release their emotions..or what.

I willing to move to any of the areas of mentioned...I am hoping the lifestyle will be better. I don't know if I ' m looking for a dream locations or what.

Maybe more jobs will be the answer....Hopefully there is an abundance of jobs in the Columbus and surrounding areas, and kids won't get into as much crime and trouble.

I want to hear some comments from everyone. I appreciate it. Thanks much.

[NewToCA]

I'll just post a summary comment on Worthington. Very nice area, quaint downtown area going almost 1/2 mile on High St, very nice homes at reasonable prices, wooded lots of generally at least 1/4 acre, safe, good schools, convenient to a lot of shopping and a great Rec Center.

City of Worthington

http://www.city-data.com/city/Worthington-Ohio.html

City of Worthington: City Services: Community Center

[LancasterNative]

Mansfield has been hard-hit economically, I understand.

The communities you mentioned—Worthington, Westerville & Gahanna—are all nice communities within the bigger metro area, and each was once a separate town unto itself, before Columbus grew and engulfed all of them into its suburban sphere.

The thing to remember about moving to the big city—yes, even to the 'burbs—is that alot of things will be different, and not necessarily in good ways. Metro life is a lot more stressful. Everything costs more. Traffic is a [bleep]ing nightmare, everywhere! Things move at such a faster pace because you have less free time each day—time which mostly disappears while you're sitting in traffic trying to get somewhere People aren't as friendly; in fact, they're much more rude.

Yes there are more jobs, but there are a lot more people without jobs—hence more crime and bigger ghettos. Granted, places like Worthington, Westerville, Dublin, Hilliard & Gahanna aren't going to be too close to any ghettos, but you're still "connected" in the sense of being part of the same big metropolitan swamp

Sorry to sound so pessimistic. The only reason I remain in Columbus is, as you've indicated, for the WORK. It's lucrative, and I appreciate that. But by and large, I don't think of big cities as very pleasant places to live.

If I had a family/children, there's no way I'd want to raise them in a city. It would be well worth a long commute, if I had to...

Anyway, best of luck with your forthcoming decisions!

Peace,
Lanc

[mapcat]

Have you considered Delaware?

I have lived in Delaware for 7 years and for the most part it's great. I work at 2 locations--Lewis Center and Marion--and it's a 15 min commute to one, 20 min to the other. The downtown has some nice restaurants and shops, but if you need big box stores or a mall, they are 15-20 min away at Polaris; wait a year and there will be 3 in Delaware proper.

Schools are ok...basically small-town basic education, but the teachers are personable and there isn't much trouble in the elementary schools. The middle schools and high school don't have the greatest reputation, though.

Delaware has lots of new (0-5 yr old) houses, many in the low 200s. There was a huge building boom here for the first half of the decade, but so far I haven't noticed any sort of foreclosure problem.