Anybody want out? (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati: sale, apartments, condos)

[itinérant]

Just moved to Silver Spring, MD after nearly 34 years. Here are some of the things that drove me away (in no particular order):

- weather (too cold in the winter) and generally too gray
- boring downtown
- uneducated populace
- segregation patterns
- poorly performing public schools
- overemphasis on Ohio State (especially football)
- overemphasis on the gay community
- horrible daily newspaper
- lack of nice neighborhoods w/n city limits

However, there are advantages to living in Columbus, some of which will draw me back in two/three years (though not permanently):

- halfway reasonable cost of living
- relatively reasonable commutes (especially from Grandview/UA area downtown)
- plenty of greenspace
- RPAC and Ohio State's rec system

***

In short, I can see why people would like to live in Central Ohio. I will be returning for specific job opps. However, I can't live there anymore. It simply isn't good enough all-around to live there for your entire life.

[Ron.]

Originally Posted by CortlandGirl79

^I'm curious about which city in NC is more lively, has more diversity and better transportation? I am by no means a Columbus lover, but i think you'll have more of the same in NC. I understand Charlotte has some light rail now, but from what i've heard it isn't even as good as Cleveland, which of course doesn't compare to Chicago.

Oops..............I left out the "Y".

I meant to type NYC


My apologies......

[CortlandGirl79]

I was gonna say..........

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by itinérant

Just moved to Silver Spring, MD after nearly 34 years. Here are some of the things that drove me away (in no particular order):

- weather (too cold in the winter) and generally too gray
- boring downtown
- uneducated populace
- segregation patterns
- poorly performing public schools
- overemphasis on Ohio State (especially football)
- overemphasis on the gay community
- horrible daily newspaper
- lack of nice neighborhoods w/n city limits

However, there are advantages to living in Columbus, some of which will draw me back in two/three years (though not permanently):

- halfway reasonable cost of living
- relatively reasonable commutes (especially from Grandview/UA area downtown)
- plenty of greenspace
- RPAC and Ohio State's rec system

***

In short, I can see why people would like to live in Central Ohio. I will be returning for specific job opps. However, I can't live there anymore. It simply isn't good enough all-around to live there for your entire life.

You mentioned weather, which I find interesting. Silver Spring, MD has far larger snowfalls than Columbus due to the Atlantic influence, and is almost at the same latitude. You didn't exactly move far enough south to escape winter. It will get cold and you will see snow.

Downtown being boring depends on where you go and what you do. I would agree that the immediate Downtown has seen better days, but it is also definitely on the way up in terms of development. It will be a very different place in the near future.

I disagree completely with the uneducated populace comment. Columbus has one of the highest populations of students, and is in the top 20 nationally for college-educated residents. This is just a completely false statement.

I also disagree with the segregation comment, given that most cities have racial groups in certain areas. In fact, Columbus does not show up on the most-segregated cities lists... but Washington DC does.

I will grant you that Columbus City Schools aren't the best overall, but they are far from terrible. And there are plenty of districts within and around the city that are top performing. You could find good schools if you wanted to.

OSU gets attention for its football, but it seems to be less than in previous years. Back 10-15-20 years ago when that was the main show, that was what got most attention. Columbus has grown significantly since then and is no longer a mere college town. Outside of football season, I rarely hear anyone talk about it. But in any case, this is kind of a silly argument. Every city has its own obsessions with sports teams. NYC has the Yankees, Chicago the Cubs, Cleveland the Browns, etc. I can't imagine ever using this as a reason to move.

Columbus has a huge gay population that is pretty fairly spread throughout. I actually love the fact that the city is open and accepting enough to embrace them. Besides, they helped build some of our best neighborhoods.

Considering that the daily newspaper is a dying entity anyway, I'm not sure why this would even matter. You can get more news from the internet now, and I'm pretty sure you don't have to have a subscription to the Dispatch.

So Worthington, Short North, Grandview, German Village, Merion Village, Harrison West, Italian Village, Bexley, Clintonville, Upper Arlington, Marble Cliff, Victorian Village, etc count as a lack of nice neighborhoods?

[Ron.]

^

Sorry but DWNTWN Columbus is not on the way up.

[Weedydidi]

Grey weather.

Least friendly place I've lived

Most racist place I've lived

Awful grocery stores

[cooks50]

What is the purpose of this thread? Why does the OP constantly post threads such as this, it seems as if they are looking for negativity. What kills me is how populated this particular thread is but the rest of them are dead.

[cooks50]

Originally Posted by itinérant

Just moved to Silver Spring, MD after nearly 34 years. Here are some of the things that drove me away (in no particular order):

- weather (too cold in the winter) and generally too gray
- boring downtown
- uneducated populace
- segregation patterns
- poorly performing public schools
- overemphasis on Ohio State (especially football)
- overemphasis on the gay community
- horrible daily newspaper
- lack of nice neighborhoods w/n city limits

However, there are advantages to living in Columbus, some of which will draw me back in two/three years (though not permanently):

- halfway reasonable cost of living
- relatively reasonable commutes (especially from Grandview/UA area downtown)
- plenty of greenspace
- RPAC and Ohio State's rec system

***

In short, I can see why people would like to live in Central Ohio. I will be returning for specific job opps. However, I can't live there anymore. It simply isn't good enough all-around to live there for your entire life.

This cant be any further from the truth. This city is highly educated, may the circle of people you surrounded yourself around may not have been but it is completely inaccurate to generalize the whole city as uneducated. But good riddens to you!!

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Ron.

^

Sorry but DWNTWN Columbus is not on the way up.

Um, yes it is. The population has gone up 40% or more in most of downtown the last decade. There have been tons of new development in the same period and retail/dining is starting to coming back one store at a time. It's not going to happen overnight, but I can easily see the differences made so far and can imagine how it will be in the near future.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Weedydidi

Grey weather.

Least friendly place I've lived

Most racist place I've lived

Awful grocery stores

Wow, you haven't lived many places. Columbus may or may not be many things, but using these kinds of superlatives is pretty ridiculous.