Hi from the UK! Moving to Ohio (Columbus, Westerville: houses, landscaping)

[specul8]

Hi we are a family of 4 moving to columbus Ohio in Nov 07.We are looking at areas to live over the net and quite fancy either hilliard or Dublin. We have been told that schools in the US especially in Columbus are heavily dependant economically on the areas demographics ie if the area has a large number of elderly then money isn't voted to schools because that isn't where they want their dollars spent? this would be a concern to us with 2 school age kids. Are these 2 areas noted for having 'good' schools and would they be difficult to enrole in if they are popular?
Any advice given would be apprecied as obviously 'everything' works differently in the UK even buying and selling houses.
Thanks

[Paddington]

The best school districts in Columbus are Dublin, Upper Arlington, and New Albany.

New Albany is brand new and supposedly the 3rd richest town in Ohio, but it's the most distant suburb. Upper Arlington is an older "main line" suburb very close to the university, where a lot of university professors live.

My personal favorite is Dublin. I do not live there at the moment, but have resided there in the past. The schools in Dublin are excellent. Almost all of their graduates go on to college afterwards, a number of them attending prestigious Ivy League universities. I also like the way Dublin is physically built out. There's a tight building code in place, and everything is made to look nice. The landscaping is some of the best I've seen anywhere in the U.S. (even the expressway interchanges are elaborately landscaped).

I'm not a big fan of Hilliard. It's not a bad place to live. It's just there are a number of much nicer places to live around Columbus. The schools there are average, not great.

[bgfalcons86]

Hilliard CSD is far better than 'average' as far as school districts go, meeting 28 out 30 of the state requirements last year and scoring a 100.2 on the Performance Index last year. Of course, there is a danger of putting too much empasis on test scores. So I'll just say that our kids have gone to Hilliard schools all the way through and we've been very pleased. A very large percentage of Hilliard HS graduates go on to higher learning.

Dublin CSD has very highly-rated schools and very good reputation overall. However, I've met people that have had negative experiences in Dublin. So, you can't just tell from a couple of posts on this forum. Just like anything else, you're going to have a range of experiences.

Dublin has first-rate amenities. Of that, there is no doubt. However, be advised that Dublin tends to be an uptight, status-conscious area. I wouldn't exactly call Dublin 'friendly', either. Hilliard tends to be a much more welcoming community than Dublin and there are plenty of nice areas in Hilliard proper in which to live.

[drjmpc]

Village of New Albany > Home ( DNN 2.1.2 )

Ok here is the skinny:

Hilliard is relatively friendly -- but I agree Paddington -- They tend to be good, not great as far as school system performance goes.

Dublin, great but pricey neighborhoods and very status conscious community.

Gahanna/New Albany area is probably the best mix. While moving to New Albany now is a bit of a challenge [you have to really hunt because the area is still being developed though, in the 3rd phase where more affordable housing is currently being built.] you can get some really great deals near by on the eastern most portions of Gahanna and never miss a bit. Not to mention, both of these suburbs have more of a sense of community [Though Dublin is not far behind in activities -- it tends to just draw very status conscious individuals]. The schools in both have been good over a 30+ year time frame. See the School District website for more details:

New Albany - Plain Local Schools

Now, having grown up in Gahanna, currently working in New Albany, living in East Central Columbus in a community being revitalized, and having a fiancee and lifelong friends from Hilliard and Dublin who currently still live there, I can tell you LOOK at NEW ALBANY before you make your final decision. It can be pricey like Dublin, but there is Still so much new development while still balancing plenty of green space [farms just a mile or two away, 1 mega golf course & country club, close proximity to the Airport & Expressway -- I could go on but the bottom line is, you'll have a hard time beating when you weight everything, I promise you. Finally, from what us Yank's know about our UK cousins, this is the community that will mostly like give you the look and feel of home -- unless home was a flat in Central London -- then you have to move Washington D.C. for that!


Village of New Albany > Home ( DNN 2.1.2 )

[drjmpc]

New Albany, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Dublin, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hilliard, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Gahanna, Ohio - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
MONEY Magazine: Best places to live 2007: Gahanna, OH snapshot

[Paddington]

Hilliard is one of the ugliest places I have ever seen in my life. You have to go to Texas to see that kind of wreckless, unplanned sprawl. I just find it depressing.

Hilliard tends to be a much more welcoming community than Dublin and there are plenty of nice areas in Hilliard proper in which to live.

Is that why Dublin attracts engineers, scientists, and doctors from all over the world? If you grew up in a small village in Ohio, and have few interests beyond sitting on your porch and drinking beer while obsessing about American football, then Hilliard is probably a good city for you. If you're coming in from out of state or from overseas, you're much better off in Dublin, which is a more cosmopolitan suburb.

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by Paddington

Hilliard is one of the ugliest places I have ever seen in my life. You have to go to Texas to see that kind of wreckless, unplanned sprawl. I just find it depressing.



Is that why Dublin attracts engineers, scientists, and doctors from all over the world? If you grew up in a small village in Ohio, and have few interests beyond sitting on your porch and drinking beer while obsessing about American football, then Hilliard is probably a good city for you. If you're coming in from out of state or from overseas, you're much better off in Dublin, which is a more cosmopolitan suburb.

now you are both being ignorant and stereotypical
as far as the topic goes, both schools are well respected in the state, but dublin tends to have a leg up on hillard.

[Torn2pieces]

Originally Posted by Paddington

Hilliard is one of the ugliest places I have ever seen in my life. You have to go to Texas to see that kind of wreckless, unplanned sprawl. I just find it depressing.



Is that why Dublin attracts engineers, scientists, and doctors from all over the world? If you grew up in a small village in Ohio, and have few interests beyond sitting on your porch and drinking beer while obsessing about American football, then Hilliard is probably a good city for you. If you're coming in from out of state or from overseas, you're much better off in Dublin, which is a more cosmopolitan suburb.

You know I kinda agree with you - I've stayed in Hilliard for a few weeks and honestly thought it wasn't all that great - I don't see what's so great about the town itself. I actually hated being in that area. I think other towns are so much nicer in appearances.

[NewToCA]

Having actually lived in both places for some time, as a homeowner, I would say both have good to very good schools. Dublin is visually nicer by quite a bit, Hilliard less social status oriented and affordable.

Both are decent choices, it depends upon what you value.

[streetcreed]

Sometimes what is ranked the "best" school district, simply means it is the best with the least poverty issues, therefore test scores are higher.

However, many other school districts are good.

Truely, Worthington, Dublin, Upper Arlington, Grandview Heights, and Bexley have good schools
Westerville and Hilliard are also good, but i would recommend the first ones i listed first.
New Albany is often mentioned but it is VERY far away from downtown columbus and Ohio State, and very rural, and also not very diverse. However, some people want that environment. And if you are very wealthy New Albany does have some privacy appeal.

ALso, Columbus schools have better schools within the district and many that are in columbus schools use private schools (families of influence)