Possibly moving to Granville, Ohio... need advice!!
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are a family of four also considering a move to Granville for a job. We live in Chicago now but my husband and I grew up in New England small towns and we really miss living in a friendly, safe, pretty town with a strong commitment to community. I know small towns can vary as to how warm and welcoming they are to newcomers, especially those without young children (ours are older). Would those of you who know Granville characterize it is as generally welcoming to new residents?
It's a college town...home to a very good school, Dennison University...that will probably help it be a little more welcoming of outsiders since new students come in every year.
I really wonder where the OP chose...Cumberland would be quite the commute to Granville...no way I'd want to try and make that through the middle of no where, especially in winter.
IMO.... You are going to hate moving from Tampa to country living in Ohio.. Living in New Albany is going to be your closest to the "Norm" But the Commute is going to kill your husband.. Hope this job is paying 6 figures, you are giving up a lot to make the move..
I'm giving up 6 figures, homes, cars, private schools in order to get the hell out of here.. It's 5 degrees today here in New Albany, the sun is out which is the first time in days.
There is really not much to choose from around Cumberland. It will be a big culture shock to move anywhere close from FL. The closest, nice option would be New Concord and John Glen HS is a good school. It is a small town, but does have a college there, Muskingum College.
Other options closer than Granville would be Cambridge, Marietta (another nice college town) or Zanesville. Zanesville would have the most to do and shopping/eating choices, but I do not think I would want to live there.
My second choice would be Marietta. It is the most southern choice and have the best weather and best chance to avoid most of the snow. Also has the second most options for shopping/restaurants.
My gf in HS went to Denison, Granville is a really nice little town but it can get really boring, you have to go to Columbus for any type of excitement. Granville is a good place to raise a family thou.
IMO.... You are going to hate moving from Tampa to country living in Ohio.. Living in New Albany is going to be your closest to the "Norm" But the Commute is going to kill your husband.. Hope this job is paying 6 figures, you are giving up a lot to make the move..
I'm giving up 6 figures, homes, cars, private schools in order to get the hell out of here.. It's 5 degrees today here in New Albany, the sun is out which is the first time in days.
You should learn to stop projecting what you personally like onto everyone else. People want different things. I wouldn't move back to Florida for any amount of money. It's a soulless place. But everyone's idea of paradise is different. For the record, I don't like New Albany either... for many of the same reasons I don't like Florida.
As my first post on the City-Data forum and a citizen of Newark, i would like to try and give you the best answer yet. I have read every post to your question and i question whether some of the people responding has ever lived in Granville. Granville isnt anywhere close to Zanesville or Marietta. Granville is a suburb just east of Newark, Oh. It is a tri-city that literally shares borders with Newark/Heath/Granville. It makes up a population of around 65k people. Its not as "small" as some would like you to believe. Just do a google map search and you will discover this yourself. Granville is the nicest area of the three cities without question. It is VERY New England-esque in the older core part of the village. The newer area that connects Granville to Newark is just like every suburb in America. Granville has great schools with Denison University also being in the heart of the village. For anything excitement in the area, you are going to have to go to Newark or Heath. The Indian Mound Mall is in Heath. Let me explain Newark and Heath, because if you are thinking of moving to Granville, then Newark and Heath are going to become a part of your everyday life as well. Newark is the strangest city in Ohio. It has very nice parts....then very bad parts. The North and West sides of Newark are as middle class and normal as any other city. The South and East sides of Newark are very old and run down. Thats where all of your petty crimes are. Downtown Newark has a VERY cool feel to it. The Midland Theatre is awesome. Newark schools are very "cultural". If you want your kids to learn more then just education, then Newark will provide that. Newark is an outstanding basketball community...only one school in the state has more wins. Football is one of the worst schools in all of Ohio. As for Heath, it is just like Newark but on a smaller scale. Newark is 48k, Heath is 11k and Granville is 6k. So, to answer your question, central Ohio is growing and growing fast. Granville has everything you need in life to be happy. Its 5 mins from a mid sized urban area and 20 mins from a city of 2.3 million in Columbus. There isnt anything to be afraid of moving to Granville....i would highly suggest it!!!
^^^^ Good information there! I agree... Granville feels like a little town in New England. Beautiful, especially in the fall. Some great local spots in Granville... shopping, eating, hanging out. We moved here from Texas over a year ago and love it. Our son moved in the middle of his junior year and is very happy here. The counselors have a system set up for new kids so that they always have someone with them to walk them to class, have lunch with them. It's great, and my son says the kids are nice. He has made some great friends here. My husband works in Columbus, near downtown and the campus. 45 minute commute, but he says it's worth it. I love it because it's not far from Easton, which has all the shopping you could want, but at the same time for those quick trips, you have Target and the Indian Mound Mall in Heath, or the cute local shops in Granville. I have never left the Kussmaul Gallery empty handed, and Green Velvet has a variety of unique options in apparel and home decor. River Road Coffee is the best brew around, and Snapshots is a great local bar/restaurant with a world-class chef. If you want a pizza, Joe & Mimi's is superb. We live on a horse farm in the Granville Township, and it's just a few minutes to town to grab dinner at Broadway Pub. Dessert at Whit's is a must! Granville is a lovely town... so much to love. Good luck with your move!
You should learn to stop projecting what you personally like onto everyone else. People want different things. I wouldn't move back to Florida for any amount of money. It's a soulless place. But everyone's idea of paradise is different. For the record, I don't like New Albany either... for many of the same reasons I don't like Florida.
Florida is okay, but too many rednecks and too many single and double wides down there for my tastes. Ohio is just right for my tastes.
Granville has an excellent private school (Welsh Hills). Its a beautiful little town with an amazing art college and I have heard the schools are very good. I know they have a very progressive healthy lunch program. I agree that the only real downside will be having to live out in the middle of nowhere.
New Albany is 15 minutes down 161 with top notch schools, a great parks and rec program, lots of leisure trails and an awesome aquatic center.
Basically comes down to whether you feel more comfortable in a small town outside of a metro area or a suburb on the edge of the metro area. Can't really go wrong either way, just a matter of personal preference.
High school in New Albany has the aesthetics to rival some well known colleges. Les Wexner put the framework together for New Albany and everyone rode his coat tails, enabling that excellent city to be what it has become today.
Granville is an absolutely lovely place to live. My husband and I moved to Granville a year ago. I needed to be closer to Columbus so that I could easily access my health care specialists and it was much closer to my husband's work place compared to our previous home. Anyhow, we wanted a small town feel as well as wonderful schools. Granville has not let us down at all. The schools are ranked #29 in Ohio (New Albany is #20) and around #540 in the US. The school district is relatively small, but that does not affect what they have to offer. The teachers are also top notch and go out of their way to help each and every student (I happen to know first hand). Theyare highly competitive academically, but they are not focused strictly on test scores. Each student's success is definitely top priority. They have implementedany things that are not seen in most schools, especially larger schools. There is 'Ace Day' once or twice a month and the school counselor speaks to the students on various topics, including their emotions, friendships, and other mental health issues that really help enhance and promote overall healthy, well-rounded students. Even the principal (at the elementary school) goes out of his way. He absolutely loves all of the children and spends a great deal of time interacting with them daily. He can be seen helping them in/out of their cars (for this who chose to provide their own transportation), thought I'm the hallways to greet/speak to the children between lunch/class/specials/recess/etc. He even goes around to each and every class during the holiday parties to speak and interact with the children. I literally can't say how overly impressed I have been with the schools. The Granville Recreation District (the extracurricular portion) has a website where you can view many of the things that the district offers. It has been wonderful as well! There is literally tons of things to do, which is rather unusual for such a small district! There is a very well-rounded assortment of activities. There are even sports leagues for adults in the district! They also offer many camps during all of the breaks year round, including outdoor/hiking/nature camps, art camos, etc. There are also plenty of things to do (in Granville) that are not linked to the recreation department, such as art & pottery classes, karate, dance classes (including a very good and well known Irish dancing group), vocal classes, and instrument instruction...to name a few! Overall, the entire school district performs very well and there is a high graduation rate. As I mentioned, my daughter is only in elementary school. While talking to neighbors and my husband's coworkers, we have heard nothing but the highest praises, including the wide variety of course offerings (that would typically only be seen in much larger schools), faculty, and college readiness. The courses are extremely rigorous.
As far as the community, it is wonderful as well. Granville's downtown area has a very quaint atmosphere. There are quite a bit of things to do, which is surprising due to how tiny the town is. There is a public library, post office, museum, 2 gas stations, police dept, fire dept, a couple of Inns for visitors, a full service grocery (Ross IGA), lots of little shops (art, home decor, Gouma's candy, etc), restaurants (Subway. Elm's Pizza, Creno's Pizza, Mexican, a couple of bar and grills, and Whit's frozen custard (which is quite popular in our area!). The downtown area is always bustling and full of life, but the traffic still runs very smoothly (benefits of a small town vs. a larger town). There is a great park (Wildwood Park) just about a half mile from downtown. There is lots of playground equipment for children to enjoy, huge fields (well maintained) for soccer/etc, a dog park, and a community vegetable garden. The park also provides parking and access to our bike/walking path. The paths cover tons and tons of miles throughout Newark, Heath, and Granville. The paths are all paved, well maintained, and very safe. The paths are very scenic and tranquil.
Another great thing that has been put in place in the community is "green space." You will find it around the downtown area as well as outlying areas. "Green space" is just that...green. There are laws that prevent it from being developed. The purpose is the help the environment and also preserve the small town, tight-knit community that we have.
Another thing that I wanted to mention is that all of the great things above really help with home values and sales. Granville did not experience a drop in home value decrease during the recession, as many other communities experienced. The things that the school district and community have put in place have made this a very desirable area for decades to come.
As far as the people in the community, they have been wonderful as well. We lived downtown for a short while prior to purchasing another home (which is in a rural subdivision about 5-8 minutes from downtown). We have had very inviting neighbors at both places. Most of the people will go out of their way to welcome you to the community and help you on any way (unpacking, moving, child care, etc). The kindness and warmth that people have is something that is often lost in society, so it is definitely a breath of fresh air!
The commute to Columbus and the outlying suburbs is quick and easy via either SR-161 or I-70 (New Albany is 15 minutes away and most of the middle/east side of Columbus, including Easton, Polaris, Westerville, Worthington, Reynoldsburg, Pickerington, is 25-35 minutes away from where is live...which is just south of Granville). I personally prefer to live in a smaller town where there is a sense of belonging, friendship, community, etc. For me and my family, moving to Granville has been a great choice. We love being able to access everything that the city has to offer (when we feel like it) and we are thankful for our small town, no traffic, slow paced lifestyle! If that is what you're looking for, Granville cannot be beat! If you prefer a faster paced lifestyle and to be closer to the city, then there are 3-4 great school districts, including New Albany. If you do not have children in school and you're looking for a great suburban neighborhood...check out Powell, Dublin, Upper Arlington, and Hilliard.
I hope that this provides a comprehensive look at Granville (and answers that many not have been previously discussed) and that it can help people make knowledgeable decisions! Best of luck!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
