Los Angeles Girl Moving To Columbus - Need Advice (Westerville: where to stay, apartment)

[FashionLosAngeles]

I am a single girl from Los Angeles, but i have lived all over the place including over seas, the east coast, the south... so I love to see new places.

I know nothing at all about Columbus, but i have a work opportunity there that makes this move possible. I have been to the Arena District and Short North and Easton.. they are all interesting to me. i loved Short North.

I need a SAFE place for a single girl, very artistic, creative, stylish. My work with be near Easton, but I want to live where there is activity.

I am not sporty, i love shopping, fine dining, clubs, bars, art, film-making, festivals, events etc.

i don't want something cookie cutter, i would love something unique with some character. At the same time, my mom visits and stays with me quite often from the west coast and i dont want to be living in the middle of a 24 hour party zone either.

Let me know where to STAY AWAY FROM, also. I don't want to even bother looking at places in an area that is considered unsafe or on the way down.

I appreciate any help from locals.

Thanks!

[Cbus76]

Victorian Village would be a good fit - close to the Short North, but more residential in nature. Lots of great old homes and very walkable. Grandview Heights close to Grandview Avenue would also be worth checking out.

[bam989863]

If you can afford Granview I would highly recommend it. Victorian Village is good as well. You may also want to check out Clintonville.

[98PanAm]

To be of much help, your preferences on things such as rent vs. buy, house vs. condo vs. apartment, newer vs. older neighborhood, need or desire to be near anything(s) in particular, price range, and your work commute time/distance requirements would need to be factored into any useful recommendations.

One thing is for sure - you'll find the cost of living much lower and commutes much shorter on average than SoCal.

Oh, and greetings from a former fellow Southlander.

[FashionLosAngeles]

Thanks Guys.

98PanAm,

I don't want to buy since I will most likley return to So Cal eventually.

I am looking to rent. I guess anything 1300-1500 a month would work.

I am looking for a condo or townhome or something like that. I don't want a house. I am in a house right now and it's too much to manage for one person. I don't want to landscape and deal with all that sort of thing.

I am not a dog person, I have cats (I know lots of people love places with dog parks nearby and such - not my thing).

I do love a good view though or a super cute cultural-forward neighborhood. Hipster hoods are ok too if they have low crime rates.

Parking for one car or a full garage is best for me. Is Easton (where my work witll be) very far away from Victorian Village, Grandview and Short North? Someone mentioned to me they lived in German village, how is that?

[98PanAm]

If it was me, the commute between anything close to downtown (Short North and Vic Village), or south or west of it (German Village and Grandview), and Easton would get old pretty quickly, at least if I were making the daily drive at the typical commuter times (M-F 8am-ish to 5pm-ish).

I'm not sure how you feel about suburban vs. more urban, but if it was me and I had to commute to Easton every day, I would be looking at Easton itself, New Albany, Gahanna, or maybe Westerville, but those are all on the periphery of Columbus, around the outerbelt. Gahanna and Westerville have older centers with a bit more character, but if you want something like the Short North, Vic Village, or German Village, I'm not sure you'll find that even in the older, revitalized centers of the eastern 'burbs.

I guess one positive of living in the SN or VV from a commuting standpoint would be the relatively straight shot out I-670 east to 270 north to Easton. Also, assuming you'll be commuting at typical hours, you would be outbound FROM downtown in the morning when most traffic is inbound, and vice versa in the evening. Still, especially during one of occasional snowy winters such as 2010-'11, that commute would wear pretty thin for me. You could potentially spend a lot of your life in a car every week, staring at someone else's brake lights. I've had years when I had to commute, and I personally prefer living close to where I work so I don't spend so much time, money, flexibility, wear on my car, and my life in general just going back and forth to work. If that's the case with you, then you should start with Easton, then New Albany, and work your way out.

However, if you're not burned out on commuting, the Short North, Vic Village, or the new rentals in downtown itself would be about a 30 minute drive each way to Easton (depending on exact locations), with weather and traffic being huge variables. In German Village and Grandview you'd have downtown between you and Easton, so add maybe 15-20 minutes more due to the fact they're farther from Easton, and you'd be more likely to get tangled up with inbound morning traffic (and outbound evening) until you got past downtown. Again, weather, road construction (the 670/71 interchange is under reconstruction right now), accidents, and traffic in general can add quite a bit to that time some days. If you won't be commuting during typical commuter hours, the time equation may be different (but not the distance, of course).

[bam989863]

I live in Grandview and it is not too bad of a drive to Easton. During rush hour you are going away from the traffic heading into the city. According to Google maps it is a 22 minute drive.

[michaelgk10]

From what you described your looking for, I would concentrate your efforts for the Short North. The commute to Easton is nothing. You'll be fine. 30 to 40 min at the most and if traffic is good 20 min. There is so much more going on in the Short North and Arena District that would accommodate you so much more. If you moved closer to Easton for work purposes you would find yourself going to the Short North and Arena District for activities that are more to your liking.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by 98PanAm

If it was me, the commute between anything close to downtown (Short North and Vic Village), or south or west of it (German Village and Grandview), and Easton would get old pretty quickly, at least if I were making the daily drive at the typical commuter times (M-F 8am-ish to 5pm-ish).

I'm not sure how you feel about suburban vs. more urban, but if it was me and I had to commute to Easton every day, I would be looking at Easton itself, New Albany, Gahanna, or maybe Westerville, but those are all on the periphery of Columbus, around the outerbelt. Gahanna and Westerville have older centers with a bit more character, but if you want something like the Short North, Vic Village, or German Village, I'm not sure you'll find that even in the older, revitalized centers of the eastern 'burbs.

I guess one positive of living in the SN or VV from a commuting standpoint would be the relatively straight shot out I-670 east to 270 north to Easton. Also, assuming you'll be commuting at typical hours, you would be outbound FROM downtown in the morning when most traffic is inbound, and vice versa in the evening. Still, especially during one of occasional snowy winters such as 2010-'11, that commute would wear pretty thin for me. You could potentially spend a lot of your life in a car every week, staring at someone else's brake lights. I've had years when I had to commute, and I personally prefer living close to where I work so I don't spend so much time, money, flexibility, wear on my car, and my life in general just going back and forth to work. If that's the case with you, then you should start with Easton, then New Albany, and work your way out.

However, if you're not burned out on commuting, the Short North, Vic Village, or the new rentals in downtown itself would be about a 30 minute drive each way to Easton (depending on exact locations), with weather and traffic being huge variables. In German Village and Grandview you'd have downtown between you and Easton, so add maybe 15-20 minutes more due to the fact they're farther from Easton, and you'd be more likely to get tangled up with inbound morning traffic (and outbound evening) until you got past downtown. Again, weather, road construction (the 670/71 interchange is under reconstruction right now), accidents, and traffic in general can add quite a bit to that time some days. If you won't be commuting during typical commuter hours, the time equation may be different (but not the distance, of course).

Actually, it would be very easy to get from the Short North to Easton. Just hop on Summit and take the 670 East exit. 670 dumps out on 270 immediately south of the Easton exit. It would probably take no more than 15 minutes on any given day, though I'm not sure what the 670/71 construction project is doing to traffic, but that's not going to be a permanent issue anyway. Measuring from the Summit Street exit to the Easton exit, it's about 9 miles.

[98PanAm]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Actually, it would be very easy to get from the Short North to Easton. Just hop on Summit and take the 670 East exit. 670 dumps out on 270 immediately south of the Easton exit. It would probably take no more than 15 minutes on any given day, though I'm not sure what the 670/71 construction project is doing to traffic, but that's not going to be a permanent issue anyway. Measuring from the Summit Street exit to the Easton exit, it's about 9 miles.

Right, that's what I said ("I guess one positive of living in the SN or VV from a commuting standpoint would be the relatively straight shot out I-670 east to 270 north to Easton"). The question is how long would the drive take, and that's hard to say exactly. That's why I pointed out that time of day, traffic and weather conditions on any particular day, and specific locations in the SN and Easton as your starting and ending points - door-to-door. not just freeway entrance to exit (a few extra traffic lights on either end can make a big difference in rush hour) - can be huge variables.

I spent a lot of time commuting from Worthington and Hilliard to downtown during rush hour in an earlier life, and my door-to-door commute time could vary anywhere from an easy 25 minute straight shot with very few slow downs, to a stop-and-go, forty-five minutes or more test of patience if it was snowing and/or there was an accident somewhere along the way. It got old in a hurry.

(As if right on cue, the TV news here just advised I-70 EB is completely closed at 315 right now and probably for the next few hours due to an overturned tractor trailer.)