Charlotte or Columbus or ? (Cleveland, Cincinnati: crime, chapel, unemployment rate)

[Weedydidi]

Originally Posted by LancasterNative

Sounds like the Charlotte of today will be the Columbus of tomorrow...

Well, I will say that Easton Town Center would be BELOVED in Charlotte - all those chain stores and it's so shiny and new.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by Weedydidi

Well, I will say that Easton Town Center would be BELOVED in Charlotte - all those chain stores and it's so shiny and new.

Ha! Well, if Steiner+Associates have their way, I'm sure Charlotte will get their very own glitzy disneyland-retail-center in due time...

[Midwest girl at heart]

Hi,
I'm new to OH. Had never been here except in March when we came to buy a house.
I've lived in Chicago, South Carolina and Texas.
Here's my 2 cents--
Columbus ROCKS!
I feel that I have the friendliness I had in Chicago (St Charles), a reasonable cost of living (TX property taxes were insane!) and color! People say its gray here-other than today in the 6 months we've been here I have felt nothing but warmth and color in this town!
We've experienced so much--so many wonderful neighbors (we live in Dublin) and are enjoying ourselves tremendously.
I feel very comfortable saying what another ex Chicagoian said "this city is a hidden gem!"

Good luck!

[west5548]

Originally Posted by Weedydidi

I just moved from Charlotte to Columbus and I will just add that if you love your car and love to sit in traffic, then move to Charlotte. Here in Columbus they seem to build roads which they really don't like to do in Charlotte.

Also, property taxes are lower there, but the county raises property taxes every other year and you pay property tax on your cars in NC, but not in OH.

I have heard Charlotte described as "a city without a soul" or "McCity" because there's nothing there that you can't find anywhere else in the country. So, if you love chain restaurants and big box stores, then Charlotte's the place to be!

I completely disagree with you on this. I too moved to Columbus or Cowlumbus as it should be appropriately called via a transfer, from Charlotte and find Columbus distasteful. Columbus has more chain restaurants and big box stores than Charlotte, this city lives on food and it shows.

Charlotte has excellent high paying jobs, beautiful homes, it's within driving distance to "real" beaches, does not have 6-8 months of winter, it's much cleaner than Columbus, a beautiful ever changing skyline, a great performing arts base, good healthcare system, and Charlotte actually has class.

Yes Charlotte has traffic problems, but it's growing, Columbus isn't growing nearly as fast. Whatever people do please don't compare the two cities as being the same, what an insult to Charlotte! Yes Ohio does not have a car tax or inspections, but have you seen what people in Ohio drive???? They need inspections here to keep 1/2 of the states cars off the road, they are a hazard. I'm moving back down south in 3 years and can't wait, this place is depressing.

[streetcreed]

Yes Charlotte has traffic problems, but it's growing, Columbus isn't growing nearly as fast. Whatever people do please don't compare the two cities as being the same, what an insult to Charlotte! Yes Ohio does not have a car tax or inspections, but have you seen what people in Ohio drive???? They need inspections here to keep 1/2 of the states cars off the road, they are a hazard. I'm moving back down south in 3 years and can't wait, this place is depressing.

I am guessing you do not get Columbus style. Where in the city do you live? From the sounds of it your stuck in the sprawl around the outerbelt. Maybe for your last few years here you should try to live around downtown, or in the central city in a place like Clintonville Grandview (if you have a family) or the Short North or German Village. They are much more cosmopolitan and can show you the side of columbus that is hip, classy, artsy, and more culturally unique.

[2006Buckeye]

Originally Posted by west5548

I completely disagree with you on this. I too moved to Columbus or Cowlumbus as it should be appropriately called via a transfer, from Charlotte and find Columbus distasteful. Columbus has more chain restaurants and big box stores than Charlotte, this city lives on food and it shows.

Charlotte has excellent high paying jobs, beautiful homes, it's within driving distance to "real" beaches, does not have 6-8 months of winter, it's much cleaner than Columbus, a beautiful ever changing skyline, a great performing arts base, good healthcare system, and Charlotte actually has class.

Yes Charlotte has traffic problems, but it's growing, Columbus isn't growing nearly as fast. Whatever people do please don't compare the two cities as being the same, what an insult to Charlotte! Yes Ohio does not have a car tax or inspections, but have you seen what people in Ohio drive???? They need inspections here to keep 1/2 of the states cars off the road, they are a hazard. I'm moving back down south in 3 years and can't wait, this place is depressing.

No one said you have to like Columbus. It's unfortunate you find it distasteful and can't leave immediately. However, if being "within driving distance to real beaches" was an important factor, perhaps you should have examined a map prior to transferring to Ohio. Did you know Ohio isn't bordered by oceans? That's like moving to Charlotte and complaining about lack of Rocky Mountain quality skiing.

Perhaps it's your attitude that's depressing? Oh, and if Charlotte has all the excellent high-paying jobs, why stay here for three more years?

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by 2006Buckeye

if being "within driving distance to real beaches" was an important factor, perhaps you should have examined a map prior to transferring to Ohio. Did you know Ohio isn't bordered by oceans?

LOL! That's riot

In response to what west5548 said: It really surprises me that you find such drastic differences between the two, Columbus and Charlotte.

Does Columbus really have that many more big box stores & other sprawly, generic suburban crap? What about the dizzying pace of growth outside 485? What about all that ticky-tack haphazard sprawl now pushing into Gaston, Union, and even Iredell(!) Counties?

My friends who live down there say Charlotte traffic is horrendous, and makes Columbus look like a Sunday drive in the country (they each moved there from here). I complain about Columbus traffic constantly, but they just laugh at me...

As for having "excellent high paying jobs, beautiful homes," etc. I don't doubt you. I'm sure Charlotte has those things in abundance. And especially for the jobs, maybe that's an option I should even consider!

They just better be prepared to offer me $2-3K extra in annual salary if I'm gonna get slapped with a friggin' CAR tax!!! That whole outrageous concept still baffles me...

Anyway, as a Southerner at heart (and by ancestry) I love the South and would be happy to move there someday.

But I gotta say Charlotte would not be my first choice of places to be. It's almost too "Northern" for my tastes—McMansions, urban congestion, and uptight yuppie attitudes...just like here!

[west5548]

Originally Posted by 2006Buckeye

No one said you have to like Columbus. It's unfortunate you find it distasteful and can't leave immediately. However, if being "within driving distance to real beaches" was an important factor, perhaps you should have examined a map prior to transferring to Ohio. Did you know Ohio isn't bordered by oceans? That's like moving to Charlotte and complaining about lack of Rocky Mountain quality skiing.

Perhaps it's your attitude that's depressing? Oh, and if Charlotte has all the excellent high-paying jobs, why stay here for three more years?

Can't be my attitude, must be the state. Afterall Ohio did rank as one of the top most depressing states in the country. Must be the endless winters and lack of sunlight that makes everyone so happy here. You see a lot of license plates from Ohio down south and I have no idea why.....

[maryjaneat420]

I have been to both places and I would definately move to NC over Columbus. Columbus sucks real bad, it has some good people but the city government is ungodly.

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by west5548

I completely disagree with you on this. I too moved to Columbus or Cowlumbus as it should be appropriately called via a transfer, from Charlotte and find Columbus distasteful. Columbus has more chain restaurants and big box stores than Charlotte, this city lives on food and it shows.

Charlotte has excellent high paying jobs, beautiful homes, it's within driving distance to "real" beaches, does not have 6-8 months of winter, it's much cleaner than Columbus, a beautiful ever changing skyline, a great performing arts base, good healthcare system, and Charlotte actually has class.

Yes Charlotte has traffic problems, but it's growing, Columbus isn't growing nearly as fast. Whatever people do please don't compare the two cities as being the same, what an insult to Charlotte! Yes Ohio does not have a car tax or inspections, but have you seen what people in Ohio drive???? They need inspections here to keep 1/2 of the states cars off the road, they are a hazard. I'm moving back down south in 3 years and can't wait, this place is depressing.

Wow, Charlotte better than Columbus?!?! Charlotte doesn't even have the cultural ammenities that Columbus has. Columbus isn't growing fast? That is news to me. They are growing at a very good rate. Charlotte is growing out of control and facing many problems that it didn't face the year before. This goes on every year for Charlotte. Charlotte has a terrible infrastructure, a decaying public transit. Charlotte is facing this because of the population growth. North Carolina is so overrated. I to wanted to leave Ohio, but as soon as I got to college I saw what Ohio had to offer. Give it 5-10 years and North Carolina will be another Florida. Too expensive to live in, crime rates out the roof, and over population and suburban sprawl.

We are already seeing Floridians move to Ohio, give it a decade and you will see North Carolinans move to Ohio. You don't even know the problems NC is facing now, wait until 5 years from now. North Carolina is depressing. The grass isn't greener on the other side people. Going through college, wanting to be an urban planner, I have visited many city councils and worked along side with them for training. Charlotte's was a joke. They don't even know how to handle the growth. Charlotte and NC are overrated.