Why are homes so much more affordable in Bexley vs. UA, Granview, Clintonville etc? (Columbus: apartments, motels)

[darlameow]

I've lived in Grove City since 2004 (moved from Pittsburgh) and am looking to buy a house within the next year or two. I first looked mostly in Clintonville but I do not like the fact that it's Columbus schools. I have decided to look in a higher performing district. I noticed that there are nice sized, affordable homes in Bexley. Of course, this is either north of Broad and south of Main. When I go on google earth, the streets do not look so bad.

Am I missing something here? Why isn't Bexley as hot as a Clintonville, Grandview, UA, or German Village?

[HuskerDu]

Because Bexley is considered the east side and is bordered by bad areas. The houses that are more affordable in the areas you are talking about are not really Bexley if you ask the folks in the big old estates in the central part of the neighborhood. However perfectly nice the houses are, they refer to those areas as "E Mo" which is slang, or the ebonics pronounciation for nearby Eastmoor High School. This high school is mostly black and it is a very racist thing to say...

I posted this in another thread about Bexley homes... I don't feel like typing it aggian so here is the quote:

I'll bite. (and probably get bit for saying this, but...) Bexley has many great houses that are borderline mansions and an amazingly good school system. The area has many wealthy Jewish families that have lived there for generations and a ton of money was spent on making it beautiful... It really was the place to live back in the 70's before central Columbus (German Village) was well on it's way to being gentrified. This was back when the east side of Columbus, Reynoldsburg and to some extent Whitehall, were at the top of their game and were acceptable places for even the trendiest young singles to live. As I said earlier, that was back in the 70's. In the 30+ years since that time, there has been a major eastbound poverty push from downtown and the near east side that created middle class flight in just about every area of town in it's path BESIDES Bexley. Now, Bexley (however nice) has some slightly run down to pretty damn bad neighborhoods in the surrounding area. Bexley will always fight the stigma of being an "east side community" and will be less and less sought after as the central urban core of the Columbus becomes more and more gentrified.

I grew up with a ton of friends that live and have extended families in Bexley. I still go back to visit and sometimes end up stopping by cookouts at the parents houses. When I do it is absolutely amazing to walk inside their homes. You would think it was 1975 again. Some of these places are still done up in a way that would make Liberace queasy.

[darlameow]

Thanks for the reply.

Is it even worth it to look at houses in north / south Bexley? I really don't want to pay the GV, UA etc house prices.

Is it really that bad to live north / south?

Or are there 'good' pockets within those areas?

[HuskerDu]

Nooo... those areas are just fine and there is plenty of charm there. I was only speaking to why the prices are much lower. It only gets a tiny bit run down if you go too far east where the old 1950's style motels start to line Main st towards James Rd.... or REALLY bad if you go north near 5th avenue where it meets Cassady.

[streetcreed]

The Columbus Schools, in Clintonville, rank on par with the suburbs.

Clintonville/Beechwold neighborhoods are a great place to raise a family.
If you really like the neighborhoods..
I strongly recommend that you actually look into the state of the area schools. I have many friends with kids in Columbus schools, in Clintonville, and they are very happy.

The city school district is the largest in the state and when looking at the district, on large, it can seem below par, but if you look in the Clintonville neighborhood schools and magnet schools you will find a stark difference between the district as a whole.

The elementaries in Clintonville are Clinton Elementary and Indian Springs. Both are ranked excellent by the state. The middle schools, Dominion, is rated effective but has good programs. Clinton Elementary is about to be renovated and expanded, as well.

The local high school, Whetstone, was just ranked one of the best high schools in the whole metro. Also, Columbus Alternative High School outranks some high schools in Gahanna, Westerville, Hilliard, Grove City etc.. Columbus Alternative High School is a school that your child enters upon having a 3.0 GPA in middle school and going through the district's lottery system.


South and East Bexley are are good areas with homes that are not as expensive as mid Bexley.

For more details on the neighborhoods that are east and south of Bexley..

Berwick is the highend neighborhood south of Bexley and west of James Rd.

Eastmoor is directly east of Bexley. The area is full of affordable, great homes. However, the local Columbus schools do not rank on par with Clintonville and suburbs.

However Berwick, south of Bexley, has homes that are custome designs, large and more expensive. All homes have large lots, ravines, and a good local school Berwick Alternative Elementary. Berwick is one of the hidden gems of Columbus.

The area is home to the mayor of Columbus Michael Coleman. The perception that "everything around Bexley is bad" comes from many who do not know the area and generalize the east side. Some parts are good and some have higher crime, because of lower income apartments.

[HuskerDu]

I have to agree with Streetcreed on Columbus Alternative... I graduated from there many moons ago and it received multiple national awards for arts and education around that time (mid 80's). It has only gotten better since.

[dustin183]

I didn't know Bexley was cheaper that those other areas, but if it is then I'd say it's a good deal. Great schools. Close to downtown, Easton, the airport.

There are some major players that live in Bexley, like OSU president Gordon Gee, the Ohio Governor, the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, and many others.

[HuskerDu]

Originally Posted by dustin183

There are some major players that live in Bexley, like OSU president Gordon Gee, the Ohio Governor, the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, and many others.

...and the OP is looking to buy in these areas of Bexley? That's like me encouraging someone to move to central Los Angeles because movie stars live somewhere around there.... come on.

I have to admit, Mike Jeffries might stop by to borrow money after this "peak" retail season is in the books.

[darlameow]

Well, I personally think you get more for your money in Bexley -- if the north /south areas are not bad places in regards to crime.

I've been market watching for the last year or two in Clintonville. I cannot find a decent sized house in a decent area for ~200k. I looked at a 1 bath house in Clintonville about 2 weeks ago and it was extremely small and the basement had i-beams. It was listed at 199k - nice location but extremely overpriced IMO. On the other hand, it seems like Bexley offers nicely sized houses (~1750 - 2000 sq ft) between 200 and 225k. Of course, this is my assessment from looking online and these houses are either in the north or south part of Bexley. In Clintonville, you cannot find a house of that size/quality for that price. You don't see those prices in UA or Grandview either. Heck, I even looked at Dublin's prices and you can't get a house in Dublin for that price.

All because the "east" side has a bad name?

[darlameow]

Originally Posted by HuskerDu

...and the OP is looking to buy in these areas of Bexley? That's like me encouraging someone to move to central Los Angeles because movie stars live somewhere around there.... come on.

I have to admit, Mike Jeffries might stop by to borrow money after this "peak" retail season is in the books.

Unfortunately, I would not be able to afford the garage at some of these houses.