Need help moving to Ohio in 2 months!!! (Columbus, Cleveland: apartments, to rent)

[geovulcan]

Hello everyone!

My husband (Sean) and I just got married. We currently live in Houston, TX and finally able to leave now that Sean finished school. We are both 25 years old with Bachelor's degrees and looking to move to Ohio.

These are the attributes we're looking for in our new hometown:

-> LOTS of scenery! Sean and I, both, are suckers for it. Biking trails, parks, nearby opportunities for hiking, camping, etc. We enjoy winter sports as well.

-> Small-medium size town. We wouldn't want to necessarily live in the city, but in driving distance since it's likely we will work in the city. We are thinking something a little like Dublin is to Columbus.

-> Available jobs. Sean's a Graphic Designer and I have a teaching and Fitness/Nutrition degree. We're willing to drive to work as long as we live somewhere beautiful.

-> Safe enough to walk around at night without worrying.

-> Relaxed, down-to-earth, family-like community. Not snooty preferably.

-> We will be interested in buying a house within the next year, so looking for someplace where we can get a nice house for less than $215,000.

So if you had no ties and could move wherever you wanted to in Ohio, where would it be?

Also, do people play soccer in Ohio? Are there high school soccer teams?
Thanks in advance for your responses. We'll be moving at the end of March, and need to find an apartment soon. Any information is very much appreciated!!!

Best wishes for 2008!

Sincerely,
Sean & Leah Kerndt

[CrissCT]

Consider Bay Village just outside of Cleveland. It is very down to earth, right on the Lake so lots of pretty scenery and you have the beautiful park with the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. Lots of pretty jogging or biking places. Has a very small town feel to it. Soccer is very big there too. We lived in Columbus and Cleveland and now live in CA and Bay Village is my hands down favorite place. Not many apartments in Bay though so you may want to rent a house or look in Rocky River which is the next town over. Good luck!

[globetrotter]

Hi, Geovulcan! I live in Columbus, so I can only attest to the surrounding areas. The far north suburbs are very nice, including Worthington, Dublin, and Westerville. All of those areas have parks near. A nice home can be purchased for $215k in those areas.
On the northwestern side of the city is Hilliard, which is also very nice. Canal Winchester is on the city's southeast side, which is also very pleasant and safe. Pickerington is on the city's far east side. Although these areas are very nice and generally safe, the property taxes can get very steep. As such, the schools in those areas are excellent. Good luck!

[Midwest girl at heart]

Hi,
Having moved here from Houston (which I did not like) you will find Columbus to be a terrific and friendly city. I live in Dublin (fairly new resident) and absolutely love it here.

If you are looking for some true beauty, your price range includes some wonderful condo's in our neighborhood. These condo's are not new, so the amount of tree's and walking paths are great.

Ask your realtor to take you through the Brandon subdivision--the condo section, Treetops at Brandon is absolutely stunning in the fall. We have deer in our neighborhood at times and are close to the important conveniences. Also, the neighborhood is the most down to earth neighborhood! That for me was important!

Good luck!

[Mom2_2cuties]

We are also a couple from the Houston area. Although, we moved a few years ago. Columbus has a completely different feel, in my opinion. The weather is definitely a huge change!

As we are new, I do not have any advice. We live in Bexley and like the area so far.
Good luck!

[Traveler87]

What about Dublin, Hilliard, Worthington or Gahanna. Even look into New Albany.

[castlelady]

Yes soccer is popular here in Central OHio - I'm sure you know we have the Columbus Crew - major league soccer. Dublin, Westerville and Gahanna all have soccer programs. Of the three - soccer is probably most popular in Dublin. Dublin is more upscale (expensive) and a little further out from Downtown Columbus.

Home prices are much more affordable in Westerville and Gahanna. Plus you'd be close to the Easton Town Center which is one of the most popular shopping, dining and entertainment destinations in Columbus. About 15-20 minutes to Downtown columbus.

Westerville has one of the best parks and rec systems of all the suburbs and won the sportstown usa award a few years back. There's also a bike path that goes through Westerville and 3 metro parks with nice hiking trails - within 10 minutes of Westerville.

The prettiest bike path in Columbus is the one that follows the scenic Olentangy river and goes from Worthington to Downtown Columbus.

[bgfalcons86]

Originally Posted by castlelady

Yes soccer is popular here in Central OHio - I'm sure you know we have the Columbus Crew - major league soccer. Dublin, Westerville and Gahanna all have soccer programs. Of the three - soccer is probably most popular in Dublin.

My guess is that most suburbs around Columbus have soccer. The Hilliard Davidson boys team just this past fall won the state championship in Division 1 (big schools), beating Dublin Coffman twice during the season.