Extremely Confused (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati: apartment, rent, insurance)

[JayLynn]

Hey,

I am a Latina born and raised in NYC. I relocated to Lansing MI, to attend grad school. I just graduated with my MBA. I refuse to move back to NYC due to the cost of living. Michigan has grown on me, but the unemployment rate is way too high and the economy does not seem to be getting better. I was contemplating on Atlanta, but the crime and traffic is horrible. Florida seems to be similar. The cost of living seems affordable on the cost of living calculators, but really is not. I have been looking into Columbus, the unemployment & crime rate is low, the economy seems to be growing, and it seems like the ideal place to raise a family. My husband and I are in our mid-twenties and planning to start a family soon. Are the employment opportunities plentiful?
How is the cost of living?


Thanks for any advice

[youyou]

Hi,

I'm from Cleveland (which despite it's bad rep "the mistake by the lake" is a great city--I'd recommend it to anyone) but have family in/near Columbus.

Columbus, like pretty much all of Ohio, is affordable. It's still possible to buy or rent a nice house for a reasonable price. Columbus seems to be one of the cities that is growing the fastest in Ohio. Since it is in the center of the state it can keep expanding, whereas Cleveland is limited to the north by Lake Erie, and Cinci is limited by 2 state borders and the Ohio River.

I have family in Delaware County, north of Columbus, but definitely an acceptable drive. It used to be farm country but it's growing by leaps and bounds.

Columbus proper, I know less about. Of course, there's Ohio State. Compared to Cleveland the Columbus area seems to me to be pretty conservative--so depending on who you are politically that could be either bad or good.

Can't advise about specific Columbus neighborhoods.

By the way, I'm in Europe, planning to return to the US. Michigan is a state I had in mind. Is the economy really that bad there?

All the best in Columbus, or wherever you decide to live!

[Gee]

Because Columbus is the Capital city of Ohio one of the largest employers is the state government. Nationwide Insurance also calls Ohio home, so for your degree it looks like there are a lot of options. I would venture a guess that the cost of living is not that much different in Michigan.The Columbus 2000 median home price was $132000 and median rent was $673.00.
The Ohio State University, government and non-profit jobs provide the largest single source of employment within Columbus.Columbus is also home to the Chemical Abstracts Service, to the Battelle Memorial Institute, a major research and development facility, Cardinal Health,Huntington Bancshares, Bank One was formerly headquartered in Columbus prior to the merger with First Chicago-NBD, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. continues to maintain a major presence in Columbus, Commerce National Bank is headquartered in Columbus near the Ohio State University campus,CompuServe still has its roots in Columbus, Sterling Commerce,Qwest and UPS has a large distribution center on the west side of the city,Limited Brands (formerly known as The Limited, Inc.) is located on the east side of the city and is the parent company of the retail stores The Limited, Express, Victoria's Secret, and Bath & Body Works, among others. Abercrombie & Fitch headquarters are located in the northeast suburb of New Albany. Three fast food chains have their home base in the Columbus metro area as well, Charley's Grilled Subs, Wendy's and White Castle, with Wendy's still operating their first store downtown as both a museum and a working restaurant. Bob Evans Restaurants, Max & Erma's, and Donatos Pizza are likewise based in Columbus.Worthington Industries, Honda has two auto plants, in Marysville and East Liberty. The facilities are located to the northwest of Columbus along US-33. , Budweiser has a major brewery located on the north side of the city. Hexion Specialty Chemicals (formerly part of Borden Milk Products) is located downtown as well. The Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories, makers of Ensure nutritional drink and Similac infant formula, is also headquartered in Columbus, with over 7,000 employees.
Scott Company, the maker's of Miracle Gro and various other soil and potting fertilizers and products is headquartered outside of Columbus in the exurb of Marysville, Ohio. The Columbus area is a great area to raise a family. It is not perfert, but no place is. The majority of families are 2 parent married which is always GOOD . School systems are always debatable . You seem to get what you pay for !! But can you afford to live there. People are friendly except unfortunatly during this MAD MAD time of year (OSU/Michigan week). It is really all in fun even though some get carried away Hope this helps
check my profile for more info

[JayLynn]

You You:

It really is bad out here; the unemployment rate is 7.1%, the worst in the nation, excluding Mississippi. I have several friends that graduated way before me, and have been more than 6 months seeking employment. Companies are taking advantage of the situation, and are offering $12 an hour to college graduates with a bachelors degree. It's really sad, many people are relocating, but there are more blue collar jobs available.

[paintballer1708]

^ I can really relate to where you are coming from. Im originally from Pittsburgh, but after i graduated from college i then moved to Lansing, Michigan. I couldnt take the ecomomy or the crime rate so i left, and headed back for Pittsburgh. I now live in the Cincinnati metro. I love it here. The economy is really growing, and the job base is good. I realize you are looking for a large hispanic population. Well Ohio has one of the fastest growing latino populations of any other state. I use to live in Westlake, Ohio west of Cleveland, and the western suburbs of Cleveland have a booming hispanic population. Its a great area to live in, good jobs, nice and safe. I always keep track of the unemployment rate per state, as that is part of my job. Michigan has stayed at or above the 7.1% range, i believe close to 8% at the first quarter. Ohio is currently at 5.3%, while Columbus sits at about 4.6% to 4.8%.

As Gee mentioned, Columbus is home to many large national corporations. Columbus really has a diverse economy. One reason Michigan is going nowhere is because it hasnt diversified its economy. They are still stuck in the Auto Industry. I really like how in Cleveland they have a well developing tech field, as well as the medical field is among the best in the world.

Some suburbs around Columbus that are worth looking into are Hilliard, Dublin, New Albany, Granville, Heath, Delware, Worthington and Gahanna. Delaware is really growing fast though. One of the fastest growing regions in the nation. I would really look into Worthington though. Best of luck in your next move, and if you need anymore info i would be glad to help.

[where_to_move]

I would NOT live in Columbus City limits if you want to raise a family. A nice suburb that is still affordable would be Grove City, Hilliard, other nice ones include (but taxes are higher) westerville, dublin, worthington, powell.

Columbus does have a great economy for the reasons mentioned above. One wise person told me "ALWAYS look to live in the capital city in ANY STATE" b/c political jobs are CONSTANT/STABLE. Other communities fluctuate, so for that reason alone Columbus will stay stable. I personally think the crime is BAD in Columbus city limits, however, out in the 'burbs it is great. Nice place to raise a family, affordable housing...
But it is not for me, I can't wait to move just b/c I hate the winters here. I have been here 2+ yrs & looking forward to moving SOLEY due to weather. I am a big wimp when it comes to cold gray days. Since you came from Michigan you will be just fine. Even NYC I am sure has bad gray days. I love the people the affordability though.
Best of luck.
Try realtor.com & look for homes in the above suburbs & see for yourself.

[streetcreed]

Columbus has many nice neighborhoods in the city limits. Since your younger you could move into a nice city neighborhood. There are actually some areas (mostly clintonville and NW columbus) which have decent city schools. Then there are other areas where the city schools are full of many poor kids.

You haven't really received a response on the city limits of Columbus yet so I wanted to help you out with that.

In addition to Clintonville (where kids do go to the columbus public schools) there are many nice areas in the city limits where private schools is an option. If you like gentrified urban areas there are many of those.

Also, there are a lot of areas which are columbus city limtis but go to suburban school districts!

Anyway, you have many options I would look into the suburbs and the areas of columbus that are near the suburban lines. And explore many of the older areas which have stable housing rates and nice walkable communities.

[streetcreed]

As far as Columbus' cost of living, I have been told that our gas bills are higher in Ohio than Michigan because we have a different way of paying them.
I am not quite sure what my friend ment, but I have a small one bedroom apartment (an older building but renovated with new windows) and my gas bill is 80s dollars in the winter (on average.)

Now as far as looking for a job, Columbus would be the place to be for this region. Our economy is slower than the roaring 90s but there is growth occuring.

Also, housing costs are more expensive in the Columbus' area compared to many other midwestern cities and metros. However, housing costs are really only more expensive in very sought after parts of the city and suburbs. You will find many good bargains if you go into a more lower or middle class area.

[stockdale.35]

My wife and I moved here in the summer and it took my wife 4 months to find a job. I dont know if thats good or bad for you. Dont personally like Columbus but there are alot of good communities and families seem to be very important.