what do you hate about columbus (Franklin, Wilson: middle-class, transplants, employment)

[mrb69]

Originally Posted by badasbuckeye

I have lived in Columbus for 39 years and I love it, I have been to other cities and I could not wait to get back the C O. I am a big Buckeye fan, but I don't cry when they lose or nothing like that.
You also have to look at it this way with Buckeye fans, most of them have lived here most of their lives, it grows on you. I don't think I was a fan until I was 15, and I had been playing football since I was 6, and living in Columbus since I was 2.

I love the city you can go anywhere and do just about anything. Anyone that does not think this, is someone that just does not get out or they go to the wrong places.

I grew up on the east side around main & Ohio Avenue. Schools that I have gone to.

Fair Avenue
Ohio Avenue
Wedgwood
West high
Walnut Ridge
ColumbusState (my wife FranklinUniversity)

I live out north now, and it is in the inner city near Hudson & Cleveland Avenue. I just had a new 2 story 3 br house built with a loft & a full walkout basement, and I pay less than $825 a month (30 yr fixed). You can't beat that. Let’s see you do that in hotlanta or other city of the same type and you are not in a bad area. You say people don't say hi, I say hi to all of my neighbors if they don't say hi to me first, we watch each others homes and we call the police if we see something wrong. We are having a neighborhood cookout this summer and we put our big screen TV’s in the garage on Saturday so others can walk over to watch the OhioState game

My kids say sir, ma’am and Thank you.

There is not a home depot on every street. All home depots are close to the outer belt 270, the same is true for lowes (they have one on Hudson & one on East Broad street) There is not one giant eagle store within 5 miles of my house, Kroger is about 5 miles from my house.

Crime rate? I know in 2007 we only had 79 murders and out of the 100 largest cities we rank 55th in crime (that was in 2005, I could not find anything newer than that) it is saying out of 100,000 people there will be crimes committed against 14.1 of those people. Compare that to:

1.Compton, Calif. 67.1
4.Youngstown, Ohio 43.7
8.Flint, Mich. 40.1
9.Detroit, Mich. 39.3
18.Philadelphia, Pa. 25.6
20.Cincinnati, Ohio 25.1
23.Cleveland, Ohio 23.8
34.Memphis, Tenn. 20.2
41.Pittsburgh, Pa. 19.0
42.Nashville, Tenn. 17.1
45.Dallas, Texas 16.4

But you should expect crime to happen, because people leave their laptops sitting in their back seats, or gps system in the front seat. When I get out of my car you don't see anything but maybe some papers sitting on the seat, but that is going to change to.Crime is everywhere. Dont get caught in the headlights like a deer.


Well let me get to the things I don't like.

I don't like that I can not get WOW cable where I like
I don't like that everything besides night clubs in the downtown area is closed by 7pm.
I don't like the gas prices (that is everywhere)

I met the governor once, he did not even say hi, even though I made eye contact and said hi, so I don't like him

I dont think those crime stats are right check out the FBI website because ive never seen cincinnati have higher crime rates then cleveland.

I dont think the MQ or the FBI should compare cities because it just makes the city looked cime ridden and dirty.They should compare hoods so you know you can be safe in any city but also you can know where to stay away from.Last time i checked compton was 4th in the U.S in crime stats but even columbus has certain crimes that are higher then comptons like you have a better chance to get robbed, have your house set on fire, or even have your car stolen here then in compton but i would rather get robbed then murdered haha.........

I noiced you said somthings about columbus that you dislike well i get WOW and i live right by hudson(on jefferson) ooo and i also hate how they close everything at 7pm but thats because every place.If you want to find good gas there a place called bopes a.k.a. buckeye fuel most of the time they have the cheapest gas in columbus and also ive seen a place on morse rd where acouple of days ago had a price of 3.62!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Steelers06]

Columbus sucks. A thriving downtown? YUPPIE CENTRAL. And I wouldn't call five blocks of resturants or bars thriving. Park Street is a joke and is like fake LA.
The only things to do here are movies, malls, resturants. Unless you primarily like those things then you're **** out of luck.
Nothing outdoorsy to do, not a huge art scene, everyone is married by 24.

[jajosh07]

Perhaps if you took as much effort in complaining about the lack of things to do, in searching for things to do, you would have a much better weekend? What exactly are you searching for to do? What would your ideal even be?

[streetcreed]

Columbus sucks. A thriving downtown? YUPPIE CENTRAL.

Columbus has a very gentrified and thriving innercity. The neighborhoods, that are actually in the columbus city school district and central city, like Short North, Harrison West, German Village, Merion Village, Clintonville and Beechwold are gems.

Yes to you, maybe, it is too "yuppie", but I would rather have a lively innercity with a great art scene, restaurants, and cleaned up streets and renovated houses, than a decaying innercity that serves only as a museum to the past. This is what you find in my innercity neighborhoods in cleveland and yes i am sure your dear pittsburgh.

Columbus' innercity might not be your kind of place. However, you can deny the fact that it is in much better shape than almost every other city in the region.

If someone thinks there is little to do in Columbus I suggest you visit columbus alive and check out how much is going on every weekend. Columbus' arts scenes and events are not going to jump out at you, but you need to find out where to go and what is going on. It is easy for me because I live in the central city. Even though there are malls and shopping and chains in the outskirts and suburbs the central city is still where true culture exists. Theater organizations, opera, ballet, plays, arts galleries, concerts, and sporting events.

Columbus Alive

[Sockeye]

I've lived in CO for 40 years now, but my ancestry harkens back to Zanesville, Pickerington, and Columbus. We get back for reunions, weddings, and sadly now funerals. Two summers ago we attended a riverside blues fest that really impressed us. I think Columbus is a pretty progressive city, kinda like Denver! And like most cities, its got it's share of exurban blight and SprawlMarts.

[OhioKid]

What kind of question is this? Is this just an opportunity for people to bash Columbus. If some of the people that posted stuff on this thread dislike Columbus so much why don't you move? No reason to be unhappy all the time. That's why I left Detroit. I didn't like it. Though a lot of people do and it is a good place to visit.

I think Columbus is a fantastic town. It has every thing that any other major city offers. Traffic is a dream compared to a lot of cities. Crime is not something that people deal with on a regular basis if you stay out of certain areas. And who wants to go into those areas anyway? People complain that everyone talks about the Buckeyes too much. They should come to Knoxville. It rises to the level of insanity here. Especially since the Volunteers are an average team at best.

Of every city I've lived in I would take Columbus in a second.

[OhioKid]

This is a post from an earlier thread. It sums up Columbus pretty well.

I've been searching for a new place to call home after living in Austin Texas for a few years. After countless hours online I've come to the conclusion that Columbus, Ohio and the surrounding suburbs are the best place for me. Why you ask? Here are my reasons...

1. Rain--enough of it not to be in the major drought areas especially in the central and northeastern part of the state. I like gardening and having nice plants so this was important to me.

2. Columbus Zoo and aquarium--one of the best zoos in the country. I like being able to take my nieces and nephews to a fun place.

3. Good Libraries--rated best libraries in the country in many parts of Ohio. Love a good book and it is a good indication that people are literate.

4. Restaurants--great restaurants here especially for someone with Celiac-gluten intolerance like I have. I found 7 restaurants so far that have gluten free menus.
They also have Whole Foods, Raisin Rack, and Trader Joes which carry specialty foods.

5. Four seasons---I can't wait to get out of the heat of Central Texas...It will be so nice to see the leaves changing, and some snow maybe for Christmas. I like that central Ohio doesn't get too much snow, just enough to enjoy now and then.

6. Less chance of catastrophic weather. Low chance of major earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, hail...etc.

7. Beautiful parks and gardens. I found countless parks and gardens to visit and a bird watching society.

8. Housing prices are still reasonable. There are alot of good deals on homes in Ohio and they aren't 1,000 sq ft ranches like in some of the affordable states.

9. Farmer's Markets--lots of fresh produce from local farms. Just look on Local Harvest online to find them.

10. Lots of things to do in and around the city....festivals, ballet, theater, symphony, sports, museums, shopping at big malls and little boutiques.

I have looked all over the US and I'm very happy to have finally found a good place to relocate.

[GearHeadDave]

Almost no outdoor recreation. A few reservoirs to the North, but there are precious few parks, and woodlands are rare indeed. You have to drive more than an hour to a State or National forest. Everything around Columbus has been cleared for farmland or subdivisions.

And is is FLAT! Very little topography until you get to the East and Southeast of the city.

OhioKid, there's a simple answer to that question about "why don't you move". Simple, a job. You can put up with a lot when you have to put bread on the table, and keep a table under the bread.

[chicagoerin]

I have to belive that the people on this post that are trashing CBUS for traffic (seriously??) crime, cost of living, etc must have never lived anywhere else. I have lived in several cities like Chicago, St Louis, etc and am here to tell you WE HAVE IT GOOD! Columbus is a great city. It will never be a new york or chicago, nor do we want it to be. The only thing I don't like is the buckeye hysteria, but it's harmless.

[GeminiGal]

Originally Posted by chicagoerin

I have to belive that the people on this post that are trashing CBUS for traffic (seriously??) crime, cost of living, etc must have never lived anywhere else. I have lived in several cities like Chicago, St Louis, etc and am here to tell you WE HAVE IT GOOD! Columbus is a great city. It will never be a new york or chicago, nor do we want it to be. The only thing I don't like is the buckeye hysteria, but it's harmless.

Very well stated chicagoerin ... I've said it before and I'll say it again - I've lived in alot of SE US cities that people seem to be flocking to. I had my reservations about a move out of my comfort zone - but a terrific job opportunity brought us hear. So far - even with the very warm Fall, Winter blizzard, and the cold May weather - we are more than pleased with what Columbus has to offer. This really is a great place to call home!