Need some acreage for dogs - which area of Columbus ? (Newark: for sale, crime)

[KarenInOhio]

I do a lot of animal rescue work and have 4 dogs. I need to find an area where the prices are decent (low to mid 200's) but where I can have "room" between me & the neighbors. I'd like at least 2 acres. Also, a SAFE neighborhood is a must for me.

I'm an IT contractor, so I'm willing to drive 45-60 to downtown Columbus. Can you tell me which areas of Columbus sound like this ? It doesn't matter if it's North, South, East or West of Columbus.


Thank you !!

[KarenInOhio]

Anyone ? Anyone ? :/

[wrightflyer]

I'd start in either Lancaster, southeast of Columbus along US33. Or Marysville to the NW of Columbus on US33. Each has a decent amount of shopping in town and plenty of homes along back roads around town with easy expressway access. Lancaster has about 6-7 lights along US33, so that slows traffic down more than coming from Marysville, but Marysville is probably longer distance-wise to downtown. And with I-270 and US33 under redesign, it may be a long term construction headache.

Both are about 30-35 miles from town center to downtown.

Out of Lancaster, you'd probably find more large acreage homes scattered than around Marysville, which sits in farm country. I'd say you'd find your best bets to the north of Lancaster, but Lancaster proper may have some sketchier areas of town. But most of that won't house 2 acre lots. The biggest areas of crime outside of major cities in Ohio tends to be meth or opiod dealing and cooking. Still, it isn't a safety issue if you are not involved in those activities. Lancaster is bigger than Marysville and has its own mall, though it isn't anything big, it does attract more stores to the town. You can do almost all of your shopping in Lancaster with possible occasional trips to Pickerington/Reynoldsburg areas or Easton Town Center (don't confuse this with the closer Eastland Mall, which might as well be dead and isn't surrounded by the best area).

Marysville will usually be cheaper the further north and west you are because you begin to get outside the normal areas of Columbus commuters. US33 goes onward as an expressway northwest of Marysville towards the Honda R&D and Assembly Plant in East Liberty. I think Marysville is a better town than Lancaster as far as crime, but it doesn't have too terribly much going on in its center. Plenty of big-box stores though and Dublin and Tuttle Mall are only 10-20 miles away depending on where around Marysville you are.

A final consideration may be London, Ohio. Not a big town, and probably a little smaller than Marysville, it is about 25-30 miles from downtown and is about 5 miles south of I-70. Plenty of farm country and homes that have decent acreage at a cheaper price than other areas in the same range from downtown. There is still some shopping in town (Rural King, Tractor Supply, Krgoer, Peebles, IGA, etc.), but the brunt of shopping here will be in Hilliard at Hilliard-Rome Road corridor off I-70 just before I-270.

[wrightflyer]

Here are some options around Lancaster:

Bloom-Carroll Local Schools:
8185 Slough NW Road, Carroll, OH 43112 - Standard Cape Cod on 1.87 Acres
https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/.../pid_11543146/

Liberty Union-Thurston Local Schools:
11745 Snyder Church NW Road, Baltimore, OH 43105 - Interesting home with farm buildings on 5+ acres
https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/...d/pid_8628564/

Canal Winchester Local Schools:
8836 Lithopolis NW Road, Canal Winchester, OH 43110 - Smaller New Home on 2.17 acres
https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/.../pid_11782096/

Fairfield Union Local Schools:
6798 Thornville NE Road, Rushville, OH 43150 - 2.15 acre home (44 miles out via back roads and I-70)
https://www.coldwellbankerhomes.com/.../pid_11180862/

[jbcmh81]

Lancaster is pretty far if you actually want to be somewhat close to Columbus. I would try the western part of Franklin County, around West Jefferson. It's not an expensive area and because of the Darby Creek being designated a national and state scenic river, it will never become very developed, so it will always stay pretty low key. There are also a lot of trails and park space in that area that would be great for dogs. The Camp Chase Trail multi-use path is many miles long and goes from almost London in Madison County and will eventually go all the way to Downtown Columbus. To drive from there, it is a quick 10-15 minutes to 270.

[wrightflyer]

The hard thing, even out there, is finding inventory that has enough acreage. Just doing a search around the areas west of Columbus such as London, Plain City and West Jefferson, there doesn't seem to be as much availability as I found out east. That's why I didn't post anything out that way towards London or Marysville.

And anything within Franklin County or school districts and townships bordering Franklin County (at least the decent ones) will likely be over the $250,000 mark for a budget if needing 2+ acres. If it isn't more than $250,000, it likely would need major TLC or be really small. There may be something that would pop up in rural parts of South-Western Schools (Grove City).

Licking County in areas outside Newark may also be options, though I would stay south or west of Newark if possible due to commute.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

The hard thing, even out there, is finding inventory that has enough acreage. Just doing a search around the areas west of Columbus such as London, Plain City and West Jefferson, there doesn't seem to be as much availability as I found out east. That's why I didn't post anything out that way towards London or Marysville.

And anything within Franklin County or school districts and townships bordering Franklin County (at least the decent ones) will likely be over the $250,000 mark for a budget if needing 2+ acres. If it isn't more than $250,000, it likely would need major TLC or be really small. There may be something that would pop up in rural parts of South-Western Schools (Grove City).

Licking County in areas outside Newark may also be options, though I would stay south or west of Newark if possible due to commute.

I think finding inventory available anywhere in the Columbus area is difficult right now. The amount of housing for sale is at historic lows. Just land might be a bit easier to find. You're probably right that there is going to be more available in areas that are further out, though.