Lancaster ohio (Columbus, Fairfield, Gahanna: selling a house, neighborhood, construction)

[macsports2]

I've heard this is a really nice area. Doesn't seem very diverse though but heard people are accepting with other races there. How is the area and how convenient are things like doctors, dentists, headstart schools. Any info would be great.

[Traveler87]

Lancaster is a nice mid-sized city not far from Columbus. Close to some great state parks, and the entertainment in Columbus is not a far drive.
City of Lancaster, Ohio, Home Page

Village of New Albany > Home ( DNN 2.1.2 )

[LancasterNative]

Howdy Mac,

Well as my screenname indicates I'm a native of Lancaster. And yeah, I think it's a wonderful place to be!

It has the slower pace and friendly attitudes you'd associate with a small town, but still has amenities like a mall, nice restaurants, etc. that you'd expect in a city much larger.

The hospital that serves Lancaster is Fairfield Medical Center. It's the largest single employer in town, since glass manufacturing has downsized considerably. There are lots of good doctors in Lancaster. Growing up there, my folks knew many of them. Their areas of specialty range from general/family practice to advanced tertiary care & surgery. Quite a few good dentists around as well.

As for schools, I'm really not all that familiar with "Head Start"—that's a government program, isn't it? I went to church-based preschools there, then Lancaster public schools. I actually had an outstanding education in Lancaster schools! My teachers were awesome, old-fashioned, God-fearing patriots. They went by the 3R's. They used discipline and taught us respect, responsibility, strong character and good citizenship as well as multiplication tables & diagramming sentences. Of course, that was a different time (1970s-80s) well before the hippies/freaks took over education, so who knows, those days may be long gone. I'm scared to even speculate what crap they're teaching today...

At the time I was in school, Fisher Catholic was the only private HS in Lancaster. That is no longer the case, as Fairfield Christian now has a K-12 Academy that's quickly gained lots of respect, has strong academics, is committed to moral character formation, and draws from more diverse Christian backgrounds; the church & school are non-denominational.

Square 13 (part of the Lancaster Historic District) is a charming collection of early 19th-c. homes and churches. A few of the houses are open to the public now as museums. If you're into older homes, the best areas to live in Lancaster are up near Rising Park or down in the Historic District.

There are also starting to appear some of the standard post-1990s McMansions you see everywhere else in America—complete w/crappy substandard modern construction, etc. These are mostly out by the mall.

As far as racial diversity, Lancaster is about 97% white. Nobody really thinks that much of it; I just don't remember race being talked about a lot, and I certainly wasn't aware of any racism (KKK-type stuff) when I lived there. I think the pop. today just reflects the settlement patterns of who's moved there since the town's founding in 1800.

But if the overwhelmingly white culture bothers you, then it may not be the best place to settle. Although Lancaster folks are accepting of non-white races, I must say they're not all that fond of change, in general. (Just being honest...)

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!
Lanc

[macsports2]

Originally Posted by LancasterNative

Howdy Mac,

Well as my screenname indicates I'm a native of Lancaster. And yeah, I think it's a wonderful place to be!

It has the slower pace and friendly attitudes you'd associate with a small town, but still has amenities like a mall, nice restaurants, etc. that you'd expect in a city much larger.

The hospital that serves Lancaster is Fairfield Medical Center. It's the largest single employer in town, since glass manufacturing has downsized considerably. There are lots of good doctors in Lancaster. Growing up there, my folks knew many of them. Their areas of specialty range from general/family practice to advanced tertiary care & surgery. Quite a few good dentists around as well.

As for schools, I'm really not all that familiar with "Head Start"—that's a government program, isn't it? I went to church-based preschools there, then Lancaster public schools. I actually had an outstanding education in Lancaster schools! My teachers were awesome, old-fashioned, God-fearing patriots. They went by the 3R's. They used discipline and taught us respect, responsibility, strong character and good citizenship as well as multiplication tables & diagramming sentences. Of course, that was a different time (1970s-80s) well before the hippies/freaks took over education, so who knows, those days may be long gone. I'm scared to even speculate what crap they're teaching today...

At the time I was in school, Fisher Catholic was the only private HS in Lancaster. That is no longer the case, as Fairfield Christian now has a K-12 Academy that's quickly gained lots of respect, has strong academics, is committed to moral character formation, and draws from more diverse Christian backgrounds; the church & school are non-denominational.

Square 13 (part of the Lancaster Historic District) is a charming collection of early 19th-c. homes and churches. A few of the houses are open to the public now as museums. If you're into older homes, the best areas to live in Lancaster are up near Rising Park or down in the Historic District.

There are also starting to appear some of the standard post-1990s McMansions you see everywhere else in America—complete w/crappy substandard modern construction, etc. These are mostly out by the mall.

As far as racial diversity, Lancaster is about 97% white. Nobody really thinks that much of it; I just don't remember race being talked about a lot, and I certainly wasn't aware of any racism (KKK-type stuff) when I lived there. I think the pop. today just reflects the settlement patterns of who's moved there since the town's founding in 1800.

But if the overwhelmingly white culture bothers you, then it may not be the best place to settle. Although Lancaster folks are accepting of non-white races, I must say they're not all that fond of change, in general. (Just being honest...)

Hope this helps, and best of luck to you!
Lanc

How about inter-racial couple and mixed kids? Do they look different at families like that?

[GahannaMix]

Originally Posted by macsports2

How about inter-racial couple and mixed kids? Do they look different at families like that?

I don't know anything about Lancaster but if you're looking for a middle class/upper middle class neighborhood where there's diversity and where interracial isn't a big deal, check out Gahanna=)

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by macsports2

How about inter-racial couple and mixed kids? Do they look different at families like that?

Since you mention it, some neighbors of mine back home were exactly that! Mother white, father black, kids mixed. And to be honest, none of us really gave it much thought.

We all played together as children & hung out as teens, just like anyone else...

Not sure if this example is completely indicative of everyone's attitudes, but I'd have to say our experience growing up together was a good one.

[macsports2]

Originally Posted by LancasterNative

Since you mention it, some neighbors of mine back home were exactly that! Mother white, father black, kids mixed. And to be honest, none of us really gave it much thought.

We all played together as children & hung out as teens, just like anyone else...

Not sure if this example is completely indicative of everyone's attitudes, but I'd have to say our experience growing up together was a good one.

Thank you very much for your advice. How about some good churches in the area? A friend of mine is selling a house in this area.

[FarLeftLiberal]

I'm supposed to be moving to Lancaster in a few months. It's last minute because my husband's grandfather is sick. To be completely honest I'm dreading it. It seems that there is a very strong right wing conservative side to the city, or the majority of the people who live there. (At least that's what I've noticed on this site.)
Now, I have no choice, so I can't opt for a more liberal environment. So I want to know how livable it is for someone like me. (I'm not bashing all of the residents or anything, I'm actually hoping there is a diversity in political views.)

Really, I just want to make sure it's not going to be overrun by people who can't handle minorities of any kind, or people who either see you as a "God fearing Patriot" or an athiest. Or, for that matter, people who would openly call me a "Hippie/Freak" just because of my ideals.

Anything that anyone could tell me would be great. I'm going to have to go anyway, I just want to prepare.

[jajosh07]

Having lived in Ohio for my whole live I have noticed something interesting. As you may know the Democrats whole live in strong holds (Northeast, and Southeast Ohio) have very different views and values than the national Democratic party. Just one example would be that our governor, Ted Strickland, is a democrat but is also Methodist Minister. In my examination, no person that was a former minister could be elected where the true "left wing liberals" live in California or elsewhere. So I guess what i'm trying to say is that outside the large metro areas, even the democrats are going to be conservative in Ohio.

[JilliO]

I grew up in Lancaster, and I am a definite left-leaner. Just keep a sense of humor. For example, I remember returning for grad school, reading about the award offered a previous weekend by the local businesswomen association.... to a man! (I'm a left-leaning and feminist to boot!) I showed my mom, who responded, "you see. you see what I've been living with all my life. Finally, someone understands. " Anyway, we both laughed, and of course I understood, I am her daughter, who grew up happily as a left-leaner in Lancaster, Ohio. We like Lancaster. People are nice. Share your ideas, thoughts, philosophies. If they are receptive, keep talking. If they're not, smile and wave hello when you see them. Changes are, they'll do the same.