Grove City or Westerville (Columbus, Upper Arlington: housing, income, work)

[macsports2]

I am so undecided at this time. I've had my mind set on moving to Grove City for the longest time now but have been seeing homes in Westerville for just under 100k or close to it with at least a quarter acre or more. I am looking for something that you can just walk to a mini mart and get milk but is out of the city. I have 4 children that are mixed and a black husband. I plan on going to CSCC in the fall. Which would be the better place to go? I know Westerville has better schools but I can accept the way Grove City's schools are.

[LASam]

This is completely subjective, but when I lived in Columbus I always had a better perception of Westerville than Grove City. Westerville has great schools, a nice old town area, Hoover rec area, Inniswood Gardens, Sharon Woods, and close proximity to Easton and Polaris. What does Grove City have over Westerville? A better marching band?

[AcousticBuckeye]

Yes no question. If given the choice choose Westerville over Grove City. Too many reasons to go into.

[CrissCT]

Nothing against Grove City, but Westerville.

[macsports2]

How diverse is Westerville or areas of Columbus that are Westerville schools?

[LASam]

According to City-Data -

Races in Westerville:

White Non-Hispanic (92.9%)
Black (3.2%)
Two or more races (1.2%)
Hispanic (1.1%)
Chinese (0.5%)

Races in Grove City:

White Non-Hispanic (95.4%)
Black (1.5%)
Hispanic (1.2%)
Two or more races (1.1%)
American Indian (0.6%)

[macsports2]

Which place would be better for someone low class to middle class? At least until I get my degree to become a teacher.

[bgfalcons86]

Grove City is in South-Western CSD, which is on the uneven side as far as schools are concerned. That being said, the Grove City portion of the district tends to outperform the rest of the district on standardized tests. Not to mention, the schools on the GC side definitely have the better overall reputation. GC itself was in the midst of a growth spurt prior to the recent problems with sub-prime mortgages. Not sure if the growth has slowed down or not.

Grove City is mixed socio-economically with a range of housing, but the schools on the GC portion of the district are somewhat less diverse ethnically that the rest of the district.

Westerville CSD is also socio-economically mixed, encompassing affluent areas in Genoa Twp., middle/upper-middle class housing in Westerville 'proper', modest areas in Blendon Twp. and some working class areas (mostly in the Columbus portion of the district) as well. Overall, the median HH income is definitely above that of the US, but by no means would you compare Westerville CSD to New Albany-Plain LSD or Upper Arlington CSD (both much more consistently affluent). Westerville CSD is also a fairly diverse school district in terms of ethnicity (almost 30% 'non-white' according to the district).

Overall, I'd give the edge to Westerville. Just my .02. Hope this helps & Good Luck!