Family of 5 moving to Columbus area (Westerville, Gahanna: homes, neighborhoods, middle school)

[MichiganFamiy5]

Hello,

My husband is going to Columbus and we are from Detroit. We currently live in a nice suburb with great schools...we have one in high school, one in middle school and one in elementary. We also are a bi-racial couple and wondering if there are areas that would not be a good fit. I have read a lot of Hillard. We are looking for it all good schools, not far from downtown, nice people, and a good price about 250's. Any idea's?

[streetcreed]

When you say not far from downtown how close do you mean?

There are many nice innerring suburbs, since you said schools must be very good, these are your best bet.

Some nice innerring suburbs which are just a hop skip and jump from downtown would be
Bexley
and Grandview Heights

Worthington and Upperarlington are a little further away but still close to downtown and have many different housing options.

As far as decent sections of Columbus that are served by the Columbus schools there are some, there is a neighborhood called Clintonville (just north of the Ohio State University.) This neighborhood has many renovated and nice homes and some of the stronger columbus city schools in the district.

There are many other very nice neighborhoods around downtown (German Village, Victorian Village, Italian Village) but the Columbus public schools in these neighborhoods are not as strong and private schooling is usually recommended.


Hillard on the other hand is one of the newer suburbs and would get you a cheaper home, but isn't as close to downtown as the other suburbs and communities that I have listed. Hillard also, to be blunt, lacks much of the asthetical appeal that these other communities and suburbs have. Hillard is a newer more sprawling growing suburb. Some people do like these though.

Politically, Columbus is more conservative on its westside and the westside and SW suburbs. Hillard would be one of the more conservative suburbs.

All of the places that I listed earlier are more progressive and are more build up communities with higher housing prices, but a home in the 250,000s could be found in most. It just might not be large as you would like in some.

For the newer suburbs, which are still only about 15 minutes from downtown, theres Gahanna and Pickerington, these are on the eastside and have a more diverse mix of races.

[paintballer1708]

^ I really like Gahanna, Worthington and Westerville. Some great school systems, and very diverse populations. All three are worth checking out.

[bgfalcons86]

I live in Hilliard (there is a second 'i' before the 'a') and would recommend it. We're very happy with the schools and the community in general. Hilliard is not 'cheap', but you should be able to find a nice 4-bedroom home in the 250s. You're really not all that far from downtown (15-20 mins) and it is nice to have the semi-rural areas to the west (Brown Township). Bexley, Worthington and Grandview are all land-locked communities, surrounded by Columbus.

The Cemetery Road and Hilliard-Rome Road corridors that streetcreed refers to don't have the same aesthetic appeal as perhaps Old Worthington. However, Hilliard is working hard to make these areas more appealing. That being said, though, the neighborhoods are already appealing and family-friendly.

When our family was moving from north Columbus, we were deciding between Westerville and Hilliard. We ended up in Hilliard and we're glad we did. There are a lot of nice communities in the Columbus area (Worthington, Dublin, Weserville, Gahanna, etc.) to pick from. Good Luck.

[MichiganFamiy5]

Thank you all for the information.

Happy New Year!