possible relocating from nj (Columbus, Newark: hotels, home, job transfer)

[momnotwell]

Hi, we may be relocating to Columbus from NJ. My husbands job is moving here later this year. What is the safest, best location to move? With good schools, neighbors, etc. Also how are property taxes there? How is the climate? Any info would be helpful. We will be traveling there soon for a short visit. What's to do there? Thanks.

Christine

[NorthWord]

Where in New Jersey?
I used to live in Columbus, but I worked for 18 months in Newark, NJ (lived in Hoboken) and I could give you a fair comparison between the two.

Columbus is a far better place to live and raise a family than the Bergan county area of NJ for sure.
Public transportation is lacking, so I hope that you have a car or two.

[momnotwell]

I live in Jersey City. Real close to Newark.
So there's no buses or trains in Columbus?
I appreciate anything you can tell me about it.
Thanks!

[NewToCA]

Depends upon what you are looking to spend. Regarding property tax, as a general rule I would figure about 2 to 2.5% of purchase price, meaning a $250K home would have annual property taxes in the $5,000-$5,700 range. Unlike New Jersey, most cities in Ohio have a "wage" tax of a couple % too, so be aware of this when considering where to move.

[NorthWord]

There is a bus service in Columbus, but Ohio is car territory. Everyone drives, plenty of parking, etc. There's no train or light rail. Traffic moves well, ODoT does a better job of traffic planning than most states I've lived in.
Good highways and expressways in the area. Even most secondary roads in Ohio are excellent, so there's no gigantic potholes (like that monster on Palisades that I used to occasionally hit before I turned onto the Viaduct to go home) to kill your vehicle.

The cost of living is lower than NJ, by quite a bit. Tax dollars seem to be spent better. I didn't have any school age children there, but my wife is an educator and rates Ohio public schools better than New Jersey.

It's a night and day difference. I did miss some parts of New Jersey, but I was glad to get back to Ohio.

[BuckeyeMom1]

My husband and I both grew up in Ohio and also resided in Columbus for several years during and after graduating college (OSU). There are great things to do, but many of these things are somewhat publicized. With Ohio State being there, there are many activities offered on and off campus that satisfy a variety of interests for kids and adults. Check out these links:

Outreach - The Ohio State University
COSI Columbus | Dynamic Hands-On Science Center
Columbus, Ohio Travel Guide - Hotels, Attractions, Dining

As far as places to live, you will find several areas that are really nice and price friendly. Also, regardless of where you live, you will probably only have at most a 10-15 minute commute to work via the 270 outerbelt.

My family just relocated to Alabama for a job transfer, but we resided in New Albany, Ohio. It is a suburb that is NE of Columbus. I would definitely recommend looking here (award winning schools, small and close knit community, etc.), and also Gahanna and Westerville. If you have children, check out the following link for school reports:

Default County Report Card Home Page

Check out New Albany (Plain Local) and Gahanna Jefferson in the drop down menu. Both are in Franklin County (Columbus). Again, I am sure that these are not the only great schools in Columbus, but I can only speak to what my family has experienced.

MOD CUT

The weather.....well it can get pretty cold. But I am sure coming from NJ, this probably will not be too much a shock for you. I have to be honest, I am really enjoying being back in the south (we lived in Dallas from 2000-2005). When we relocated back to Cols. in 2005, it took a while for us to readjust to the cold after being in TX.

Hope this helps. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

[momnotwell]

thanks everyone for your helpful info. I am trying to learn as much as I can to decide where to move in Columbus. I'm hoping to move somewhere close to my job so we won't have far to go. I expect it is cold in Ohio but like you said I'm used to that living in NJ. How are the summers though..I'm used to warmer/hot weather in the summers in NJ. We have a pool now and I was wondering if we'll need one in Ohio?
Does anyone know anything about the Galloway area?
We are most interested in the Dublin/Worthington area..how are the schools there?
bye for now!
Christine

[momnotwell]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Depends upon what you are looking to spend. Regarding property tax, as a general rule I would figure about 2 to 2.5% of purchase price, meaning a $250K home would have annual property taxes in the $5,000-$5,700 range. Unlike New Jersey, most cities in Ohio have a "wage" tax of a couple % too, so be aware of this when considering where to move.

Thanks..but what's this wage tax?

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by momnotwell

Thanks..but what's this wage tax?

A tax on earned income. It only applies to money earned working, not on dividends, pensions or interest income. Generally, it runs about 2%, but the risk you have is that some communities have "reciprocity agreements" with others, while others have partial reciprocity or no agreement at all. In those cases, you can end up paying a tax to the community where you work, and some additional tax to the community in which you reside. Though a bit slanted in perspective, a little additional information is contained in this (below) link:

The Tax Foundation - County and City Income Taxes Clustered in States with Poor Tax Climates

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by momnotwell

thanks everyone for your helpful info. I am trying to learn as much as I can to decide where to move in Columbus. I'm hoping to move somewhere close to my job so we won't have far to go. I expect it is cold in Ohio but like you said I'm used to that living in NJ. How are the summers though..I'm used to warmer/hot weather in the summers in NJ. We have a pool now and I was wondering if we'll need one in Ohio?
Does anyone know anything about the Galloway area?
We are most interested in the Dublin/Worthington area..how are the schools there?
bye for now!
Christine

Schools in both Worthington and Dublin are just fine, among the best public school education systems you can find. Also, both communities have public recreation centers you may want to check out for additional family activities.

Weather is about the same as you have in New Jersey, generally fairly warm in the summer and cold in the winter. One thing some folks like about Columbus is that they frequently dodge many of the larger snowstorms that plague other areas. I lived there for 14 winters, and would say that for at least four or five I never really had more than a couple of inches of snow to shovel at any given time.