moving from tennessee to columbus ohio (Fairfield, Lancaster: apartment complexes, how much, houses)

[mom*of*five]

Hello,
I am a mom of five and my husband is being transfered to the Columbus Ohio area. I have not had a chance to visit but will soon and need some info on areas that are great to live in. I have heard lots about Dublin Ohio and will be looking around there for sure. All my children are school age and will be attending elementary and middle school. I have heard a little about Lancaster and am curious about this area. I just would like to hear from someone who is knows this area. We have lived in Tennessee all our live and this is very scary to our family.
Thanks

[jdcpartner]

Well, Dublin is very over developed. As of now Dublin continues to stretch across the surrounding counties engulfing farm land. It looks like a bunch of little developments, and is pretty boring.

As for Upper Arlington, it is done being developed. It is surrounded by columbus and grandview heights, and they have a slightly better school system than dublin. The houses have a lot of variety, and it is a very safe area. There is one high school, compared to the 4 in dublin (and growing). It is a superb place to raise children.

[mom*of*five]

Thank you so much for your imput. Do you know anything about Lancaster? We are planning a trip to look at the area and would like to narrow it down to a few places. Any imput would be great.
Mom*of*five

[mdswines]

Originally Posted by mom*of*five

Thank you so much for your imput. Do you know anything about Lancaster? We are planning a trip to look at the area and would like to narrow it down to a few places. Any imput would be great.
Mom*of*five

Hi there.

I grew up in Reynoldsburg, OH (a suburb on the east side of Cbus). If you don't mind me asking, what is your price range for housing?

- Matt

[mom*of*five]

Our price range is 200 to 240 a big deal is the kids. I want to have a yard that is big and lots of trees. I don't mind an older home. I just want a great area to raise kids. I am from the south and have lived outside of Nashville for most of my life. I do love being around the city and would like to be close to Columbus but not opposed to small town.
Beth

[mdswines]

Originally Posted by mom*of*five

Our price range is 200 to 240 a big deal is the kids. I want to have a yard that is big and lots of trees. I don't mind an older home. I just want a great area to raise kids. I am from the south and have lived outside of Nashville for most of my life. I do love being around the city and would like to be close to Columbus but not opposed to small town.
Beth

I'm not sure how much $240,00 will get you in Upper Arlington. It's a very wealthy area. Lots of doctors and university professors, etc.

Bexley is another nice area - on the east side of Columbus. Though it's a bit pricey too. Also (please don't be offended by this) Bexley has a large Jewish population. My mom grew up in Bexley and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it. Just trying to paint an accurate picture for you.

Worthington (north side) is a nice area where you'll probably get more bang for the buck in housing. Westerville is pretty nice too.

On the east side is Gahanna, Reynoldsburg and Pickerington. All these areas are really growing. Housing is still relatively cheap too. I grew up in R'burg. It was nice but I prefer Pickerington - it has more charm in my opinion (though it has grown A LOT).

I suggest staying out of Whitehall and the Brice Rd. area south of I70.

Best thing to do is contact a realtor and visit a few places. Also try to do it during a work day and have your husband actually try the commute. Columbus traffic can be pretty hairy.

Best of luck and God bless you with your 5 kids!!

- Matt

[paintballer1708]

Check out Worthington, and Hilliard. I really think you will like Hilliard. Its a great community not far from the city of Columbus. What i really like about Columbus is it is a big city with a small town feel to it. Everyone is really nice. Trust me you will really like it there. Any more questions please ask. And good luck with your move.

[from KY]

Hi Mom of 5. I just moved to Columbus (New Albany) about 4 months ago from Nashville (Hermitage). When relocating here, I lived in the Westerville area. You should definately check out the area on your visit. Good luck. You will like Columbus. It is a great place to raise kids (more so than Nashville).

[petebank]

I think it will depend a lot on how you feel about commuting. Lancaster could be nice (it's a smaller area) but you've got a good 45 minute drive to get to Columbus, not counting rush hour. If you want less of a commute - I'd agree with the others that recommended Worthington or Westerville. I think Dublin is overpriced and Upper Arlington is EXTREMELY overpriced. My family and I live in a small area in the middle of Columbus called Devonshire. We love our neighborhood (although there are some apartment complexes and things in the neighborhood that are a little questionable), but do have some concerns about the schools. My daughter is only 3 so it's not a problem just yet. One thing I absolutely love about Columbus is the weather. It's only too hot a few weeks out of the summer and we definitely get all four seasons. The fall is beautiful and if you don't mind snow the winter is great, too. Feel free to e-mail me privately and I'd be happy to show you around, answer questions, etc.

[snakecotc]

You want to buy a house in the Miller-Kelton area. Kidding, stay away from there. My advice would be to live outside of Franklin County and commute. Unless you like the big city feel. Personally, I do not like Columbus at all. The people here have given you some excellent options, though. I live in neighboring Licking County and I dont think you can go wrong with Granville or Heath. The schools are great. Fairfield County is good also. Pickerington would be a great place. Ive heard bad things about Lancaster though. I think its a nice place, but Ive heard drugs are somewhat prevalent. The places I would look into are Pickerington, New Albany, Lancaster, Granville, Heath. But I am not you, therefore I dont know what you like. In closing, I do not like Franklin County. However, it should be noted that the largest place Ive lived in has a population of 60K. I should also add that I dont know much about western Franklin County. The bottom line is:

DONT TRUST A MESSAGE BOARD TO MAKE SUCH A BIG DECISION FOR YOU. DO YOUR RESEARCH AND YOU WILL BE REWARDED.