Serously thinking about moving, some questions (Columbus, Cleveland: short sale, renting, day care)

[DeeDee77]

Hello,

We are seriously thinking about moving to Columbus, OH from Miami, FL.
Main reason, cost of living and we are not much of a beach crowd anyways.

I have some questions
1) What is the tolerance towards latins? I am not the typical latin in many ways, but a look at me and you'll know I am not exactly from Russia. And my accent is still a little thick.

2) Do you know what is the job outlook for business analyst? Is monster.com the best place to look?

3) How is the availability to alternative medicine, all my doctors are naturopathic and I delivered my son at home with a midwife. (I told you I am not the typical latin .)

4) How are the schools/day care? $$?, my son is 16 months old.

5) What are nice neighborhoods to live with good schools if you make 75-90k year?s I guess i would be renting. My current commute is 22 miles, 45 minutes. I am hoping for something better than that.

6) Any reason I should not move from miami florida. And please don't say the weather, Sunny state? That is a joke, right? Then there is hurricane season and flu season is legendaryly worse than up north.

7) what are the names of the big local newspapers, grocery stores and malls in columbus?

thank you so much. I am decluterring my house here and try to get ready to negotiate a short sale, since, as a good floridian I am under water for my mortgage. I want to make the move, real bad.

Thanks again

[wGoshen]

1) Columbus is a very liberal and diverse city. There are many different races here, so don't be worried about not fitting in or being discriminated against.

2) Dunno.

3) Columbus has OSU and Mount Carmel, two of the best medical centers in the region.

4) Schools vary from place to place. There are many districts depending on where you're living. Hillard and Pickerington has some of the best, Groveport and Columbus Central have some of the worst.

5) Definitely check out Grandview Heights. A great inner city neighborhood with good schools.

6) Columbus weather can vary, especially in the winter. Out winters can be mind or very bad.

7) The Columbus Dispatch is the biggest around here, although most people use online news.

[Tenzo]

The responses you had a very interesting. Here is an outsiders view (been here a year, but have lived in Tampa, Detroit and Chicago)

1) What is the tolerance towards latins? I am not the typical latin in many ways, but a look at me and you'll know I am not exactly from Russia. And my accent is still a little thick. A: Curiosity. There is very little ethnic and cultural diversity here. But if you are christian, it should not be a problem

2) Do you know what is the job outlook for business analyst? Is monster.com the best place to look?
A: Very good

3) How is the availability to alternative medicine, all my doctors are naturopathic and I delivered my son at home with a midwife. (I told you I am not the typical latin .) A: Not very good. As you can tell from the above answer, natives will not even understand what you are asking.

4) How are the schools/day care? $$?, my son is 16 months old.
A: Good, cost of living here is very low and if you choose your living area carefully, the public schools are great. (though a little xenophobic)

5) What are nice neighborhoods to live with good schools if you make 75-90k year?s I guess i would be renting. My current commute is 22 miles, 45 minutes. I am hoping for something better than that.

You commutte will be less in both distance and time (columbus isnt that big). Again, the cost of living here is very low. You can live quite affluently.

6) Any reason I should not move from miami florida. And please don't say the weather, Sunny state? That is a joke, right? Then there is hurricane season and flu season is legendaryly worse than up north. A: Lack of diversity and culture. Lack of any beaches or water. Being in the middle of a cornfield. Lack of good food. Lack of transportation, you will have to have a car for everything. Lack of interesting places to travel to without taking a plane trip over 2 hours. It's in the middle of a cornfield. Lack of art, music, dance, progressive thought........

7) what are the names of the big local newspapers, grocery stores and malls in columbus?

The dispatch is the largest, though even they will tell you they are dying due to the internet. Most people I know subscribe to the Chicago Tribune, New York Times and/or The Journal.

As for malls. Columbus is basically made up of many homogonized malls.

thank you so much. I am decluterring my house here and try to get ready to negotiate a short sale, since, as a good floridian I am under water for my mortgage. I want to make the move, real bad.

[Tenzo]

Here is what I would suggest.
Go to Facebook and look for the Hispanic groups in Columbus and communicate with them.

There are hidden groups of people who are not white crhistians. But they keep a low profile. Columbus has been known to force them out.

If you want some introductions to some Latin groups in Columbus, send me a PM.

[DeeDee77]

This is great input.

THE GOOD

I am Christian, My son and husband are very white, you can not tell my husband is not American until he opens his mouth and his accent reveals his latin flavor. We are not particularly fond of "Latin music". I think we will be ok in this sense. I have friends from all cultures, not only Latin.
I am super tolerant to all believes, to me that is central to Jesus' message, Tolerance and love, and zero judgment.

Glad to hear about job outlook, I made some monster searches, look good.
Glad to hear about the schools.
Glad to hear about the shorter commutes.
Very glad to hear about the quality of life and low cost of living.

THE OK

Lack of beaches or water, We are ok with that. I live in Miami since 1999 and have been to the beach less than 10 times.
Being in the middle of a cornfield. I grew up in the countryside, I think we will be ok with this
Lack of transportation, Miami is the same thing... I need a car to go anywhere, this should be fine
Mean Winters... will have to adapt.. I think I can handle

THE BAD or potentially bad:

Lack of diversity and culture, ouch... I really want my son to practice tolerance towards "different" people and believes, and culture.
Lack of good food... ouch, ouch, will have to cook more! Is there access to Tropicana orange juice? (My husband wants to know)


I would be concerned about the lack of alternative, holistic, homeopathic or herbal medicine, I do not consume any prescription or over-the-counter drugs. No Tylenol, no Motrin. I heal my son's ear infection ( he has only have one so far) with garlic oil and lower any fevers with tepid baths and belladonna (homeopathic). I would never consume antibiotics unless it is a life or death situation. Even my OB/GYN is naturopathic.
Let me make some practitioners search and see what I come up with.

Lack of art, music, dance, progressive thought........How far is Chicago by car?

I still think the trade off os positive...Will have to look for trips and activities to enrich us with culture, arts, music (My son LOVES music) dance and, of course, progressive thought. I am a free spirit and most definitively an unconventional thinker.

[DeeDee77]

Hi. alternative med is ok

I local searched:
Accupuncture
Wellness center
Reiki
Midwife

And I got several places in "greater" columbus. I think I can build my circle of holistic people over there. It should be ok.

As per culturediversity and open mindness, I will need to make a concious effort to keep that always present in our lives.

If we can have more money left each month, we can spend on those areas.

I saw Chicago is about 3 hours car trip (assuming an average speed of 70)
we can go on a Saturday and come back Sunday. We go to Orlando that way...

[NewToCA]

Columbus is a very open minded and accepting city, you shouldn't feel uncomfortable here no matter your ethnic background.

Regarding shopping, Columbus has three primary areas. To the northwest you have the (1) Tuttle Mall area, which features a 1 million square ft mall and fairly extensive "big box" shopping to the west side of the mall, across I-270. Also, to the east side of the mall, much shopping lines both sides of Sawmill Rd. To the north side of the beltway, we have the massive (2) Polaris Mall, a shopping center of about 1.5 million square ft. To the south side of the mall, we have about another 1 million square feet of extensive outdoor shopping centers. Finally, to the northeast, we have (3) Easton Shopping Center, which is probably one of the largest outdoor "lifestyle center's" in the entire country. It has about 3 million square ft of shopping area in and around the center. These are the major shopping options.

Chicago is actually 6 hours away, if traffic doesn't clog you up around the Gary, Indiana area.

As far as Columbus goes, there is plenty to do in the area itself, and within a few hours away (under 200 miles). You can find some of the finest and most extensive museums and cultural activities in places such as Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Dayton and Pittsburgh.

I found Columbus to be an absolutely great place to live.

[Beavercreek33]

Columbus is not just in the middle of a cornfield, check out the Hocking Hills region just SE of Columbus. Its has lots to offer, its just what interests you.

Columbus has diversity. It has a big asian population, a lot due to The Ohio State University, and it has a very successful african american population, and it is one of the top 10 cities for african americans to live in because of the good quality of living and job market. Hispanic population is not quite as high as the other two, but it is growing quite quickly.

I know many people from Florida, West Palm mostly, that have left Florida for the same reasons you have, and found themselves loving Columbus. Including family from Jupiter.

Good areas to check into, and moving from South Florida you will have no problem with money, and you can live really well. Check out Dublin, Hilliard, Westerville, and Delaware.

Columbus is a new city that is growing quite quickly, and has a great and diverse job market.

Best of luck to you!

[Tenzo]

You seem to be making some good informed choices. You accept that there may be shortcomings to your way of life and are looking to work around or with them. This shows a good positive attitude. That's going to go a long way to being happy in any place.

Sounds like you will like you may like it here.

Just listen with a skeptical ear to anyone who tells you Columbus has everything, just like you would be skeptical to those who say it has nothing.

If you do move here, it will be good for Columbus

[DeeDee77]

Thank you!