Choosing neiborhood for good schools and good commutes. (Columbus, Upper Arlington: 2010, houses)

[DeeDee77]

I am trying to determine where to live in Columbus where I will be less likely to have a long commute to work.

What are the areas in Columbus and surrounding areas where people work at? Is it mainly downtown?

If I live in Dubin, for example, how long would it take me to get to work?
I am told that Grandview Heights has good schools and looks closer to the center.

My potential employer would be 600+ employees.

I currently live in Florida and I have a very common commute of 20+ miles and 40 minutes in duration, and that is without rain, construction or accidents! Lots of people are like me that live in Broward county and Work in Miami-Dade County...I am looking forward an easier commute, if possible.

[streetcreed]

What are the areas in Columbus and surrounding areas where people work at? Is it mainly downtown?

Columbus has areas with high employment opportunities concentrated in areas all around the city and metro. Unlike say Chicago there is not a extremely high concentration in downtown, but downtown Columbus and the Ohio State University are the locations where the majority of Columbusites are employed.

Then there a high number at office parks concentrated in Dublin (NW side of the metro), Crosswoods/Polaris in north Columbus, NE Columbus at Easton, around the airport, warehouses on the far west side, and scattered office parks around the outerbelt I270. Where you want to work, and where you get hired, will ultimately determine what part of the city you are working in.

The other good news is that these areas are no more than 10-25 minutes from each other.

[cesarnino]

Gahanna is very family oriented neighborhood with excellent schools. New Albany is know to be better but is farther away from everywhere. Upper Arlington is the other top school district and it is as pricey as New Albany and although is close to downtown, it does not have a freeway from there to downtown as Gahanna does.

[streetcreed]

Default Gahanna, Nice
Gahanna is very family oriented neighborhood with excellent schools. New Albany is know to be better but is farther away from everywhere. Upper Arlington is the other top school district and it is as pricey as New Albany and although is close to downtown, it does not have a freeway from there to downtown as Gahanna does.

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Upper Arlington is close enough to downtown/OSU that a freeway is not always needed for traveling around. However, route 315 goes along upper Arlington border and provides easy access to downtown (withing 5 minutes.) So Upper Arlington is not cut off from downtown it is closer and more accessible to areas like downtown and Ohio State than any other suburb other than Bexley or Grandview.

[angela0804]

You will not have that type of commute in the central OH area unless you want to have farm animals, just kidding... And, there are many very good school districts. We have older and newer communities. Your choices will be largely dependent on your size needs and housing price range. There MOD CUT Good luck!

[grantlawn]

The most common areas are downtown, osu (north of downtown), and easton/airport (northeast of downtown).

downtown is the most common area, but there are 6 major highways going downtown (315 from the north, 71 from the north too, 670 from the northeast, 70 from the east, 71 from the south, and 70 from the west. 33 also comes from the southeast and the northwest but it's not really a freeway like others, and so might be a bit slow.) It's not like everyone will be on the same road as you, even if they are going to the same place.

[smcmanus20]

If you are looking for a nice, friendly neighborhood near Columbus, may I suggest
Ashville. It is approximately 12 miles south of Columbus. This village is a growing community. Most people that live here commute to Columbus. We were a predominantly farming community, but our "horizons" have broadened. The median age here is approximately 35. The schools are growing, and to accommodate the growth, we are building 2 new Middle Schools, Teays Valley Middle School East, and Teays Valley Middle School West. Our High School has been refurbished, and is currently having new additions made to it as well. All of our Elementary Schools have been built within the past few years. The names of these schools are Ashville Elementary, Walnut Elementary, and Scioto Elementary. We also have a new elementary school being built in South Bloomfield that is scheduled to open in 2010. All of these schools have excellent programs for the students. We also have many different sports available for the children. I have lived in Ashville for the majority of my life. (I moved from Columbus when I was in 4th grade in 1979). My husband and I moved back to Columbus after graduation, for about 2 years, but missed the "country" and returned home. I am not saying that Ashville is the greatest town in the world. But I can say that you can let your children play outside and you don't have to worry (as much) about horrible things happening to them. For the most part Ashville is a nice friendly community based in country roots. The commute is predominately freeway, and on the average weekday you can get to Downtown Columbus within 30 minutes without too many problems. Maybe I am biased, but if I felt the least bit unsafe, I would move. If anyone would like to know more about Ashville, I can tell you what I know, or try to find the answers you need.