Young couple moving to Columbus... (Dayton, Grove City: real estate, rental, house)

[firesnap]

Hi!

My boyfriend and I are looking to purchase a house in Columbus. We would like to live in the city, however, we are on a budget.

We're looking to spend no more than $95,000 on a house and are unsure of what neighborhoods we should be looking in. We're wanting a neighborhood where we could walk to restaurants or local shops or parks.

So, are there any neighborhoods that are acceptably safe that meet our criteria? If not, any suggestions on a safe-ish neighborhood in our price range?

[ColumbusNEWb]

Hey there. Do a real estate search for zip codes 43201 (South Campus, Victorian Village, Italian Village, Short North) 43215 (downtown inside the inner-beltway 670-71-70-315 freeways) 43206 (German Village, Hungarian Village, Merion Village, Brewery district) In 43206 the closer you get to Parsons the worse it gets. Closer to High street the better. German Village has narrow streets and parking is a real pain.

43209- Bexley is nice, cafes and other things in walking distance. Still close to other parts of the inner city with the entertainment and parks you are looking for.

43212 - Grandview. Pretty much everything you listed. Not sure about price but Grandview is simply awesome.

Avoid 43205 43203 zip codes around the inner city for sure. My family has rental properties in these zip codes and I have had numerous run ins with oh, say people trying to steal my car to SITTING on top of my car.. not the hood the ROOF. Although part of 43205 is Old Town East where you can get a massive house for practially nothing. My cousin and his wife just bought a 3 storey, 3k sq foot house for like the mid 20K's and have been remodeling it to be a rental property.

Good luck and Welcome to Columbus!

[sauerkraut145]

I'd say stay away from the "short north" and the OSU campus area. I'd try and get away from the central city & downtown totally if it was me. Hilliard or Grove City would be my picks.

[Daytonnatian]

Wow, guess this is the 'burbs board today...

Anyways, try the Arena district, short north (no, it's not bad....), CBD (maybe), maybe even German Village but it can get pricey. Again, more of an expert on Daytonnati than C-bus, so I also suggest swinging by www.urbanohio.com/forum2 for better advice.

[firesnap]

Thx for the advice everyone.

Yeah, I would live in Short North in a second if I could afford it. Moving to a suburb isn't want we want at this time. We don't have kids, don't care about the schools (other than taxes!) and want to live in the ~city~.

I live in Fort Mitchell, KY right now (KY side suburb of Cincy) and it's so slow and family orientated that it drives me a little insane.

We'll check out some of the city areas you guys mentioned along with that other forum. Thanks again!

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by sauerkraut145

I'd say stay away from the "short north" and the OSU campus area. I'd try and get away from the central city & downtown totally if it was me.

Why? They said that they would like to live in a neighborhood where they can walk to shops, restaurants and parks. If that's what you want, the Short North is the best place to be.

[OSUGUY87]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

Why? They said that they would like to live in a neighborhood where they can walk to shops, restaurants and parks. If that's what you want, the Short North is the best place to be.

I think he's just saying that if he doesn't prefer Urban areas so he wouldn't want to live near downtown and would rather live in a suburban city. Everyone has different tastes and opinions. As others have said if you want to walk to shops, restaurants then I would recommend the Short North, German Village, Victorian Village, Grandview I would consider the best of both worlds (Suburban but nice restaurants, stores to walk to).

[Azure Ray]

Check out some of the places around Worthington and New Albany. There are a lot of really cute smaller homes in and around Worthington, you are right next to the bike path, and there are cute little shops and restaurants right down town. New Albany is nice because there are a lot of people in their 20s and early 30s moving there. Best of luck!

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by OSUGUY87

I think he's just saying that if he doesn't prefer Urban areas so he wouldn't want to live near downtown and would rather live in a suburban city. Everyone has different tastes and opinions.

Yeah, that much I got...but it's not particularly helpful to the OP who had inquired about places in the city that were within walking distance to shops and parks.

Although all of this is moot if the budget is only $95,000. None of the neighborhoods mentioned so far will be options at that price range.

[OSUGUY87]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

Yeah, that much I got...but it's not particularly helpful to the OP who had inquired about places in the city that were within walking distance to shops and parks.

Although all of this is moot if the budget is only $95,000. None of the neighborhoods mentioned so far will be options at that price range.

Yeah that is a very limited budget, I really don't think they would have much luck in the nicer areas. I would recommend renting until they can have a bigger budget.