Moving to Columbus from Chicago (Beavercreek, Westerville: apartments, crime, townhouse)

[windycity2000]

Hi All,

I hope everyone is having great weekend. We are relocating to Columbus from Chicago due to a job opportunity given to my wife. She will be working in Northland Mall area.

Here is our details:
We both in early 30's with no kids, but planning to have one in next 1-2 years. I am in Consulting and needs to do air-travel a lot. My wife do not drive.

This is what we are looking for:
Apartment Size: 1 or 2 Bedroom
Parking: Covered Garage or Designated Parking spot.
Price Range: $600 to $900
Transportation: We are looking for Apartment or Townhouse near public transportation system. My wife do not drive.

We will appreciate your help in finding a great home with good surroundings. We are looking forward to your guidance.

Thanks.

[MissingIndiana]

Let me say Columbus is a decent town. Living in Columbus without a car, however, is going to be a significant problem for your wife. The only public transportation is the bus line and there are a lot of places around town that don't even have sidewalks. The website for the transit authority here is www.cota.com At this website you will be able to find a map of all the routes covered by the bus line.

Concerning the area around Morse and Karl Rd, I would say it's probably not an area I would choose to live in. Don't get me wrong. There are worse areas in columbus and certainly much worse in the bad parts of Chicago, but the area does have some run down stores/apartments and there are just so many other areas within a short distance that have less crime and better living arrangements. If the transportation situation allows it, I would look more in the Polaris or Westerville areas north of I-270. You should be able to find some newer apartments there. Another option for a better area in close proximity would be the Worthington/Clintonville area. To get a better idea of where this area is, follow Morse Rd west past I-71 to High St and look north and south of that intersection.

As a side note, downtown Westerville is fairly walkable as are certain areas along High St. Polaris is one of the signature mall/shopping areas in the metro area, but you still really need a car to get around up there. I wouldn't necessarily count on the buses as a convenient way of getting around from store to store. I hope that was helpful. If you have any other questions, you can send me a PM or I might check back here. Good luck!

[R1070]

Move to the short north or clintonville areas for the best intown feel. you will need a car in columbus too. best of luck in the move. columbus is a charming city.

[Doombringers]

Don't move to Columbus. You are better off staying right where you are. There is no mass transit to speak of. The schools are not as good. They cannot handle snow. And unless you want to develop a cultish worship of the Buckeyes, you are better off staying right where you are. Chicago will rebound in the future. Your opportunities will be much much greater if you tough it out and stay.

[Beavercreek33]

Originally Posted by Doombringers

Don't move to Columbus. You are better off staying right where you are. There is no mass transit to speak of. The schools are not as good. They cannot handle snow. And unless you want to develop a cultish worship of the Buckeyes, you are better off staying right where you are. Chicago will rebound in the future. Your opportunities will be much much greater if you tough it out and stay.

Don't listen to posters like this, so extremely narrow-minded. Failing to realize that you already have a job and are MOVING here.

Columbus is a great young, vibrant and growing city. It has an extremely diverse economy, and great areas of the city to live in.

Areas to check out would be the Short North, German Village, Downtown.

And don't worry, you do not have to love the Buckeyes. There are people from all over the country living in Columbus. I moved to the general area and I hate the Buckeyes, but its not like I get harassed for it.

Some people have had bad experiences in an area, and assume that you will have the same. They also base their opinions' as facts.

To each their own.

[coach123]

I wouldn't call Columbus great, young, or vibrant. It is a decent place to live and good place to raise a family. However, it is certainly not a big city as compared to Chicago, New York, LA, Miami, etc... and never will be. Downtown area is has become the place to be on the weekends especially for young people. However, downtown itself is still rarther deserted in the evenings during the week. Although the economy is diverse compared to other Ohio citiies, there are not a lot of companies itching to settle in Columbus and those that have in the last 5 years did not settle in downtown, but rather went to some of the suburb cities b/c of tax breaks they received. The city of Columbus itself is horrible. It has the most fiscally irresponsible and corrupt leadership I have ever seen. However, the surrounding cities that make up the suburbs (Dublin, UA, Gahanna, Westervile, etc...) are all nice places to live and do not have nearly the same issues as the city of Columbus. I would definitely not live in the city of Columbus unless it is in the downtown area or send my kids to public schools. On a final note. I grew up in central Ohio and do not mind living here, although for the right job I would move in a heartbeat. However, I have lots of friends with whom I grew up with that have moved out of Columbus after college and later in life. Not a single one that I have talked has ever regretted moving and not a single one would ever move back although they were perfectly happy here when they lived here. Just some perspective.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by Beavercreek33

Don't listen to posters like this, so extremely narrow-minded. Failing to realize that you already have a job and are MOVING here.

Columbus is .....

Having lived in both. I would live in Chicago without a job over Columbus with one.

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by Tenzo

Having lived in both. I would live in Chicago without a job over Columbus with one.

Then your life in Chicago would not be very pleasant.

[Tenzo]

Originally Posted by 14thandYou

Then your life in Chicago would not be very pleasant.

Been in Chicago without a job and found it fine.
At least there is something to do when you are not working, and so much of it is free~!

[14thandYou]

Originally Posted by Tenzo

Been in Chicago without a job and found it fine.
At least there is something to do when you are not working, and so much of it is free~!

Of course Chicago has more going on than Columbus...it's many times larger and a prominent global city. That's low-hanging fruit.

But this business of comparing Columbus to significantly larger cities doesn't make sense, in this thread or elsewhere--the original poster didn't ask if he/she should move to Chicago OR Columbus, the OP is already moving to Columbus and needed recommendations on where to live.

Responses such as yours do nothing to provide helpful information to people with legitimate inquiries. There's more than plentiful opportunities to malign Columbus on C-D, both on this board and others. I'd suggest taking your anti-Columbus rants to those threads, rather than clogging up up threads such as this with meaningless non-sequiters.