Small Town Feel w/ in 45 miles of Children's Hospital? (Columbus: middle-class, insurance)

[marchesefam]

Hi all!

Hoping you can help... We currently live in the greater Phoenix,
Arizona area and we are looking to relocate.

A little about us:
We are in our early 30's, the parents of a special needs (heart
defect) daughter who is adopted. We are looking for the idyllic
"quaint" area. I grew up outside of San Francisco but went to high
school in Sheboygan, WI and my husband grew up in Jackson Hole,
Wyoming. We like the smaller communities and we're looking for a small
town feel with some amenities. I'd like a community where one can get
involved, one with good schools, a middle-class cost of living, and
very safe. My daughter will require numerous heart surgeries over the
course of her life, so we're looking at the top 25 pediatric
cardiology facilities and searching a 45 mile radius around the area.

In Arizona, kids can't do sports in the summer because of the heat. No
kids play outside, and after 5 years in my current home, I still don't
know most of my neighbors. I'd like a town where kids play outside,
the neighbors know one another, the town goes to the high school
football games.

My husband is a claims adjuster for a large insurance company and
works from home, so we're very flexible. I am a stay-at-home mother,
so being able to do things with my child is important.

I enjoy a milder climate, but I'm flexible.

I appreciate your help!

[behindenemylines]

New Albany is close to Children's Hospital (assuming you mean the one downtown). It's less than 20 minutes away if its not rush hour.

We've only lived in New Albany for about two months but we already know more of our neighbors than we did at any previous home we've lived in. New Albany has excellent schools so it attracts familes with kids. There are plenty of parks and leisure trails and people spend alot of time outdoors from what I can tell. Everyone seems to know everybody else and everyone has been very friendly. When we moved in, all of our neighbors came over and introduced themselves, some even came with baked goods. If that's not a small town atmosphere, I don't know what one is.

[Tenzo]

Columbus.

It has a small town feel.
I'n a Mayberry RFD, Footlose kinda way

[wGoshen]

Groveport. Nice small town, literally right down the road from Childrens Hospital.

[NewToCA]

Lancaster, Marysville, Delaware and Newark all have a small town feel, yet you should be able to get to Children's withing 45 minutes, outside of rush hour.

[christysullivan27]

Gahanna, Canal Winchester, New Albany (expensive) Lancaster definatley but it's kind of far, Pickerington. All nice and all safe.

[AnneD]

If you have a special-needs child, I think you may eventually want a really good school district for special-needs kids, and that means the following districts close to Childrens' Hosp: Upper Arlington (UA), Bexley, Worthington, New Albany, and probably Hilliard, maybe Grandview and Gahanna. (None of these are Columbus Public Schools.) If you want quaint: UA, Grandview, & Worthington have really cute village centers, and they all are separate municipalities within Greater Columbus. UA and Grandview are much much closer to downtown, but Worthington has more historically interesting buildings. Gahanna and New Albany are further out, on the outskirts. Gahanna is an old country town, more old-fashioned but getting tarted up with an up and coming cute village center. New Albany is all new new new these days, and money money money. German Village is super-close to Children's Hosp, and it is definitely way high on the quaint charm meter, but the schools are Columbus Public Schools, which I cannot recommend in general, if you can avoid. I lived in Victorian Village until my son was school age -- we wanted very much to stay, but our son had special needs, so we moved to UA. In addition, I've heard very good things about the schools in Powell, Ohio, and near the Polaris area (Olentangy schools?). I don't know much about the Dublin schools, sorry to say. And, by the way, my son had received treatment at Columbus Children's hospital, and I was SO pleased. They did a great job -- and they were warm and caring. I have met the head of pediatric surgery, Dr. Caniano, and she's awesome, truly awesome, and has been honored nationally -- and she makes sure that all the surgeons are top flight.

[wGoshen]

Also forgot to mention Canal Winchester. Also right down the road from Childrens Hospital, plus the schools are leaps and bounds better than the Groveport Madison Schools.