Is Upper Arlington a walkable community? (Columbus, Dublin: house, neighborhoods, school district)

[J&A'sMOM]

Is there a walkable town down in Upper Arlington? I am very interested if people walk their kids to elementary school, library, restaurants? Are people out riding their bikes, walking, strolling? I'm hoping since it's an older community that that exists. We "may" be moving from a CT town. Just wondering - Thanks

If not is there a town like that around?? We must have excellent schools and our budget it pretty high.

Thanks again!!

[NewToCA]

My experience is that some walking takes place down in the Lane Ave area, running east and west between Ohio State University and the Scioto River. However, many streets in Upper Arlington (which is generally a beautiful area) do not have sidewalks.

Walkable community with upscale homes is Dublin, which has a dedicated bike and walking path weaving throughout the city.

There may be others on the west side, but this is what I am familiar with.

If interested, here is the Dublin facts link:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Dublin-Ohio.html

[Paddington]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

My experience is that some walking takes place down in the Lane Ave area, running east and west between Ohio State University and the Scioto River. However, many streets in Upper Arlington (which is generally a beautiful area) do not have sidewalks.

Walkable community with upscale homes is Dublin, which has a dedicated bike and walking path weaving throughout the city.

There may be others on the west side, but this is what I am familiar with.

If interested, here is the Dublin facts link:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Dublin-Ohio.html

You're joking if you think Dublin is a walkable place.

I like Dublin. I used to live there. I would recommend it for a whole host of reasons, but not for walkability.

Walkability has nothing to do with how many pedestrian paths and Walk/Don't Walk signs they put in at intersections. It's all about how densely built up a particular place is. And Dublin, with its broad roads, multiple expressways, huge lawns, sprawled parking lots, low rise office parks, gated subdivisions, etc. is most definitely not a place where people walk from point A to point B.

There are parts of Upper Arlington that are walkable, notably around the high school. Though if this is important to you, I'd recommend Grandview or Columbus downtown.

[J&A'sMOM]

Thanks Paddington for your info - Could you give me more specifics in the Columbus area. We'd be looking for a safe walkable community to raise 2 young children. I hate driving around wasting gas in suburbia!! Would love to find a hip area that I could walk my kids to their elementary school and then shoot over to a local coffee shop and have other people doing the same. Large lots are not what I'm looking for I'd rather have old homes w/ awesome architechture and friendly neighbors - kinda an artsie community. Any suggestions??? If we found this in Columbus private schools would be an option. Otherwise it seems like Upper Arlington maybe a good choice. Not into new neighborhoods w/o trees and no character - I would love to be in an historical area.

[Paddington]

If you want walkability, there's roughly 50 square miles of real urban Columbus that are walkable. Most of these areas, though, are extremely ghetto with horrible schools (that I've had the misfortune of volunteering at).

On the other hand if you want good schools, New Albany and Dublin are amongst the best in the state, but these are new, sprawled out exurban areas where nobody walks (except recreationally, I suppose).

The German Village, downtown, and the Short North (between Ohio State and downtown) are nice, walkable areas, but I cannot vouch for the quality of schools in these areas (Columbus city). Maybe you can look into a Bexley, a small old suburb that's contained entirely in the central part of Columbus and has an independent school district. I would also ask about Grandview Heights. Parts of Upper Arlington (where a lot of OSU Profs live, and the schools are very good) may be walkable.

[mhj]

There are areas of Worthington that are walkable, including to the elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as restaurants, icecream, post office, banks, coffee, hair cutting, library, etc.
The schools are good.
I don't think it is considered a "hip" area yet-nor necessarily artsie, in fact there is a large number of aging families with children no longer at home.

[Weedydidi]

Are New Albany schools better than Upper Arlington?

[streetcreed]

If you want walkability, there's roughly 50 square miles of real urban Columbus that are walkable. Most of these areas, though, are extremely ghetto with horrible schools (that I've had the misfortune of volunteering at).

Not true, or very far from it.
Most of the 50 sqmiles of central columbus (the urban walkable area) is a very healthy mix of all kinds of people and neighborhoods.
If you really want Columbus' most beautiful historic neighborhoods (and nothing in any suburb or part of the metro can compare when it comes down to the history and design of these historic homes) you would want to look into 2 places:
Victorian Village or German Village, as it has been said right now most families with money in these areas use private schools. That might change with new schools being constructed and changing socioeconomic makeup of the neighborhood schools, but that change is more like 5-10 yrs away, so its private schools there, for now.

The section of Columbus with great neighborhoods, walkable streets, parks, rivers, beautiful diverse selection of homes, and very family friendly is Clintonville and Beechwold.

Clintonville is located just north of Ohio State University and has a commerical street, High St., running through the middle of the neighborhood. The local schools (columbus schools) in the neighborhood are better than the other schools in the city district. Beechwold is located just north of Clintonvile and has some truely wealthy large homes that overlook ravines.
You can find some great homes in Clintonville and Beechwold, with many varying prices.
Also, for a suburb Grandview Heights is Columbus' most walkable suburb and is located just north west of downtown and Victorian Village

[cosmos..33]

Originally Posted by Weedydidi

Are New Albany schools better than Upper Arlington?

Both are good, but I would definitely give the edge to UA.

[J&A'sMOM]

Do people hang out "downtown" (if there is one) in Upper Arlington? My DH may be interviewing next week in New Albany and I can't imagine living in a "new cookie cutter" tiny town of less than 3000 people. I'll trade the giant house for an older architectural gem any day - but I need a community feel. Do you think UA has that? I guess I'll have to wait for his interview and see if he gets an offer and then go see for myself. In the meantime I'd love to hear if people are out walking their dogs, if kids ride their bikes in the streets and people walk to get latte's in UA, and if the kids are playing a pick up game of baseball or soccer in the parks or does everyone stay inside not hanging out? Love to get an area that has street fairs and art fairs in the summer.

Thanks for the tip on Clintonville and Beechwold. They must be in Columbus proper because I don't get any homes if I enter them in the MLS listings. I just get Columbus listings. Guess I'll have to figure that out if I need to. Would love an urban setting if it was family friendly with a close community feel. Private schools would be fine if need be.

I think I've gotten spoiled hanging out at the beach on Long Island Sound.

Thanks - from MI to CT now maybe movin' again to Columbus!!