Why I"m Leaving Ohio (Columbus, Cleveland: credit, relocating, property taxes)

[the_pines]

Black squirrels? You serious? I have heard of albino squirrels but not black squirrels. I looked them up on Google it looks like they're real. I have never heard of that in my life.

Hey anyone here live in Florida? If so see if you notice how friendly the squirrels are here? Ive had them come right next to me. I had a baby squirrel about two feet away and a bird right next to it hopping along. They aren't real shy here it doesn't seem like. Plus there is the pigeon nests in the palm tree, and the mother bird will just sit there if I get a ladder and go up next to her.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by the_pines

Black squirrels? You serious?

I've seen them mostly in northern climates: NE Ohio, Canada... In fact, I'm pretty sure they're indigenous to Canada.

First time I ever saw black squirrels was while visiting the campus of Kent State U. They were so cute!

Come to think of it, that was the only thing I really liked about the campus...

[ClevelandRocks!!]

EWW! Sorry but I wish southeast ohio didn't exist. I have lived in Cleveland all my life and went to the University of Dayton for college and visited Cincinnati many times and other than dayton by far the most boring city I have been to. Cleveland has much more to offer which is why Cleveland captures 38 percent of Ohio tourism and is growing and Ohio is in the top ten tourist states. I went around Cincinnati and any time there is anything going on, guess what, it was actually in Kentucky, which Cincinnati claims its own. There is virtually no diversity at all in southern ohio it makes me sick. Cincy is Boring, Dirty, Run Down and it feels like a small town. Dayton sometimes feels like a bigger city than Cincy and thats sad.

Cleveland has a lot more to offer. Some examples - Rock Hall, Top 5 art museum, Top 5 Orchestras and voted a few years back the best in the nation, Largest concentration of musuems in a square mile in University Circle, 3 sports teams and most of the players aren't in jail Cough! Bengals Cough!. I can go on forever about why Cleveland is better then Cincy but most people already know that. As for the Jobs I graduated from UD and easily found a good job in Cleveland as a computer engineer while some of my counter parts in Cincy are still looking for a job in their hometown. Hightech jobs are on the rise in Cleveland and is leading ohio in biotech and new tech jobs so yea there will be a transition from manufacturing which is dieing to new well paying jobs but it has begun and will continue to do so.

Also why is everything about cincy in Kentucky. Thats all the people of cincy go to when they go downtown is go to the Kentucky side. WTF!

I pray for you people not to have to be put in misery and visit this city!

[ClevelandBill]

Everybody claims the same reasons for leaving, whether its Ohio or California or Florida or New York. So, I think its pretty obvious that people move for non-objective reasons . . . because their individual life sucks at this time in this or that place . . . and it is an American tradition when things look bleak to pack it up and go elsewhere.

I'm staying because:

We have four serious seasons that are more genuine and less extreme than anywhere else. (I am a Northeast Ohioan, so this is specific to our area of Ohio). We get REAL snow in Winter and white Christmases. We get REAL hot Summers to spend on our beautiful beaches (which because Lake Erie is a lake, not the ocean, has a temperature in summer conducive to swimming). We get the joyous rebirth of Spring in our relatively more forested metro area. And we have, perhaps, the best Fall in the country. (just try a fresh Ohio Apple (or pie or cider) or our legendary sweet corn).

In Northeast Ohio, unlike perhaps anywhere else in the country, we have a National Park smack dab in between two major cities (Cleveland and Akron). In addition to this incredible recreation/natural resource we also have Lake Erie, which provides all the benefits (except fresh lobsters) of coastal living. Need I mention the Lake Erie Islands and the tourist areas west (and east) of Cleveland?

Ohio's people are incredible. By all measures, we're average Americans. But in one of the most populous states, that we are average means we resemble the complete distribution of talents and treasures. Our three largest cities are large by anybody's standards: Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Our next cities would be first, second, or third in all but a handful of states: Akron, Dayton, Toledo.

The corporate presence throughout Ohio is legendary--the old money that was made here IS the old money that was made ANYWHERE in our country. (Rockefeller was a Clevelander). We still are making money--even if it does look like we will never make it again in the old ways (iron & steel).

We have about as many colleges and universities as any state in the union. Our best, Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College, Miami University, and Kenyon are nationally known. Our largest, The Ohio State University is incredible . . . and we have gazillions of other GREAT schools statewide.

We've got the arts. In Cleveland alone, we have what is, perhaps, the best or second best orchestra in the world. Our art museum could be plopped down in New York City and even they would ooh and ahh. Other cities have venerable institutions: Cinci's orchestra, Columbus's Wexner Center, etc. Cleveland's Playhouse Square is the largest single-location performing arts district outside New York.

Can we talk animals? The Toledo Zoo is world class. As is Columbus's.

And hospitals: Cincinnati Children's, Univ of Cinci Hospitals, Ohio State University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and the great Cleveland Clinic are all here.

Finally, I guess, more about the people. We resemble America a bit more than almost any other state. If you exchanged Ohio's vote for President with that of the nation as a whole, you'd get the same result every time. We're rich and poor, black and white (and Asian and Hispanic and immigrant and etc), we're fat, lazy, and stupid sometimes and healthy, productive, and intelligent others. We're accused of some kind of racism (mine is usually against New Yorkers and Southerners, though I secretly love Long Island and the South). Yet, we WERE the Underground Railroad in both body and spirit. And Cleveland relative to the rest of the country is an Eastern liberal big city. Our immigration history is different all over: southern Ohio folks came via southern routes from Maryland and Virginia, etc. Northeast Ohioans are direct descendants of their Connecticut forefathers. Western Ohio farmers are, by and large, later German immigrants. And then the 20th century filled ALL our cities with Poles, Italians, Irish, etc etc etc. Find more diversity anywhere. Okay, you named New York, LA, and Frisco. Whoopee ****. Here, we don't keep these immigrants down, however.

Finally, I live in a house that would be $1.5 million bucks between San Jose and San Francisco. It would be $500 to $600 on Long Island. An easy $400 in Atlanta or Chicago or Houston. The real-life actual purchase price of my home was $225. For this reason alone, folks should be packing up and moving here. Especially when the Global Warming floods Manhattan and a few other low-lying places.

Of course, I'm glad they don't come here. And I'm glad folks who need to leave are leaving (they're not much more than dead wood to us in their present state, anyway). That leaves more of the Great State of Ohio for ME. And I do truly mean that. I could enjoy the economic growth we'll be experiencing as the ice-caps melt, but I really enjoy this place just the way it is.

So, on your way out, don't let the door hit ya!

But, seriously, after you find out the grass is NOT greener wherever you end up, please come back re-energized to put something into Ohio and get something better back out.

Sincerely,

ClevelandBill
Bay Village, Ohio

[the_pines]

True. Mexican illegals weren't treated wrongly in Ohio. They were paid the same wages. Ohio is King.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by ClevelandRocks!!

EWW! Sorry but I wish southeast ohio didn't exist.

Huh?!? Southern/SE Ohio is the best part of the state!

Originally Posted by ClevelandRocks!!

There is virtually no diversity at all in southern ohio it makes me sick.

Define "diversity"! In Southern Ohio we have younger and older folks. Singles and families. Working and retired. We've got rich & poor, erudite & uneducated, blue collar & white collar, liberal & conservative, religious & secular folk, Republican & Democrat...my point is, there's lots of diverse thinking and lifestyles here!

Or are you all hung-up on counting people and measuring "diversity" only by skin color?

Originally Posted by ClevelandRocks!!

Cincy is Boring, Dirty, Run Down and it feels like a small town.

Boring? You must not be looking for "action" in the right places. Dirty, Run Down? Well...it's a city! That's what cities look like. Feels like a small town? That, IMO, is part of Cincy's charm!

[twixcookie]

Take a trip to Arizona and really spend some time there, if you think that's what you want.
The grass may be greener on the other side.
All of the things you are used to are gone. Tons of rich retirees and illegals. Just drive around and see how familiar things are to you before you move there.
Ohio and the midwest are hurting for jobs, yes.
But in the southwest, the pay rates aren't high, unless you have a high professional job (doctor).

[twixcookie]

Originally Posted by ClevelandBill

Everybody claims the same reasons for leaving, whether its Ohio or California or Florida or New York. So, I think its pretty obvious that people move for non-objective reasons . . . because their individual life sucks at this time in this or that place . . . and it is an American tradition when things look bleak to pack it up and go elsewhere.

I'm staying because:

We have four serious seasons that are more genuine and less extreme than anywhere else. (I am a Northeast Ohioan, so this is specific to our area of Ohio). We get REAL snow in Winter and white Christmases. We get REAL hot Summers to spend on our beautiful beaches (which because Lake Erie is a lake, not the ocean, has a temperature in summer conducive to swimming). We get the joyous rebirth of Spring in our relatively more forested metro area. And we have, perhaps, the best Fall in the country. (just try a fresh Ohio Apple (or pie or cider) or our legendary sweet corn).

In Northeast Ohio, unlike perhaps anywhere else in the country, we have a National Park smack dab in between two major cities (Cleveland and Akron). In addition to this incredible recreation/natural resource we also have Lake Erie, which provides all the benefits (except fresh lobsters) of coastal living. Need I mention the Lake Erie Islands and the tourist areas west (and east) of Cleveland?

Ohio's people are incredible. By all measures, we're average Americans. But in one of the most populous states, that we are average means we resemble the complete distribution of talents and treasures. Our three largest cities are large by anybody's standards: Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. Our next cities would be first, second, or third in all but a handful of states: Akron, Dayton, Toledo.

The corporate presence throughout Ohio is legendary--the old money that was made here IS the old money that was made ANYWHERE in our country. (Rockefeller was a Clevelander). We still are making money--even if it does look like we will never make it again in the old ways (iron & steel).

We have about as many colleges and universities as any state in the union. Our best, Case Western Reserve University, Oberlin College, Miami University, and Kenyon are nationally known. Our largest, The Ohio State University is incredible . . . and we have gazillions of other GREAT schools statewide.

We've got the arts. In Cleveland alone, we have what is, perhaps, the best or second best orchestra in the world. Our art museum could be plopped down in New York City and even they would ooh and ahh. Other cities have venerable institutions: Cinci's orchestra, Columbus's Wexner Center, etc. Cleveland's Playhouse Square is the largest single-location performing arts district outside New York.

Can we talk animals? The Toledo Zoo is world class. As is Columbus's.

And hospitals: Cincinnati Children's, Univ of Cinci Hospitals, Ohio State University Hospitals, Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and the great Cleveland Clinic are all here.

Finally, I guess, more about the people. We resemble America a bit more than almost any other state. If you exchanged Ohio's vote for President with that of the nation as a whole, you'd get the same result every time. We're rich and poor, black and white (and Asian and Hispanic and immigrant and etc), we're fat, lazy, and stupid sometimes and healthy, productive, and intelligent others. We're accused of some kind of racism (mine is usually against New Yorkers and Southerners, though I secretly love Long Island and the South). Yet, we WERE the Underground Railroad in both body and spirit. And Cleveland relative to the rest of the country is an Eastern liberal big city. Our immigration history is different all over: southern Ohio folks came via southern routes from Maryland and Virginia, etc. Northeast Ohioans are direct descendants of their Connecticut forefathers. Western Ohio farmers are, by and large, later German immigrants. And then the 20th century filled ALL our cities with Poles, Italians, Irish, etc etc etc. Find more diversity anywhere. Okay, you named New York, LA, and Frisco. Whoopee ****. Here, we don't keep these immigrants down, however.

Finally, I live in a house that would be $1.5 million bucks between San Jose and San Francisco. It would be $500 to $600 on Long Island. An easy $400 in Atlanta or Chicago or Houston. The real-life actual purchase price of my home was $225. For this reason alone, folks should be packing up and moving here. Especially when the Global Warming floods Manhattan and a few other low-lying places.

Of course, I'm glad they don't come here. And I'm glad folks who need to leave are leaving (they're not much more than dead wood to us in their present state, anyway). That leaves more of the Great State of Ohio for ME. And I do truly mean that. I could enjoy the economic growth we'll be experiencing as the ice-caps melt, but I really enjoy this place just the way it is.

So, on your way out, don't let the door hit ya!

But, seriously, after you find out the grass is NOT greener wherever you end up, please come back re-energized to put something into Ohio and get something better back out.

Sincerely,

ClevelandBill
Bay Village, Ohio

Did you see...

Rainbow Babies, Columbus Childrens, and Cincinnati Childrens were all ranked in the top 12 best childrens hospitals in the nation.
All of the water is here, in the midwest. The Great Lakes could flood all 48 states in 9 feet of water if they were drained.
Things will come back here, when water is an issue.

[smile42]

Yay for Clevelandbill -- wonderful post!

Just to add some extra happy thoughts about the Buckeye State . . .

Yes, we're #2 in unemployment. Yes, our school funding system is unconstitutional. Yes, we have some rusty old cities in transition after the auto manufacturers let them down.

BUT . . . we also have some amazing points of pride. I'd challenge you do do any of the following and still tell me Ohio is a dismal place:

1) Visit Amish country on a sunny day.

2) Visit Yellow Springs, hike at Glen Hellen Preserve and John Bryan State Park, have lunch at Ye Olde Trail Tavern, and finish off the day with a sundae at Young's Dairy Farm.

3) Take a trip to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, then attend a Sheryl Crow concert at Fraze Pavilion in Kettering.

4) Watch a double-header at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. Then, go to a concert at Riverbend.

5) Spend an afternoon in Marietta, touring the College and the historic downtown. Drive out into the country and have a slice of pie at the Blue Bell Diner in McConnelsville.

6) Shop at Easton.

7) Cedar Point. Just do it.

8) Make an antique circle, visiting Tipp City, Heart of Ohio Antique Center, Waynesville, and Lebanon in one long weekend. Have dinner at the Golden Lamb in Lebanon.

9) Take your pick of annual sporting events. ATP Masters Series in Mason. The Memorial in Dublin. World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron. World class, all of 'em.

10) Football in the fall. The 'Shoe. Any questions?

Please enjoy Ohio responsibly .

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by smile42

Please enjoy Ohio responsibly .

LOL! That was a great touch

Your list is awesome! I agree with almost everything there...

I'd probably skip the trip to Yellow Springs, opting for a visit to Circleville or Cedarville instead. And I'd pass on Sheryl Crow...but I'll take in a Toby Keith concert any day!

Aside from that...right on!!!

Have a good one,
Lanc