looking for small town in OH to make home (Columbus: buying a home, buying)

[sueturnparker]

We have lived in Yellow Springs 35 years. I moved here from Chicago, my husband from Boston. We are needing to grow to enhance our tax base and enrich our downtown. But....it is expensive to rent or buy here. Affordable housing options are developing and there are creative ideas afoot for new ecologically sound housing (land is getting very expensive). We are a college town, like to think of ourselves as liberals, but as we get richer, we get more Republican. We need some Democrats!!!!! ;-)

[flinty]

In the central and southern part of Ohio some pretty towns are Granville (Licking Co.), Yellow Springs (Greene Co.), Canal Winchester (Franklin Co.), Mount Vernon (Knox Co.). Some of the burbs around Columbus are quite nice but you may find prices of food and commodities rather steep. I've been to 85 of Ohio's 88 counties.

[snakecotc]

I work in Granville and let me say, if you can afford it, it is the place to be. It is a beautiful small town but is close enough to newark/heath that you wont have to drive more than 10-15 minutes for anything. Plus the schools are great. Houses are quite expensive though.

[MarianneB]

Hi Everyone. I am moving to Ohio as soon as I can get my house in FL sold. We are buying in either Kettering, Centerville or Beavercreek (in those areas) - just south of Cincinatti. We are starting a new business there so I can't wait to get up there and get going! I was born in Kettering so it's like going home - great schools! Great people! I've spent a lot of time there during summers, etc. Seems like everytime we go to Ohio we end up having to attend a funneral though
I can't wait to get there though! FL just doesn't do it anymore. To many wierdo's.
Marianne

[paintballer1708]

I agree with you 110%. My wife is from Florida and we were just down there last week. Hurricane damage is everywhere and just to think some 2-3 major ones come through every year. It really was a shame to see all that damage. And its amazing the amount of people moving there but another thing that was interesting was the amount of people leaving. Florida is really in big trouble.

But im glad you are moving back to Ohio. I really like it here. I moved here two years ago from PA and Ohio is a great place to live. We have the change of seasons. Winter, Fall, Summer and Spring. We have really nice beaches up on Lake Erie. Our cities are top notch. Ohio has a great diversity of cities and country land. Overall Ohio is a great state and i wouldnt want to live anywhere else. And Marianne good luck with your move i know you will love living in SW Ohio. I really like it down there. Columbus, Dayton and Cincinnati are all great cities. Once again good luck with your move.

[MRumer]

A great place to consider is Bolivar, OH which is located at the very northern tip of Tuscarawas County. It is a small town (about 900 residents) and located in the beautiful Tuscarawas Valley. It is near historical places such as Zoar Village and Ft. Laurens. Bolivar is also a short drive to Canton (10 min), Akron (30 min), and Cleveland ( 1 hr.). It is a great place to live and to raise kids and I am a product of the Tusky Valley Schools and have to say that it is one of the best districts in the area.

[paintballer1708]

Also another good place to live in Medina, Ohio. It is not too far from Akron or Cleveland and it is a nice small city of about 15,000. It has alot of shopping and entertainment for a city of its size. It is surrounded by farmland and rolling hills. The town has been growing but not at a rapid pace and its not an expensive place to live. If my career wasnt in downtown Cleveland i would live in Medina. Its only about 45 mins to Akron and about and hour to Cleveland depending on traffic. Medina is a great place to live.

[Stormy]

After reading all the replys, I began to wonder, what exactly is a small town.
Circleville, Danville, Tipp City. Not to me. I grew up in a small town at that time the population was 350 give or take.

Now I live close to Kenton, in the country.

There are so many wonderful towns in Ohio to choose from I hope you choose a good one.

www.mountvictory.com

[HAS]

Painesville, Mentor, and Concord are all nice small towns. I have always lived in Painesville and have always loved it. We're small, but we're close to everything. Mentor is a somewhat larger town (as is Concord) where there are a lot of businesses, the Great Lakes Mall, other stores/plazas, but also lots of TRAFFIC compared to Painesville.

The Mentor schooling system used to be one of the best, but due to recent levy failures, are in serious trouble. Painesville Township schools are not in great condition, but are better than Mentor's. There is another part of Painesville, though, called Painesville City, but I do not recommend the schools (drug and violence problems, high pregnancy rates, etc.).

Also: those living in Concord either go to Painesville Township schools or Mentor schools, depending on what side of Concord they live on

Living in any one of these towns allows easy access to Cleveland, which is what I like about it here. We live close by, but not close enough to have all the traffic, drug, and crime problems.

Good luck with your search!

[pmichaelmd]

Originally Posted by sueturnparker

We have lived in Yellow Springs 35 years. I moved here from Chicago, my husband from Boston. We are needing to grow to enhance our tax base and enrich our downtown. But....it is expensive to rent or buy here. Affordable housing options are developing and there are creative ideas afoot for new ecologically sound housing (land is getting very expensive). We are a college town, like to think of ourselves as liberals, but as we get richer, we get more Republican. We need some Democrats!!!!! ;-)

I grew up in YS and made frequent trips back to visit my folks. Where in YS are you? I grew up in the old "IGA land" area. I enjoy your take on the town...I agree with the emerging trend in political thought in YS...certainly wasn't like that in the 80s!

Take care,

PMMD