Perfect College Town search (Columbus, Cleveland: university, restaurants, shops)

[HAS]

Originally Posted by Micah Girl

Thanks for the suggestion. All my husband would have to here is Lake Effect Snowstorm, and he'll be headed in the other direction!

Yeah, lots of people are like that (I don't really blame them ). Oh well...good luck with the rest of your search!

[FinanceMom]

You are right - there are tons of college towns in Ohio!

Check out Oxford, Ohio (Southwest) - Miami University
Athens, Ohio (Southeastern part of state) - Ohio University
Bowling Green, Ohio - (NW Central) Bowling Green University

I grew up in Athens so that is where my preference lies. Ohio University has a beautiful campus and Athens is a great place to raise a family. The schools are very good and the cost of living is very low. But I am sure that those other towns would be good options as well. If you want to be near a larger city, try Granville, near Columbus, home to Dennison University.

[Micah Girl]

Originally Posted by FinanceMom

You are right - there are tons of college towns in Ohio!

Check out Oxford, Ohio (Southwest) - Miami University
Athens, Ohio (Southeastern part of state) - Ohio University
Bowling Green, Ohio - (NW Central) Bowling Green University

I grew up in Athens so that is where my preference lies. Ohio University has a beautiful campus and Athens is a great place to raise a family. The schools are very good and the cost of living is very low. But I am sure that those other towns would be good options as well. If you want to be near a larger city, try Granville, near Columbus, home to Dennison University.

What are the winters like in these areas? How much snow???

[paintballer1708]

^ Well the southern part of the state gets little snowfall and milder winters.

[brucebw]

1. Cultural diversity
2. Small town feel
3. Great educational opportunities for the whole family--sports, museums, libraries, etc
4. A university nearby with doctoral programs in education or ed. psychology for me.
5. Milder winters than in Central Massachusetts
6. Great healthcare facilities because my husband is a Nurse Practitioner
7. Lower cost of living and decent job market

I'd reccommend Bowling Green. I went to school there and am going to move back in the next year. It is a small town. It is 20 minutes to Toledo. 90 to Detroit and about 2 hours to Columbus, Cleveland or Cincinnati.

There are five outstanding Universities in the area. BGSU, U of Toledo,
University of Findlay, the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan. BG has long been considered the best University in the country to get a M.Ed. They also have a nationally recognized Psych Department. The Medical College of Ohio is in Toledo.

BGSU has some great museums. Toledo Art Museum is less than a 30 minute drive. Ann Arbor is 45 minutes away and has some great cultural attractions.

Winters in Bowling Green would feel like Florida after living in Mass. And the cost of living is much much less. Especially housing. You can count on about 60 more days of warm weather also. Hope this helps.

[FinanceMom]

Originally Posted by Micah Girl

What are the winters like in these areas? How much snow???

Micah Girl,

The winters in Ohio are extremely varied, depending on the area of the state. Athens, Ohio and Oxford, Ohio have very mild winters. I grew up in Athens and it was rare for snow to stick around for more than a day or two. If there was even an inch of snow they would cancel school because it is a hilly area and they just weren't equipped for snow removal the way they are up north. I relished the snow days as a kid! Up in northern Ohio, especially the NE section of the state is another story altogether! The east side of Cleveland is one of the snowiest areas of the whole country! If you do decide to live in Cleveland, go for the west side! We lived in Rocky River and it wasn't so bad. But still pretty cold compared to Athens!

I noticed someone wrote in about Bowling Green. My husband went there to school and he liked the college. It's good for guys because there is a much higher ratio of females to males at that school for some reason. I personally would not like to live there because it is flat, windy and surrounded by just farmland. Athens and the areas around southern Ohio are much prettier because of the trees and rolling hills. But you have to decide what your priorities are - I am sure Bowling Green is the perfect spot for some!

[bellasmom]

Check out Hudson, Ohio

[BevL]

Check out the small town of Springfield, Ohio. We visited there while my daughter was college shopping. It's the home of Wittenberg University (beautiful, grand, old campus!) and a state park. The best part is you are right smack in the middle of Dayton, Cinncinnatti, and Columbus!! Oh, and if you're interested, it's got some of the biggest antique malls I've ever seen!!

[Micah Girl]

Thanks for all these tips on college towns in OH. I knew it was loaded with them, but had no idea how many.

One of the deciding factors is definitely going to be the winter. I am in a snowbelt here, and would like to have a milder winter with not quite so much to shovel!

[paintballer1708]

^ I would check out SW and SE Ohio for the milder winters. There are some great colleges here in SW Ohio that are in some great little towns.