You Have to Leave Ohio to Appreciate Ohio (Columbus, Cleveland: transplants, home)

[QCongress83216]

I read on various posts here on CD from Ohio expats who say "You have to leave Ohio to appreciate once you live in another state." So, I am curious, why do Ohio expats say it? What do native Ohioans appreciate about the state now since they left? And, what didn't they appreciate about Ohio when they stayed in Ohio?

[bjimmy24]

It's really not unique to Ohio at all.

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

It's really not unique to Ohio at all.

How so?

[greenvillebuckeye]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

I read on various posts here on CD from Ohio expats who say "You have to leave Ohio to appreciate once you live in another state." So, I am curious, why do Ohio expats say it? What do native Ohioans appreciate about the state now since they left? And, what didn't they appreciate about Ohio when they stayed in Ohio?

When I graduated college in 2003 I moved home to live and work for a year. At 23 I had only ever know NW Ohio. Having grown up in Lima, OH and gone to college in Toledo at UT that stretch of I-75 was pretty much the extent of my world at that age. I wanted nothing but to leave it at that point in life. I left in 2004 to work in South Carolina (teaching jobs in Ohio were few and far between, a school in SC hired me over the phone haha). 15 years later I don't think I'll move back but I now appreciate what Ohio was (emphasis on was). I think most Ohio expats miss Ohio once they've left because they miss their childhood more so than the state. Ohio offers a nostalgia that is tough to shake. Sadly some of those memories no longer exist. So its not like you'd be moving back to an Ohio that was "your Ohio".

HOWEVER to answer your question. Thins I appreciate? population stability. Growing up in Lima pretty much everyone was from Lima or at least somewhere else in Ohio. Most of my classmates had parents who grew up in Lima. The last names rarely if ever changed. There was not much getting to know someone new because by your teen years you'd met pretty much everyone in town. Where I live in South Carolina (Greenville) there are people moving here from every corner of the US on a daily basis. This is both good and bad IMO. I mean I get that I grew up in a town of 50,000 people and now live in a metro area of half a mil so its going to be different but I miss that stability of knowing who everyone was.

I also miss the knowing that no matter where you're going in Ohio you're gonna get there. You can't get lost in Ohio with all the straight right angle roads and highways (except SE Ohio).

I miss the community pride people in Ohio had / have for their hamlet, village, town, city, etc... People in SC had tremendous state pride but it could be due to an enormous influx of outsiders to this state but its difficult to find local pride the same way you can in Ohio.

I miss late September, early October when that autumn chill kicks in. That time of year when you can't swim outside anymore but its not yet time to bundle up. Down here summer goes all the way til November and then you get fall for a week then winter haha.

The thing I miss the MOST though and I didn't realize it til last November at a high school football playoff game was the tremendous local pride people have for where they live. Went to a high school football playoff game over Thanksgiving break when I was home last November between two schools of pretty small enrollments. I swear both towns emptied out for the game to drive an hour or so to Lima for the game. Mind you this is in late November and everyone is decked out in their school / town spirit, etc.... and its FREEZING outside for this now southerner haha. You don't see that in the south. Southerners may love their high school football but will they travel an hour to sit in sub-freezing temps for 2-3 hours for their team? Absolutely NOT haha.



I guess what I didn't appreciate was well everything listed above because as I already mentioned it was all I'd ever known. It's like a kid who grows up in Long Beach or Santa Monica. The get tired of waves, sand and sunshine so they move to Nebraska and soon realize WHOOPS!!! haha.

[IT_sailor]

I moved to Florida 12 years or so ago, and thought I'd chime in. I'm actually planning a move back, and many of the reasons listed are why.

Originally Posted by greenvillebuckeye

HOWEVER to answer your question. Thins I appreciate? population stability.

Very true. Living in a mega-growth city / state means transplants, lack of culture, and poorly planned growth. The community looses what was attractive and distinctive about it.

Originally Posted by greenvillebuckeye

I miss the community pride people in Ohio had / have for their hamlet, village, town, city, etc...

Coming from Northern Ohio especially, the small town ohio culture and community mindedness is absent in Florida. The large city I live in now has a worse park, schools, and library system than my old Ohio hometown of 30k. It's crazy.

Originally Posted by greenvillebuckeye

I miss late September, early October when that autumn chill kicks in.

Fall doesn't exist in Florida, and it's not just the lack of leaf color. Summer winds down and at some point winter begins (which admittedly is really nice weather for winter). But days are hot and sticky until they aren't, and even in December you can continue summer weather some years (this even after a brief cold spell in November -- December is often warmer than November!)

Originally Posted by greenvillebuckeye

The thing I miss the MOST though and I didn't realize it til last November at a high school football playoff game was the tremendous local pride people have for where they live. Went to a high school football playoff game over Thanksgiving break when I was home last November between two schools of pretty small enrollments. I swear both towns emptied out for the game to drive an hour or so to Lima for the game. Mind you this is in late November and everyone is decked out in their school / town spirit, etc....

Even in football loving places, the local school districts I think aid in friendly rivalries and hometown pride. I agree I didn't realize how distinctive this was to Ohio and few other places.

I'll add a couple more -- Lake Erie and the Great Lakes are a treasure, and Ohio has the Appalachian foothills which I think is nicer for day to day living than the mountains themselves.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

How so?

I don't think I really need to explain this.

[gentlearts]

I miss my lush gardens in Ohio. After moving to coastal Georgia, where you would think gardening would be easier, I found the opposite is true. The extreme heat makes it very hard to keep things watered here.

I miss seeing the Amish buggies tied up at the Wooster Walmart.

I miss the “midwestern nice”. If I still had children in school, I would definitely miss the good schools in Ohio.

Still, the only chilly months here are Jan and Feb, so I don’t miss Ohio winter at all.

[QCongress83216]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

I don't think I really need to explain this.

In my experience, it seems that "the grass is greener" mentality is more prevalent in Ohio than anywhere else. You don't hear that mentality in the South or the Coasts. Because they never experienced the issues or setbacks that Ohio has gone through. In my perception, it seems like folks on the Coasts and the South moving to other places is a luxury while it seems like it's an necessity for people in Ohio. Folks move for weather, job opportunities or just wanting to be hip and cool.

[VintageGurl]

Originally Posted by QCongress83216

In my experience, it seems that "the grass is greener" mentality is more prevalent in Ohio than anywhere else. You don't hear that mentality in the South or the Coasts. Because they never experienced the issues or setbacks that Ohio has gone through. In my perception, it seems like folks on the Coasts and the South moving to other places is a luxury while it seems like it's an necessity for people in Ohio. Folks move for weather, job opportunities or just wanting to be hip and cool.

I've noticed this attitude from a lot of people who live in Ohio...many times they don't seem to realize how good they have it, course "good" can be relative, but cheap and affordable housing in many parts of Ohio is one of the many reasons. I've been considering moving to Ohio myself.
One person told me how awful it is there, especially medically, and how they think where I am would be better, yet it's worse here and high housing costs...so...

[Rebek56]

Originally Posted by VintageGurl

I've noticed this attitude from a lot of people who live in Ohio...many times they don't seem to realize how good they have it, course "good" can be relative, but cheap and affordable housing in many parts of Ohio is one of the many reasons. I've been considering moving to Ohio myself.
One person told me how awful it is there, especially medically, and how they think where I am would be better, yet it's worse here and high housing costs...so...

VintageGurl, I don't know where you're from or what your career is, but Ohio offers many advantages (winter not being among them, though ours are milder than those in other places). I was born in SE Ohio, grew up and spent my early adulthood in Florida, then moved to Ohio in my late twenties. Depending on where you land, Ohio offers a number of advantages besides low cost of living.

Cleveland and Columbus boast world-class hospitals, if you are worried about medical care. Even rural counties offer better access than can be found out west or in deep Appalachia.
[*]The Metropark system offers thousands of acres of preserved land and great walking/hiking trails within easy reach of any major city and a goodly number of smaller towns. SE Ohio lacks Metroparks but boasts Ohio's only national forest.
[*]A national park an hour from Cleveland and just outside Akron
[*]Excellent art museums and zoos
[*]A rich history
[*]Opportunity for community involvement. As a twentysomething, I was more involved in the town in the first six months than I had ever been in Florida. That situation has not changed.
[*]The Army Corps of Engineers lists the Great Lakes basin as one of the best[/list]US areas for coping with climate change.

I have never regretted making the move, though I now snowbird as a retiree. Air quality can be an issue in parts of Ohio (though not only here), and cold, damp air can aggravate arthritis.