Living in Ohio do you love it, regret it, or want to move??? (Columbus: house, university)

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Natural510

It was bad in the Bay Area when I left and I'm sure it's worse now. The West Coast is great for a lot of things, but the petty street crime has gotten ridiculous and the over-permissiveness of aggressive street people has ruined the cities. Many of them are not actually "homeless", they just spend all day drinking & doing drugs on the street, and stealing to get more drugs. The East Coast is also "liberal" but there's also more respect for law & order so they've been able to crack down on street people while the West Coast has not.

SCOTUS can be blamed in part for this, as they made panhandling an act of free speech, so the police have more or less taken a hands off approach all over the country.

That said, it's not like America couldn't largely fix rampant homelesness if it wanted to. Kicking them out of camps just to move them to other neighborhoods doesn't work and arresting them doesn't work. They need housing and treatment programs, something which we're basically unwilling to address. Oh, and maybe greater economic equality/security and education. But nah, we'd rather complain about them when they venture into the "nice" neighborhoods or ask us for change outside a restaurant.

[SlideRules99]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

SCOTUS can be blamed in part for this, as they made panhandling an act of free speech, so the police have more or less taken a hands off approach all over the country.

That said, it's not like America couldn't largely fix rampant homelesness if it wanted to. Kicking them out of camps just to move them to other neighborhoods doesn't work and arresting them doesn't work. They need housing and treatment programs, something which we're basically unwilling to address. Oh, and maybe greater economic equality/security and education. But nah, we'd rather complain about them when they venture into the "nice" neighborhoods or ask us for change outside a restaurant.

This thread is venturing off topic, so I’ll keep it brief.

Panhandling laws have little bearing on the West Coast homeless problem. Most of them do not even panhandle from strangers, let alone venture into “nice” neighborhoods to ask for change.

This article does a decent job characterizing the issue. It’s also a cautionary tale.

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation...services-drugs

Plenty of C-D threads on this in other city forums, so I’ll leave it at that.

[EarthBound?]

Love living here in the Buckeye state. Outside of my long military career and vast travels, ohio is home. I try to stear clear of big cities and stick with small towns and the back roads.

[gentlearts]

I loved raising a family in Ohio, and you couldn't pay me to move to WA, OR or CA, among others. I visited all the ruined cities before they were ruined and I’m so glad I did.

I live in the south now, but I’d prefer to go back to Ohio, if it weren’t for January to April.

“Midwest nice” is a real thing.

[CoffeeDrunk62]

Currently living in the southeast, but planning our return to Ohio for retirement. We are in an area here that is becoming more and more popular, and we miss our Midwest roots and sense of community. Hopefully, the cold gray winters will be brightened by being closer to family, but also planning mid winter breaks back south

[WRnative]

Originally Posted by CoffeeDrunk62

Currently living in the southeast, but planning our return to Ohio for retirement. We are in an area here that is becoming more and more popular, and we miss our Midwest roots and sense of community. Hopefully, the cold gray winters will be brightened by being closer to family, but also planning mid winter breaks back south

Or just get outside and take frequent walks during the increasingly mild, and much shorter, winters!

[CoffeeDrunk62]

Mild and shorter winters sound good! But I do enjoy the snow.. Just not gray endless february. I grew up east of Cleveland on Lake Erie....the snow belt. The plan is to head to central Ohio where family are now. Even milder....

[kj1065]

I moved away about 25 years ago, and while I'm very happy where I live now and have no plans to return, there's a part of me that never really left Ohio. I am a seventh generation Ohioan descended from a family deeply embedded in the south central and southwest parts of the state. When I visit family every few years, it's like sliding into an old pair of jeans. I feel myself there in a way that I've never experienced living anywhere else. That's not to say I wish I had stayed. I don't. My life has worked out better for having left, but I'll never feel as connected to a place as much as I feel connected to Ohio.

[BrianGC]

Originally Posted by BrianGC

We visited Ohio numerous times in the past, and we just moved here (Athens) at the end of June. We love it here so far; it's a "small town" but there are plenty of events and activities plus a general vibrant energy, much of which can be attributed to the presence of OU. Also, there are a lot of places to go hiking in this part of the state. Beyond that, the "three C's" are great cities as well.

We don't plan on staying here permanently (5-ish year goal is to end up in the mountain west), but we're very happy to have landed in Ohio for now.

Well my post aged a bit differently than I originally expected . Thanks to a crappy (now ex-) employer, we decided to shorten that timeline quite a bit, and we're now in Utah after I landed a fully remote job. We enjoyed our year in Ohio, but it was clear our hearts have been in the west. Definitely game to come back and visit your state, though.

[badguykc]

Former transplanted two-time Ohioan here.
Cincinnati area: Loved it for the most part, but it's tantamount to a "good ol' boys club" with about half a million members, where making friends is next to impossible unless you grew up there and made them prior to the 2nd grade. That notwithstanding, we love the city and the attractions that are there. Every time we go back to visit we enjoy it tremendously.

Columbus: regretted it, but that's only for personal reasons, and it is a very nice city and I would live there again. A very vibrant city with a lot to do, a lot to see, and pretty cool people.

Conneaut (Ashtabula County): regretted it terribly from the day I moved there, and was excited to get out in 2020 just in time for the pandemic. The area is very economically depressed, there aren't a lot of jobs, and there isn't much to do.

Staying on topic, though: My fiancée and I are strongly considering giving Ohio a third try (we're from PA), and have taken very hard looks at both Youngstown and Dayton. I have family in Youngstown, plus it's a reasonably commutable distance to our families back here. Dayton, because it's close to Cincinnati yet a lot cheaper than Cincy, and seems like it's still a pretty cool city despite the ups and downs it's been through.

Overall, Ohio is a very unique state with many quirks, depending on where you go. And that includes the weather. LOL.