Considering Ohio (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati: cliquey, crime rate, credit)

[pmichaelmd]

Hello,
I grew up in one of the most liberal locations in Ohio, Yellow Springs. It is home to Antioch college and the atmosphere is most definitely artsy. It is small (about 4000 people), but highly educated and tolerant. It is quite similar to Oberlin in many regards, but is in the southwestern portion of the state, located in the middle of the Dayton/Cincy/Columbus triangle. Here is a link to the local paper... www.ysnews.com

If artsy is what you're looking for, coupled with a renowned school district (if you are planning on raising a family), this isn't such a bad place.

Good luck!

PMMD

[Aftershock71]

I moved here to Ohio from N. California in 2003, after my husband and I were married (he was from here, I, born and raised in Cali) here are some things I have obsereved


Pros......

1. Lower cost of living............rents are anywhere from $300 to $575 a month for a decent place to live. Houses sell from $50,000 to $100,000.........$100,000 considered luxury home in some areas.

2. Fairly easy to find work (it was for me anyway).

3. People can be very friendly and welcoming.

4. In Rural areas, you are still within driving distance to at least on major

[Aftershock71]

Anyway, here are the cons of living in Ohio


1. High Unemployment rate with factories shutting down everyday/

2. Weather is really something here. Tends to go from one extreme to
the other. Bone chilling cold winters (with lots of snow and ice) to
strangling heat and dripping wet humidity in the summer.

3. Not much to do if you are any kind of outdoors enthusiast. Also not
a lot to do for kids and teenagers.

4. Can be difficult to form friendships or establish any kind of connections
or networking. This is especially true in the smaller communities, which
tend to consist of native born residents who have lived there for 5 gener
ations. Some people can be very cliquie, unfriendly to newcomers and
outsiders, and downright rude and arrogant. The larger cities tend to not
be this way, but Lima is one of the worst places as far as this goes.

5. You might end up with a glorious view of a rusting, dilapitated, abandoned
factory or refinery. These dot the landscape almost everywhere.


In Conclusion........ Not a totallly horrible place to call home, not the greatest either. Ohio is an ok place, but just not for me and am counting the days until I return to California.

[Aftershock71]

Anyway, here are the cons of living in Ohio


1. High Unemployment rate with factories shutting down everyday/

2. Weather is really something here. Tends to go from one extreme to
the other. Bone chilling cold winters (with lots of snow and ice) to
strangling heat and dripping wet humidity in the summer.

3. Not much to do if you are any kind of outdoors enthusiast. Also not
a lot to do for kids and teenagers.

4. Can be difficult to form friendships or establish any kind of connections
or networking. This is especially true in the smaller communities, which
tend to consist of native born residents who have lived there for 5 gener
ations. Some people can be very cliquie, unfriendly to newcomers and
outsiders, and downright rude and arrogant. The larger cities tend to not
be this way, but Lima is one of the worst places as far as this goes.

5. You might end up with a glorious view of a rusting, dilapitated, abandoned
factory or refinery. These dot the landscape almost everywhere.


In Conclusion........ Not a totallly horrible place to call home, not the greatest either. Ohio is an ok place, but just not for me and am counting the days until I return to California.

[DoctorAnswerman]

Yellow Springs might provide some interest for you.
Myself, I was born in LA and then raised in the Ohio/Miami Valley area for some years. Yellow Springs was fun. But there are many convenient locations to explore all around the Miami Valley. Hope you enjoy your adventure!

[slickwilly]

Originally Posted by bobbya739

I am from Youngstown, OH. It is the most depressing city that I have ever been to. No jobs, lots of crime, no culture, gray depressing weather. The only remotely attractive thing in Youngstown is the low cost of living. Good luck. Canfield, OH is a small somewhat of a suburb of Youngstown. It's a nice area.

Ditto. Youngstown is a dredge on society. Don't go there unless you are looking for sadness. Stay as far away as possible, including any and all suburbs.

[MABCle]

For more information check out link removed. There you will find lots of informatioon about Youngstown and Ohio. It has threads ranging from new construction projects to local issues be they pollution or political.

[vader]

Its good your considering Ohio, just dont judge us by Youngstown. Ive visted the city once and havent been back since. I dont know what it is, but somethin aint right there. Once I see the "welcome to Youngstown" sign the energy was sucked out of me and I immediatly became depressed. On the bright side Ive heard of plans turn a large portion of the city into green space which would be nice. I hear that Boardman is a nice area.

[rdmeglio]

There is more to Ohio than pollution and crime in Ohio. Do not give up on the idea of moving. I grew up in North central Ohio and am also in the process of moving back. There are many small towns in Ohio that are quite different than you will find anywhere else, except for maybe Mayberry.

If you are looking for good organic foods, five star restaurants and alive after 9pm night life, these areas will bring a compromise of higher crime and higher pollution. A good suggestion is to look into the Akron area. There is plenty of suburbia around but still near all the action.

However, if you are looking for nice neighboring communities and safe areas check cities you are interested in here at mod cut(city name).htm for more details and this will give you a clear picture of whether the town is worth your two cents. Some small towns that are low in crime can be found within a 10 or 15 minute drive of a larger city, so you can have your cake and eat it too.

The best word of advice that I can give you is to take a trip to a city you may be interested in visiting and drive through some of the neighborhoods. Ohioans are very old fashioned homesteaders; look for porch swings, kids outside, clean cut yards, and swept driveways. If you find this chances are high that it’s a good area.

Lots of luck in the drama business, you will find that there are many natural park areas that will bring plenty of inspiration and a hint into the rich history and hidden beauty of the state.

[jimdc58]

I currently live in Ohio, and am looking to get out. It is very liberal unfriendly, with the exception of a few pockets (some areas of Cleveland and Akron, Oberlin, and Yellow Springs). The pollution is some of the worst in the country.

You sound as if you have a similar mindset to me, as I prefer organic markets, progressive bookstores, etc. You won't find that in Youngstown. Youngstown is Democratic....blue collar Democratic. They are not the least bit socially liberal. Akron does have a great organic market (Mustard Seed), but there aren't many in Ohio (a few in the real big cities).

If you must move to Ohio, stick with Oberlin. Otherwise, look elsewhere.