Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
^ Wow, you are very wrong. Ohio is a great place to live. Every single state out there has its problems. Cincinnati and Columbus, you didnt mention them. They are some of the fastest growing metros in the midwest and Columbus is one of the fastest growing cities in the Northern USA. If you are growing at the rates they are that means they are attractive areas to the new people coming there. Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus are pumping billions into the construction of commercial and residential development. Unemployment in Cleveland is at 4.5% one of the lowest in any major city in the Midwest and Northeast. Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati have some of the safiest housing markets in the country. Cincinnati i think was #3 as far as the safiest housing market goes. Good luck finding safe housing markets anywhere else in the country unless you go to PA or Indiana. Ohio offers alot and im sorry that you dont see that. Ohio is a great place to call home to many that move here. And most that move here love it here.
I moved out of Ohio about 5 years ago, and am now in Phoenix, AZ. I like it here very much, and if I ever decided to move somewhere else it would definately not be Ohio> Heres why:
I grew up in the Toledo area. It is like a slightly better version of Youngstown. The job opportunities there are almost non-existent, (I still have family there and keep tabs), which being laid off from a company that closed was the primary reason for my leaving. Toledo is poor and run down. There are many, many vacant buildings and long since closed heavy industrial sites. The crime rate is not much lower than in Phoenix, which has 4 times as many people.
There is not much to do unless you are big into OSU or the sports bar scene. Outdoor activities are nearly non-existent. If you like getting wasted daily with a small cliquey group of people, then it is totally for you.
Urban sprawl is horrible. They are building millions of "cookie cutter" houses and neighborhoods, then they seem to sit empty for years. Super wall-marts and huge box stores are everywhere. In 2003, 5 grocery store chains built HUGE stores in Toledo. Only one chain remains today. I lost my job because a lowes moved across the street from a medium-sized construction/lumber company I worked for. My parents live in a small town west of Toledo, and last time I visited the same sub divisions seemed just as empty as when I left 5 years ago. We have a big sprawl problem here in Phoenix too. At least here people live in the houses that are being built.
Toledo is not at all people-friendly. If you live in a suburb, its very hard to get anywhere without driving. That didnt bother me so much, but I know many people like to be able to get around without their car.
The weather I dont miss at all. The summers were short, June-August, and a few warm days in September. It is usually so humid that you feel like you are walking thru peanut butter. The winters are long and bitter cold. Grey skies everyday, and ice storms. I like snow now and then, but for the 4 years before I moved, the winters maybe had one good snowstorm, 5" or more, other than that, just cold, grey and miserable. They use salt on the roads here too, so count on that car you pay for every month rusting out in 3 years.
I guess it was ok at the time, I made due with where I was. However, I wouldnt recommend it. This country has much more to offer, there are many, many much better places to live then ohio.
^ You are also very wrong. This site is for positives not negatives. And this is coming from someone from AZ.
You want to talk about sprawl and crime? Phoenix has some of the worst pollution in the country. Smog sits over that city almost everyday. Many of my friends from Pittsburgh moved out there and they always talk about the crime out there, the illegal immigration, the drugs and everything. AZ has the second worse sprawl in the nation, (after Florida).
Crime is horrible. Phoenix and Tucson are voted in the top 10 most violent cities in the nation. Esp Tucson. Many people are finding that AZ is not the dream it use to be and many people are leaving. Many illegal immigrants have causes problems esp with drugs. AZ has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country. Phoenix is the meth capital of the United States. One girl in Phoenix i read about had 55 needle marks up and down just her right arm. Just to give you a little taste of the meth problem out there. Hundreds die from that out there.
Not only is crime and drugs a problem but, pollution is some of the worse in the nation. And sprawl keeps moving farther and farther outwards. Also you get wildfires from the droughts almost every year. I know most of this because i have alot of people from AZ moving here to Ohio to escape those problems. You dont believe me, well one man moved his family here from Casa Grande and has no plans even to go through AZ again. Another family moved here from outside of Tucson because of the crime rates that are through the roof.
Yes, Ohio had problems through the 70s and 80s but, it has made a complete turnaround. Just look at the cites of Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati that have billions of dollars going into their downtowns. Columbus is one of the fastest growing cites in the northern part of the country competing with Portland and Seattle. Clevelands downtown population grew by 32.5% from 2000-2005. Cincinnati's metro grew by 8.9%, second fastest in the midwest and northeast, after Columbus. We spend the 11th most on tourism. Far ahead of AZ. I think AZ was 18th or 19th. Cleveland's unemployment rate is at 4.3%. The lowest of any major city in the midwest or northeast. 4.3% is better than Phoenix's 4.9%.
Obviously Ohio is changing and many people moving here love it here. AZ has many problems. You really should notice them. Every state has its problems. No state is perfect. You have to notice Ohio has come a long way. The cities are completely different now. I would know i travel the nation as an Urban Planner. Remember NO STATE IS PERFECT.
paintballer this sight isnt for positives its for opinions. a person ask what people think about an area they should tell them how they feel, other wise this is just one big propaganda sight.
let posters post how they feel thats what people want ...true feelings.
as for ohio i have great memories and friends there, would i want to move back ..no but do i hate living in ohio ...no , it has good sides and bad like anywhere else , let the masses speak the truth....now i need another cup of coffee!!!!!! blah blah blah
^True but, this thread was originally titled Considering Ohio. They mentioned the problems in Ohio so i mentioned the problems in AZ. Were not gonna make an Ohio vs AZ thread but, negatives dont need to fly here. Although you are true this was an opinion here and not someone looking up information and posting it.
Oh really, this opinion site is for positives only? No negatives allowed, huh "senior member" Paintballer? Says alot about this site if you're in fact a moderator here. If you're not, then you know what to do with your own imposed "rules for posting".
Good for you Azrider for getting out of Ohio--Toledo especially--and moving to sunny scenic Arizona. I'm from Toledo also and I find everything you stated to be on the mark. Me and near all my friends and family left that frigid, declining town en masse for various locations in Florida. Our only regrets are that we didn't leave sooner!
If you would have read i said that was true i was in the wrong. But now looks like you are in the wrong. I agreed with what htlong said. Good luck finding a great place in AZ or Florida where crime is out the roof, pollution is horrible and drugs are a huge problem. Right now it is 89 here in Ohio and sunny. There are cold winters all over the northern half of the country. By the way great way to start off your posting on City-data.
Oh really, this opinion site is for positives only? No negatives allowed, huh "senior member" Paintballer? Says alot about this site if you're in fact a moderator here. If you're not, then you know what to do with your own imposed "rules for posting".
Good for you Azrider for getting out of Ohio--Toledo especially--and moving to sunny scenic Arizona. I'm from Toledo also and I find everything you stated to be on the mark. Me and near all my friends and family left that frigid, declining town en masse for various locations in Florida. Our only regrets are that we didn't leave sooner!
Bigtime, Exactly.
Paintballer, the thread title is "considering Ohio". This is what I would tell you if you told me you were "considering Ohio". I grew up in Ohio, lost my job in Ohio, guy. I know all about it. But Im not going to rant and rave over and over, and go spread my opinion visciously on every Ohio thread here. That wouldnt be right. I dont care for Ohio, thats all.
Im sorry AZrider for saying what i did. That was wrong on my part. I know alot of people like Ohio as well as Arizona. Both states have good qualities and bad ones. You had every right to express your opinion.
I moved out of Ohio about 5 years ago, and am now in Phoenix, AZ. I like it here very much, and if I ever decided to move somewhere else it would definately not be Ohio> Heres why:
I grew up in the Toledo area. It is like a slightly better version of Youngstown. The job opportunities there are almost non-existent, (I still have family there and keep tabs), which being laid off from a company that closed was the primary reason for my leaving. Toledo is poor and run down. There are many, many vacant buildings and long since closed heavy industrial sites. The crime rate is not much lower than in Phoenix, which has 4 times as many people.
There is not much to do unless you are big into OSU or the sports bar scene. Outdoor activities are nearly non-existent. If you like getting wasted daily with a small cliquey group of people, then it is totally for you.
Urban sprawl is horrible. They are building millions of "cookie cutter" houses and neighborhoods, then they seem to sit empty for years. Super wall-marts and huge box stores are everywhere. In 2003, 5 grocery store chains built HUGE stores in Toledo. Only one chain remains today. I lost my job because a lowes moved across the street from a medium-sized construction/lumber company I worked for. My parents live in a small town west of Toledo, and last time I visited the same sub divisions seemed just as empty as when I left 5 years ago. We have a big sprawl problem here in Phoenix too. At least here people live in the houses that are being built.
Toledo is not at all people-friendly. If you live in a suburb, its very hard to get anywhere without driving. That didnt bother me so much, but I know many people like to be able to get around without their car.
The weather I dont miss at all. The summers were short, June-August, and a few warm days in September. It is usually so humid that you feel like you are walking thru peanut butter. The winters are long and bitter cold. Grey skies everyday, and ice storms. I like snow now and then, but for the 4 years before I moved, the winters maybe had one good snowstorm, 5" or more, other than that, just cold, grey and miserable. They use salt on the roads here too, so count on that car you pay for every month rusting out in 3 years.
I guess it was ok at the time, I made due with where I was. However, I wouldnt recommend it. This country has much more to offer, there are many, many much better places to live then ohio.
Toledo is far from perfect but I will admit it has been going in a positive direction even recent as the past 2 years. The warehouse district downtown has been filling very fast with new businesses. Almost everywhere you look near 5/3rd field theres a "coming soon" sign in alot of the formally vacant buildings. Having being a resident here all my life I will admit I have never seen so much construction going on at one time. Theres a ground breaking on a 200 million entertainment district downtown next week. The auto industry has invested well over a billion dollars in new plants here the last 3 years. Just to put things in perspective, out of the entire midwest Toledo has received the 6th highest amount of investment this past year.Im definatly not a Toledo booster but I give credit where credit is due. Of course all is not rosey, the city still has a problem getting professional jobs, although Google is relcating thier HQ and 1000 jobs in the SE Mich region.
I find it funny how people act like its always cold in Ohio, even in Toledo its cold only half the time, if that. Everyday for the past 3 weeks its been in the lower to mid 80's. Its not that its cold, we just have all the seasons.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
