Is Ohio the right place? (Columbus, Cleveland: sale, foreclosure, rent)

[joesluv]

Hello all.....I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond to my post.
My family (there are 6 of us) is considering a somewhat major move. We live in Helena Montana and we are ready for a change. We are looking at several different states and we have very typical wants. Safety, reasonable cost of living, good schools. As I am sure you all know, there can be many different opinions about one place! I see so many positive posts about Ohio, but the bad ones seem very bad. Is meth a real problem? It sure is here and we would like to try to downsize that influence in our new home. We also come from a very "white" area. We are NOT racist by any means, but it will be a bit of a shock for the children to be in a more diverse area. So, with all that said......I have looked at Medina, Cortland, and Cuyahoga Falls.....my husband is a city employee (wastewater) so he is highly skilled and employable. Is there anything more we should know or check out? Any other places? We are open to almost anywhere! Thanks SO much!

[mountains]

Medina & Cuyahoga Falls are nice areas. I think the Falls might be prettier - more rolling hills. Growing up I remember Medina having better kids sports teams. North Ridgeville, Avon, Avon Lake, Rocky River, & Westlake are areas that are closer to the lake that are nice. Cuyahoga county tends to be more expensive as far as taxes go. I grew up in North Olmsted & all of my family are still in the area & I have family teaching in the schools on the west side of Cleveland. I haven't heard that the drugs are any worse there than any where else. Closer to the city it gets worse.
Good Luck!

[proud to be American]

Originally Posted by joesluv

Hello all.....I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond to my post.
My family (there are 6 of us) is considering a somewhat major move. We live in Helena Montana and we are ready for a change. We are looking at several different states and we have very typical wants. Safety, reasonable cost of living, good schools. As I am sure you all know, there can be many different opinions about one place! I see so many positive posts about Ohio, but the bad ones seem very bad. Is meth a real problem? It sure is here and we would like to try to downsize that influence in our new home. We also come from a very "white" area. We are NOT racist by any means, but it will be a bit of a shock for the children to be in a more diverse area. So, with all that said......I have looked at Medina, Cortland, and Cuyahoga Falls.....my husband is a city employee (wastewater) so he is highly skilled and employable. Is there anything more we should know or check out? Any other places? We are open to almost anywhere! Thanks SO much!

I think you will find Ashland, Ohio very attractive.Do a little research i think you will be satisfied

[joesluv]

Thank you both so much! Now for a couple specifics.......how much do you pay for a gallon of milk? Gas? What about the cost to see a movie? Cable TV and internet?
Thanks again!

[Subway]

Originally Posted by joesluv

Thank you both so much! Now for a couple specifics.......how much do you pay for a gallon of milk? Gas? What about the cost to see a movie? Cable TV and internet?
Thanks again!

I live in the western burbs of Cincy. Here are my answers to your specifics:

Gallon of Milk - $2.79 or $2.89, although Kroger usually offers half gallons for $1.00 or $1.20 to customers with a Shopper's Card

Gas - Currently $1.99/gallon where I live

Cost to see a movie - around $6 for a matinee and $9 for an evening show

Cable TV - I pay $50/month after tax for standard cable; digital cable without premium channels is $63.33/month before tax (that includes $7.95/month for the cable box and remote)

Internet - I currently pay $35/month for DSL; $40/month is the standard rate for high-speed services, but there are always specials for $20/month for the first year.

[jadbad2004]

Some things to consider before moving to Ohio. The economy here is tough, seems a lot of homes are over priced, when comparing to what the wages are. We have a high unemployment rate and many factories have closed or will be. Ohio also has the highest foreclosure rate on homes. We do have some positives but not enough to keep me here, will be moving to North Carolina in June.

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by joesluv

Hello all.....I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read and respond to my post.
My family (there are 6 of us) is considering a somewhat major move. We live in Helena Montana and we are ready for a change. We are looking at several different states and we have very typical wants. Safety, reasonable cost of living, good schools. As I am sure you all know, there can be many different opinions about one place! I see so many positive posts about Ohio, but the bad ones seem very bad. Is meth a real problem? It sure is here and we would like to try to downsize that influence in our new home. We also come from a very "white" area. We are NOT racist by any means, but it will be a bit of a shock for the children to be in a more diverse area. So, with all that said......I have looked at Medina, Cortland, and Cuyahoga Falls.....my husband is a city employee (wastewater) so he is highly skilled and employable. Is there anything more we should know or check out? Any other places? We are open to almost anywhere! Thanks SO much!

If you pick the Northern sections of Ohio will tend to get the worse weather, especially in the winter. Ohio is very, very diverse in many terms, so general type comments are not all that useful. Be sure to avoid known pollution zones, central Ohio like around Columbus can be very hazy, some areas along the Ohio River with large coal fired power plants. SE Ohio will tend to have very mild weather with few extremes both hot and cold, good four seasons.

You still can find very "White Areas" in Ohio if diversity is not your bag, talking like 98%+ white folks, example most of the counties in SE Ohio. Monroe county is just about all white, you rarely see a non-white of any type. They had to import a few chinese to have chinese cooking.

AFAIK meth is not a huge problem in the SE counties, drugs are around but nothing like in big cities or many other parts of the country. You don't tend to see the crime that usually goes with drugs. It tends to be more compartmentized as an economic type thing until they get caught.

SE Ohio will have some of the lowest cost living expenses including housing. Taxes can be extremely low. The biggest negatives tend to be housing quality and lack of jobs. There are jobs available, some high paying but there also tends to be competition for them, usually tough if you are not well wired with the locals, they protect their own.

BTW, the Ohio library system is so good, I don't know why anybody would rent a movie. Even very small towns you can get just about anything, CD, DVD's, music, books, etc just for the asking. All the libraries are in networks and usually you have an electronic account via computers and most things only take a few days if ordered. I never have found any movie I ever wanted not in stock, including the new ones that show up pretty quick. Sometimes a waiting list for the more popular stuff but they also order more copies as the list grows. Not many movie houses around except in the bigger cities.

All my phone, web, TV channels etc are bundled together for ~$108 a month. Ohio is one of the cheapest cost of living states around when you consider all things. Sure beats places like FL and MA by miles. I can't believe how expensive FL is for what appears no good reason.

[trtlflwrs]

Let's have an update for prices in the Cortland, Ohio vicinity...

Milk: about $3/gallon, typically on sale somewhere for 2.25 or 1.99...

Gas: around Christmas it was 2.89 for 87, now it's down to 1.91...

Movies: several theaters offer second-run movies for a buck or 2... regular theaters range from 12.50 to 16 for the evenings... usually subtract $4 for the matinee prices. (i've never had to drive more than 20 minutes to find a "movie house"... they're around, even if you don't live in a big city. the closest to Cortland is Niles- a drive of 20 minutes, max.)

Cable: dunno, i don't have it.

Internet: i pay $15 a month for DSL with ATT.

Land line phone: mine is about $15 but there were deals when i signed up back in 6/06.

Schools: I consider Cortland to be a fine school system- Lakeview Local School District. I have friends that went through there. As for Cuyahoga Falls, the locals give it mixed reviews. I know nothing about Medina schools.

Hope this helped, feel free to message me!

[Subway]

Originally Posted by trtlflwrs

Let's have an update for prices in the Cortland, Ohio vicinity...


Movies: several theaters offer second-run movies for a buck or 2... regular theaters range from 12.50 to 16 for the evenings... usually subtract $4 for the matinee prices.

Is $12.50-16.00 the price for one ticket or for two? If it's for one, I would never be going to the movies if I lived around there!

[Groovymommy]

Originally Posted by joesluv

Is meth a real problem?

METH IS A PROBLEM EVERYWHERE! FROM EAST TO WEST ..& NORTH TO SOUTH. As long as "soccer moms", the "girl next door" & everyone in between exist, meth will be a problem. However talking w/ a friend who is an FBI agent in OHIO ( and previously was in AZ) there is absolutely no comparison! I cant wait to move back to Ohio in small-town-ville w/ cheap gas, low cost of living, low crime and a house.... I can actually afford

check this out for a better insight on meth and each state:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/map/

According to the map all meth haters should be runnning ( not walking) to Ohio!!!