Cinci vs Dayton (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Warren: apartments, lofts, crime)

[elfyum]

Howdy ya'll! I am wondering what the basic differences would be between the two cities.
Statistically they seem about the same - as in male/female, white/black...
Other than size, are they fairly similar in terms of "vibe"?
Sound off!

[malachai23]

They are very different. Cinci seems much older and denser. The architecture is different. The best way I could put it is that Cinci is more of a 3-story city and Dayton is more of a 2-story city! The Cinci attitude is more urban. For instance - downtown Cinci is not dead yet. Neither is Dayton's, but it's definitely on a respirator. I think more people live downtown in Cinci in apartments and lofts and such. There are very few "downtown living" situations to choose from in Dayton. Even though both cities are on rivers, Cinci is more of a "river town" with entertainment built up right along the river. Dayton's poor little river just kind of gets forgotten about for the most part behind big levees and a "riverfront" that looks like an afterthought that never got completed. Dayton, in general, has a very small town attitude and is closely surrounded on all sides by farming communities. Cinci, in general, has a "city" attitude and is surrounded by a sprawly suburbia zone. There is traffic in Cinci. There is no traffic per se in Dayton. As with just about any city, there are neighborhoods in both that are not so desirable... but those neighborhoods in Cinci just seem to me to be a lot less desirable. I guess it all does boil down to population. With any large metro area you are going to get more of a large metro area lifestyle/attitude and attributes. Hope that helps!

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by malachai23

There is traffic in Cinci. There is no traffic per se in Dayton.

Say what??? You've obviously never been on I-75 anywhere near the OH 4 "Malfunction Junction" construction...

[malachai23]

Hi Crew Chief - yah, I do try to avoid Malfunction Junction (although it took me a year to figure out exactly where it is...). I moved here recently from a large West Coast city (larger than Cinci) and the lack of traffic here in general (even in the Malfunction Junction area) doesn't even compare. However, Rush Hour in Cinci does start to remind me a bit of home ever now and then!

[hillside]

there is about as much traffic in the cincinnati-dayton area as possible for an area of 3 million. i think the traffic there is worse than denver, minneapolis, st. louis and cleveland, all similar markets.

[Crew Chief]

Delivering to a major Tri-state retailer, I'd say the traffic is fairly evenly matched everywhere (especally around rush hour) All the construction projects (widening of I-75 in Butler & Warren Counties, the rework of Malfunction Junction and the I-70/I-75 merge can make for rough going at ANY time of the day. Not to mention I-275's rework on the North side and the bridge rework at the Ohio River on the East side. (I've sat behind "15 minute road closures on I-75 at all three construtcon zones...) Is trafiic any worse or better than those other cities? I feel like it's about the same...

[Daytonnatian]

Originally Posted by elfyum

Howdy ya'll! I am wondering what the basic differences would be between the two cities.
Statistically they seem about the same - as in male/female, white/black...
Other than size, are they fairly similar in terms of "vibe"?
Sound off!

The main difference between the two cities is the general feel and attitudes, along with obvious size and demographic differences.

Cincinnati generally has an older, more southern rivertown vibe (a la St. Louis), but it is gaining a large white-collar, new-age population in the north 'burbs that are generally more conservative and a little snotty and rude, but not to the extremes of places like New Jersey. Cincy's other large population is Kentucky redneck, and this population is pretty prevelant, especially within city lines. Cincy has worse poverty and race relations than Dayton, but probably less crime per capita. Out of the two, Cincy should definitely be your pick if you like a more white-collar, conservative atmosphere, or if you like rednecks a lot.

Dayton generally has more ties to places like Detroit, Cleveland, or Chicago in general attitude than it ever will with Cincy, especially with its large blue-collar and African-American populations. Dayton is rust belt, although it is not as blighted as places like Gary, Indiana. Generally, Dayton's citizens are nice, friendly, and very midwestern, but they do not care about their hometown. Dayton and its met. have a few liberal paradises scattered around like Yellow Springs, but generally it's about 50/50. Dayton's south and east suburbs are where the white-collar population is, and anything west is the "ghetto". So, if you want a true midwestern metro area, or a large African-American population, Dayton is the only choice between the two.

[hillside]

Originally Posted by Daytonnatian

The main difference between the two cities is the general feel and attitudes, along with obvious size and demographic differences.

Cincinnati generally has an older, more southern rivertown vibe (a la St. Louis), but it is gaining a large white-collar, new-age population in the north 'burbs that are generally more conservative and a little snotty and rude, but not to the extremes of places like New Jersey. Cincy's other large population is Kentucky redneck, and this population is pretty prevelant, especially within city lines. Cincy has worse poverty and race relations than Dayton, but probably less crime per capita. Out of the two, Cincy should definitely be your pick if you like a more white-collar, conservative atmosphere, or if you like rednecks a lot.

Dayton generally has more ties to places like Detroit, Cleveland, or Chicago in general attitude than it ever will with Cincy, especially with its large blue-collar and African-American populations. Dayton is rust belt, although it is not as blighted as places like Gary, Indiana. Generally, Dayton's citizens are nice, friendly, and very midwestern, but they do not care about their hometown. Dayton and its met. have a few liberal paradises scattered around like Yellow Springs, but generally it's about 50/50. Dayton's south and east suburbs are where the white-collar population is, and anything west is the "ghetto". So, if you want a true midwestern metro area, or a large African-American population, Dayton is the only choice between the two.

dayton has more ties to detroit, cleveland and chicago? you sure you didn't mean cincinnati?

large black population? um, cincinnati?

you really do hate cincinnati, huh...

[BelieveInCleve]

Ive live in Cincinnati for a short time before, and have been in Dayton a couple times, and also know a good amount about both. Even though the cities are pretty close together there is a huge difference between the two in many aspects.

The obvious is that Dayton is much more midwestern than Cincinnati and much more flat, Dayton is pretty much dead flat in most areas. Dayton also reminded me more of a large farmtown, literally right outside the city limits to the west and other directions is farms. Cincinnati is a hilly city with a small, pretty urban core directly surrounded by low density sprawling suburban areas. Dayton was originally a stand-alone city, because decades ago the Dayton and Cincinnati areas were pretty far apart, there was a lot of undeveloped land in between them. Poverty, crime, race, schools, are all pretty much the same in both cities as far as percentages. Another big difference is that Cincinnati and the immediate metro is growing, but Dayton city and its immediate metro are both shrinking pretty fast as they have been for a while. So yeah there are a lot more differences than similarities.

[Cincy-Rise]

Guys, there's no need to put down other people's cities here...

A) Dayton was an old river-town and it's establishment was dependent on it (almost all major cities were developed inland because of waterways).
B) Cincinnati and Dayton's connection were vital and advantageous using the Miami and Erie Canal (because of Lake Erie and the Ohio river).

Dayton was founded on April 1, 1796 by a small group of US settlers seven years before the admission of Ohio to the Union in 1803. The town was incorporated in 1805 and given its name after Jonathan Dayton, a captain in the American Revolutionary War and signer of the U.S. Constitution.

In 1797, Daniel C. Cooper laid out the Mad River Road, the first overland connection between Cincinnati, Ohio and Dayton. This opened up the "Mad River Country" at Dayton and the upper Miami Valley to settlement.



Mad River Road was the first overland route between Dayton, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio was cut by Daniel C. Cooper in 1795 to provide access to the new town of Dayton and the "Mad River Country" northeast and north of Dayton. It was located at the mouth of the Mad River in the Symmes Purchase. The survey, entered into the record by Cooper and Dr. John Hole, extended Harmer's Trace north from near Cunningham's Station on the Mill Creek to the mouth of the Mad River, establishing the earliest road between Cincinnati and Dayton. Cooper, a surveyor and miller, was instrumental in the early settlement of Dayton