What Ohio city are you from? (Columbus, Cleveland: home, high school, university)

[inspiringmind]

I was born in Willoughby....raised in Mentor and then Newbury till I was 13 when my parents moved us to Florida. I moved back to Mentor when I was 20. (Florida is too hot!) Kinda went between Mentor/Las Vegas/Painesville/Wyoming/Ashtabula. I always come back to Ohio. Hubby was raised in Mentor. Although not born in Ohio. (Alabama) I love Ashtabula....why? Lake effect snow. I bought a house and it was very inexpensive! I like being in a city that isn't to big or to small.

[maryCh]

Although I haven't lived in OH for years, I pop in and read the forums once in a while. As far as where I was born... little town called Georgetown. For those not familiar, its about 40 miles "down river" from Cincinnati; very much farm country!

Moved away when I was about 2, as dad was in the Navy. We still have most of our family there, and I hope to get the kids back to visit next summer. Even though I didn't grow up on Ohio, I still consider that wonderful area home. Hubby is a NY'er, and would love nothing better than to move there.

Mary

[ryeager9]

Born in Barberton, raised in Norton. Moved to Kent for college (KSU). Recession of the early 90s kept me on the move: Brimfield Twp > Cuyahoga Falls > Akron (near CityGrrl77 in Highland Sq.) > Canton > Columbus. Lost job in '94 and relocated to NC for new job. Now looking to move back to NE OH if future economy and job prospects permit.

[Cowboybootnut]

I grew up in Canton from 1963 to 1978. I moved to Lousiana and Texas after college for work. It was a great place to grow up back then. If I had employment and more family around Canton, I'd consider moving back, even with Canton's general decline due to the economy. But I don't so I won't

[BellaRose]

West Side of Youngstown Ohio...Lived here for the past 20+yrs and moving to Austintown Ohio. I have all ways loved the West Side..I live on a ok street...a few homes that need some TLC and maybe one knocked down. The neighrbors get along with each other well not all but most. So it's going to be sad when I do move. Family got bigger need more space.

[Funky C]

I was born in Dayton. Still live there. Most dangerous cities:
19. Dayton, Ohio
???

[livebyoptimism]

Originally Posted by skittlesgirl

What can I say... it's home. I hate this place most days and can't wait to get away. It's trashy, violent, drug addicted and cold. It has its' good moments though and it's a place you love to hate. Recommendation: Don't move to Springfield!

But really... where is really all that great anymore, anyway??

Which Springfield?? Near Dayton & C-Bus or near Akron... by your description, I'm guessing near Akron.

[livebyoptimism]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

Just curious as to why you loved living in Green (I'm from the Canton area as well) as opposed to where you are in SC? We've had the opposite experience, w/the exception of us missing family & friends who mostly live there.

Wow, really? Well, I live in the middle of a forest in SC. We're in Lane....Try looking that up on a map... ha! It's very small, everyone's in our business all the time, It's 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store, 35 minutes to Wal-Mart (which means that the rest of civilization is also that far away), the mall is about an hour away, there's lots of crime, we lock our doors allll the time, there are very few people my age, many people discriminate b/c I live w/ my boyfriend & we;re not married & we don't go to church... it's just very different from Green.
I like Green b/c we were in driving distance to everything. Belden is right down the road & Akron is the same distance in the other direction. My parents & their parents all have lived in Green so it's just got a lot of roots for me. I know that sometimes the stupid hummers & yuppies get a little annoying, but I still can't wait to come back. I dont miss the traffic though. Here in SC I can leave for school (it's a 10 minute drive) & see about 10 cars on the way to work.... that would be waht I see trying to pull out of my driveway in Green! Ha ha. I still love it though!!
So now I'm curious as to why you're not a big fan of it??

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by livebyoptimism

Wow, really? Well, I live in the middle of a forest in SC. We're in Lane....Try looking that up on a map... ha! It's very small, everyone's in our business all the time, It's 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store, 35 minutes to Wal-Mart (which means that the rest of civilization is also that far away), the mall is about an hour away, there's lots of crime, we lock our doors allll the time, there are very few people my age, many people discriminate b/c I live w/ my boyfriend & we;re not married & we don't go to church... it's just very different from Green.
I like Green b/c we were in driving distance to everything. Belden is right down the road & Akron is the same distance in the other direction. My parents & their parents all have lived in Green so it's just got a lot of roots for me. I know that sometimes the stupid hummers & yuppies get a little annoying, but I still can't wait to come back. I dont miss the traffic though. Here in SC I can leave for school (it's a 10 minute drive) & see about 10 cars on the way to work.... that would be waht I see trying to pull out of my driveway in Green! Ha ha. I still love it though!!
So now I'm curious as to why you're not a big fan of it??

I can understand how living in small town SC not having an enjoyable experience as well as missing the family & friends, as I said, that's been the hardest part for us as well. Columbia while it has it's issues, seems to be a very middle of the road type of city, especially for the south, don't think you would be judged nearly as much as you feel you are being in Lane, in fact I know you wouldn't. It's about the size of Akron's metro (about as big as we'd like), but offers much more to do and explore in my opinion. Plenty of shopping areas/malls, including the new Village at Sandhill which is a similar set-up to Legacy Village in Cleveland if you are familiar w/that. Of course, Cleveland offered a lot, but it was an hour drive from Canton. And we can head up to Charlotte in 90 minutes or so and get most of what Cleveland offered. Plus being 2 hours from the beach and from the mountains is an awesome perk!

I don't miss the gray days of NE Ohio, nor the snow! And while it's been cool here the past month or so, would die for this type of weather the first week of December living in Ohio! Plus there is too much stagnation in my opinion in NE Ohioans, people just don't want to let go of the manufacturing mindset for some reason that is long gone, and the area hasn't been able to recover. Don't get me wrong, there are some poor, poor areas in SC (you may be in one of them), but I find Columbia/Charleston/Charlotte much more appealing for a young person than Akron, Canton, or Ytown...Cleveland I will say offers quite a bit for young people, but the weather sucks!

And finally, as a teacher, you understand the job market in Ohio, which is why we moved so my wife could teach here. I will say, had she been able to land a steady job in Ohio, we probably never would have picked up our lives and moved, but now that we have, we are glad we did!

You may want to look to try living in one of the larger areas in SC like Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, or even Savannah-Hilton Head, once the school year is up - I think you may have a more enjoyable experience based on your dislikes so far in SC.

[Sam_in_ND]

Born In Cleveland, lived in Parma, Akron, Canton, then moved away to North Dakota for several years, but got tired of looking at nothing but grass so now I'm in Girard just north of Youngstown. I must say that I'm glad I moved back. I'm making less money here but the cost of living is much less, and the quality of life is so much better here. True there is much more crime, but North East Ohio, which I really consider to be my home (I'm all for regionalism) has so much more to offer than just about anywhere else.