What Ohio city are you from? (Columbus, Cincinnati: chapel, college, living in)

[Certainty Labs]

All over S. Central Ohio! Small towns, all, til we moved to Springfield in the early 60s. I graduated from Shawnee High in 1970.
Got married and moved south to Hillsboro. I lived there til I was divorced in the 80s. My girls were small then. Since then I have lived in Chillicothe, Bainbridge, and now, on a farm outside of Sabina. I love the country. We breed, hunt, and train Labrador Retrievers. If I want to go to the city, I can be in either Dayton, Columbus, or Cincinnati in about 45 minutes. I generally choose Columbus because my youngest daughter lives there with her family. She went away to college and settled in Columbus.

[livebyoptimism]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

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.

Absolutely! I'm def planning on moving. I would love to live in Charleston or near Myrtle. Really, anywhere that lots of other people live. We're just too far out in the boonies for my taste. I'm very glad that I'm teaching, but I'll be more glad once we move to civilization!

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by 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.

I traveled to North Dakota a few months ago. It was a very nice place with very nice people, but the scenery was just so boring, it was FLAT! There were no big cities, nothing of diversity, Wal-Mart was an exciting thing to see get built in Fargo. That shocked me. I had to say I didn't miss the traffic or aggressive drivers. But compared to many other cities out there, Cleveland's traffic is nothing.

North Dakota was nice, but nothing I would really want to go back for.

[Sabinaguy]

Originally Posted by Certainty Labs

All over S. Central Ohio! Small towns, all, til we moved to Springfield in the early 60s. I graduated from Shawnee High in 1970.
Got married and moved south to Hillsboro. I lived there til I was divorced in the 80s. My girls were small then. Since then I have lived in Chillicothe, Bainbridge, and now, on a farm outside of Sabina. I love the country. We breed, hunt, and train Labrador Retrievers. If I want to go to the city, I can be in either Dayton, Columbus, or Cincinnati in about 45 minutes. I generally choose Columbus because my youngest daughter lives there with her family. She went away to college and settled in Columbus.

I also live outside of Sabina. I have lived here all of my life. I love the area, and it is really conveniently located in the middle of Cincinnati, Dayton and Columbus. Friendly people, good schools, and just a nice place to grow up and raise a family.

[mike6623]

born in steubenville lived there my whole life minus the last 5 years, im 27

[christinaohio]

I am technically from Columbus, where I was born. I spent most of my time in Springfield, and graduated from Catholic Central High School. Then, I moved up to Toledo to attend The University of Toledo. I now reside in Oakwood (Dayton), Ohio and love it! Any other Springfield high school grads or Oakwood residents on here? Christina Asad Edwards

[mrb69]

I was born in the bottoms but grew up on the northside of Columbus.

I also lived in Dayton for a year. Its like a really small Columbus and I love it.

[mike6623]

Originally Posted by christinaohio

I am technically from Columbus, where I was born. I spent most of my time in Springfield, and graduated from Catholic Central High School. Then, I moved up to Toledo to attend The University of Toledo. I now reside in Oakwood (Dayton), Ohio and love it! Any other Springfield high school grads or Oakwood residents on here? Christina Asad Edwards

I graduated from CCHS too.

[trabellla]

I live in Akron, Ohio and I have lived here all my life. I don't like it here anymore, and I can't wait to leave. It's cold and boring and everyone seems to be content with having nothing. I need a change. I'm ready to see and do something else. There is no real good jobs here though I do have a good job working for the county. I have a good job that I hate, and I tried finding another job that pays what I earned, but they don't pay what I earn. Everyone seems to be sad, and just being here makes me sad too. I got a divorce in Aug 2007, and I wish I would have left then. I'm ready for a change, and Ohio has brought no change. Akron has a high rate of crime and a number of people dying at a young age, and most of the time I know them or know someone who knows the person that died. However, I find myself scared to leave, but I know that I must turn my fear in to faith. I have three kids to raise, and for me to just up and leave is scary, but I must leave in order for my kids as well as myself. I need help or some advice from anyone out there.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by trabellla

I live in Akron, Ohio and I have lived here all my life. I don't like it here anymore, and I can't wait to leave. It's cold and boring and everyone seems to be content with having nothing. I need a change. I'm ready to see and do something else. There is no real good jobs here though I do have a good job working for the county. I have a good job that I hate, and I tried finding another job that pays what I earned, but they don't pay what I earn. Everyone seems to be sad, and just being here makes me sad too. I got a divorce in Aug 2007, and I wish I would have left then. I'm ready for a change, and Ohio has brought no change. Akron has a high rate of crime and a number of people dying at a young age, and most of the time I know them or know someone who knows the person that died. However, I find myself scared to leave, but I know that I must turn my fear in to faith. I have three kids to raise, and for me to just up and leave is scary, but I must leave in order for my kids as well as myself. I need help or some advice from anyone out there.

You sound like you could use a fresh start, but in the current economy, I wouldn't do anything rash like up and leave your current job thinking you'll be able to just land something comparable in another place where the 'grass appears much greener'. For the time being, try changing your paradigm to look at what you do have, and that's a decent paying job in a depressed market that provides for you and your three children. It's hard when we don't like what we do, but sometimes just changing our attitude to focus on the positives of the position - however few they may be - helps us to get through that time and sometimes can even lead to somewhat enjoying the job.

In the mean time, start researching places that you think would be a good fit for you and your children and look into the job prospects in that metro area that align w/your skills. I wouldn't be 'scared' to leave though, it's hard when that is all you know, I had only lived in the Canton area my whole life up until 17 months ago, and there was a lot of nervousness about picking up and moving our lives to Columbia, leaving most of our friends & family behind. But having done it, we are so glad we did now. Is everything perfect, no, but it's been a fun experience and things have worked out well. Just have realistic expectations about it and know that there will be some rocky times if you do decide to relocate, and it will help make the transition go smoother.