Relocating to Coshocton area (Cleveland, Akron: house, school, college)

[HuskerDu]

yee-haaw!!

[gbdawg]

Thanks CortlandGirl and Jr_c

I have checked out the links and looked into the information you provided.
I guess semi-isolation is kind of what we're looking for if that makes any sense. I have started to look at houses just south of Massillon and Canton as well as the areas we were looking at. Would the Massillon / Canton area be in the secondary snowbelt that you mentioned ?

[CortlandGirl79]

I don't believe Akron or points south are in the snow belt. This is what wiki says about snowfall in Canton:

Snowfall is lighter than the snowbelt areas to the north, but is still somewhat influenced by Lake Erie. Akron-Canton Airport generally averages 47.4 inches (120 cm) of snow per winter.

Here's a link to the Snowbelt - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some articles about the snowbelt:
Where Exactly Is The Snow Belt? - Weather News Story - WEWS Cleveland

Lake-effect is Northeast Ohio's weather Achilles' heel - The News-Herald News : Breaking news coverage for Northern Ohio

WKYC's Fair Weather Fans Blog

I think your best bet would be to locate yourself somewhere west of Cleveland or south of Akron.

How many inches of snow are you used to getting??? I've noticed that most snowfalls in my area (secondary snow belt) average in the 2 to 4 inch range, with a few snows producing 4-6 inches, and on rare occasions a few inches more. We rarely get over a foot of snow at a time.......maybe every couple years. Because the average temperature is around 30° in the winter (many days above and many below) each snowfall usually melts away w/in a few days or a week's time. We don't have constant snow cover and we don't always have temps below freezing.

Hopefully that assessment helps. I was talking to my dad and he says you should check out Sugarcreek, Ravenna, Medina, Orrville, Wooster, Ashland, Hartville, Dover, New Phillidelphia, Norton, or perhaps Louisville.

[JR_C]

I grew up in the Massillon/Canton area. While we did get a little lake-effect snow, it was pretty insignificant. When my friend in Erie, Pa would get 2 feet of lake-effect snow, we would get maybe 2 inches. And, if you're looking south of the Canton/Massillon area, you'll get a little less.

I guess all we're saying is that you don't have to be as far south as--and as isolated as--Coshocton to avoid the worst of the lake-effect snow. There are plenty of locations in NE Ohio that I think will meet your needs, and not be so far away from "civilization." (and are still semi-isolated--the best of both worlds)

[000000]

gbdawg, an unmentioned thing about northeast and southeast ohio is that the southeast is slower-paced, more set in its appalachin ways than the slowly dying industry cities of the northest. coshocton, dover, new philidelphia more of a southeastern ohio city than anywhere else listed in this thread, if that is good or bad for you, i do not know.


canton-massillon likely will be the best city for weather and having access to city things as you wish. akron and canton are close together and of similar, but not identical, mindsets.
cortland girl is right, i would dissuade anyone moving near youngstown to use as your city when needed. there are some, but hardly enough, city things there. think of gary, indiana. granted, canton and akron have some of the same problems, but those cities have not become as devastated.


as far as cortland dad's suggestions:
Ravenna - near kent, but not really of it. slightly suburban.
Medina - kind of suburban and close to cleveland
Orrville - small town with smucker's jelly
Wooster - has colleges, some money going into the arts and schools, etc. which means some people
Ashland - has a university, the bretheren, and is right on 71. may be too busy for you
Hartville - the "new, hip" place for white flight from akron and canton
Norton - suburban place between wooster and akron
Louisville - never been

[gbdawg]

Thanks guys

The snow situation sounds fine, we're used to getting quite a lot of snow here plus with our temperatures being so low it stays a long time. Last winter it snowed for the first time on December 1st and it wasn't until the first week of May that it was all completely gone. I don't mind a bit of snow and a couple of months of winter but that was ridiculous. This year we had our first snow in the first week of December and it's still here. With the temperatures we get it just doesn't melt. Quite often we have daytime highs below zero and it can get down to the -30s and -40s, with wind chills even lower.

I think Ohio winters just south of the snow belt will suit us fine. So were looking at houses now from the Coshocton area up to the Canton area, no definite town decided but at least we have more choice now were looking at a bigger area. It's just a matter of waiting for the right house to come up in the right location, and at the right price.

We're actually looking for a ranch house so I have another question for you Ohio locals. I keep reading about Ohio windstorms and Tornado chances being well above the national average. Are these windstorms as regular and as bad as they sound ? would you suggest buying a house with a basement is a necessity ?

[JR_C]

We do get tornados. There is usually at least one tornado warning each summer. (A warning means that a funnel cloud has been spotted. A watch just means that conditions are right for a tornado to form.) But, I've only been near one once when a small tornado touched down a few blocks away. (I'm almost 32 years old.) And, in the unlikely event that you need to seek shelter from a tornado, an interior room without windows is almost as good.

I think houses with basements are more common than those without anyway.

[CortlandGirl79]

Originally Posted by gbdawg

Thanks guys

The snow situation sounds fine, we're used to getting quite a lot of snow here plus with our temperatures being so low it stays a long time. Last winter it snowed for the first time on December 1st and it wasn't until the first week of May that it was all completely gone. I don't mind a bit of snow and a couple of months of winter but that was ridiculous. This year we had our first snow in the first week of December and it's still here. With the temperatures we get it just doesn't melt. Quite often we have daytime highs below zero and it can get down to the -30s and -40s, with wind chills even lower.

I think Ohio winters just south of the snow belt will suit us fine. So were looking at houses now from the Coshocton area up to the Canton area, no definite town decided but at least we have more choice now were looking at a bigger area. It's just a matter of waiting for the right house to come up in the right location, and at the right price.

We're actually looking for a ranch house so I have another question for you Ohio locals. I keep reading about Ohio windstorms and Tornado chances being well above the national average. Are these windstorms as regular and as bad as they sound ? would you suggest buying a house with a basement is a necessity ?

Wow, it sounds like your winters are just dreadful! People here complain about our weather.........guess they need so spend some time in your neck of the woods.

I'm glad we've been able to help you expand your search area. Now the hard part is picking the right place.

As for the windstorms/tornado chances, i think JR_C did a pretty good job of explaining that. I don't really worry about them and when there is a thunderstorm watch or warning all the local tv stations will fill you in. They're even able to tell you what areas will be hit by a storm and when. They'll also report any rotation they see with their fancy technology, so i wouldn't worry too much about that stuff.

Like JR_C said about the basement situation.............most homes here have basements. There are very few homes that don't have basements and i would suggest that you purchase a home with one. From what i've noticed most people want a basement because we are so used to them here. I watch our real estate market very closely and i think it's much harder to sell a house w/out one.

Once again, good luck on your search!

[EastSideEarl]

As a Coshocton native (born there!) and a former resident, I can truly say that unless you like being rural and isolated, Coshocton isn't really the ideal place to be.

Coshocton is like so many other midwestern towns. Once, there was a lot of small and medium sized industry that supported the population, and the tax base kept the schools good and the businesses intact. But the industry has largely left or shrank, the tax base has eroded, and commercial enterprises have been pushed out.

Don't get me wrong. The place has a lot of charm. It's quiet and slow. But there isn't a lot of shopping or entertainment. Your children aren't going to find jobs there when they grow up, unless it's at the AEP plant. Expect to make trips to Newark or Zanesville (or Columbus) to do anything other than basic shopping.

Don't get me wrong. The place is charming in a backwater, redneck-y sort of way. But there just isn't much there. If you want rural, you're going to get a heaping helping of it.

If you're really looking for someplace rural, but with close access to a large city, look along the I-71 corridor between Columbus and Cleveland. You'd be no more than an hour-hour and a half outside of either city pretty much anywhere along that route.

Barring that, New Philadelphia and Canton are also decent choices (lived in Canton, just big enough to have stuff but not too big.) Newcomerstown is a small burg similar to Coshocton, but is located on I-77, which gives you quick access to New Philadelphia if that's more your speed. New Philadelphia/Canton also provide somewhat decent access to Pittsburgh if you need big city services quickly.

Canton gets some lake effect snow. Usually seemed to start right around exit 101. Wierd, but it was like a line was drawn right there.

Anyway, if you decide to move to Coshocton proper, I'll probably run across you sooner or later when I visit the folks. After all, it's not like there's much to do in the area

[gbdawg]

Thanks for the info Earl.

We are looking somewhere between Coshocton and Canton now. Have noticed a couple of places in Newcomerstown which I thought was good because of it's access to the 77.

I don't mind being closer to Cleveland but my wife's from a very small town in WI and the only way I could get her to agree to move was if we went to a small place in a semi isolated area. I am from England and grew up in average size town over there (about 200,000) which probably doesn't sound like an average sized town over here, but back in the UK there isn't a lot of space. 60 million people in a place not that much bigger than Ohio.

As for my kids growing up and not having jobs, that's ok because they're going to be linebackers for the Browns