Cincinnati vs. Columbus

[nelle98]

As someone who has lived in both cities, I would rather live in Columbus.

In Cincinnati, you can either live close to downtown (where there is stuff to do) and pay a fortune for someplace to live, or you can live far away and buy a bigger house. However, you have to drive thirty minutes to get downtown.

Columbus has great shopping and places to eat all around the city, and they have clearly thought about the flow of traffic.

Also, the shopping is far better in Columbus with Easton and Columbus. It probably helps that Limited, Inc. is headquarted in Columbus.

The college atmosphere of Columbus could probably be overwhelming if you are not an OSU fan. However, it is nice to know that there are so many college graduates in the area. Plus, there are always cheap tickets to games that are not football and basketball, and for the pro sports fan, there is soccer and hockey.

The best thing about Columbus is how easy it is to get around. The highway system was thought out - it does get crowded because of the rapid growth in some areas. I don't think it is any more than 71 or 75 during rush hour in Cincinnati.

I don't really think that Cincinnati is that much more conservative. I think Columbus just seems more liberal because of OSU.

As for crime, I think that Columbus had a higher homicide rate last year. I am not sure of the final count, but as of Christmas it was higher. The news in Cincinnati just seems to play up the violent crimes more.

As for weather, it is not that much colder in Columbus. However, Columbus is better at managing their snow removal. After living in Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, I can say that snow removal does get progressively worse as you go south. I think it helps that Columbus is flatter, but if your neighborhood is not going to plowed for three days, it is something to consider.

[still686]

I'm a grad student in chemistry at Ohio State. Moved to Columbus from Philadelphia. Which is better? Thats a close call, really. Let me explain.....

What is a mid-western city? Typically its defunct manufacturing, a sports team, and farmers that relocated to the city a generation ago. As a result, the population has a unique way of life. For example, Columbus has an event called "gallery hop" every month in an area called the Short North. You see lots of great local talent, and herds of people. You'd expect yuppies, and the occasional goth with a purple mohawk; not quite. The event is attended by middle-aged suburbanites. It really is something to witness for yourself. Blocks of mundane baby boomers in their argyle sweaters strolling High Street, just after the Worthington High School soccer match. After visiting other mid-western cities; Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chicago, I've learned they all have versions of this theme. A big event, say a baseball game, that attracts scores of essentially suburban people, that go back to places like Gahanna, Ohio where the new attraction, an outdoor mall called Easton Town Center, is full of bored high school students.

So, why quibble over which city, Columbus or Cincinnati is better? They both lack character, and urban flare. Public transit, shopping in a district (SoHo, Walnut St., Georgetown), going to a bodega for milk/bread (what is Kroger???), getting good food (hogies, hot dogs, crab)...are just a few things that I miss from living in Philly, or the east coast in general. Most people in Ohio and the mid-west, with the exception of people from out of state, have yet to realize what a city is.

So be prepared if your moving to Columbus. Ohio State cannot be blamed, its a world-class institution with an endowment you wouldn't believe. But all the cities in Ohio will lose their novelty after about a year.

[5Lakes]

Originally Posted by still686

I'm a grad student in chemistry at Ohio State. Moved to Columbus from Philadelphia. Which is better? Thats a close call, really. Let me explain.....

What is a mid-western city? Typically its defunct manufacturing, a sports team, and farmers that relocated to the city a generation ago. As a result, the population has a unique way of life. For example, Columbus has an event called "gallery hop" every month in an area called the Short North. You see lots of great local talent, and herds of people. You'd expect yuppies, and the occasional goth with a purple mohawk; not quite. The event is attended by middle-aged suburbanites. It really is something to witness for yourself. Blocks of mundane baby boomers in their argyle sweaters strolling High Street, just after the Worthington High School soccer match. After visiting other mid-western cities; Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Chicago, I've learned they all have versions of this theme. A big event, say a baseball game, that attracts scores of essentially suburban people, that go back to places like Gahanna, Ohio where the new attraction, an outdoor mall called Easton Town Center, is full of bored high school students.

So, why quibble over which city, Columbus or Cincinnati is better? They both lack character, and urban flare. Public transit, shopping in a district (SoHo, Walnut St., Georgetown), going to a bodega for milk/bread (what is Kroger???), getting good food (hogies, hot dogs, crab)...are just a few things that I miss from living in Philly, or the east coast in general. Most people in Ohio and the mid-west, with the exception of people from out of state, have yet to realize what a city is.

So be prepared if your moving to Columbus. Ohio State cannot be blamed, its a world-class institution with an endowment you wouldn't believe. But all the cities in Ohio will lose their novelty after about a year.

I think Columbus is a pretty vanilla city, but to generalize all midwestern city life like this is nonsense. If you think that midwest cities don't have unique neighborhood stores and good local foods then you need to get a clue.

[Clevelander17]

Originally Posted by 5Lakes

I think Columbus is a pretty vanilla city, but to generalize all midwestern city life like this is nonsense. If you think that midwest cities don't have unique neighborhood stores and good local foods then you need to get a clue.

Yeah, Cincinnati and Cleveland have a lot of the character-defining culture that the above poster mentioned, though obviously on a smaller scale than a place like Philly. But let's be fair here, all large cities, even those in the Northeast, have a large chunk of residents that spend time in the city only to return home to their suburban homes in the evening. For better or worse, suburbia is a phenomenon that dominates every corner and region of this country. Midwestern cities, in general, are no worse than anywhere else.

[Cincy-Rise]

The traffic will be worse in Cincy as there's about 300,00 to 400,000 more people in the metro.

Columbus is more of a typical midwestern city on the move and Cincinnati is an urban, east-coast architecture filled city that shows it was once the 6th largest city in the U.S. and founded in 1788.

Obviously, pro baseball and football are more popular in the U.S. and as far as shopping it's about equal, however IKEA did choose Cincinnati.