Do I really want to leave? Can't make up my mind!! (Columbus: 2010, apartments)

[jsimon521]

I'm from Youngstown. We live in Austintown now and are planning to skip down (or up to, should I say) to Poland.

I've DESPERATELY wanted to move to Manhattan, but at the end of the day, keep this in mind.

There are a lot of great places in this world. But, if you move there to find happiness and are so stretched financially because the cost of living is higher in these other places, you may be sacrificing your happiness for location. We're 28 and not moving out of the area. Not now. That's what vacations are now. We'd rather have money in our bank accounts so we can save for retirement or enjoy it instead of forking it all to some crazy house payment out West.

I'm sure things are tough right now. Everyone in Youngstown has GM family who have been affected. But really be sure if you move. Keep trucking in the job search here and just try to find happiness within your own home.

I dunno. I'm just being sentimental

[Beavercreek33]

Originally Posted by jsimon521

I'm from Youngstown. We live in Austintown now and are planning to skip down (or up to, should I say) to Poland.

I've DESPERATELY wanted to move to Manhattan, but at the end of the day, keep this in mind.

There are a lot of great places in this world. But, if you move there to find happiness and are so stretched financially because the cost of living is higher in these other places, you may be sacrificing your happiness for location. We're 28 and not moving out of the area. Not now. That's what vacations are now. We'd rather have money in our bank accounts so we can save for retirement or enjoy it instead of forking it all to some crazy house payment out West.

I'm sure things are tough right now. Everyone in Youngstown has GM family who have been affected. But really be sure if you move. Keep trucking in the job search here and just try to find happiness within your own home.

I dunno. I'm just being sentimental

Great posts, rep points for you! Youngstown is not a bad area, it has a lot of good qualities too, people need to see that though. Great little suburbs, good shopping, great restaurants (esp the Italian ones ) and great outdoors.

[jsimon521]

Originally Posted by Beavercreek33

Great posts, rep points for you! Youngstown is not a bad area, it has a lot of good qualities too, people need to see that though. Great little suburbs, good shopping, great restaurants (esp the Italian ones ) and great outdoors.

And the wedding soup! Oh the variety of wedding soups...

[MaryBeth2]

Originally Posted by jsimon521

And the wedding soup! Oh the variety of wedding soups...

What variety? I only know of one!

[Cosmic]

I just came back from a trip to Florida. Was in both Ft. Liquordale and Charlotte on the trip.

Got relatives in Fort Lauderdale and they want out bad. Definitely no Paradise, looks like they might have finally sold their shack and moving to Atlanta. That summer heat can just bake your brains. They are also very tired of the hurricanes and what it takes to live in Florida in general.

One thing that would surely turn me off for many of those Southern Hot Spots is the traffic. Some of that is a bit mind boggling, it just is not worth it.

Also number of places in the Carolina's are nothing but sprawl zones, they have their problems. High water bills are one of them. Again you do not want to be a newbie and last in for a former really hot area. I certainly would understand what I'm getting into. Better have the income to play the game.

Lots of places to move too in Ohio, lots of variations, situations, etc that can meet a fellows needs. I ain't moving, ain't even considering it, not all that great an environment where ever you pick these dazes. Ohio still looks pretty good to me.

The party scene may not be all that great any place these days. Definite impact on all areas I was in this time. Peeps are watching how they spend the dollar.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by Cosmic

Also number of places in the Carolina's are nothing but sprawl zones, they have their problems. High water bills are one of them. Again you do not want to be a newbie and last in for a former really hot area. I certainly would understand what I'm getting into. Better have the income to play the game.

I'm glad you like Ohio, and you're right, no other place whether it be in Florida or the Carolinas is a utopia. But to characterize all 'places in the Carolinas as sprawl zones' is inaccurate. And c'mon, cities in Ohio aren't suburbian sprawl zones??? Cleveland's population is under 450k people, yet it's metro is near 2 million! Cincinnati's population is around 330k people, yet it's metro is > 1.5 million! I could go on & on, Canton & Youngstown city populations are only around 80k each, yet their metros have 400k & 500k respectively! Suburban sprawl is a problem all over the country, not just in the Carolinas.

In SC, the cities have very restrictive annexation laws which makes it tough to control growth outside of the city cores. So here in Columbia for example, to encourage those sprawling areas that oh by the way want access to the city's water w/out being part of the city, they charge a much higher rate for the water, especially sewer use, than they do their residents. However, my water bill living inside the city limits here, is lower than it was in Ohio. Not to mention, unlike cities in Ohio who charge typically 2% income taxes to people who live/work inside of them, they don't do that here, and to boot, our property taxes are still less than they were in Ohio!!

[SCBeaches]

Even though the OP posted back in March I thought I'd add my take on his/her situation: the grass is not always (hardly ever) greener on the other side...you just trade one set of problems or dislikes for another. At least where you are now, you have friends, family, a niche in the community, and a sense of belonging. When you move to a new state (esp. a new geographical region), it takes at least 3-5 years before you start finding those things. Sure, you might make some acquaintances right away, but it takes time to establish close friendships. You really can end up feeling alone and like the outsiders when you move far away. And, like others have said - jobs are scarce everywhere and most areas tend to hire the locals before considering newcomers when they DO hire.

For all of the above reasons, I would stick it out where you are and try that new business you want to open or seek new careers. At least there, everything is familiar and you have a support system.

I made the big move from NW OH to SC 25 years ago and it did take a few years before I started even beginning to feel like I belonged and fit in here....even though I already had some family members and college friends here. This is home now and most think I'm a "born and raised local", but I probably wouldn't have stayed more than a year or two if I didn't already have some family and friends here for support.
Hope this helps! Best of luck!

[Beavercreek33]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

I'm glad you like Ohio, and you're right, no other place whether it be in Florida or the Carolinas is a utopia. But to characterize all 'places in the Carolinas as sprawl zones' is inaccurate. And c'mon, cities in Ohio aren't suburbian sprawl zones??? Cleveland's population is under 450k people, yet it's metro is near 2 million! Cincinnati's population is around 330k people, yet it's metro is > 1.5 million! I could go on & on, Canton & Youngstown city populations are only around 80k each, yet their metros have 400k & 500k respectively! Suburban sprawl is a problem all over the country, not just in the Carolinas.

In SC, the cities have very restrictive annexation laws which makes it tough to control growth outside of the city cores. So here in Columbia for example, to encourage those sprawling areas that oh by the way want access to the city's water w/out being part of the city, they charge a much higher rate for the water, especially sewer use, than they do their residents. However, my water bill living inside the city limits here, is lower than it was in Ohio. Not to mention, unlike cities in Ohio who charge typically 2% income taxes to people who live/work inside of them, they don't do that here, and to boot, our property taxes are still less than they were in Ohio!!

South Carolina has plenty of drawbacks too. You are pointing out all of Ohio's tax problems and how our cities sprawl, but Greenville has a population of under 60,000, but has a metro area of over 300,000. South Carolina also has one of the lowest relative incomes in the nation. It is ranked 39th in median income. I could see why your taxes would be lower than Ohio's.

[Buckeye in SC]

Originally Posted by Beavercreek33

South Carolina has plenty of drawbacks too. You are pointing out all of Ohio's tax problems and how our cities sprawl, but Greenville has a population of under 60,000, but has a metro area of over 300,000. South Carolina also has one of the lowest relative incomes in the nation. It is ranked 39th in median income. I could see why your taxes would be lower than Ohio's.

I wasn't debating that SC's cities don't have sprawl - if you look at my post, I said it's in large part due to very restrictive annexation laws in the state - but as I said, SC is not a utopia, it has plenty of work that needs done. I was just simply arguing that SC is not really any different as far as suburban sprawl goes than Ohio or any other state as the other poster was trying to claim. I will say though, that most of the Carolinas city's downtown areas are much more desirable and alive than a lot of Ohio's downtown areas - although many cities such as Cleveland & Akron have done a lot to improve their's, but still have a ways to go.

[Beavercreek33]

Originally Posted by Buckeye in SC

I wasn't debating that SC's cities don't have sprawl - if you look at my post, I said it's in large part due to very restrictive annexation laws in the state - but as I said, SC is not a utopia, it has plenty of work that needs done. I was just simply arguing that SC is not really any different as far as suburban sprawl goes than Ohio or any other state as the other poster was trying to claim. I will say though, that most of the Carolinas city's downtown areas are much more desirable and alive than a lot of Ohio's downtown areas - although many cities such as Cleveland & Akron have done a lot to improve their's, but still have a ways to go.

Sorry I took you wrong.

But I will tell you, Ohio cities are much larger than South Carolina cities, and have different history than South Carolina cities, therefore you will see mixed results. South Carolina has great smaller cities, but the only downtown that I felt was "lively" was Greenville. I loved the park with the falls and everything. And Findlay (spelling) park in Columbia was great, but besides that everything else just seemed kind of bland and normal to me. Like I said, Ohio cities are much larger, and that is why you see much more activity in downtowns like Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and even Dayton and Akron. I will also point out that Cleveland seemed very desirable to live in, they have many new midrise condos and apartments going up all over downtown, the Avenue District was just finishing up when I was there, and it looked great. Cleveland is expected to see 20,000 people living downtown by 2010-2011. I just got back from Akron, hadn't been there in 7 years. Was amazed by how much it has changed.