Zanesville, OH (Columbus, Toledo, Wooster: home, neighborhood, high school)

[GiovannaH]

Hi, I used to live in Zanesville. I am thinking of writing a book, and I need other people's persepctives.

Thanks,

GiovannaH

[sdmlions]

What will the book be about? Could be a very interesting read, depending on what the themes etc will be. Very good idea...

[Hometown4]

I have to say I think everyone is pretty harsh about Zanesville. Although I agree with some comments, such as its need for updating, the rednecks, and a general conservative viewpoint, the good outwieghs the bad.

I grew up in Zanesville and thought I would never want to live there for the reasons previously mentioned, but after living a smaller town in Ohio, Ireland, New York City, Columbus, and Colorado I am strongly considering coming back. Zanesville is big enough that you don't see someone you know everywhere you go, but small enough that you feel invested in it. Zanesville is full of good people with good values. Their lives are not complicated, they just enjoy being with people that they care about.

As for the lack of develop, I would have agreed with that five years ago, but not anymore. Everytime I go home there is a new building or development. They even have big plans to revamp the downtown and call it Potter's Alley.

The town also has more activities then many are aware of. Take our art museum, so few people visit it, but it is an excellent source of culture that few people enjoy. We have also begun gallery hops on the first Friday of the month where you can go and visit the many studios downtown. These things may not be highly advertised, but they're there, so give Zanesville a chance.

[centralohionative]

My perspective on Zanesville is mixed. I lived there for ten years and am temporarily back here again. I was born in Mt Vernon (48miles NW of Zanesville). So, I prefer Mt Vernon, Wooster, Ashland and other communities in Amish country.

Overall, I woud not recommend Zanesville to someone who is moving to Ohio. Especially someone coming from out west (where I spent 5 yrs in Idaho) or from other parts of midwest or Northeast. This is because Zanesville sits on the edge of the Appalachain region of Ohio. Living there may be more like living in West Virginia than the midwest. Also, the economy is sluggish and there are some pretty scarey areas in downtown Zanesville. There is also a lot of severe poverty in the rural areas south of Zanesville which can be very depressing to drive through.

Also, Zanesville is well know by law enforcement as a hub for drug trafficers. Even though it's a city of less than 30,000 the drugs are bad.

I grew up attending the ZVille city schools. Grade school was good because we lived in a nice neighborhood. However, once you get to Jr High and High School kids from the bad parts of town are all bussed up to the middle shool and thrown together and bullying was so terrible I had to be removed from 8th grade. There were just alot of very poor kids who didn't have access to much and I felt sorry for them but many of the locals from the poor parts of town are just very much the stereotypical redneck. I still hear lots of racial remarks and antisemitic remarks from the locals. They wont say it in public but there's definitely an undertoe. Also, the culture is very much a bible belt mentality with a southern twist. If that's what you're looking for then you'll be right at home.

However those who want a more midwestern small town or someplace a little more open minded should steer clear of here. Yes, it's pretty but it gets old after awhile.

Basically for the reasons I just listed I am looking to relocate to either Mt Vernon (which is still pretty conservative) but more midwestern, or to Ashland, Wooster or somewhere in that vicinity.

[TiffZaneCleveTolSycGuy]

I lived in Zanesville for 4 years and I liked it. I loved the weather, compared to northern Ohio, and I thought the people were very nice. It has a slower pace than what I was used to, and people acused me of being from NYC! What a joke I was raised in Tiffin!(50 miles SE of Toledo) They said I had a weird accent and talked faster than anyone they had ever heard. People said this quite frequently! Im not knocking the town but I did notice that competing in the work force was easy. The people I worked with lacked a good work ethic so it was quite easy to advance. Im gay and I could tell that was shocking to some people, eventhough there were a ton of gay people around. There was a "bad" part of town that reminded me of a "bad" part of Toledo, which was a shock because it is so much smaller. Overall I would move back if given an opportunity. I could retire there and be very happy.