Tell me about Athens! (Columbus, Cleveland: for sale, apartments, rentals)

[hennethannun]

Hi all,

I'll be moving to Athens this summer from Pittsburgh, and will be attending OU in the fall for grad school. I'm hoping I can get some info from other OU'ers or natives about the area. I was able to visit Athens back in November to interview at the dept., but didn't have much time to explore the surrounding area. My friend and I checked out the town and stayed at the University Inn, that was about it. We got there around 6pm on a Sunday and left the day after around the same time. We walked around one of the main streets in town (I forget the name of it now, but I know there was a Steelers bar! ) So we didn't get to see too much.

1. Any ideas on rental management companies I can contact about pet-friendly rentals? I have 2 cats. So far I have found Beckford Place Apts. between Hocking College and OU. Another company called Capstone Properties has some places in the area but they seem to be a bit farther away from OU than I'd like.

2. What is the parking situation like on the campus? I'll be in the Clippinger Labs building. Is parking easy to find, or do you have to get there before 8:00am to get a decent spot? Are there any park 'n rides in the area available that go into town? When we were there, the town and campus seemed very pedestrian-friendly, so I liked that a lot.

3. Are there any "crunchy granola" type stores in town, like places that stock organic products and foods?

4. Any recommendations for local auto shops, doctors' offices, veterinarians?

5. How far away are the local strip-mall type places from the campus? (Grocery store, pharmacy, office supply store, pet store, etc.) How far away is the closest mall or other major shopping center?

6. Who is the best local ISP?

Thanks in advance!

[RioKohitsuji]

Athens is a total hippie town So you will find plenty of the "granola"-totin' stores! My fiance is originally from there and we did have rental property there.

Do you want to live w/in walking distance of stuff or do you want to save money on rent? Ask yourself that. I will say the easiest and cheapest way to go about it is to rent a house with friends, that's what all mine did.

Oh, remember that freshmen are not allowed to have vehicles on campus! Too little parking! (IT SUCKS) Majority of students walk from class to class and trust me you WILL get a work out! Those hills are horrible so buy yourself a nice pair of sneakers!

And if you drink, Court Street is the way to go. You'll be hearing about a "Court Street Shuffle", I've done plenty in my time But please remember that they are really really strict when it comes to underagers, unless you know the bouncer don't count on getting in.

All the stores are on State Street, can't really walk it, it could take you a while. Have the usual Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Elder-Beerman, that sort.

[mlh1981]

Athens is a great town when the weather is good, but when it's cold and rainy, forget about it. There isn't much of an alternative to the driking scene. Also, while it's still a hippie town, the "popped" collar crowd is starting to take over, making it (slighty) more conservative here

[bobcat07]

There is good public transit in Athens, if you are looking to park on campus you need to buy a parking permit to park in certain lots (I know for the ones in front of Clippinger you need a pass of some sort). Parking can still be a mess as there are so many people looking for limited spots.

The Steelers bar is Lucky's check it on Tuesday evenings for cheap chicken parmesan (too much to eat at once). Watch out during Steelers vs. Bengals games or Steelers vs. Browns games though, since all of the "team bars" are right across from each other it can get pretty rowdy.

If you don't mind living around the undergraduate students I know there are some apartments around the city that allow pets. I think some Conrath rentals on Lancaster (I may be completely off on this one).

Time warner cable seems to havea monopoly on cable, but there is also a place called FrogNet, you might want to check it out.

Hope I was some help, if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask me since I am currently a senior here at OU.

[LancasterNative]

Originally Posted by mlh1981

while it's still a hippie town, the "popped" collar crowd is starting to take over, making it (slighty) more conservative here

It's about time! I'm not a fan of hippies.

[hennethannun]

Thanks for the great info, everyone, I really appreciate it.

[OhioAdman]

Very laid back atmosphere and yes there are alot of people that have the hippy mentality though the locals are very friendly. East State street area is a good place to attempt to find housing, additionally if you do not mind driving The Plains is a nice place just minutes from downtown Athens.

[Pilliod Njaim]

Athens has the most intense party scene of any town its size in America. There's nothing else like it (Palmerfest, Halloween, Mill Fest, Four Fest, High Fest, etc.), but as a grad student, you'll probably be staying away from that. Court Street bars have crowds every night of the week, with Tuesdays and Wednesdays becoming the most popular (big drink specials on Tuesdays and Wednesdays). During Fall and Spring quarters, OU parties harder on week nights than most universities do on weekends. Each bar has a "theme" or regular crowd. Greeks (myself) go to The Crystal. Pittsburgh kids (a HUGE chunk of OU is from Pittsburgh) go to Lucky's. Lucky's tends to play harder rock music. Cleveland kids go to Cat's Eye. Cincinnati kids are increasingly going to Courtside (the biggest meathead bar), and that's also the main country bar in Athens. Toledo and Columbus kids do not have a specific bar, and spread across town pretty evenly.

The Pub and 19 South are popular with African-American students and both mainly play club hip-hop music. Both are fun venues most nights of the week. The rock concert crowd goes to Blue Gator (AWESEOME live music venue) and Jackie O's (music is not as good, but still cool). The gay bar is Casa Nueva.

Pawpurr's is popular with everyone, and they have the best prime time drink sepcials. They generally play great music during drink special time (Motown, old school)

C.I.(College Inn) and Junction are two of the most popular bars, but they have no specific theme- just a bunch of drunk white kids. Skipper's is popular with underage kids and there are 25-cent PBR's there. It's the cheapest way to get drunk in Athens.

The alternative bars are Tony's, Union, and Smiling Skull.

The town is NOT quite the laid back hippie place like it used to be. Kids are still smoking tons of pot, but cocaine has become the new drug of choice. The wealthy suburban kids are in fact making it more conservative (not in behavior, just political leanings). Still, Athens County is by far the most liberal county in Ohio. The surrounding city and county are actually more liberal than the OU students. No matter what the year, the vast majority of people are voting Democratic. It's similar politically to Cleveland and Toledo (overwhelmingly Democratic), not most of Ohio. Liberal Democrats run every level of local government, and the town's hatred for George Bush/Dick Cheney is unmatched anywhere else in the state. Protests are common, and many Democrats visit Athens like Jessie Jackson, John Edwards, Michael Moore, etc., etc.

Anyway, if you ever need a party, I'm very well-connected in Athens. PM

[Pilliod Njaim]

now to answer questions.

1. Every rental company I've encountered is terrible. They are scam artists and prices are astronomical (as much as Ann Arbor, but with far less quality).

2. Don't drive a car. Take public transit or walk. Athens is by far Ohio's most pedestrian-friendly city.

3. plenty of stores like that.

4. auto? not sure. I prefer to have my car repaired in Toledo (lots of motorhead mechanics and cheap/quick access to parts). Don't go to the doctor in Athens, period. Drive to Parkersburg or Lancaster.

5. There's a CVS on Court Street and Family Dollar on Carpenter at the end of Court. Both stores stock all the basic needs. Within biking distance, you have the big box places like Wal-fart and Kroger. All the suburban sprawl and big box stores are on State Street. You can take the bike trail there or walk. It's about 3 miles from campus.

6. You don't have much a choice on this one. Just get Time Warner. The small ISP's tend to be too slow.

[emjbulls]

1. Any ideas on rental management companies I can contact about pet-friendly rentals? I have 2 cats. So far I have found Beckford Place Apts. between Hocking College and OU. Another company called Capstone Properties has some places in the area but they seem to be a bit farther away from OU than I'd like.

Nope, we own a house. That's for sale. Interested in buying?

From the outside, Carriage Hill looks nice, and there's another one on the opposite side of the street from there that looks nice too. It might be hard to find the good ones at this point. Student apartments typically fill up 9 months in advance here. If I were you, I'd try to stay in one of the more fancy ones. This town is known for the slumlords.

2. What is the parking situation like on the campus? I'll be in the Clippinger Labs building. Is parking easy to find, or do you have to get there before 8:00am to get a decent spot? Are there any park 'n rides in the area available that go into town? When we were there, the town and campus seemed very pedestrian-friendly, so I liked that a lot.

My hubby was in Copeland, and if he wasn't there when school was in session early, he had a pretty far walk. A good close walk for him was the Pit or the one behind Grover. When he goes back at night or on the weekends, the parking is usually much easier.

3. Are there any "crunchy granola" type stores in town, like places that stock organic products and foods?

Yes. The Pharmacy is very good. A little pricey though. They have a nice hippy granola deli in there. The Kroger has a large natural food selection even though customer service is lacking a lot there. Every couple of months I would drive to Columbus with 2 coolers and load up at Trader Joes. A great thing to definitely not miss is the Farmers' Market. It's in the parking lot of the University Mall on Saturdays starting at 10 year round and also on Wednesdays starting at 10 am from April to something like October. For most vegetables, it's the cheapest and freshest place in town. You can get organic there cheaper than non-organic from the grocery stores.

4. Any recommendations for local auto shops, doctors' offices, veterinarians?

For auto, we have a Nissan and a Honda and we go to the Taylor off of Columbus which is the Nissan, Honda (and a few other brands) on Columbus Ave. For body work, we've gone to Larry Schey. They are very honest. When we've had tire problems, we've gone to Huddle. Also, very honest, will not try to sell you more than you need.

Doctor's office, I like the practice in Parks Hall. I go to Dr. Ford and like her a lot.

Vets: Kroner which is kind of off Richland but towards Albany. I have 2 cats and have been very happy with the care there.

5. How far away are the local strip-mall type places from the campus? (Grocery store, pharmacy, office supply store, pet store, etc.) How far away is the closest mall or other major shopping center?

Nothing in town ever takes longer than 10 minutes by car.

A good place for vet quality pet food at good prices is White's Mill. The mall here is really a joke. There is about 10 stores in it. The closes "big" shopping center is Parkersburg, WV which is about 1/2 an hour away. Lancaster is about 45 minutes away. I prefer Parkersburg. It's much cleaner, more brightly lit, and more family friendly. The Lancaster one is pretty seedy, IMO. Last time we were there, we saw someone wonky from drugs in the kid's play area.

6. Who is the best local ISP?

We have RoadRunner, but it's not cheap since we have DirecTV instead of Time Warner. You can probably get a bundle if you have cable. You might also want to check out Intelliwave. I know quite a few people with it and they like it. There is some DSL here, but a lot depends on where you live on if it's available there or not.