delaware ohio vs Marion ohio?? (Columbus, Mansfield: houses, to buy, schools)

[dinifam]

Hi we are new to this forum and posted once with no response. I thought I would try again a different way. Could some of you please share the good points and bad of both Marion and/or Delaware OH. We are desperately trying to find a place to buy and cant decide. Also Cardington is in that mix as well. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated
Thanks so much

[Art1979]

Originally Posted by dinifam

Hi we are new to this forum and posted once with no response. I thought I would try again a different way. Could some of you please share the good points and bad of both Marion and/or Delaware OH. We are desperately trying to find a place to buy and cant decide. Also Cardington is in that mix as well. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated
Thanks so much

Of the two choices, I'd reside in Delaware. Sure it's a speed trap on 23 and the State Highway Patrol can be obnoxious at times, but it always seemed better kept than Marion and closer to the bigger retail outlets in Columbus.

[LancasterNative]

Delaware and Marion are both county seat towns, in the (very broadly speaking) 10,000+ population category.

Whereas Marion has a big prison, Delaware has Ohio Weslyan University and a number of other things to recommend it, like some good restaurants.

Delaware, however, is slowly succumbing to the menacing metro mega-sprawl of Columbus. This means that in a few years, it could be gobbled up and become just another Columbus 'burb—with an unbroken morass of strip malls, McMansion developments, gas stations and big-box stores connecting it to the rest of the city

Cardington is considerably smaller, more rural and further off the beaten path than either Marion or Delaware. It's a really nice little place!

[dinifam]

Thanks so much,
We went through delaware and thought it was really cute whereas Marion was not so much. I am afraid of it getting "gobbled" up as well, I dont like that. We are are from a smaller town in Indiana but delaware reminded us of Carmel indiana. Cardington we havent toured yet. We really liked marysville, but it was just simply too far out for my hubby to drive to work. Prospect is a choice and it appears to be a really tiny town as well.
Thanks for your help

[LancasterNative]

Hi again dinifam!

Indiana is a cool state; it seems to have charming little towns just about everywhere. I've actually heard of Carmel, IN but I've never been there. Isn't there a college or university of some sort there?

Anyway...not sure where you or your hubby work, but some other nice places you might want to consider would be Mt. Gilead, Fredericktown, and Centerburg. All are cozy little towns with about 1,000–3,000 people, and lots of rural land still around them.

All the best!
LN

[dinifam]

Hi,
We love Indiana, but have to move for hubbys job (He is going to work in Marion) Carmel is a neat town but with it only being 30 min north of Indy it tends to be congested, crowded and very upscale. We looked into houses in Mt Gilead but havent found any that suit us. I havent heard about Fredericktown or Centerburg....Are they near Mt Gilead or Marion. We found a couple of houses in Cardington as well as Marengo but havent had a chance to view them in person yet. It is just so hard to move to a new place and have no idea where to live, about the school systems or the communities....I appreciate the advice!
Thanks
Amy

[bricore]

I lived in both Marion and Delaware, Ohio (I have also lived in Sylvania, Ohio and now we are in the start of Alabama.) I myself LOVED Southern Marion (out near Waldo.) You are close enough to go to Columbus for the things you want but still small town of Marion (not only that but you don't have the high taxes of Delaware City and the smell of the sewer or water treatment place off of 23 in Delaware..YUCK.)

If you have children Pleasant School is WONDERFUL school for children (they even offer a BEFORE school class for the elementary on cooking. After school gym class too! For free)

Dr. Maur and Dr. Lee are the best children's doctors I have ever dealt with. Dr. Campbell is also a well known OB and he is also in Marion.

Best of luck to you!

[Mike Dunn]

Another location might be Powell....thay may be too south or too long a drive. Here's a link to find school information.

GreatSchools.net

Good luck!

[Cherron]

Sorry I didn't see this and answer sooner, but thought I'd go ahead and do so anyway.

Marion is a difficult town to drive across, due to one way streets and various obstacles. For that reason, I would suggest you look for a community on the side of town your job is located.

The east side of Marion is growing in leaps and bounds. There are a couple of new housing developments going up on Pole Lane Road, near US23 and SR95 where the dining & retail hub is located. If your job is located on the north or east side of Marion, I would also recommend looking at Galion if you need a lower income but safe environment for raising children. It has brand new schools, new surgical wing added to the hospital, and every major chain of fast food restaurant (should that appeal to you) and some smaller privately owned restaurants offering decent food, and a nice community park and small community center. Galion is conveniently located to the retail hubs on the west side of Mansfield and east side of Marion without having to travel through either town to shop. Both areas have all the major restaurant chains too. Galion is mostly a town with lower income housing, but safe. There are some nicer communities on the west side of town.

[gvmesun]

Have you found a home already? I've lived in Marion and Mt. Gilead, and my parents now live outside of Delaware.