Young professional where to live - work in Findlay (Toledo: apartments, loft)

[Dtwee11]

I am a young, single mid-20s professional considering taking a job in Findlay. This would be quite a change in pace of life, as I currently live in the heart of a major city on the west coast, where I have been since graduating college in Michigan a few years ago. I am a dyed-in-the-wool Midwesterner, so the change in locale doesn't faze me too much. I'm trying to figure out what would be a good place to live with younger folks around, somewhat walkable, some nightlife, etc. I'm willing to live with a 30 minute commute, primarily looking Findlay and north as I will spend some time flying out of DTW. I'd probably be looking to buy a condo or townhouse, with around $350k as my upper limit.

Can anyone recommend a good town or neighborhood?Thanks in advance.

[canudigit]

I would be inclined to suggest the area of Perrysburg around Levis Commons, which I think would be just about half an hour from Findlay via I-75 and about an hour south of DTW. Perrysburg itself is an attractive, historical, upscale, safe, family oriented town, and the Levis Commons area probably attracts more financially secure, young professionals than most parts of NW Ohio, which tends to be rural and family oriented outside of Toledo.

Levis Commons

Levis Commons is one of those upscale, outdoor lifestyle centers, and there are some nice condos/apartments right around there that would be nice places to live; safe, new, and close to amenities.

I would avoid Bowling Green unless you want to party with the college crowd, because the night life there consists of college kids barhopping, which I'm guessing you are probably beyond by now. BG is a nice town, but it doesn't have much more to offer a young person than the college town atmosphere.

The only part of Toledo you would probably remotely enjoy would be the Warehouse District downtown around the ballpark and arena where they have built some nice loft condos. However, there is very little in the immediate area in terms of shopping and the commute to Findlay would probably be more than half an hour. In Perrysburg you could get outside a lot more and ride your bike, walk, etc.

My vote goes to Perrysburg!

ETA: I just checked Google Maps and it looks like the commute from Perrysburg to Findlay is just over half an hour, about 35 minutes. However, it would all be rural, expressway driving on I-75, virtually no city driving at all, and a straight shot unless there is seasonal construction to slow you down. Still, though, anything closer to Findlay would be a cornfield town and pretty boring for someone like you.

[rocky23]

I agree with everything that was said in the above post, but I would give Bowling Green more of a chance. My wife and I lived there a short time ago for almost two years. We both were around 30 at the time and still enjoyed going out to the bars.

We wouldn't stay out that late though, maybe 11:30 at the latest. That's when the rowdy college crowd starts to arrive. Before that time though, it was pretty tame and had a good mix of people of various ages.

BG doesn't have much shopping in town, but Levis Commons is only about 10-15 minutes away. There's also a decent selection of restaurants, too. As far as housing goes though, Bowling Green can't offer anything like what Perrysburg has around the Levis Commons area.