Is Toledo REALLY that bad. (Cleveland, Lorain: layoffs, neighborhood, school district)

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by WeSoHood

Rhetorical questions aren't really needed (btw - it was about going to UT)

It's pretty relevant since both are Ohio colleges with notable gun crimes in the last year. It's called compare and contrast.

No....it's called hijacking a thread.

[tjoseph]

Toledo was recently highlighted on ABC News with Charles Gibson and how it is becoming "Solar Valley" as Toledo is redefining itself by becoming a lead manufacturer of solar panels. It was really nice to read this in the latest Toledo Business Journal. If NOrthwest Ohio keeps this type of progress up, it won't be long before people are wanting to relocate to Northwest Ohio due to great job opportunities. I think this is very positive for our area and something we should be excited about...many possibilities for us!

[SCBeaches]

Originally Posted by tjoseph

Toledo was recently highlighted on ABC News with Charles Gibson and how it is becoming "Solar Valley" as Toledo is redefining itself by becoming a lead manufacturer of solar panels. It was really nice to read this in the latest Toledo Business Journal. If NOrthwest Ohio keeps this type of progress up, it won't be long before people are wanting to relocate to Northwest Ohio due to great job opportunities. I think this is very positive for our area and something we should be excited about...many possibilities for us!

That is certainly encouraging!

[davidafan]

I'm sorry, but I have lived in the Toledo area all of my life (not by choice, but because my family and then my husband live here, although he is really close to getting us out of here, praise the Lord!), and yes, it is that bad. Maybe for someone who has come here recently and doesn't know what it used to be like (which was also marginal at best), Toledo might seem okay, but actually, Toledo is a city in decline run by a bunch of inept losers, and the jobs are leaving at an astonishing rate. Almost every day you can turn on the local news and hear about the latest layoffs, plant closings, record unemployment numbers, etc. and no one here has a clue how to do anything about Toledo's ever increasing problems. I realize that the economy is not good in the U.S. as a whole right now, but Toledo is scary bad. The airport has the least traffic that it has seen since 1964 (The Toledo Blade, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009). Almost all of the major airlines have pulled out of Toledo. And before when times were tough, there were layoffs, but when things picked up again people were called back to work. This time, the plants are laying everyone off and then shutting their doors and either closing permanently or leaving Toledo for greener pastures.

I honestly don't know why anyone would want to come to Toledo, and it amazes me that so many college students from around Ohio come here to attend the University of Toledo when there are so many other, better state schools in Ohio. Some of you mentioned the Alexis Rd. corridor. Could anything be more depressing than driving down Alexis Rd. in gray, slushy snow under an overcast sky and see all of the foreclosed houses and dumpy small businesses trying to stay afloat, interspersed with fast food joints (Toledo is also a very fat city) and discount stores?

I could go on but I won't. Toledo is a huge armpit. Cincinnati is Manhattan in comparison. The outlying areas such as Sylvania and Maumee aren't bad at all, and Perrysburg and Waterville are positively lovely, so if you must come here, move to one of those towns and try to avoid Toledo proper as much as possible and it won't be all that bad.

[WeSoHood]

Originally Posted by SCBeaches

No....it's called hijacking a thread.

Not at all. The poster wanted to know how safe Toledo and the University are. A lot of people were saying how bad it was, I replied with similar incidents at another Ohio college. My point was, the campus can be rough, but is relatively fine.

[dodeca]

Originally Posted by davidafan

I'm sorry, but I have lived in the Toledo area all of my life (not by choice, but because my family and then my husband live here, although he is really close to getting us out of here, praise the Lord!), and yes, it is that bad. Maybe for someone who has come here recently and doesn't know what it used to be like (which was also marginal at best), Toledo might seem okay, but actually, Toledo is a city in decline run by a bunch of inept losers, and the jobs are leaving at an astonishing rate. Almost every day you can turn on the local news and hear about the latest layoffs, plant closings, record unemployment numbers, etc. and no one here has a clue how to do anything about Toledo's ever increasing problems. I realize that the economy is not good in the U.S. as a whole right now, but Toledo is scary bad. The airport has the least traffic that it has seen since 1964 (The Toledo Blade, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2009). Almost all of the major airlines have pulled out of Toledo. And before when times were tough, there were layoffs, but when things picked up again people were called back to work. This time, the plants are laying everyone off and then shutting their doors and either closing permanently or leaving Toledo for greener pastures.

I honestly don't know why anyone would want to come to Toledo, and it amazes me that so many college students from around Ohio come here to attend the University of Toledo when there are so many other, better state schools in Ohio. Some of you mentioned the Alexis Rd. corridor. Could anything be more depressing than driving down Alexis Rd. in gray, slushy snow under an overcast sky and see all of the foreclosed houses and dumpy small businesses trying to stay afloat, interspersed with fast food joints (Toledo is also a very fat city) and discount stores?

I could go on but I won't. Toledo is a huge armpit. Cincinnati is Manhattan in comparison. The outlying areas such as Sylvania and Maumee aren't bad at all, and Perrysburg and Waterville are positively lovely, so if you must come here, move to one of those towns and try to avoid Toledo proper as much as possible and it won't be all that bad.

Wherever you are, there you are. Enjoy tearing down your new home when you leave your old one.

[davidafan]

Originally Posted by dodeca

Wherever you are, there you are. Enjoy tearing down your new home when you leave your old one.

Well, unless you have lived where I do your entire life and watched a once viable middle class city with many opportunities dwindle to a rust belt nightmare that even Jay Leno takes pot shots at, you probably can't judge me, but thanks for trying, and hey--have a nice day!

[Mary_D88]

I have lived in Toledo my entire life, and it is NOT as bad as people say. Is it the greatest city in the world? No. It is diverse, which sadly not everyone sees as a good thing. It is unfortunate that because of current economic conditions many people are losing jobs and parts of Toledo have suffered. SOME parts, not all. The suburbs are nice, but so are many parts of the city.

There are many nice apartment buildings near the University, which is where I currently live. The school is fun and a know I am getting a quality education. We have professors that are nationally recognized and a lot of majors to choose from. I did attend OSU for one year, and I came home because I could not justify spending the money to live down there when I was not receiving a better education.

[sugarbomb]

I think it depends on what you're looking for in a place. Toledo's not a bad city, but I'm not sorry I moved away, either. It does have a great art museum, nice parks, galleries, and a fabulous downtown library. Those are the sorts of things that I care about--I don't know about you. When I visit, it's nice to not read about murders in the paper every other day, and to feel like there's lots of open space around me. People tend to be down on the places where they're from.

[flinty]

Originally Posted by Mr614

I go to UT now and every month this semester there's been a horrible event happen...in the summertime a BP clerk was robbed and killed. There's been a stabbing on UT's scott park campus, A student got robbed and shot walking from a party. This city is abolutely awful.

The assailant of the BP shooting is behind bars an will soon go to trial. Latest is that the BP staion on Dorr & Secor will be razed and UT will occupy that site. There used to be a McDonalds next to the BP and there were problems in it. Now it's gone. About 40+ years ago this neighborhood was much safer. There was a burger joint where the BP stands named Mel's Big Burger. This area had not been annexed to the city yet, it was in Adams Township. UT was owned by the city and was then Toledo University (TU). Directly across Dorr Street was the Secor Grill. At first it was a small diner near the street. Later, a new brick building was constructed farther off Dorr to replace the old one. It was smartly decorated; even had pictures on the wall. Fresh baked pies were made there by a nice black lady named Louise. All this is gone. It's been refurbished 2 or 3 times into ethnic type eateries that feature cuisine of the Mideast nations. They last about a year and close up.

Secor Road actually begins 1/2 mile south at Nebraska Avenue. The other end is at Albain Road in Monroe County Michigan, 17 miles to the north.

I don't know the destiny of the area near UT but I hope that if the local economy improves it will be safer.