Cincinnati vs Surrounding Cities (Columbus, Dayton: how much, home, job market) - Ohio (OH) - City-Data Forum

PhillytoCincy · 07-31-2010, 04:10 PM

I just finished up a two month business trip around much of the Midwest and South. I just wanted to say how impressed I am with Cincinnati compared to other cities out there close to its size. You always hear people saying you have to travel somewhere else to get a real idea of what to expect, and where your area stands.

Cincinnati first off is one of the most attractive cities in the country, and rivals Chicago as the most attractive in the Midwest. Cincinnati is going through billions in new construction projects, cranes are everywhere, and people are moving in with new ideas.

I first wanted to talk about Louisville. I always get a hype about Louisville, and I have been there before a couple of times. But I spent extensive time there while on my trip. Cincinnati is miles ahead of Louisville in great, livable city neighborhoods. There is much more development going on in Cincy, and the economy is much more diverse. I went into downtown Louisville expecting some type of life, but it was dead after 5. Their riverfront was in many ways, boring, and didn't have plans like Cincinnati to make it work around the city, and add different types of interest to it. Louisville was lacking in vibrancy, and an overall urban feel. The downtown skyline is boring with many boxy buildings, and it is too spread out. Downtown Cincinnati is much more urban and dense. The topography is Cincinnati is awesome compared to Louisville, and Cincinnati is bringing in rail, while Louisville continues to be car oriented.

Now Indianapolis. Indy is a better comparison in my opinion. Indy's downtown to L'ville's is a much better experience. We saw people out and about late into the evening, and the skyline has some diversity to it. Although, I felt Indy outside of downtown was kind of a boring sprawly city. It has a very similar feel to it like Columbus. Minus the fact that Columbus has many great urban neighborhoods located next to the urban core. Indy sprawls just like Columbus, and they do not have any plans for light rail. It was also flat.

I would compare Cincinnati most to Pittsburgh. They are both cities that have watched their counties (Hamilton and Allegheny), as well as the city population grow. They continue to get positive national press, and are home to some great universities bringing in new talent for the job market. There are terrific city neighborhoods in each city that have all kinds of diversity to them. Home to plenty of fortune 500 companies, both cities are extremely diversified.

But I never understood the hype to Louisville, and being there for a week and a half, I saw a lot of it. In fact, meeting a lot of people from Louisville in the Columbus area, they never really had anything good to say about back home. Indianapolis has an awesome downtown that I think Cincinnati is close to getting at, especially with The Banks project.

Overall, I guess traveling a large part of the country, I saw just how great of a city Cincinnati is.

t45209 · 07-31-2010, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beavercreek33

I would compare Cincinnati most to Pittsburgh. They are both cities that have watched their counties (Hamilton and Allegheny), as well as the city population grow. They continue to get positive national press, and are home to some great universities bringing in new talent for the job market. There are terrific city neighborhoods in each city that have all kinds of diversity to them. Home to plenty of fortune 500 companies, both cities are extremely diversified.

You are right about Pittsburgh, and have to give it the nod over my beloved Cincy in a couple of areas. First, Pittsburgh's landscape is far more dramatic. Its hills are higher and give sweeping views of the ballpark, downtown, the rivers. That you have to go through tunnels to get to downtown tells you something about the scale of these hills. There's an amazing seafood restaurant a the top of their Mt. Washington with spectacular views of downtown...far better than what our Celestial gives us.

PNC Park is one of the greatest of the new ballparks, with cool views of downtown and the bridges. It's everything that Great American Ballpark could and should have been. The only drawback is how pathetic the support for the team is, irrespective of how bad they've been.

I love that they kept their inclines, and the fact that so many railroads are snaking around downtown, it's like looking at some quaint model train layout.

Their entertainment district on Carson Street is everything that our now defunct Main Street was and much more. Bars, restaurants, shopping, all kinds of businesses teeming with people.

My only bad experience in Pittsburgh is with the traffic. The gridlock that occurs trying to get out of Heinz Field is unlike anything you have ever seen. Awful! And I can't imagine that having the expressways boxed into those tunnels helps any either.

EclecticEars · 07-31-2010, 10:10 PM

I haven't been to Pittsburgh. Can't comment on it.

Been to Columbus twice. Seems like a friendly enough/happy vibe enough place. Liked what I saw, but not my first choice for living.

Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville would, despite their urban developments or lack thereof, be much better places to live if their peoples were friendlier. Gawd knows people from these three cities are among the crankiest, surliest and rudest in the United States. I live in Cincinnati now and have lived in Louisville previously; I'm looking for a quick exit strategy out of the Ohio Valley altogether. I would also include nearby Dayton (in particular, and no offense to the OP), Lexington, Knoxville, and Detroit/SE Michigan (which I haven't been to but have met A LOT of people from) in this assessment.

Admittedly, Cincinnati does have some great character, interesting and quirky neighborhoods, great restaurants, unique festivals, and a beautiful park system that rivals any in the country. And I do like that Cincinnati cheese coney! But man do the people, for the MOST part, leave a lot to be desired.

goyguy · 07-31-2010, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EclecticEars

Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville would, despite their urban developments or lack thereof, be much better places to live if their peoples were friendlier. Gawd knows people from these three cities are among the crankiest, surliest and rudest in the United States...But man do the people, for the MOST part, leave a lot to be desired.

You can always tell when somebody's never been to the Northeast.

EclecticEars · 08-01-2010, 08:15 AM

Wellllll...I've been to DC 3x, Maryland 2x, Pennsylvania 2x, NYC 1x, NJ 1x. As far as, say, New England, then I haven't been there.

GraniteStater · 08-01-2010, 10:00 AM

The general personalities of people in the Ohio Valley are kind of like a southern less educated version of New England. Most towns are very insular, not particularly open to any outsiders, neurotic, and don't particularly like much change at all.

Wilson513 · 08-01-2010, 10:28 AM

Most everyone I know is happy and likes Cincinnati. Those who live in little spots like Mason and Fort Mitchell and Greenhills even like it better. I think unhappy people are just unhappy people. And, its quite a compliment to the City that these malcontents seem to feel safe posting up their own miseries on a forum like this. Shows that Cincinnati is a kindly city.

shyspider · 08-01-2010, 11:13 AM

Although it's my hometown, and I've lived in the metro area my whole life, I really don't "love" Cincinnati. At the same time, I don't "hate" it as a whole, either. I think there are different aspects of the area that are nice, while others I can't stand. I've never really found the people to be unfriendly, but I do think they tend to be snobs at times. Cincinnatian's seem to be too content with doing less than what they have the potential to do with this town. They somehow seem timid when it comes to doing bold things, and opt instead to do that which is smaller and less dramatic than similar projects in other cities across the country. Whenever I've questioned why that is, I've always been met with the answer "Cincinnati doesn't NEED to do anything more dramatic. It's already a great city as it is". Perhaps. I just think it could be much greater, that's all. So in my opinion, even though it's my "hometown", it has been a very long time since it has actually felt like home to me.

t45209 · 08-01-2010, 11:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shyspider

Although it's my hometown, and I've lived in the metro area my whole life, I really don't "love" Cincinnati. At the same time, I don't "hate" it as a whole, either. I think there are different aspects of the area that are nice, while others I can't stand. I've never really found the people to be unfriendly, but I do think they tend to be snobs at times. Cincinnatian's seem to be too content with doing less than what they have the potential to do with this town. They somehow seem timid when it comes to doing bold things, and opt instead to do that which is smaller and less dramatic than similar projects in other cities across the country. Whenever I've questioned why that is, I've always been met with the answer "Cincinnati doesn't NEED to do anything more dramatic. It's already a great city as it is". Perhaps. I just think it could be much greater, that's all. So in my opinion, even though it's my "hometown", it has been a very long time since it has actually felt like home to me.

I do love Cincinnati and realized how much it was my home when I was facing possible relocation in a career situation. The more I thought about it, the more I hated the idea of leaving home. I've traveled widely around this country, and I can't think of a single place I would rather live than here. It was probably the worst decision I could have ever made from a career standpoint, but I had to weigh out what was more important to me...and that came down to quality of life here in Cincinnati.

That said, I don't pretend for a second that this place is perfect. And there are some things that drive me nuts. I agree with much of what you say about making the bold move (maybe you'd say the fact that I wouldn't move from here shows that I am a product of that type of thinking), but I differ on the cause. I tend to see a lot of projects stymied by a lack of leadership. Our form of government fosters this problem, and I think we lack the cohesive vision that we need in order to make bold moves. Too often we find ourselves trying to please everyone and the product that results is so watered down and compromised that no one is thrilled about it...the best we can say around here is we don't hate it.

GraniteStater · 08-01-2010, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

The general personalities of people in the Ohio Valley are kind of like a southern less educated version of New England. Most towns are very insular, not particularly open to any outsiders, neurotic, and don't particularly like much change at all.

I should clarify that this mainly applies mainly to the Appalachian parts of Ohio (rural areas).