Why do YOU call Cincy home? (Columbus, Cincinnati: crime rates, neighborhoods, theatre)

[irr3l3vant]

I am looking to reloacte within the next year for school and University of Cincinnati seems like an amazing fit. However, I am hesitant about Ohio because I know very little.

I currently reside in Austin, Texas and am so ready to get out that it's ridiculous.

So what do you think? What keeps you in Ohio?

[deg1114]

First and foremost, I live here because my family is here but I also live here because it is a beautiful city with great cultural events (symphony, arts, etc.), great architecture, and a lot of things to do (my favorites exploring the city, baseball, hockey, and restaurants). I lived on the West coast for awhile and found that I can get a lot of the same things I got out there but here I can actually afford to do those things. Here I can live in a nice neighborhood and be able to afford to go to a nice restaurant every now and then and the museums and events are all reasonable in price.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by deg1114

First and foremost, I live here because my family is here but I also live here because it is a beautiful city with great cultural events (symphony, arts, etc.), great architecture, and a lot of things to do (my favorites exploring the city, baseball, hockey, and restaurants). I lived on the West coast for awhile and found that I can get a lot of the same things I got out there but here I can actually afford to do those things. Here I can live in a nice neighborhood and be able to afford to go to a nice restaurant every now and then and the museums and events are all reasonable in price.

Bingo. There are certainly other cities where I'd prefer to live, but given the reasonable cost of living the tradeoffs are well worth it. I don't know if I'd have ended up here in retirement if I hadn't grown up here and been familiar with the city. But I'd cite everything you did, along with the fact that it's a good place to practice my rather arcane profession part-time, which requires a large population base to support it.

[abr7rmj]

Great character. Great vibe. Great architecture. Great views.

[Love-Cinci]

Many, many things to do. Many hidden gems. Many parts of town are vibrant and alive. Cost of living. Very deep history and culture. CUF, Over The Rhine, Downtown, and Northern Kentucky - need I say more?

If you are coming to UC you will love the neighborhoods around the college!

[motorman]

Originally Posted by abr7rmj

Great character. Great vibe. Great architecture. Great views.

abr7rmj nailed it! Cincinnati is a class act all its own -- perhaps the most beautiful inland city in America and one of the most cultured cities anywhere. Both the winding Ohio River and generations of hardworking people have shaped it into what it is today -- a gem.

[Love-Cinci]

Ya, the views at Bellvue Park and Fariview Park are both awesome and two of my favorite.

[Arctic_6]

When I moved to Cincinnati to start my graduate education at UC I got a lot of questions about moving here. A lot of friends laughed at the fact that I wanted to move to Ohio. Many asked why not Columbus or even Pittsburgh if I wanted a similar city. Generally, the opinion among them seemed to hold that Cincinnati is a second or third rate city with nothing of interest except for a backward rural population.

I lived here for about a week before I was hooked.

Cincinnati is affordable, it has some of the best cultural amenities available (award winning restaurants, award winning theatre, multiple neighborhoods with independent cultures, great education, and a world class symphony), the people are friendly...

Skyline, Skyline, and Skyline are three great reasons to like Cinci. :-p

Basically, I hear a lot that Cincinnati is backwards and conservative, but it seems like this characteristic falls flat. Firstly, neighborhoods vary greatly by political orientation. I'd say Clifton Gaslight and Northside have majority liberal occupants. Secondly, while Cincinnati tends to push away drastic changes to the city infrastructure it actually swings on political national elections. Talking heads like Bill Cunningham kind of give us a bad reputation (or more fairly a hyper-conservative one) but overall I think Cincinnati strives for moderation. Except for with food.

Come to Cincinnati if you want real culture. The night life might not compare to bigger cities (I wouldn't know anyway), but Cinci's arts are top class. Cinci's parks are top class. I wouldn't mind living here long after I finish my graduate studies.

One final note: a lot of people will cite the high crime rates as a reason to fear/avoid Cincinnati. It depends on where you live, but it also depends on what you do. Don't sell/do drugs mostly and watch out for a select few neighborhoods and you'll be all right. The murder rate gets called up a lot (at a whopping 70 per year) but the statistic used discounts the population density and the metro area of Cinci.

Cinci's metro area is roughly 2.3 million people, I believe, and the city certainly feels a lot larger than 360,000. Yet it manages to keep some small town charm.

I would easily recommend Cincinnati to anyone looking for an affordable and fulfilling place to live.

[webbbj]

its where i was born and where i still live.

[UKUKUK]

If I ever did... Which is a possibility someday...

The beauty, great people, awesome food, cheap cost of living, and gritty urban vibe while being surrounded by some of the nicer suburbs one can find make it a great place to be.