Cincinnati vs Cleveland Proximity advantage (living, state, better, comparison)

[maxmodder]

Comparing Cincinnati vs Cleveland in terms of experiencing other attractions within under a 2 hour drive one way is no contest.

Cincinnati

One hour from Columbus (OSU and Easton Mall....what else needs to be said)
One hour from Dayton (air museum)
1.5 hours from Louisville (Kentucky Derby FTW!)
1.5 hours from Lexington (Kentucky Horse Park and Keeneland)
Just under 2 hours from Indianapolis (great city, Indy 500, all major attractions within walking distance)

Cleveland

Two hours from Columbus (advantage Cincy)
Two hours from Pittsburgh...(advantage CLE)
Two hours from Toledo (lol....)
Three + hours from Niagra Falls (advantage CLE, but still 3+ hours....)
Three + hours from Dayton (advantage Cincy)
Three + hours from Detroit (lol....)
Three + hours from Buffalo


Yep, Cincinnati beats out Cleveland in terms of less time being spent to see more things that are actually worth seeing. Other than Pittsburgh and possibly Niagra (which is about 3.5 hours one way) Cleveland's proximity to other locations doesn't offer much in the way of being able to do a day trip and see interesting things in comparison to Cincinnati's location.

[Ohiogirl81]

Does this thread have a point?

[CarpathianPeasant]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

Comparing Cincinnati vs Cleveland in terms of experiencing other attractions within under a 2 hour drive one way is no contest.

Cincinnati

One hour from Columbus (OSU and Easton Mall....what else needs to be said)
One hour from Dayton (air museum)
1.5 hours from Louisville (Kentucky Derby FTW!)
1.5 hours from Lexington (Kentucky Horse Park and Keeneland)
Just under 2 hours from Indianapolis (great city, Indy 500, all major attractions within walking distance)

Cleveland

Two hours from Columbus (advantage Cincy)
Two hours from Pittsburgh...(advantage CLE)
Two hours from Toledo (lol....)
Three + hours from Niagra Falls (advantage CLE, but still 3+ hours....)
Three + hours from Dayton (advantage Cincy)
Three + hours from Detroit (lol....)
Three + hours from Buffalo


Yep, Cincinnati beats out Cleveland in terms of less time being spent to see more things that are actually worth seeing. Other than Pittsburgh and possibly Niagra (which is about 3.5 hours one way) Cleveland's proximity to other locations doesn't offer much in the way of being able to do a day trip and see interesting things in comparison to Cincinnati's location.

Nice bit of information for people just looking. One correction:

One hour from Dayton (historic national park)

[WRnative]

Destinations omitted from comparison (big distance advantage Cleveland): Presque Isle and numerous other Lake Erie beaches; Cedar Point; Lake Erie islands (Put-in-Bay, Kelleys Island); Michigan Gold Coast; Allegheny National Forest; Peek 'n Peak for more serious downhill skiing; Chautauqua, NY; Letchworth State Park (the "Grand Canyon of the East"); Finger Lakes; Walnut Creek in Ohio Amish Country; Mohican Region; Dearborn, MI (The Henry Ford); Canton/Akron (Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens, Pro Football Hall of Fame); Youngstown (Butler Institute of American Art); Northwest Ohio birding region (Magee Marsh, Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge)

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g5...Day.Trips.html

According to Google, Cincinnati to Easton Town Center (in northeast Columbus) is 1 hr. 48 mins. Cleveland is 2 hrs. 4 mins. Of course, Cleveland has the combination of Beachwood Mall/Legacy Village and is 3 hrs. closer to the Grove City Premium Outlets shopping mecca (no sales tax on clothing, footwear). Not surprisingly, given that it's less than two hours from Cleveland, Grove City may be a bigger shopping excursion draw from Greater Cleveland than Easton Town Center.

Cleveland is several hours closer to Toronto, NYC, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Cleveland has direct Megabus service to NYC. Toronto (4 1/2 hours from Cleveland) is very possible for a weekend trip.

Toledo has a very good art museum, as does Oberlin.

Cleveland is a little closer to The Wilds than Cincinnati. Cincinnati is half an hour closer both to the Hocking Hills and to the New River Gorge National River.

For Cincinnati, you left out Mammoth Cave NP; Kentucky Bourbon Trail; and Nashville.

Of course, Maxmodder, you gave no credit to Cleveland for its superior attractions without going anywhere (Cavaliers, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland Orchestra and Severance Hall, Holden Arboretum, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Blossom Music Center, West Side Market, Steamship Mather and U.S.S. Cod maritime museums).

Cincinnati does have EnterTRAINment Junction and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, off the top of my head.

Frankly, residents in both Cleveland and Cincinnati have little excuse for being bored, especially if they are willing to travel a little bit.

[maxmodder]

This thread isn't about what's offered in the cities of Cleveland or Cincy themselves, but more or less a look at if you wanted to explore another major city known for its attractions, could you realistically do it in a day out side of your respective city. A day, not a weekend.

Obviously not all attractions were included for each location, and I chose 2 hours because anything more than that kinda puts it into a 2-day trip. When I was in Cleveland, one day trips to Pittsburgh was nice and Put-n-bay can certainly be done in a day, but in comparison to the number of places in other major cities that I've been able to do in a day while living near Cincinnati, there's simply more places to go that you can make a day trip out of it.

Lexington, Dayton, Louisville, Indianapolis, Cbus, are all less than 2 hr drives for me 1 way.
In Cleveland I had Pittsburgh and Cbus. Everything else worth driving to major city wise took longer than a day trip to make it worth it. (niagra, Buffalo, Detroit) We can name individual attractions all day like Kings Island vs Cedar Point, etc. Proximity wise to other major cities less than 2 hrs away that have good attractions worth the drive, Cincy > CLE. So for someone that likes to mix up doing things in their own city while also having the option of being able to do a day trip to another major city to see those attractions, Cincinnati is the better choice. Beaches that are a 30 minute drive from Cleveland that can be enjoyed 3 months out of the year is one thing (when I lived in Cleveland I visited these beaches and islands frequently for 3 months...didn't really consider them much of a day trip away from Cleveland since they were so close to Cleveland itself) I'm talking different things to do that are located in other major cities. It only takes me 3 hrs to get to the west side of Cleveland, so the attractions mentioned above in Cleveland itself.....well.... I've already been to at least once this summer already so Cleveland offerings are just an add on bonus for me but again, a 2 day trip. I'm in Cleveland more often during the summer months more so than any other time of the year for obvious reasons. But yes, definitely a proximity advantage to living in cincy area vs Cleveland area.

[WRnative]

It's possible to drive two hours in each direction to visit a city for a day trip, but that's not my cup of tea.

It takes about two hours from most of Cleveland to get to Put-in-Bay, including the ferry ride. That's much of a day trip again, especially if you want to party after dark.

[CarpathianPeasant]

Originally Posted by WRnative

It's possible to drive two hours in each direction to visit a city for a day trip, but that's not my cup of tea.

It takes about two hours from most of Cleveland to get to Put-in-Bay, including the ferry ride. That's much of a day trip again, especially if you want to party after dark.

"Day trips" are common. They may be a family using a Saturday, a club doing a group "outing," a school's field trip, a special event for the old folks' home and probably more.

[ram2]

Originally Posted by maxmodder

Comparing Cincinnati vs Cleveland in terms of experiencing other attractions within under a 2 hour drive one way is no contest.

Cincinnati

One hour from Columbus (OSU and Easton Mall....what else needs to be said)

Easton Mall is an attraction?

[maxmodder]

Originally Posted by ram2

Easton Mall is an attraction?

Surprisingly yes. I use to live right down the street from it. Just look at the license plates that are parked at Easton Mall and how far those folks drove to visit Easton.