This Scalene Triangle in the United States full of cities: Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Columbus, or Louisville? (living, best)

[Trafalgar Law]

This will be a subjective response based thread, meaning responses on personal account and experiences, as well as perception or general interest will be valued here.

These cities form a scalene triangle (a triangle with no equal sides) starting from Columbus and heading west to Indianapolis via I-70, then from Indianapolis towards south on I-65 to Louisville, and then I-71 heading northeast from Louisville to Columbus (with Cincinnati and Dayton being within the triangle as well).



As for the comparison, choose the city that you have the most interest in. Explain what is so interesting about these cities. Factor them on which ones you would choose to live in, visit, and have the best experiences in.

Off topic note: I think Cincinnati's location is extremely advantageous here. It is 99.4 miles from Downtown Cincinnati to Downtown Louisville (1 hour and 46 minutes in general traffic time), 110 miles from Downtown Cincinnati to Downtown Columbus (1 hour and 50 minutes in general traffic time), and 112 miles from Downtown Cincinnati to Downtown Indianapolis (1 hour and 46 minutes in general traffic time).

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by Red John

Off topic note: I think Cincinnati's location is extremely advantageous here. It is 99.4 miles from Downtown Cincinnati to Downtown Louisville (1 hour and 46 minutes in general traffic time), 110 miles from Downtown Cincinnati to Downtown Columbus (1 hour and 5 minutes in general traffic time), and 112 miles from Downtown Cincinnati to Downtown Indianapolis (1 hour and 46 minutes in general traffic time).

And closest to both Dayton and Lexington as well.

[Trafalgar Law]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

And closest to both Dayton and Lexington as well.

Yes, that as well.

Interestingly, a month usually has 4 weekends (sometimes 5). In theory if you lived in any of these cities (but especially Cincinnati), your options for a short weekend drive is plentiful if you want a change in scenery for just the weekend to experience a different city.

Cincinnati more than likely has the best and most useful location of any of the major Midwestern cities.

Detroit, located exactly halfway between Chicago and Toronto (time wise, not mileage wise) also has a pretty good location for a Midwestern city as well. Chicago does too, but not in the same way, in the sense that Chicago's flight time to both the Eastern Seaboard and the Pacific Coast of the United States is closer to equilibrium compared to most of the American cities.

[Waterman71]

I think it is between Cincinnati and Louisville who each have around 34,000 acres of recreation water. The Ohio River is wider at Louisville but Cincinnati has more reservoirs. Also the river is a navigable river which allows for big boat traffic. The other cities do not compare on recreation water. Both cities have done and are continuing to do a terrific job with riverfront development above and beyond the other cities.

Interesting to note that many US cities do not have interstate entrances to the city like Cincinnati and Louisville First impressions are important and the introduction to Cincinnati on I-71 traveling both north and south through the winding treed hills and suddenly rounding a hill and seeing the city lit up in front of you at night is quite dramatic. Louisville has nice entrances over the Ohio River on both I-64 and I-65. This is all enhanced now by the new cable stay bridge. Also, I-64 going westbound is a nice entrance through the tunnel and the enclosed “forest” and then again the city of Louisville appears when exiting the “forest”. The other cities have no such entrance from their interstates.

Cincinnati may win on hills and topography which is plainly evident from the interstates but Louisville has plenty of hills too. Again the other cities do not compare.

Cincinnati may have the chili but Louisville has their own culture of food too like the Kentucky hot brown and Kentucky fried chicken!

Louisville is more progressive in terms of integrated schools and metro government has the friendliest people I have ever met and may be the most affordable city. Cincinnati, Louisville and Indy all have interesting museums and downtown attractions. Indy may also be tied with Cincinnati on professional sports.

However, I give the overall edge to Louisville. When Cincinnati replaces the I-71 Bridge over the Ohio with a cable stay I may change my vote.

[theurbanfiles]

Cincy would be on top for me. Frankly I like all 5, but I feel like it offers the most of what I like in terms of offering and feel.*

Edit: I am a diehard Ohio State fan, and a Clevelander though, so for me personally, I'd pick Columbus. Columbus also ties Indy for best bike trails of the group. Dayton has great bike trails too, but is significantly smaller, though still quite nice.

Each of them really has different advantages though and my feeling could change based on what I decide is more important one day or the next. For now though for me, it's Cincy taking an unbiased glance, and CBus for personal preferences.

Interesting thread and comparison. Even Dayton hangs here for various reasons.

[CookieSkoon]

They are all just a bit more northwest of where I prefer. I am more a Chillicothe to Huntington kind of fella.

I gotta go with the Cincy area though. Columbus and Indianapolis are fairly boring to me. Louisville I just don't have enough experience with.

Places around Cincy are friendly and have great food. If it's your thing Cincy has an amazing night time skyline. I might end up moving back into the area sometime soon.

[Shakeesha]

Cincinnati and Louisville are more urban than the other cities, especially Cincinnati. Both are in the beginning stages of a downtown renaissance, with Louisville taking the edge in overall investment. Cincinnati's location, culture, topography, and large corporate presence are attractive aspects for the area. It will be interesting to see how Dayton and Cincinnati's metros will become one in the future, especially given Cincinnati's growth in its northern suburbs. Louisville, by far is the friendliest city in the group, and has a unique hybrid of Midwestern and Southern characteristics. Columbus is a nice city as well, I especially like OSU's influence on the area, as well as the city's more progressive vibe. However, the city lacks the more urban look and feel of the other two, and is noticeably more bland and homely feeling. The same goes for Indianapolis. For me, it is between Cincinnati and Louisville, with Cincinnati being my number one choice. Louisville is my second choice because it is clean, safe, scenic, has a good economy, and has excellent food options. The city also has a very active arts community, which adds a sense of pride. My ranking of the cities in order of attractiveness would be:

1. Cincinnati
2. Louisville
3. Columbus
4. Dayton
5. Indianapolis

[lovecrowds]

I have been to all of those cities, but its been a decade ago.

I think they are all very underrated except for Indianapolis which I am not much of a fan personally.

Cincinnati is the most scenic and urban of the cities. It has very nice brick architecture and steep hills with lush forests. It is certainly a neighborhood city also. Cincinnati also has a massive income-disparity with some of the worst neighborhoods in the country but also alot of very nice neighborhoods with old mansions.

Louisville in my experience wasn't hilly, but it is a very lush city with lots of old buildings which is a nice combination in my opinion. It seemed to have a handful of really interesting areas and a decent downtown but half the area seemed generic in my opinion.

I didn't care for the culture of Louisville as I did not find it friendly, but overall it seems to offer more urban qualities then most cities of it's size.

Columbus is a huge neighborhood city with alot of very interesting, vibrant neighborhoods. It is a rapidly growing city that is far more transient then the other cities. It is a very clean, flat and growing city.

Columbus is far less scenic then Louisville and Cincinnati but it also has alot of very energetic well-kept areas thanks to all the universities and people who move there. They preserve the old buildings much better in Columbus then the other cities where shamefully alot of old buildings are left to decay in Cincinnati and Louisville.

Columbus doesn't have neighborhoods that are as blighted and crime-ridden as the other cities either. They seem to have a much better handle on blight in Columbus.

Columbus, Cincinnati and Louisville all have the lushness and architecture which I personally enjoy and all three are above their weight on what they offer for their population and they are all very affordable cities.

I also really like the summers in that area with the low 80s, humidity and rain. Louisville though has a much nicer winter then Ohio and offers a better climate.

I personally just have never been a fan of Indianapolis at all, but it supposedly has some of the ranked suburbs of the country like Carmel and Fishers and it is growing so there are obviously many people who do enjoy Indianapolis.

[Peter1948]

Originally Posted by Shakeesha

Cincinnati and Louisville are more urban than the other cities, especially Cincinnati. Both are in the beginning stages of a downtown renaissance, with Louisville taking the edge in overall investment. Cincinnati's location, culture, topography, and large corporate presence are attractive aspects for the area. It will be interesting to see how Dayton and Cincinnati's metros will become one in the future, especially given Cincinnati's growth in its northern suburbs. Louisville, by far is the friendliest city in the group, and has a unique hybrid of Midwestern and Southern characteristics. Columbus is a nice city as well, I especially like OSU's influence on the area, as well as the city's more progressive vibe. However, the city lacks the more urban look and feel of the other two, and is noticeably more bland and homely feeling. The same goes for Indianapolis. For me, it is between Cincinnati and Louisville, with Cincinnati being my number one choice. Louisville is my second choice because it is clean, safe, scenic, has a good economy, and has excellent food options. The city also has a very active arts community, which adds a sense of pride. My ranking of the cities in order of attractiveness would be:

1. Cincinnati
2. Louisville
3. Columbus
4. Dayton
5. Indianapolis

Great post. I agree but Indy is MUCH better than Dayton. I prefer Louisville over Cincinnati after living in both. But I could see how the big corporate prescence and the rise of Over the Rhine could give Cincy the edge. The problem with Cincy for me is there is still too much blight, and it is more spread out into "villages" I like Louisville's "linear" commercial districts better a la Frankfort Ave, Bardstown Rd, Main St Market St, 4th Street, and now, places like Barret Ave and Goss Ave. Louisville has blight too....it just segregates it to parts of the west side that dead end in the river.

In Cincy traveling from Hyde Park to Mt Lookout to Mt Adams to Clifton....down to OTR and downtown. For some reason it just feel so disconnected and kind of "village" like. I think this argument can be made in Louisville too, but since its smaller, there's less to "gentrify" between these districts (and as you noted, the amount of development in Louisville is unreal).

For me it is

1 Louisville
2 Columbus/Cincinnati (tie)
3 Indy
4 Dayton

Dayton is WELL below these other cities Even though its MSA is not too much smaller than Louisville (I think around 300k smaller off the top of my head?) .....Louisville feels like Atlanta in its amenity package compared to Dayton, and ESPECIALLY in urban vibrancy.

[Serious Conversation]

For me, it's probably Louisville, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, in that order.

Louisville has the best food of the bunch and probably the best outdoor recreation, but Cincinnati is not far behind. Louisville is also the easiest to get around.

Columbus is like a slightly more upscale Indy. Sprawled and new, without the blight and crime you see in Indy.

Cincinnati has a lot of urban blight but is the most scenic of the three.

I don't really care for Indy proper but the economy and sports scene are good.