Lesbian Couple Moving to Columbus (Cleveland, Grove City: rent, co-op, buying a house)

[lickitung]

My partner and I are planning on moving to Columbus next year. We currently live in Arizona and are ready to leave the desert heat. We are planning on buying a house shortly after moving there, we have a budget of around 250k. I've been looking online and it seems that we can get a decent house within our price range, I'm just not sure about the neighborhoods.

Here is what we are looking for. We are both in our mid 30s with no kids and aren't planning on any so finding an area with good schools isn't an issue for us. We would like someplace that is gay friendly, but we don't necessarily need gay bars nearby, just some friendly open minded people. It's not a must have, but I want to live in an area that is walkable. I would love to have restaurants and cafes within walking distance, I enjoy a neighborhood with a bit of an urban feel. We both enjoy bike riding, so if we could be in an area with a bike path close by that would be a huge plus for us.

My friend who has visited the area a few times suggested Clintonville and after reading around this site I'm thinking Westgate may be my style, but I would really appreciate any other suggestions you all have to offer.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by lickitung

My partner and I are planning on moving to Columbus next year. We currently live in Arizona and are ready to leave the desert heat. We are planning on buying a house shortly after moving there, we have a budget of around 250k. I've been looking online and it seems that we can get a decent house within our price range, I'm just not sure about the neighborhoods.

Here is what we are looking for. We are both in our mid 30s with no kids and aren't planning on any so finding an area with good schools isn't an issue for us. We would like someplace that is gay friendly, but we don't necessarily need gay bars nearby, just some friendly open minded people. It's not a must have, but I want to live in an area that is walkable. I would love to have restaurants and cafes within walking distance, I enjoy a neighborhood with a bit of an urban feel. We both enjoy bike riding, so if we could be in an area with a bike path close by that would be a huge plus for us.

My friend who has visited the area a few times suggested Clintonville and after reading around this site I'm thinking Westgate may be my style, but I would really appreciate any other suggestions you all have to offer.

Clintonville is not a bad idea, honestly. It's conveniently located to the Olentangy bike train, which can take you all the way downtown. I always liked biking and running the trail. There are also no shortage of food and cafes on N. High Street. The number 2 bus is good for going up and down high - can take you to OSU, Short North, Arena District, German Village, etc.

[Supergrrl7]

I don't know a lot about Westgate. My general impression is that it is an old-school neighborhood that is beginning to gentrify. I also don't know about bike paths and walkability there. I have never heard of a walkable area of restaurants, but it could exist. I know someone who lives in and loves westgate, if you PM me, I can hook you up with her for more info. I don't know that it has gentrified enough to be really liberal yet.

If you want a 100% safe bet, I would go for Clintonville or the Short North (clintonville housing would be more affordable in your price range). My one reservation about Clintonville would be the restaurants and places to walk are spread out over quite a large area. There isn't a huge concentration in one place. It is a very liberal neighborhood. I doubt anyone would bat an eye at a lesbian couple moving in next door.

I would also suggest you look at the area near Old Worthington. It is a little more family-oriented community, but still pretty liberal and extremely walkable. Like Clintonville, it is located on the bike trail and has a lot of pleasant amenities. I know of several gay/lesbian families in the area who seem to like it very much, but most of them have children.

My final thought would be Grandview. In my opinion, it has the best walkability for restaurants and shops. It is similar to worthington in liberalness. There are many families there, but also more young professionals who want the proximity to OSU and downtown who dont' have kids. I don't know about bike access there though.

[jbcmh81]

Grandview Heights, Short North, Italian Village, Victorian Village, German Village, Downtown, Clintonville, maybe even Olde Towne East, but it's still not quite there yet as far as walkable amenities.

[bam989863]

I think Clintonville is the best given your situation. We currently rent in Grandview but when we eventually buy we plan on doing it in Clintonville or Old North Columbus. It is a really fun, walkable neighborhood, with some great parks, and easy access to the Olentangy Bike Trail. It is a very open minded area with good people.

[lickitung]

bam989863 would you mind telling me what you don't like about Grandview and what your prefer about Clintonville?

Thanks for all the advice you guys have given me. So far it does seem like maybe Clintonville would be a great area for us, but I will look into Worthington and Grandview.

[bam989863]

I love everything about Grandview. I would buy a house here in an instant if it were feasible for my wife and I. We just can't financially afford a house here. Houses go for anywhere from $150 a square foot and up. We will probably rent in Grandview for another 2-3 years because we really do love it here.

[moving_time]

I know about 10 lesbian couples who live in Clintonville, it seems to be the most obvious choice. It's all very nice, but some of it is spread out so you may want to make sure your specific house is walkable to places of interest.

Clintonville is a good choice, but I personally prefer Grandview. The main Grandview Ave strip with restaurants etc is around Grandview and 3rd vicinity and much of the town is walking distance to that. It's closer to downtown, too. I prefer it because it's closer to downtown, is a bit more dense, more houses in it are easily walkable to businesses. In some undefinable way it seems more urban than the somewhat suburban-seeming Clintonville.

Victorian Village is full of Victorian homes, very beautiful, but pricey. It's worth a look, but your budget might be tight. It's right next to the Short North, and has Gooddale Park, which is wonderful. It's a very gay-friendly neighborhood, too. All the neighborhoods mentioned here will be fine in that regard, though.

As for Westgate, I don't know a ton about it. It's gentrifying, people are moving in, but I don't think there are a ton of business to support the new population yet.

[zerhacke]

I may be wrong, but it is my distinct impression that all of Columbus is gay friendly so you will have no problems on that front anywhere you move in the Columbus area. Perhaps Grove City will be less tolerant but that's just a wild stab in the dark and you'd probably be just fine there, too.

The only place I could suggest to steer clear of would be the 161 and Cleveland area, but that has nothing to do with your sexual preference. I just find that area of Columbus to be a little less civilized than other areas. Again, I may be wrong.

[Mplsite]

Clintonville south of Broadway is where its most walkable and not so coincidentally where most neighborhood destinations are including Studio 35 (movie theater with pizza and beer) and the Walhalla ravine right around the corner which is popular for walking/biking. It's also home to the city's lone co-op grocery store. As others have pointed out the neighborhood is popular with lesbians (I hear it has the most dense lesbian population in the city).

Westgate just plain doesn't have anything to do despite being GLBT friendly. It's a nice residential area that looks similar to Clintonville and Grandview except it's very lacking in urban amenities.

Olde Towne East (staying north of Main) I would think would still have something in your price range and the homes are amazing. It's mostly very quiet but if you're near the west end of the neighborhood there's a small variety spots including a bistro, gay bar, hipster bar, pizza place, bakery, art gallery, Chinese restaurant, and a new neighborhood-y bar which I checked out on my last visit and was impressed. There's certainly a gay and lesbian presence there. Certainly worth looking into since it's just east of Downtown and rather close to German Village and the Short North.