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I can't imagine why anyone would take someone so negative as truth. You're certainly entitled to your opinion, but as much as I dislike the South, the same area you find to be so awesome, I don't think there's a city even there that I would find to have no redeeming qualities at all. We've been over this before, but it seems clear you wanted there to be something wrong about living in Columbus, and surprise, you were miserable.
Until I lived in other places, Columbus was my #1 choice in terms of settling down long-term. I thought this place had everything. Then I traveled, lived in some other places, and I found out how wrong I was.
I didn't seek to find anything bad about Columbus. Until recently, it was my plan all along. Then I saw how much of the rest of the world has to offer, decided it was better, and I committed to leaving Columbus when the opportunity arose. Thankfully, that time is close.
I've said it before: Columbus isn't a BAD place. It really isn't. I said it was a B-minus, because it has enough to satisfy, or perhaps pacify, most people. But it's not a GREAT place. It's a place to settle, and by settle, I mean it it both senses of the word: it's good for families, and it's a compromise vis-a-vis other, better places (in my opinion). I think it is the height of mediocrity. Just as with a B-minus in school, some people will be satisfied with that, while others will want more. I want more. You don't. I think the OP's quality of life will diminish here. You don't. That's fine.
Well, to be fair the OP didn't ask whether they should move to Columbus, but stated they ARE moving here and wanted advice on where to go and what to do once they arrive. Also, she's not from LA but Tahoe, which is a huge difference, albeit one people not from California usually don't understand.
Until I lived in other places, Columbus was my #1 choice in terms of settling down long-term. I thought this place had everything. Then I traveled, lived in some other places, and I found out how wrong I was.
I didn't seek to find anything bad about Columbus. Until recently, it was my plan all along. Then I saw how much of the rest of the world has to offer, decided it was better, and I committed to leaving Columbus when the opportunity arose. Thankfully, that time is close.
I've said it before: Columbus isn't a BAD place. It really isn't. I said it was a B-minus, because it has enough to satisfy, or perhaps pacify, most people. But it's not a GREAT place. It's a place to settle, and by settle, I mean it it both senses of the word: it's good for families, and it's a compromise vis-a-vis other, better places (in my opinion). I think it is the height of mediocrity. Just as with a B-minus in school, some people will be satisfied with that, while others will want more. I want more. You don't. I think the OP's quality of life will diminish here. You don't. That's fine.
If that's true, you still set it up where it was inevitable that you would not like it and that you would be disappointed. No city has everything, especially not a mid-size city like Columbus that is still growing and still finding its own place and culture. I've lived in other places, including the largest city in this hemisphere, and Columbus will just never compare to that. But it shouldn't be and can't to begin with, and to try is wholly unfair. Columbus will never compare to some places, and it certainly can't compete with the entire world. But that should be obvious, and it certainly doesn't make it a bad or boring place for what it is. If you are looking for a city that offers everything, you will never find it. It has nothing to do with being satisfied with less, but about giving a place the realistic expectation it deserves, and it doesn't seem like you had one....and perhaps still don't about other places.
Thank you for the responses, it is much appreciated. It is unfortunate that this post had to turn into some kind of hullabaloo. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, which is exactly what I wanted, advice and opinions.
This move is indeed happening, which I am quite nervous about, so if we could just stick to helpful tips and friendly advice instead of putting each other down and name calling I would be very grateful.
I read that Columbus is as big as San Francisco so it must have some redeeming qualities, no? Why do all these people live in Columbus? Was it hit hard by the recession? Are there any hiking or kayaking spots in surrounding areas? Local bands worth checking out? Is the cost of living pretty affordable? Just out of my own curiosity, what are the gas prices out there?
Please, lets just stick to being friendly and maybe helping a sister out here.
I read that Columbus is as big as San Francisco so it must have some redeeming qualities, no? Why do all these people live in Columbus? Was it hit hard by the recession? Are there any hiking or kayaking spots in surrounding areas? Local bands worth checking out? Is the cost of living pretty affordable? Just out of my own curiosity, what are the gas prices out there?
Columbus might be as big as San Francisco in terms of population, but it's an entirely different city. The best way to describe Columbus is that it's a Sunbelt city in the Midwest. Unlike the 'other Cs' in Ohio (Cleveland and Cincinnati), most of Columbus' growth occurred after World War II. As a result, Columbus' density is much lower than San Francisco. Also unlike Cleveland and Cincinnati, Columbus has never lost population.
As for cost of living, most of the Midwest (I'd venture to say all of the Midwest) is much cheaper than the Bay Area. One cost of living calculator says that it's about 85% cheaper to live in Columbus than in San Francisco. A gallon of regular gas costs about 3.60 here, whereas it's about 3.99 a gallon in San Francisco.
Neighborhoods - Since you mentioned a music scene Old North Columbus would be the heart of it: On Summit you have Cafe Bourbon Street (vegetarian-vegan kitchen), Rumba Cafe, and The Summit which are all tucked away on Summit.Right on High St you have a number of options(Ace of Cups, Ravari Room, etc) and to the south past Lane Ave you have OSU where the Newport Music Hall attracts big names. Stay north of Lane Ave and south of King Ave unless you want to live with loud partying college students (of the beer-pong variety who love to blast Dave Matthews and top 40).
If you want a little distance from the action then South Clintonville is due north of this neighborhood and while quieter (no music scene here) it has vegetarian-vegan offerings and a small grocery co-op along with a few good bars. On either side of Downtown options east or west you have a handful of destinations on either side. Carabar in Olde Towne East has live music, no cover, and vegetarian-vegan food and there are few more restaurants and bars on a couple blocks of Parsons and Oak, but that's it. To the west is East Franklinton where 400 W Rich is full of artist studios and a bar/club with food, an indoor food truck court and another bar around the corner. I'm thinking rent wouldn't be an issue in these up and coming areas and you'd be able to enjoy bars and restaurants in neighboring Downtown without paying downtown prices.
I'd make a trip here and there to the South Side's lone live music joint (also cover-free w/ a vegan kitchen) Hal & Al's, but wouldn't recommend living in the area since it's quite a bit removed from everything else unless you'd be happy with just a couple other bars and a restaurant.
Outdoor Activities - Well, I liked riding my bike in the little ravines in Old North and Clintonville. Not gonna be hiking a mountain or riding on a boat in a lake in the city though.
Bike-Friendly - Hardly, and the city even fell off a top 50 US cities rankings list. It has at least added a bike-share, but I hope you like sharrows and riding in 40 MPH traffic that doesn't care that those sharrows are there. You're best option is the Olentangy trail that takes you between Downtown and Clintonville. That was a pretty big reason for why I left: I wanted to live in a city that's actually putting its money where its mouth is on bike friendliness. It's easily a decade or two behind San Francisco and there have been no huge plans hinting it'll catch up any time soon.
Restaurants - I had few qualms about the dining scene and I'm sure you'll find plenty (check out yelp). If you want a great bahn mi, however, you're pretty much out of luck if you live in the urban center: you'll have a make a special trip miles out just for this sandwich. There's a good amount of vegetarian and vegan options, but these are by and large clustered in the urban neighborhoods around N High and aside from that in and around Downtown by a close margin.
Unique Features - German Village is a one-of-a-kind neighborhood and a must-visit. The urban ravines right in a few neighborhoods is probably pretty unique for a city to have too (Iuka, Wahalla, etc).
As far as size while they both seem identical on paper with roughly the same population and area (800,000 people in 220 sq mi) you have to consider that in San Francisco virtually all of that was zoned for dense urban neighborhoods (18,000 people per sq mi) while in Columbus dense urban neighborhoods only account for the pre-sprawl 1950 boundaries of 50 sq mi with <300,000 people. The rest of it is Applebees territory replete with suburban housing which takes the overall density down to a mere 3,600 people per sq mi because there are many less urban neighborhoods and even fewer that have been well maintained or revitalized: forget the northeast, east (unless you're just a little over the other side of Downtown), southeast, south (of German Village Merion Village is fine for a handful of blocks then goes downhill south of there with nothing to do/nowhere to go) and most of the west side expect for East Franklinton and Westgate (safe, but not much to see/do here). These areas outside of noted exceptions offer very little for even a visitor: you could "do" Linden, a huge declining NE neighborhood, by hitting up a few quality restaurants (Jamaican and Soul Food) on the main drag Cleveland Ave in just one day. Break ins, muggings,sexual assaults, gunshots going off around the area are what residents have to deal with on a daily basis in these neglected parts of town.
Until the city invests to clean up all these main streets and refill them with quality businesses residents are going to continue fleeing these already heavily depopulated areas which leaves Columbus with only a tiny fraction of healthy urban areas in comparison to San Francisco. A more fair comparison would be the Columbus of today to the Columbus of the past (20s-50s), but even then there were many more urban districts (at least double) full of businesses and pedestrians than there are today.
Why do all these people live in Columbus? Was it hit hard by the recession? Are there any hiking or kayaking spots in surrounding areas? Local bands worth checking out? Is the cost of living pretty affordable? Just out of my own curiosity, what are the gas prices out there?
I just moved to Columbus about 3 months ago, from the mountains of NC. I was transferred here for my job. I actually grew up in Ohio, 2 hours north of Columbus, but that's been a while. As far as I know, the recession didn't hurt Cbus as much as other parts of the state. The unemployment rate is around 6% atm.
I'm a big hiker, and its surprising how many places there are to go around here. They don't compare to NC or CA, but are beautiful in their own right. I have to say I'm totally disgusted that the wonderful metro parks have one trail, maybe 2, that you can walk with your dog. And they are the most boring trails. Ie, I live near Blendon Woods and the only trail I can go on because what is the point if you can't take your dog is a mile long tract of grass through a field. I'll never go there again. But Darby Creek metro/Prairie Oaks is really nice, and also a great place to kayak I've heard. Highbanks is good too, but not all that that great if you take your dog...
CoL is very affordable. Gas prices are up again. I paid 3.79/gal the other day.
Wherever you go, there you are. You'll like it here or anywhere if you focus on the good. And there is good here, along with the bad. I hope your move goes smoothly!!
As a musician, I can attest that the local music scene is excellent for a city its size. There are tons of bands in the genres of psych (more in my wheelhouse, as I play in a shoegaze band), folk, indie, metal, hip hop, and just about any other genre you would hope to find. North Campus is indeed a hub for music venues, with Ace of Cups, Kobo, The Summit, Cafe Bourbon St., and Ruby Tuesday (not the chain restaurant) all in the area. I don't believe Ravari Room hosts live shows anymore. Also, Tree Bar, Skully's, Woodlands, Carabar, Hal and Al's, Bernie's, Scarlet and Grey, Victory's, Double Happiness, and others are viable music venues too. We also have a fair amount of house venues if you are into the DIY scene.
As for the San Francisco comparison, Columbus doesn't compare in any way. Much less density and our metropolitan area is less than half the size, which is a more true measure of population. That said, I could never dream of being able to afford living in San Francisco, while the cost of living in Columbus is excellent. Also, Columbus was spared the worst of the recession because the job market here is much more white collar and education focused than other rust belt cities.
Avoid being anywhere near campus on football game days if you are not an OSU fan (I am not an OSU fan and have fared well here). Although I suppose I would suggest checking out the festivities once or twice for the hell of it. Outside of those 6 or so Saturdays a year, the OSU thing isn't as bad as some people make it out to be, in my opinion.
Neighborhoods - City: Short North, Victorian Village, German Village vs. Suburbs: Clintonville, Grandview. Stay away from East Columbus.
Favorite places to go - This is really personal preference. I'm from Ohio, big hockey, football and soccer fan, so you can imagine I hit up OSU, Blue Jackets and Crew games frequently, or at least activities related to such. Zoo is great, they are putting some decent money into building up the northwest part of downtown (peninsula project). Short North and Arena District are pretty great IMO. Again, this is really personal preference, and you separated out restaurants, outdoor, biking (see below).
Is their a good music scene? Better than you think but worse than say Austin or Nashville, but I think that should be obvious. Rock on the Range is faaaaaantastic. Couple other festivals and things thrown in there as well.
Outdoor activities/Bike friendly - Decent selection of trails, but it's pretty flat around Columbus. I will say this - there are a good amount of bicyclists but the bike infrastructure is poor except for directly around OSU campus.
Restaurants - Much better than even 10 years ago. Again, Short North has some great restaurants. German Village has some excellent things as well. Organic, vegetarian, vegan, etc.. there are a lot of solid choices. Not my cup of tea, but I have friends that swear off the meat and they never have complaints form what I can tell.
What makes Columbus unique - Jeni's Ice Cream, which is the best in the world. Pretty diverse economy and more diverse culturally than other Midwest cities due to the University's influence.
Get an apartment and explore - Columbus is a great mid-sized city but there is a ton of things to find (always something new when I came back to visit). I've lived in Boston, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Kansas City, DC...and am thrilled to be moving back to Columbus in 2 months.
One last thing - the cost of living is fantastic! Your dollar will go much further in Columbus than most other places.
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