Where should I buy a house/condo around here? (Columbus: apartment, rent)

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by nep321

I'm just very upset. Ohio is supposed to be affordable, and now it doesn't seem like it is. I am absolutely appalled at how expensive everything is now. It makes me not want to bother working harder.

Ohio is affordable. It is often ranked as one of the most cost effective places to live in the country. Columbus on the other hand is less affordable than much of the rest of the state, particularly in the urban areas you desire, but still much more affordable than nearly any metropolis along the coasts. You can take a look here to see the equivalent income needed to maintain your current lifestyle and purchasing power in another well-known gay friendly city - San Francisco.

[kareno999]

Originally Posted by nep321

I'm just very upset. Ohio is supposed to be affordable, and now it doesn't seem like it is. I am absolutely appalled at how expensive everything is now. It makes me not want to bother working harder.

That's highly inaccurate. Clintonville is a huge area. It's absolutely very quiet if you stay above N Broadway or even Weber.

[Zen_master]

Originally Posted by kareno999

That's highly inaccurate. Clintonville is a huge area. It's absolutely very quiet if you stay above N Broadway or even Weber.

Clintonville also has a higher rate of transient crime than the suburbs. My source is a Columbus police officer who is all too familiar with the problem. Same could be said for German Village and Merion Village. Are you likely to get mugged? Probably not. But I know friends and colleagues that have experienced theft from their patios and car break-ins (German Village) to one having their car stolen from the driveway (Clintonville).

[nep321]

Today I went to an open house in Worthington and saw a condo priced at $169K. Then I saw another one in Upper Arlington priced at $130K. I wasn't really impressed with either of them, although the Worthington one was nicer. They just sort of seemed gritty and old. I know Upper Arlington and Worthington are on the pricey side, so I should probably forget about them and just look in Columbus itself.

[kareno999]

Originally Posted by nep321

Today I went to an open house in Worthington and saw a condo priced at $169K. Then I saw another one in Upper Arlington priced at $130K. I wasn't really impressed with either of them, although the Worthington one was nicer. They just sort of seemed gritty and old. I know Upper Arlington and Worthington are on the pricey side, so I should probably forget about them and just look in Columbus itself.

You just moved here for probably a month. You can afford to be a bit more patient. The right house will come along.

[kareno999]

Originally Posted by Zen_master

Clintonville also has a higher rate of transient crime than the suburbs. My source is a Columbus police officer who is all too familiar with the problem. Same could be said for German Village and Merion Village. Are you likely to get mugged? Probably not. But I know friends and colleagues that have experienced theft from their patios and car break-ins (German Village) to one having their car stolen from the driveway (Clintonville).

Unless it's a suburban neighborhood hard to get to, I don't think you can avoid this kind of petty crimes. Clintonville is a huge place and some parts close to Indianola can be shady but the parts around the trail / Rose park is very nice and safe in my opinion.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by nep321

Today I went to an open house in Worthington and saw a condo priced at $169K. Then I saw another one in Upper Arlington priced at $130K. I wasn't really impressed with either of them, although the Worthington one was nicer. They just sort of seemed gritty and old. I know Upper Arlington and Worthington are on the pricey side, so I should probably forget about them and just look in Columbus itself.

Reality setting in? I thought you were certain you were easily going to be able to buy a nice newer single family home there with little or no commute. Maybe you should have looked for better paying job before jumping on the one you took like people advised you. Or even, dare I say it, waited another year before moving to Ohio so you could have saved more money toward the impossibly perfect home you demand. Reality nep kind of stinks doesn't it? Jay

[kareno999]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Reality setting in? I thought you were certain you were easily going to be able to buy a nice newer single family home there with little or no commute. Maybe you should have looked for better paying job before jumping on the one you took like people advised you. Or even, dare I say it, waited another year before moving to Ohio so you could have saved more money toward the impossibly perfect home you demand. Reality nep kind of stinks doesn't it? Jay

Wow... what kind of person would go all the way from CT forum to here just to make someone feel bad? And what's the point of hunting someone down and telling him you were right the whole time when decisions were already made and nothing would change. Reality is what it has always been but something else kind of stinks here...

Seems like the objective function in your decision making is finance only but in reality, there is the quality of life, mental health and what not. Can you really put a price on those things when you are not in OP's shoes? I don't see a big difference between him staying in CT for another year, moving here and waiting for another year to make the purchase, vs waiting an extra year in Columbus and saving up at the same time & rate. He could maybe save a bit more in CT but feel a lot worse or he can still save and enjoy the change of mood in CMH at the same time.

I agree that taking a big pay cut is not the best decision but nobody is going to stay in their current position for the rest of their lives. Sometimes taking a step back allows you to make a big leap forward. If OP is good at his job, then he can easily renegotiate his salary or find another job here. If he is not good at his job or if he does not want to move up to management, then he wouldn't see his salary growing much in CT anyways but in CMH where the demand of his skills seems high while supply is low, he could actually leverage that and make career advancement.

Finally, I think OP is exaggerating his problems a little bit (as always) and also being a bit picky. Some of the neighborhoods he ruled out are perfectly fine for him or any other gay professional in my opinion. He would need to realize that there is nothing perfect. It's all relative. Either he relaxes one or two criteria or he learns to be patient while waiting for the right one.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Reality setting in? I thought you were certain you were easily going to be able to buy a nice newer single family home there with little or no commute. Maybe you should have looked for better paying job before jumping on the one you took like people advised you. Or even, dare I say it, waited another year before moving to Ohio so you could have saved more money toward the impossibly perfect home you demand. Reality nep kind of stinks doesn't it? Jay

No Jay. Reality is not "settling in." You seem angered that I......moved out of CT, for some odd reason.

As noted numerous times, I have NO regrets leaving FFC at the time I did and would not do it differently. I don't miss my higher salary, more PTO or any of those things. I now have a much higher standard of living, a MUCH better social/gay life, much easier traffic, and everything. I have zero desire to move back to FFC. I'm shocked that you actually think I would want to do that.

And waiting for a 3rd year would have been stupid. When opportunity comes, you have to TAKE it. And I did. If I made this move next year instead of this year (assuming the opportunity came along next year), you would be convincing me to stay for a FOURTH year to save more money or some other sad reason.

In this thread, I was sort of nitpicking. Overall, I am pleased with the housing selection on the market here, and it's FAR better than the selection in FFC, which was basically nothing.

You continue to focus on the pay cut thing, which is absurd, considering the COL is significantly lower here and the social life is light years better for me. To expect to get the SAME pay in Columbus as I did in Stamford is completely foolish. My salary is right on the target for the market here in Columbus, for my career level. I'm financially BETTER OFF here, because of the lower cost of living. I don't know how many times I have to explain this to you. By your logic, then, I should have moved to San Francisco, because the jobs pay higher, right?!

No matter how you spin it, I am living a higher standard of living and better quality of life, even with the significantly reduced pay. Seriously. I don't miss the pay I had in CT at all. Why would I?

I'm not going back to CT, period. I like it here. I have no idea why you think I would desire to have stayed back in miserable FFC.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by kareno999

Wow... what kind of person would go all the way from CT forum to here just to make someone feel bad? And what's the point of hunting someone down and telling him you were right the whole time when decisions were already made and nothing would change. Reality is what it has always been but something else kind of stinks here...

Seems like the objective function in your decision making is finance only but in reality, there is the quality of life, mental health and what not. Can you really put a price on those things when you are not in OP's shoes? I don't see a big difference between him staying in CT for another year, moving here and waiting for another year to make the purchase, vs waiting an extra year in Columbus and saving up at the same time & rate. He could maybe save a bit more in CT but feel a lot worse or he can still save and enjoy the change of mood in CMH at the same time.

I agree that taking a big pay cut is not the best decision but nobody is going to stay in their current position for the rest of their lives. Sometimes taking a step back allows you to make a big leap forward. If OP is good at his job, then he can easily renegotiate his salary or find another job here. If he is not good at his job or if he does not want to move up to management, then he wouldn't see his salary growing much in CT anyways but in CMH where the demand of his skills seems high while supply is low, he could actually leverage that and make career advancement.

Finally, I think OP is exaggerating his problems a little bit (as always) and also being a bit picky. Some of the neighborhoods he ruled out are perfectly fine for him or any other gay professional in my opinion. He would need to realize that there is nothing perfect. It's all relative. Either he relaxes one or two criteria or he learns to be patient while waiting for the right one.

He wasn't "right the whole time." He just likes to throw that philosophy at me, because in his mind, any decision that I make is considered rash, stupid or misinformed. He was not in my shoes either, so he didn't feel what I experienced, living in CT. He is on the lookout for any criticism that I may have about Ohio, so that he can say, "I told ya so" in order to attempt to make me feel regretful for moving out of CT, which is stupid. Not once has he been supportive of any of my living decisions or life decisions in general. The common denominator remains the same with his advice in all aspects of relocation discussion: Stay in CT forever.