Apartment Search - Yuppie (Columbus, Dublin: apartments, rentals, home)

[Tigers24]

Hello,


I am moving to the Columbus area soon to start a new job. I am 27 and single, I don't know anyone in the area so I prefer an area where it might be easier to meet people. My main hobby is watching/playing sports. Ideally, I would like somewhere that's within walking/short distance of business such as coffee, food or bars. The Grandview or Short North area looked like it had the best to offer, but taking a second look, I'm not sure. The job is in the Dublin area and it looks like it is around 20+ minute drive from the downtown area. Is there anything closer that offers the same kind of environment? (Tuttle? Hilliard? Dublin?) I don't want to live near students and I'm unfamiliar with where OSU students live. I can afford something around $1,000 or less.

I'm heading down there to check out apartments soon, what should I take a look at?


Thank you in advance!

[Natural510]

Dublin itself is a nice town, has a nice downtown area with cafes and restaurants. Grocery stores are a short drive away & it hosts one of the largest Irish festivals in the country every summer. Apartments tend to be on the pricier side but you can probably find something for under $1000/mo.

[jbcmh81]

Downtown Dublin is not large by any means, so while it is better than the more suburban options for what you're looking for, it's not going to provide a ton of places to go to. There will be a fairly large development across from the downtown area called the Bridge Street Corridor. It will be Dublin's most urban development with potentially dozens of mid-rise, mixed-use buildings. The project has only recently gone under construction near the intersection of Bridge Street and Riverside Drive on the east side of the river. It is a few years off, but it could be a good development for you if you're willing to wait.

[wrightflyer]

Not sure if you'll be able to be right in the thick of Short North. That may stretch your budget depending on what you are expecting out of the apartment.

I would say Short North or German Village. Short North has become really developed over the last 8-10 years and has completed its gentrification process. It attracts a number of different demographics now, from older empty-nesters looking for urban living to yuppies, hipsters (to an extent), post-undergrad bro-types, some grad students who may have money, young families who want urban living. This extends mostly west of High Street into Victorian Village, which is rather or completely gentrified. A little bit to the east as well into Italian Village, which is mostly gentrified. General rule of thumb is the closer to I-670 and downtown, the more expensive (and developed or redeveloped) it gets. Most students don't start calling the High Street corridor home until north of 5th and consistently north of King.

German Village and the Brewery district, by contrast, sit on the south side of downtown. Traffic may be a little more to fight from this side to Dublin, but once outside the inner belt area (bordered by I-71/70, I-71, OH-315 and I-670), you'll be going reverse with occasional slowdowns possibly going up I-270 outerbelt into Dublin (there are a lot of offices and business complexes between Cemetery Road and Sawmill Road exits. German Village is a little more relaxed and residential, but still home to young professionals, has bars, coffee shops and restaurants and is close enough to entertainment spots like the Arena District and Short North. The circular route runs through here so you can easily shuttle it up to the other side of downtown. I think German Village, espeically closer to the Brewery District would be best.

Another option would be Clintonville. The lack of apartments may be a problem, as most rentals are duplexes. It starts from Arcadia and High and runs north to Graceland Shopping Center (long district that is really Clintonville, North Clintonville and Beechwold). It sits between OH-315 / Olentangy River and I-71 / CSX rail line). There is development along High Street that may be worth looking at for apartments, but again, it may be fewer and further between then south of the campus area.

Other areas worth looking into that I'm not as familar with but others know more about: Franklinton and Olde Town East.

Campus tends to run between the gray area of 5th to King, up along High Street towards Old North Columbus, and ends around Patterson or Blake or midway through Old North Columbus. Most student based housing tends to be east of High Street running north south along arterial streets like Indianola, Summit and N. 4th. Keep in mind, the areas in that direction towards I-71 aren't the best. They have seen improvement though. Still, most is student oriented housing or rentals. Keep in mind as well that some areas west of the Olentangy River, espcially along King and Kinnear to Northwest Boulevard can be student heavy. As well, there are complexes along Olentangy River Road north of Ackerman that have a number of students.

Otherwise, you should be clear of most. Keep in mind that apartments cannot tell you demographic (whether based on race, economic factors, sex, age, etc.) make ups due to law. So keep that in mind when searching. Every complex around Columbus will probably have some students, and not just Ohio State. There's Columbus State, Ohio Dominican, Capital and Ohio School for the Deaf and School for the Blind. So you are bound to run into some students somewhere.

[Tigers24]

Thanks for the information so far.

I really like the Grandview area but I'm concerned about the commute. Can I get a little more insight as to what I'm expecting if I go that route? I would be driving from Grandview to Granville Road, just east of the river. I've heard 315 can be a parking lot and 70/71 is full of long term construction. I can semi-flex my hours to something like 9am-6pm if that would help. On Google Maps it looks like it's about 12 miles but between 20-30 minutes.

Is there anything else closer to Dublin that still has a young crowd with upper scale, newer apartments while still avoiding students? I looked at Hilliard but it doesn't look all that appealing to me.