German Village, Bexley, Old Worthington Wealth - What do they do? (Columbus: transplants, real estate)

[szbeauty]

I just came back from German Village and I am blown away by the sheer size of those residences. I'm curious, does anyone know what these people do? I can only imagine the wealth to live in those places and I'm fairly new to Columbus, looking to switch careers and really intrigued by how these people make so much money! I'm entering into law school and wonder if that's one of the professions typical in those communities.

If you live in the wealthiest parts of Columbus or familiar with people that do, can you share some insight? (lifestyle, if they have children, etc.)

[Port Pitt Ash]

Originally Posted by szbeauty

I just came back from German Village and I am blown away by the sheer size of those residences. I'm curious, does anyone know what these people do? I can only imagine the wealth to live in those places and I'm fairly new to Columbus, looking to switch careers and really intrigued by how these people make so much money! I'm entering into law school and wonder if that's one of the professions typical in those communities.

If you live in the wealthiest parts of Columbus or familiar with people that do, can you share some insight? (lifestyle, if they have children, etc.)

Columbus has a fairly low cost of living. The German Village isn't one of the wealthy parts of Columbus. It's also somewhat cheaper to live there (compared to the expensive sections) since it's surrounded by not so great areas.

When I was living there I had a roommate and we both worked part time. I did fine art on the side as well and making rent was never an issue.

Even in the wealthier areas it doesn't take nearly as much to live there as it does in many other cities.

[bjimmy24]

You can get a 1 bedroom in German Village for like 1k/month. People would kill for those types of prices over by me, where similar accommodations would cost 2x that.

[cbusflyer]

Columbus offers a lot of high paying jobs but the overall cost of living is very low compared to other cities. I would imagine a lawyer make good money and you would be able to afford to live in these areas in the future.

[Rosebush1]

I disagree with the comment that German Village is not a wealthy area. Homes are very expensive there, the square foot price is pretty high but the lifestyle is terrific. Residents walk to restaurants, nightlife, downtown area, cultural events. The area is close knit with lots of community pride.
Most of the homes were built by the original German settlers. There are some big mansions but most homes are small unless someone has added an addition.
I'm not saying this is the wealthiest area in the city.
As someone else said Columbus has a moderate cost of living. You don't have to be rich to own a nice home.

[wrightflyer]

I don't know. If you are in the heart of German Village proper (read, not the bordering Schumacher Place neighborhood, which is still nice, there are many homes listed well into the seven figures. That seems to be a wealthy clientele to me.

Granted, I wouldn't necessarily call it "old money" in the same sense as Bexley or Upper Arlington's south of Lane section. German Village didn't start gentrifying until the late 70's and early 80's. It wasn't for another couple of decades and a resurgence of America's urban areas that those dollar figures became more common in such a place. And the amount of "old money" in Columbus still pales in comparison to Boston or Philadelphia and even Cleveland or Cincinnati. Columbus wealth is similar to some southern or western cities were it is mostly transplants that have been successful in their own lifetimes, or at least within the last generation or two.

[Supergrrl7]

We live in Old Worthington, couple with two kids on a lawyer's salary. Before we had this house we owned two others and those wise real estate investments increased the amount of equity we had to buy a more expensive house. We also bought a few years ago before the market was as high as it is now. 3-4 years ago you could get a nice house in Old Worthington for $450k. Now it is much closer to $550k for the same house.

Lawyers make good money, but not as much as they used to. If you go to a very good law school (my husband went to a top 3 ranked law school) and work for one of the better firms, the salary is good (though less so when you know he regularly works 80 hours a week). Not all lawyers make that much money though, and we are still paying school loans too. If you want to make a lot of money, you will need to rank very high in your law school class, get good internships and know how to play the game.

As for what other people who live in Old Worthington do, I think many of them have two working adults and their OW home is not their first house. If you are young, buy a starter house in a good area, build up some equity, save up your money.

[Port Pitt Ash]

Originally Posted by Rosebush1

I disagree with the comment that German Village is not a wealthy area. Homes are very expensive there, the square foot price is pretty high but the lifestyle is terrific. Residents walk to restaurants, nightlife, downtown area, cultural events.

Well being the historic area the price to own is high due to limited stock, but rents are reasonable. I think a lot of people were like me and just rented in that area. I think a few of the things that also helps to keep prices down is parking can sometimes be hard to come by and it's farther away from the happening parts of the city (from a walking POV) than many think.

Compared to other cities it's very reasonable from a renting perspective. When I was 1st looking at places to live in Columbus it was between the Victorian Village and the German Village. Rents were a bit higher in the Victorian Village. Citywide I'd say the German Village is probably top 50% for renting.

As far as Upper Arlington goes my cousin's husband is a doctor and the only one who works, but they can afford to live there comfortably. I have other family living on two incomes, one of which is a school teacher and they swing Worthington without a problem.

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

You can get a 1 bedroom in German Village for like 1k/month. People would kill for those types of prices over by me, where similar accommodations would cost 2x that.

You could get a two bedroom for less than that in the German Village just 10 years ago.