Any advise for a young couple moving to Columbus? (Westerville: apartments, renters)

[GusMon]

My wife and I are planning to move from East Texas to Columbus in the summer, just to reset and start over somewhere new. We both pretty much just work retail, we have one car, no kids and two small dogs. Our current city is medium-small, no crosswalks, basically no public transportation, bad traffic (Which is always baffling because there seem to be more cars than people.) and the people aren't always the nicest. There is also very little opportunity for advancement in most of the jobs, with most places requiring people to already be trained coming in.
Any advise about a good location would be welcome. Some pedestrian friendly neighborhoods with rental houses or apartments that are walking or biking distance to some stores and potentially work would be great.
How is the bus system? Is there a decent taxi system?
Any other information about attractions, shopping, restaurants, traffic, anything? What/where are your favorite things/places? I'm looking to gather as much info as possible before summer.

[WRnative]

Why Columbus? Are you ready for colder winters, and snow?

What monthly rent do you anticipate?

What are you looking for in a relocation candidate? Are you certain that you want a larger city, having lived in a small city?

Perhaps read this poster's threads, if interested in a smaller town:

//www.city-data.com/forum/searc...rchid=26427514

E.g.,

//www.city-data.com/forum/ohio/...ggestions.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/colum...l#post44522572

[jbcmh81]

Do you have a budget in mind? Walkable urban neighborhoods are obviously going to be more expensive than suburban ones. Some largely walkable neighborhoods include:


Short North (Italian Village, Victorian Village, North High corridor)
Arena District
Downtown
German Village
Brewery District
Campus area
Old North Columbus
Bexley
Downtown Grandview
Downtown Worthington (somewhat)
The Near East Side (not in the greatest shape, but it's still close to Downtown and it does have a small, but growing list of retail places)
Downtown Clintonville
Merion Village
If you're willing to invest in an improving area, but still with problems, Franklinton, especially the further east you go past 315, could be an option. There are about a dozen projects planned for that area in the next couple of years.


Most of the major suburbs have at least a small, walkable downtown area, particularly Westerville, Hilliard, Gahanna and Dublin.


The bus system is usable, but not fantastic. COTA is redesigning the system, and that should be done by the end of the year, which is expected to improve service citywide. There are taxis, but expensive. Columbus also has Uber, car-sharing services and a growing bike-share system.


Columbus doesn't have spectacular topography, but it has a very extensive MetroParks system surrounding it. There are currently, I believe, 20 MetroParks that include about 26,000 acres. They seem to be adding more to the system every year. There are lots of city parks scattered around. There are tons of multi-use trails- more than I think most people realize- including the popular Olentangy Trail. There are also connections to the Buckeye Trail, which goes across the state. The Hocking Hills are within the metro area, about an hour or so southeast of the city. Lots of concerts, fairs, events, etc. year round. The people, I think, are largely friendly and open-minded. There is a rapidly growing population from other parts of the world.


If you want to stick to retail, Columbus has a TON of retail jobs. If not, the economy is very strong and diverse. Unemployment is low and incomes are generally pretty decent. Some taxes are high, like property tax, but if you're renting, that's not going to be an issue anyway.

[bjimmy24]

Some taxes are high, like property tax, but if you're renting, that's not going to be an issue anyway.

included in the cost of rent.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by bjimmy24

included in the cost of rent.

Yes, but not an additional expense, or nearly as high as it would be, by actually owning property.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Yes, but not an additional expense, or nearly as high as it would be, by actually owning property.

Fair enough. But my main point is that renters should still consider property taxes. Especially if they live in high rental areas that are transient. Sometimes those people vote increases for property taxes which just end up increasing rent to a degree. Happens to me in my current location.

Columbus isn't that bad for property tax though. Can do worse.

[GusMon]

Thanks for the info so far.
I'm obviously aware that it is colder. Both my wife and I want to experience actual winter. We're both from warmer climates and don't typically see winter, or even regular seasonal changes.
Although we live in a small city in Texas now, she is from Hawaii and we've both lived there for a time, so we understand the difference between big city and small city life.
Currently we live in a one bedroom apartment where rent is about $660. It's one of the cheapest apartments in town though, most ranging between 800-1000+ for a one bedroom. Rent around $700 for Columbus would be nice to start with.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by GusMon

Thanks for the info so far.
I'm obviously aware that it is colder. Both my wife and I want to experience actual winter. We're both from warmer climates and don't typically see winter, or even regular seasonal changes.
Although we live in a small city in Texas now, she is from Hawaii and we've both lived there for a time, so we understand the difference between big city and small city life.
Currently we live in a one bedroom apartment where rent is about $660. It's one of the cheapest apartments in town though, most ranging between 800-1000+ for a one bedroom. Rent around $700 for Columbus would be nice to start with.

Keep in mind that that average rent price is not what you're going to find in the highly walkable areas. Most 1-bedrooms are probably going to be closer to $1,000 in those areas. My advice is to perhaps stay away from new builds and see if you can find an older place. You might get lucky in that older places tend to be cheaper, but they can still be in decent locations.

[Buckeye614]

Originally Posted by GusMon

My wife and I are planning to move from East Texas to Columbus in the summer, just to reset and start over somewhere new. We both pretty much just work retail, we have one car, no kids and two small dogs. Our current city is medium-small, no crosswalks, basically no public transportation, bad traffic (Which is always baffling because there seem to be more cars than people.) and the people aren't always the nicest. There is also very little opportunity for advancement in most of the jobs, with most places requiring people to already be trained coming in.
Any advise about a good location would be welcome. Some pedestrian friendly neighborhoods with rental houses or apartments that are walking or biking distance to some stores and potentially work would be great.
How is the bus system? Is there a decent taxi system?
Any other information about attractions, shopping, restaurants, traffic, anything? What/where are your favorite things/places? I'm looking to gather as much info as possible before summer.

Welcome Gusmon,

perhaps check out Old North Columbus, Merion Village or South of Hudson. Those are some areas that are walkable and pedestrian friendly but but perhaps more in the price range you are looking for then Short North, Grandview, Arena District etc.

The bus system will get you where you need to go. It's definitely not perfect or fast but it gets the job done. There's plenty of taxis and ridesharing apps. I regularly uber around at odd hours and it takes an average of six minutes for them to arrive.

Some things I enjoy in Columbus...

Parks: Whetstone Park of Roses, Schiller Park in German Village, Goodale in Victorian Village

Happy hours: my favorites, Forno bottomless mimosa brunch, The Avenue has 5 dollar glasses of wine and half off apps during happy hour

Shopping: Easton or Polaris are the places to go. They are pretty impressive modern malls and definitely offer a positive experience.

[smlshut]

Columbus has a variety of places to live, just depends on how much rent you want to pay. There is quite a bit to do here year around. I am a transportation service here in Columbus, but we also have Cota bus, Uber, Lyft, and a host of other transportation services with different ranges of fees.