Lots of boarded up houses driving around Columbus (Cleveland, Cincinnati: subdivisions, incomes)

[Guineas]

Here for a business trip and was driving around. I thought Columbus was up and coming? Didn't feel that way at all driving around the city. Lots of boarded up homes. The nice parts of Columbus proper aren't too big. Even the supposedly schmancy suburbs like New Albany where a friend lives wasn't anything special. Strip malls right next by and everywhere. Household incomes in New Albany is like over $165k, yet it seems significantly inferior to the affluent towns around Boston like Wellesley or cities in Orange County CA that have similar incomes. Sure, homes in Wellesley are a lot smaller than those New Albany, but the surroundings, stores and overall feel are just so much nicer compared to New Albany. Whereas the Columbus suburbs are surrounded by miles and miles of endless strip mall chain stores.

Also prices don't seem that cheap either. The taxes in Ohio are double that of Massachusetts (Taxachusetts) too! New Albany has 2% wage tax plus 2.5% property tax. Where the hell is the money going?

Not impressed.

[Rosebush1]

I’m not sure where you were driving in New Albany, the areas within the municipal boundaries are well zoned and lovely. Please post specifics on where you were driving. You friend probably doesn’t really live in New Albany.
Broad license is taken here with locations, sections of Columbus are often lumped in with the suburban community. Areas may have a New Albany, Dublin or another suburban mailing address but they are really in Columbus. Columbus has lax zoning regs and lots of strip centers, urban sprawl.
If you are looking at a house check the Franklin County auditor web site for specifics on where the home is actually located.

Where did you see lots of boarded up houses?

[Guineas]

Livingston Ave around the children's hospital. Boarded up houses stretching for blocks and blocks.

Pretty sure I was in New Albany. His house was definitely passed the sign that said New Albany. Anyhow it just felt like an isolated community surrounded by strip malls. Didn't feel like a cohesive area of wealth like you see in many metro areas (like North Shore around Chicago or the Mainline suburbs around Philly or the western Boston towns). Maybe the strip malls I was seeing were in Columbus, either way didn't change the feeling it was surrounded by some very generic strip malls.

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Livingston Ave around the children's hospital. Boarded up houses stretching for blocks and blocks.

Pretty sure I was in New Albany. His house was definitely passed the sign that said New Albany. Anyhow it just felt like an isolated community surrounded by strip malls. Didn't feel like a cohesive area of wealth like you see in many metro areas (like North Shore around Chicago or the Mainline suburbs around Philly or the western Boston towns). Maybe the strip malls I was seeing were in Columbus, either way didn't change the feeling it was surrounded by some very generic strip malls.

Columbus is a great small city. The deceiving thing is that it truly is a small city, don't be deceived by the population of the city proper or the metro area. Urban Columbus has a lot of great stuff and is pretty fun and energetic. Unfortunately, it's a relatively small area. You are correct that the areas around Columbus, in many many cases, are pretty generic and suburban.

I'd encourage you to spend more time in the central areas of the city next time. The area you were in in the city was kinda a crappy area. If that's all you saw, I can understand being unimpressed.

As for taxes, from my experience living in both Mass and OH, tax burden is just about the same. IMO the Taxachusetts meme is old and not really that accurate (though Mass is certainly not a "low tax" state by any means).

[Rosebush1]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Livingston Ave around the children's hospital. Boarded up houses stretching for blocks and blocks.

Pretty sure I was in New Albany. His house was definitely passed the sign that said New Albany. Anyhow it just felt like an isolated community surrounded by strip malls. Didn't feel like a cohesive area of wealth like you see in many metro areas (like North Shore around Chicago or the Mainline suburbs around Philly or the western Boston towns). Maybe the strip malls I was seeing were in Columbus, either way didn't change the feeling it was surrounded by some very generic strip malls.

There is some redevelopment going on around Children’s Hospital. Not sure if that is what you saw.
We’ve owned several homes in New Albany so your post surprised me.
Columbus is a young city and developed differently than Boston. Columbus grew because it extended water lines out beyond existing suburbs. Municipal boundaries are not as well defined so you can quickly drive in and out of a suburb pretty quickly. But when you are really in NA you definitely know you are there.
We are not native to Central Ohio so I’m not a total homer.
If you return take another look, especially at New Albany.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Here for a business trip and was driving around... ...The nice parts of Columbus proper aren't too big. Even the supposedly schmancy suburbs like New Albany where a friend lives wasn't anything special. Strip malls right next by and everywhere. Household incomes in New Albany is like over $165k...

Ironically, I'm a Cincinnati resident posting here on the Columbus forum with information gleaned from a Cleveland source. However, FWIW...

Ohio's richest, poorest, most educated cities - new estimates released by Census Bureau | cleveland.com

Quoting from the linked article:

Posted December 07, 2017 at 12:01 AM | Updated December 12, 2017 at 12:37 PM
Associated Press

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Columbus suburb of New Albany is now the richest city in Ohio for median family income...

Ohio’s richest city, based on median family income, is the Columbus suburb of New Albany at $214,850. Previous No. 1 Indian Hill just outside Cincinnati is second at $211,795.

[Guineas]

Yeah even less impressed if income in NA is $215k/yr. The houses in NA are big and mansion-like, it just seemed very isolated and barren in a few large lot subdivisions (like someone just helicoptered it down). Rocky Point strip mall was I think just a couple miles away and the nearest place with any activity from my friend's house. And it was nothing special, literally like a strip mall you'd find in say Peoria Illinois.

I think I just don't realize quite how dense Boston towns are even when they are affluent single family homes, this allows for more walkable towns with distinct streets and eateries. And it's more wooded so hides up some of the winter desolation better. Like in my Boston suburb full of single family homes, I can walk to my grocery store and it doesn't feel like I crossed a 4 lane highway into a parking lot.

I do want to add that I thought Short North was pretty nice. But the area around Nationwide looked like Detroit in parts.

[Cbus76]

Perhaps you should have spent time in older Columbus suburbs like Upper Arlington, Bexley or Grandview Heights that have old homes and are walkable to stores, restaurants, etc. As a former resident of the Main Line in Philadelphia, you could easily mistake the aforementioned suburbs for Wayne, Ardmore or Bryn Mawr.


Would you suggest the next time I'm in the Boston area I spend some time in Roxbury and Mattapan to get a sense of how the city is doing, and then check out some of the suburbs around 495 if I want to avoid strip-malls and chain restaurants?

[bjimmy24]

Originally Posted by Guineas

I do want to add that I thought Short North was pretty nice. But the area around Nationwide looked like Detroit in parts.

Ha!

[Rosebush1]

Originally Posted by Guineas

Yeah even less impressed if income in NA is $215k/yr. The houses in NA are big and mansion-like, it just seemed very isolated and barren in a few large lot subdivisions (like someone just helicoptered it down). Rocky Point strip mall was I think just a couple miles away and the nearest place with any activity from my friend's house. And it was nothing special, literally like a strip mall you'd find in say Peoria Illinois.

I think I just don't realize quite how dense Boston towns are even when they are affluent single family homes, this allows for more walkable towns with distinct streets and eateries. And it's more wooded so hides up some of the winter desolation better. Like in my Boston suburb full of single family homes, I can walk to my grocery store and it doesn't feel like I crossed a 4 lane highway into a parking lot.

I do want to add that I thought Short North was pretty nice. But the area around Nationwide looked like Detroit in parts.

I’m 99 per cent sure Rocky Point strip mall is in Gahanna, not NA. Once again I’m not sure you really saw NA.
In any event I don’t think I would degrade a new area to the extent you have.
I was born on the east coast and have moved state to state quite a few times. I’ve spent a lot of time in New England. I truly am not a homer.
In no way does Columbus compare to Boston. It is not trying to be the next Boston.
Columbus is a young city that has been economically stable for decades. It has experienced tremendous growth but does not have the concentrated generational wealth or industrial wealth of Boston.
Columbus is not for you.