Galloway (Columbus, Upper Arlington, Dublin: apartments, rent, insurance)

[lorib49]

My husband and I are considering a move to Ohio. He would be working at Doctor's Hospital West. We were looking to either rent or buy a condo in Galloway because it looks like it is fairly close to the hospital. Is Galloway a nice area? Is it it's own town or a part of Columbus? Any information would be appreciated.

[xcountrymover]

Galloway is a very tiny town that is right outside of west Columbus. I would suggest checking out Hilliard, which is just a bit north of Doctors West Hospital. There are a lot of nice condos and apartments available and the commute would be short. Best of luck to you!

[Gee]

Galloway is a nice area and is a village to itself(own zip code) although there is not a downtown Galloway, it is more of a rural geographical location. There is a nice neighborhood just behind Doctors West Hospital called Lincoln Village. Lincoln Village is a very tight knit community with many long time residents. The homes range in price from $100000 - 140000. One nice feature of the neighborhood's location is the extremely easy access to 1-270. You can get to most areas of Columbus in under 20 minutes. There is also a very nice Park, Battelle Darby park which is only a short 10-15 minute drive away. The residents of the area are down to earth friendly folks. Since the area is at the very edge of Franklin county there are also homes with acerage within 15-20 minutes of Doctor's West too. There are quite a few condo developments close to Doctor's West as well. Hilliard is also in close proximity with slightly higher housing prices and property taxes. Dublin would also be an area to consider with home prices approx. double the Lincoln Village area. Taxes are higher too. So... it really just depends on how close to Doctors West you would like to be and your price range.

[lorib49]

Thank you for your advice. I'll look into Lincoln Village and also some of the other areas that you mentioned.

[bgfalcons86]

I'd say house prices in Hilliard are more than slightly higher than those on the West Side, unless you're talking about starter homes. Even then, expect to pay more in Hilliard than you would on the West Side or in Grove City.

[where_to_move]

I would NOT live in Galloway
I would pick Hilliard...just as close just look for condos or houses off of Hilliard-Rome Rd.
The reason I wouldn't pick Galloway....
1. bad school systems
2. building too many starter homes...so market stays flat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3. Hilliard is right down the road and has a great school system
(even if u don't have kids...u need to think of that when selling a place!)

If your DH is going to be a resident at Doctors, it is common to live in Hilliard. Plus the residents that try to sell their home 3-5 yrs later, will do better in hilliard.

[streetcreed]

Galloway is hardly a horrible place.

Some would not live in galloway, but it might also fit others.

To readdress something that was brought up in the original question, "is galloway its own part of town?"
Nothing in columbus is really its own part of town, columbus surrounds nearly all of the suburbs. Columbus suburbs are often dense developments and suburbs. Everything has become grown together.

[LancasterNative]

I would add my dittos to what Gee said about Lincoln Village. If your hubby is working at Doctors' West, he could literally walk to work from there—a precious rarity in suburban Columbus!

Lincoln Village isn't an incorporated place, but more of a distinct enclave. It began in the late 1950s, carefully developed under the aegis of Nationwide Insurance as a prototype, planned "community of tomorrow." Well, that "tomorrow" is now many yesterdays old, but all in all the community has aged gracefully compared with other developments of that era. The aging homes may require a little more maintenance and TLC now, but taxes are low and as far as I'm aware, crime is too.

Abutting Lincoln Village to the west is a neighborhood/formerly independent town known as Rome. Its homes are a little older (WWI era to about 1950) and the upkeep is a little more spotty. It's also very close to Doctors', but unless you're really into older homes, you may opt for someplace else.

Hilliard, although close to Doctors' on a map, is an absolute abomination when it comes to traffic and getting around! I hated living there, honestly. Hilliard-Rome Rd. (your route from there to Doctors' West) is a total nightmare, with several dangerous intersections and a really bad freeway interchange along the way.

As to your original question, Galloway is just now being "discovered" by hungry developers. Up to now it's had a nice bucolic, rural character—but only time will tell how long that lasts. At least with the new growth come new amenities, but the jury's still out on how well this growth will be managed by local planners. Plus as others have stated, Galloway is served by SW City schools which are not the best.

[Gee]

The most recent ratings for the Southwestern City School District and the Hilliard School District have them ranked the same "Continuous Improvement". Next, look at the census and compare the poverty rate in both areas. The poverty rate is much higher in the Southwestern City S.D. when compared to Hilliard and the other suburban school districts. That doesn't mean it is the slums (which it isn't - instead mostly hard working middle class folks) - just that there is more affordable housing in those areas. I strongly believe that the school rating has more to do with the poverty rate than the actual effectivness of the school district. Other areas have- purposely or not- raised property taxes to a level so that only the wealthy can afford to live there. This gives rise to higher school rateings. Not to take away from their success, but just trying to keep it real. It would be an interesting study to see where a school teacher could afford to live based on just their teaching income. I bet it is not Upper Arlington or New Albany, and probably not Dublin either!

[streetcreed]

Thank you Gee
I have that little issue with many who declare an area with lesser incomes or different job titles, than the one they reside in, as a "slum" or "horrible."

Not everyone has the same income and job. Thus, an area such as Galloway is hardly a slum, as you said, it's an area with working class, hard working, people.