Why I"m Leaving Ohio

[ohio_peasant]

Originally Posted by walker1962

BIG HOMER alert because NO ONE I know EVER says "let's go to Cleveland" for vacation! Create a new thread with a pole asking where which city would one chose for vacation or even thinks about more in terms of importance.

In all fairness to our Cleveland friends, it must be admitted that a city's appeal as tourist-destination is quite distinct from that of being a place to live. For example, Istanbul (Turkey) is a thrilling and illuminating place to visit, but would one wish to live there?

Indeed, for many people, a nondescript and generic city offers many advantages... lower costs, an environment conducive to raising children, plenty of open space and so forth. But for people with peculiar and exotic interests, only the biggest and most affluent cities would do. Those are the types who'd be better off in the Bostons, Los Angeleses and New York Cities.

As to the tax situation, I have to thank Mr. Kasich for his reforms. The top marginal income tax rate dropped from 7.5% to 5%, and the tax-rate on small-businesses in most cases has fallen to 0%. Ohio's biggest tax problems are (1) hodgepodge of local income taxes, and (2) disproportionately high property tax, relative to the value of the property. And towards the latter point, Ohio's biggest problem, for the "average" person, is that there just isn't a property-ladder. Housing prices remain stubbornly low, and so, residential owner-occupied real-estate just doesn't work as a storehouse of value, let alone a vehicle for building wealth.