Favorite Ohio Major City (Cleveland, Cincinnati: 2014, living in, best place)

[216facts]

I voted for where I live - Cleveland, but I've spent a decent amount of time in Columbus, and Cinci. I think the contest narrows down to one of the 3 big Cs (sorry Canton.) If you're a fan of traditional, old cities, then I think you have to rule out Columbus since it doesn't have the sports, mass transit, old ethnic neighborhoods, history of old money, etc.

The contest between Cinci and Cleveland is tough. I like both cities and there are things I really envy about Cinci. Love Mt Eden, Mt. Adams, riverfront, downtown, Over the Rhine, etc. So I admit my Cleveland bias here. Oh, and I really love visiting Columbus: short north, Franklin Park Conservatory, COSI, metroparks, downtown riverfront - its all good. We are lucky in Ohio to have 3 cities in the 2nd tier of American cities.

[woxyroxme]

I picked Dayton, back in my younger days it was a lot more fun than Cincinnati.

[Muffy1]

Cleveland is a good city. It is very diverse and the surrounding suburbs have quality homes that do not all look the same.

[streetcreed]

Columbus for being a modern day economic success story, it's great urban neighborhoods, it's modern spin on things- I.e.i love the wexner center for arts-, and how it has gone from being vanilla to having great diversity in the core around the central city- especially Asian, African, and Hispanic populations that have exploded there this century ( selfishly it's really for all the ethnic food and markets now in all the strip malls in areas like northland or bethel and Henderson rd)

[Mplsite]

The 3 Cs are really the only ones in the competition: the others aren't even major in Ohio. Cleveland and Columbus have some things going in their favor, but Cincinnati wins for being the most holistic in its comeback: it has added entire neighborhoods to its roster of destinations while Cleveland is still touting Ohio City and the Warehouse District like it did over a decade ago, same goes for Columbus and the Short North. On top of that, it means Cincinnati has more full-fledged urban neighborhoods to explore than the others. For visitors getting around these cities, Cleveland added a successful BRT line, Cincinnati is building the 1st rail line in Ohio in decades with its streetcar line and investing in bikeways including the 1st protected bike lane in Ohio, while Columbus..., well, the less said the better. So to summarize, Cincinnati offers the most neighborhoods and more ways to reach them without a car and has the best architecture without a doubt. Columbus and Cleveland are worth a visit (in that order), but their Achilles's heel is to few neighborhoods with enough destinations and not enough viable alternatives to driving to reach many destinations respectively.

[Shakeesha]

This one is tough because the three big C's are good for different reasons. Several have mentioned Cincinnati's stability and comeback, Columbus's modern economy, and Cleveland's history and cultural significance. If you could combine all of their strengths, you'd have one kick ass city.

Columbus Strengths: Liberal, modern amenities, shopping, good road network, young population, economic growth, diverse neighborhoods, come as you are/ non-pretentious mentality, Ohio State University.

Columbus Weaknesses: Mass transit (car oriented), needs some major infill in the core, no professional sports

Cleveland Strengths: Cultural hotbed, arts, sciences, medical facilities/ Cleveland Clinic, architecture, diversity, most character

Cleveland Weaknesses: Crime, urban decay, weak economic growth, poverty

Cincinnati Strengths: Blend of Midwestern, Southern, and touch of Appalachian culture (I see this as a strength, others would disagree), arts, scenery, neighborhood cohesiveness, sports/activities/parks/recreation, redevelopment and infrastructure investment, preservation, strong/stable economy/not out of control growth, universities.

Cincinnati Weaknesses: Racial tensions/no attempt to understand people that are different from you mindset still present, decaying infrastructure, outdated road network, amenities/shopping/restaurants/jobs are mostly centralized yet most of the customer base lives in the suburbs (car oriented), crime

Winner based off of first impressions: Columbus

Most potential: Cincinnati

My favorite: I like all three, but Columbus is my favorite.

[BuckeyePorcupine]

"Columbus - No Professional Sports"

Wut.

NHL - Blue Jackets
MLS - Crew

And Ohio State athletics are probably professional if you want to get right down to it...

[1watertiger]

Originally Posted by Mplsite

The 3 Cs are really the only ones in the competition: the others aren't even major in Ohio. Cleveland and Columbus have some things going in their favor, but Cincinnati wins for being the most holistic in its comeback: it has added entire neighborhoods to its roster of destinations while Cleveland is still touting Ohio City and the Warehouse District like it did over a decade ago, same goes for Columbus and the Short North. On top of that, it means Cincinnati has more full-fledged urban neighborhoods to explore than the others. For visitors getting around these cities, Cleveland added a successful BRT line, Cincinnati is building the 1st rail line in Ohio in decades with its streetcar line and investing in bikeways including the 1st protected bike lane in Ohio, while Columbus..., well, the less said the better. So to summarize, Cincinnati offers the most neighborhoods and more ways to reach them without a car and has the best architecture without a doubt. Columbus and Cleveland are worth a visit (in that order), but their Achilles's heel is to few neighborhoods with enough destinations and not enough viable alternatives to driving to reach many destinations respectively.

You are completely out of touch in regards to Cleveland and its growing neighborhoods. The flats , Edgwater, Gordon sq., playhouse sq, gateway to name a few . Cleveland has by far the most extensive mass transit ( buses, brt , light-rail ,heavy-rail rapids, free trollys) than any other city in Ohio.. Cleveland has the fastest growing and most populous downtown... And I like the fact cleveland has NFL, MLB and the NBA.. Cleveland also is located on Ohio's greatest asset, lake Erie!

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by Mplsite

The 3 Cs are really the only ones in the competition: the others aren't even major in Ohio. Cleveland and Columbus have some things going in their favor, but Cincinnati wins for being the most holistic in its comeback: it has added entire neighborhoods to its roster of destinations while Cleveland is still touting Ohio City and the Warehouse District like it did over a decade ago, same goes for Columbus and the Short North. On top of that, it means Cincinnati has more full-fledged urban neighborhoods to explore than the others. For visitors getting around these cities, Cleveland added a successful BRT line, Cincinnati is building the 1st rail line in Ohio in decades with its streetcar line and investing in bikeways including the 1st protected bike lane in Ohio, while Columbus..., well, the less said the better. So to summarize, Cincinnati offers the most neighborhoods and more ways to reach them without a car and has the best architecture without a doubt. Columbus and Cleveland are worth a visit (in that order), but their Achilles's heel is to few neighborhoods with enough destinations and not enough viable alternatives to driving to reach many destinations respectively.

God, we can only hope this for you.

[usaf_1832]

Cleveland has definitely killed it with national media love as of late:

1) New York Times names Cleveland a top place to visit in 2015 | cleveland.com

2) L.A. Times puts Cleveland on its list of top places to visit in 2015 | cleveland.com

3) Cleveland makes Fodor's must-see travel list for 2015 -- just days after Travel + Leisure includes city on its top-destinations list | cleveland.com

4) Cleveland makes Travel + Leisure's list of the best places to visit in 2015 | cleveland.com