My Ohio 'Dear Jane' Letter...... (Columbus, Cleveland: sale, health insurance, movers)

[blackandgold978]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I just cannot get over the "tattoo hate". Are you kidding me?

The OP was mostly referring to Barber-tucky. You are refering to Youngstown. No offense to either of those areas... but come on. Youngstown? Barberton?
Walk around downtown Cleveland, Cincy, Columbus, Toledo. Count the tattos you see. Walk around the suburban areas of any of those areas. Count the tattoos.
Ridiculous....

I try to never call people names on internet forums. Let me just say there are some real morons on these forums and leave it at that....

And just where did I say anything in my original post about Barberton? Don't put words in my mouth....

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by blackandgold978

And just where did I say anything in my original post about Barberton? Don't put words in my mouth....

My bad. I apologize. Must have been some other " I hate Ohio" thread.

[costello_musicman]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

Well, I'll side with the OP. If you want opportunity, and an upscale younger population, then PA and OH don't have either. I think the reason a lot of people still stand at the pulpit and preach that NE OH and NW PA are great places to raise a family, is because they never go anywhere and are just simply clueless about how decayed and deviate the prevalent "culture" has become, and just how tattered the moral fabric of the old, decayed, industrial towns has become.

I have lived "in another place," actually more than one, and I moved back to the Rust Belt. Compared to where I lived previously, it's much less educated and much more lower socioeconomic here. The people here look careworn and prematurely aged at best, appallingly so. The younger ones, as an earlier post detailed, are tattooed and unemployable, because the all of the factory work that tolerated the weirdazzes and the drunks and the people with a criminal record has gone offshore now.

I have lived in Cleveland, Canton, Mississippi, North Carolina, and even overseas for a year....all in the past 5 years. Cleveland is home and I like it here. Sure I travel a lot (London and Paris in 5 weeks), but this is my home base...and I'm happy being here.

[tribecavsbrowns]

Originally Posted by SorryIMovedBack

Well, I'll side with the OP. If you want opportunity, and an upscale younger population, then PA and OH don't have either. I think the reason a lot of people still stand at the pulpit and preach that NE OH and NW PA are great places to raise a family, is because they never go anywhere and are just simply clueless about how decayed and deviate the prevalent "culture" has become, and just how tattered the moral fabric of the old, decayed, industrial towns has become. Take Youngstown, for a great example. Today, your neighborhood might be "transitional." Well, which way do you want to bet it transitions? To financially secure middle class professional people, or to some more divided-up Section 8 and HUD housing? Huh? Which way are you going to bet?

I have lived "in another place," actually more than one, and I moved back to the Rust Belt. Compared to where I lived previously, it's much less educated and much more lower socioeconomic here. The people here look careworn and prematurely aged at best, appallingly so. The younger ones, as an earlier post detailed, are tattooed and unemployable, because the all of the factory work that tolerated the weirdazzes and the drunks and the people with a criminal record has gone offshore now.

True, healthcare has created jobs. But if you read the dress codes for LPN and RN schools, and also for hospital employment, they all say "no visible tattoos," or "if you have a tattoo, we have to see it before you can be accepted," or "any visible tattoos must be covered with a bandage." Now, there are many LPN schools admitting students. But they have a preadmission test that tests on math, science, and English. For a test of high school level abilities, there surely are lots of questions out of college-level A&P and microbiology. Now, if you want RN, the diploma programs require a host of college pre-reqs that include 2 semesters of A&P and one of microbiology, and all of that college work must usually be completed before you start the nursing part. There are associate degree nursing programs, but they have a PAX or HESI pre-admission test that requires you to have at least had a thorough college-prep high school track that included the life sciences like A&P that are needed specifically for health care fields. And the schools say "75% score required to be considered." But that is considered, and what you'll need to be accepted is more like 93% or up. You essentially wait 1 year from start of app to actually starting RN school, and there are at least 6-7 applicants for every seat this year.

OP, you are entitled to your opinion. If you want a better way of life than what you backyard offers, go for it. Too many people here hold onto home, and are just stubbornly insisting that the ship isn't sinking. The adage is "rats leave a sinking ship." Yes sir. Only the captain is morally obligated to go down with it. >;-) Best of luck and much success in your new location, wherever that may be. This region drives us forward-thinking people insane, because it just is not moving FORWARD! It's determined to stand still and wait to be rescued.

Why did you move back?

[phonelady61]

If you think Ohio is bad try florida . What a wasteland that is and now with the oil spill it will be an even further declining market there and will take many yrs to recover . at least we have a chance to recover I think the states of louisianna and mississippi , alabama and florida will take 20 -30 yrs to recover and we may never see in our lifetime a recovery of those states so my friends there are far worse places than ohio .

[no1brownsfan]

To all of the Ohio bashers... don't let the door hit ya in the ***** on the way out! Peace!

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by JR_C

I guess I'm most concerned that you appear to look down on your fellow man. I suggest you try walking in their shoes for awhile before you judge them so harshly. And, you seem to believe these conditions are just a local phenomenon.

Best line of the month. And that poster would probably pride herself on being tolerant.

[OhioIstheBest]

Originally Posted by blackandgold978

Dear Ohio,

As I sit here writing this, about to leave this state of my birth from which (I hope) I will never have to live in again, I am reflecting on what has changed about you for the past 10 years.

First of all, your economic health. I have watched you rapidly decline from an industrial powerhouse of rubber, steel, and automotive technology/supply into a floundering rustbucket of closed mills, long unemployment lines, and very unhappy (and increasingly rude) people.

Next, your spirit: I watched you bid "Adios" to one of your most beloved sports teams (The Browns) without hardly blinking an eye. The Cardiac Kids, The Dawg Pound.....all gone, and why? What have you shown in return? The team who replaced them took on their name and NOTHING else. They sure aren't the Browns......

I see your citizens living in apaththy and fear....fear of becoming another Michigan in terms of economic decline. I see my neighbors shuttering their homes, and the very copper wiring being stolen out of their frames for selling. I see more and more 'Section 8' apartments springing up. Yet, I see no indications of you getting off your deathbed to stop any of it.

You have flooded me with meaningless and useless laws which seemed designed to save me; such as the evils of strippers ...... but have done almost nothing to attract new small buisiness or retain our college educated youngsters- Funny, they all seem strangely turned off by your constant desire to tax everything. Imagine that......

Not everything about you has changed, of course. You still have very long, grey winters complete with lake-effect snow, and an obesity rate that makes me cringe. You seem trapped in a back-and-forth cycle of mediocrity and failure.

And so, Ohio, it's with a not-so heavy heart that I have this to say, honey- You are no longer the heart of it all. I am bound for the sunny south; where a well paying job, lower crime rate, much friendlier people, and far more agreeable weather awaits me. Goodbye, my Ohio......... And don't worry about the door hitting me on the rear as I go out; because we both know it was stolen and sold for scrap iron a year ago.

P.S. Your dinner is in the oven. Enjoy.

LOLs. I left Ohio for the South 10 years ago. Came back this spring. In the middle of a recession with no job. Got the best paying job I ever had within 2 weeks. In a factory even. And it's growing. Expect to double the workforce in the next 10 years.

And yeah, no one put up a fight when the Browns left. LOLs. Nobody cared. Were you alive then?.......It's not refection on Ohio if the Browns have bad management. L.A. is the town that lost an NFL team without a peep.

1. I just read not long ago that Ohio Steel (another name now) is hiring 400 workers in Youngstown.
2. By my count Columbus is adding 15,000 new jobs in insurance and banking over the next several years.
3. Akron is doing well compared to similiar cities in other states.
4. Just drove through Cincinnati and saw a couple new skyscrapers downtown. The area between Cincinnati and Dayton is booming. And a lot of that is people new to Ohio.
5. Toledo is stagnant. But they hitched their economic health to Detroit and the UAW years ago. But even they are adding some new solar panel factories to the area.

This is just what I've noticed in the last 6 months from the newspaper and being here. I haven't even done any research. It's obvious Ohio is in pretty decent shape considering there is a recession on.

Have fun in the South. I noticed it was about 30-70 down there for Northerners. 30 percent loved it and would never leave. 70 percent couldn't wait to get back. I liked it well enough for about 5 or 6 years.

And if you think the job market is better down there. LOLs. You'll see.

And the taxes aren't any lower either. They just tax you in different areas so you don't notice it so much. Like food. And services. You'll still be paying plenty of them.

And they don't plow the roads either. 2-3 inches of snow (which isn't uncommon) and it is very difficult to get around. And practically everything shuts down. Have fun. LOLs.

[OhioIstheBest]

You might also want to live in a neighborhood that has a homeowners association. Most places in the South have no zoning laws.

You can get a nice house in a nice neighborhood and the guy next door can decide to turn his front yard into a used car dealership or used appliance store. I've seen it happen.

Better to put up with the commies at the HOA.

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by no1brownsfan

To all of the Ohio bashers... don't let the door hit ya in the ***** on the way out! Peace!

Well, who cares. People can go in and out of different states - there's 50 of them. Sometimes people want to go just because they need a change. I don't see why people take it so personally when someone says, "you know, I've had enough, I need a change." I read posts all the time about those who have left Ohio years or decades ago and now they're looking to come back. That's how life is. People come, people go, people are born, people die....and life goes on.