Is Toledo REALLY that bad. (Cleveland, Cincinnati: live, dangerous, bus)

[Tobias C]

I dont think that Toledo is THAT bad at all. I agree that while the focus on downtown is amazing, there needs to be a strong emphasis on taking care of everything else in the city limits too. Whats going to happen is essentially a polar opposite flip of how its been forever. Downtown will be the safe, lively, good place to be, and the surrounding neighborhoods will be pretty good too because they will be gentrified, but as you travel outwards across the city it will become more and more rundown. This type of thing will happen and has happened to some extent in some places that have failed to focus on the whole city, as opposed to just the core.

I think that Toledos getting better and better while simultaneously getting worse. Its kind of weird how it works. I think we'll figure it out though. I got hope and love for the Glass City (SOLAR City)

[katnip kid]

Hello all
I was a visitor to NW Ohio during Christmas. What a beautiful area.I am always happy to return!!! I remember seeing several very attractive Victorian houses in some decay and thinking, "Wow, why not buy one, fix it up, what a place it could be!". So, maybe when I visit cities I think about what it would be like to live there. I decided to look into the cities nearest where I visited, just to see what folks say about them.

I keep reading about how there is an issue with employment and industry, lack of jobs and so forth.

Let's face it, the issue is our jobs have gone overseas, and they probably aren't coming back.
Isn't that at the heart of the problem?

[Johio83]

Yeah, that's the major problem with the area. There are some beautiful places that can be had at a steal, but anybody who has the money to do it already has their place. The brain drain basically prevents most "new money" from helping out the community, since most young professionals end up either looking for jobs wherever they ended up going to college, or they go elsewhere out of necessity due to the lack of jobs in Toledo. I know employment is down everywhere, but Toledo is really hurting. It really wouldn't take much to give Toledo a facelift, with so much potential just waiting for someone to take advantage of. But until we can get other forms of industry rolling (eg, if an alternative energy company takes off, further consolidation of automotive suppliers to Toledo, or any other employment boom to bring people into the city/keep people from leaving the city), Toledo will continue to stagnate.

[katnip kid]

It's all so sad. Ohio seems like such a nice place! When I travel, I look at the real estate, the jobs, the condition of the areas around where I happen to be located, to get a bigger picture of an area. Where many see drawbacks or negatives, I see such potential.
Ohio looks good to me!

[Traveler87]

Originally Posted by katnip kid

It's all so sad. Ohio seems like such a nice place! When I travel, I look at the real estate, the jobs, the condition of the areas around where I happen to be located, to get a bigger picture of an area. Where many see drawbacks or negatives, I see such potential.
Ohio looks good to me!

Ohio is in better shape than other places. Go to Michigan, Up State New York, Western PA, West Virginia, Kentucky, or the poverty stricken places of the south. Yes, Toledo is not in the best of shape, but go elsewhere in the state, and you can find these beautiful vicotrian houses in bustling neighborhoods.

It is not doom and gloom in Ohio.

[MaxThe Dog]

I chose to move to Toledo 35 yrs. ago to start a business and raise my family. My business required me to be in many homes and places of business so I got to know many people in the city and how they thought and lived. My children are now grown and have moved to other cities and I'm retired and have no reason to stay here other than I love Toledo and the people and friends I've come to know. It is home to me and it has always made me sad that Toledo gets such a "bad rap". I believe that people that complain so much haven't traveled much to other cities. I have done a lot of traveling and when I visit another city I investigate real estate, crime, schools, restaurants, entertainment, and cost of living. For the size of Toledo it ranks high on my list of a better place to live than other cities. The cost of living is so much less than most. People live good in Toledo for their income. We have a great zoo and art museum. Our city streets and highways are easily accessible and traffic flow is so much better than other cities. We have plenty of places to shop. We are close enough to many larger cities that are easily accessible by highways. We have Cedar Point close by and Canada. Even Niagara Falls and New York City is close enough to drive. There are tons of great vacation spots all around us within a four to eight hour trip driving instead of flying. If you want to fly and travel anywhere in the world, Detroit Metro Airport is less than an hour away. While we have cold weather and snow in the winter we don't need to concern ourselves with hurricanes, rarely be concerned with tornadoes and flooding. Our streets that require much travel are cleaned when we have snow or ice so we rarely have to be concerned about not being able to commute. I would like to see the education system in Toledo be better but before people judge that, they should check out other cities. Our education system in the entire U.S. needs to be changed. We are losing a lot of ground in education compared to many other countries. There are many things that the school systems in our country need to teach to prepare our youth for adulthood that isn't being taught, however parents must take responsibility as well. I believe our newspaper and news stations don't promote the good things about our city. We only hear the bad and it gives the people of Toledo an attitude that promotes low "self-esteem" about where they live.
Frances Johnson
Retired Executive Director, Home Interiors and Gifts, Inc.

[ram2]

Don't forget Put-In-Bay is only a short drive away. Great place to be in the summer.

[mossberg14]

i have family in the Toledo region and if you go 5 miles out of Toledo you're in a corn field. its not that bad at all. It's one of the more rural areas of Ohio. And it has many attractions. High school football is a way of life to people in the NW Ohio region. Great Hunting and Fishing area with the lake as well. Anyways with the exception of a few rundown streets Toledo, Ohio is a good size city with a midwest bigger town feel, with some of the most friendliest people in the midwest. Good times good people and great living. Tony Paco's and Big Boy need to come to NEBRASKA!!!

[lastonestanding]

Originally Posted by mossberg14

i have family in the Toledo region and if you go 5 miles out of Toledo you're in a corn field. its not that bad at all. It's one of the more rural areas of Ohio. And it has many attractions. High school football is a way of life to people in the NW Ohio region. Great Hunting and Fishing area with the lake as well. Anyways with the exception of a few rundown streets Toledo, Ohio is a good size city with a midwest bigger town feel, with some of the most friendliest people in the midwest. Good times good people and great living. Tony Paco's and Big Boy need to come to NEBRASKA!!!

You say Toledo is not that bad because its only 5 miles from corn fields and you're from Nebraska????? hmmm... I can say the same thing about Dayton, OH, Youngstown and Flint, MI..... Ohio is not Nebraska.....

[Rebek56]

I generally spend one weekend a month in Toledo. It has the best city parks I've ever seen and some of the loveliest neighborhoods. Any city that can keep well over a thousand acres of greenspace inside the city limits--and make it accessible by bus--is definitely not "that bad."