What DO you like about Toledo? (Columbus, Cleveland: houses, theater, schools)

[ferraris]

1.) Location. Within 5 hours or less of a drive to Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Buffalo. Perhaps only Detroit and maybe Cleveland could actually be considered close enough to be important to a resident; but from a business standpoint, the one-day business trip and quick shipping opportunities are important. Having an airport and a port also help the business prospects here. I'll admit that this is more of a potential positive, than an actual realized positive.

2.) Ease of getting around. Seems like 20 minutes can land you just about anywhere in the city or suburbs. Traffic jams are rare and a joke compared to other cities.

3.) Cheap housing. Not just talking about all the 20 or 30 thousand dollar houses, but even suburban homes are cheaper than their counterparts in other areas of the country.

4.) Metroparks

5.) The zoo, mudhens, art museum and valentine theater. Together these sort of things are worth noting, individually they aren't a huge attraction for me though.

Any thoughts or other things you like?

[jrm2811]

Originally Posted by ferrarisnowday

1.) Location. Within 5 hours or less of a drive to Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincy, Pittsburgh, Erie, and Buffalo. Perhaps only Detroit and maybe Cleveland could actually be considered close enough to be important to a resident; but from a business standpoint, the one-day business trip and quick shipping opportunities are important. Having an airport and a port also help the business prospects here. I'll admit that this is more of a potential positive, than an actual realized positive.

2.) Ease of getting around. Seems like 20 minutes can land you just about anywhere in the city or suburbs. Traffic jams are rare and a joke compared to other cities.

3.) Cheap housing. Not just talking about all the 20 or 30 thousand dollar houses, but even suburban homes are cheaper than their counterparts in other areas of the country.

4.) Metroparks

5.) The zoo, mudhens, art museum and valentine theater. Together these sort of things are worth noting, individually they aren't a huge attraction for me though.

Any thoughts or other things you like?

1)Yes the location is good for a midwest city. I love traveling to Chicago and Pittsburgh just for fun, Detroit not so much. Although when I am to one of these cities I am always saying "Why can't Toledo do this?"

2) No argument here. If you have ever been to rush hour traffic in Indy, Philly, Chicago, you know we are lucky. But in reality, we only have a metro area of about 600,000 and keep in mind the core of the city is rather dead. Not a great thing.

3) Yes it is cheap to live here. But so is Detroit. You get what you pay for. Toledo did miss the housing boom, along with most of the midwest. But we did not suffer a housing bust either.

4) The Metroparks are very nice. Most of them are outlying regions of the city or the suburbs.

5) Yes the zoo and museum are very nice. One of the best in the country. But how often do you really go there? Once a year? Once every two years?

[PreservationPioneer]

I like Toledo a lot. I think Toledo needs to work on making its core more vibrant and desirable to live. The historic architecture downtown is beautiful, and I wonder why more people don't seem to appreciate this.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by jrm2811

1)Yes the location is good for a midwest city. I love traveling to Chicago and Pittsburgh just for fun, Detroit not so much. Although when I am to one of these cities I am always saying "Why can't Toledo do this?"

I know what you mean. And most of the time I really don't know the answer. Toledo politicians pick the offbeat things to copy. I mean, weren't they discussing city wide free internet? That's nice, but nobody is going to move to toledo for free internet when there are no jobs or entertainment.

4) The Metroparks are very nice. Most of them are outlying regions of the city or the suburbs.

That's why the east of getting around is important to me.

5) Yes the zoo and museum are very nice. One of the best in the country. But how often do you really go there? Once a year? Once every two years?

Exactly. A city needs quite a few of these sorts of things for it to be a big draw to live there and not just visit. That's why I said taken together they're nice, but individually it's not that big of a deal.

Originally Posted by alleghenyangel

I like Toledo a lot. I think Toledo needs to work on making its core more vibrant and desirable to live. The historic architecture downtown is beautiful, and I wonder why more people don't seem to appreciate this.

I agree. I think changing people's minds on Toledo, especially downtown Toledo, is quite a daunting task though.

[cowsy99]

After being raised and living in Toledo for 35 years what I like best about Toledo is the fact that I no longer live there. While Toledo does have some awesome metro parks, and one of the finest zoos in the nation, the negatives are too numerous to consider raising a family within the city limits. The schools are poorly managed and are continuously threatening to cut more activities if levies do not pass, an overabundance of adult entertainment, and poor city management are a few that come to mind. Toledo has always seemed to me to have an identity crisis. I enjoyed growing up in the city, but I have chosen to move outside the city limits along with countless others, in order to raise my children in a safer and less hectic atmosphere.

[ferraris]

It sound like you live in a nearby suburb, is that correct?

When I made the thread I really meant for the whole Toledo region: Toledo and it's first ring or two of suburbs. So what is it about where you live that you like?

[AnytimeAnywhere]

Mexican restaurants.

[Frogs&Glass]

The weather.

Trust me, the weather here is mild compared to the weather else where.