What do you most like about Columbus (Cleveland, Cincinnati: renting, insurance)

[tweezy]

Originally Posted by 2006Buckeye

I am not a Columbus native and have lived in several other big cities, most recently D.C. I love that Columbus has so many great neighborhoods to chose from within close proximity to the city. Clintonville, Grandview, Bexley, UA, Victorian Village, Italian Village and German Village are my favorites. Like nearly all other cities, Columbus has sprawl, but you don't have to live in an outlying area to get a great community feel, good schools, etc. I love the low cost of living!

I also love The Burgandy Room in the Short North. Wine and tapas bars have grown in popularity in the last few years, but Columbus seemed to be ahead of the trend, especially for the midwest. Columbus doesn't have the variety of D.C., but there are still many great dining choices. I don't go to chain restaurants like Applebees or Friday's, so it's great to have different options.

if you had the choice between columbus or the dc md area which would you choose and why

[2006Buckeye]

Originally Posted by tweezy

if you had the choice between columbus or the dc md area which would you choose and why

That's a tough question to answer! Obviously I chose Columbus, and it was for a variety of reasons. The reasons include: proximity to my family and DH's family (we split the distance), good job opportunities in our fields, low cost of living, and overall a better quality of life (from our perspective).

There are lots of jobs in the DC Metro area, but even the good ones didn't pay enough to allow for comfortable living for a young couple starting out. We made decent money, but spent so much of it on housing (renting). The market was still "hot" and we couldn't afford to buy anything but a one-bedroom condo. I got tired of sharing walls. I don't like to hear what my neighbors are doing, and I wanted a yard for our dog. We could have rented a small house, but that would have been even more expensive.

It seemed like we wouldn't get ahead, as we both wanted to attend graduate school, and didn't even qualify for federal loans. We didn't have enough cash left over after our bills to pay tuition for one in full (let alone two) and there was no way we were taking private loans. I got tired of the long commute (drive to park and ride, pay monthly fee to park then take the Metro). We gradually stopped using some of the city amenities we used to enjoy.

I am not saying you can't get by in DC, and I think there ARE more jobs. But for our situation, I wasn't willing to settle for making ends meet and having little extras. If we had been making $150k each and could live in Bethesda, I might still be there! Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

I am very happy in Columbus. We have a very comfortable lifestyle here and I don't feel like we had to sacrifice much. It seems like there is a neighborhood for everyone, regardless of income or preference for renting or purchasing a home. Clintonville is more progressive and eco-friendly than a lot of areas in Columbus, which is why we chose it. Although I appreciate some of the nicer suburbs and understand why people want to live there, I could not picture myself living in one, at least not at this point in my life.

If you don't have at least a bachelor's degree (and even if you do) you may initially have a tough time finding employment, or at least a job that pays well. It will obviously depend on your qualifications and your field.

I wouldn't go back to DC now, even if those $150k jobs did come up because I am very happy and content. I don't know that we will live in Columbus forever, but I don't picture moving back to a bigger city.

[xcountrymover]

The Columbus Metropolitan Library is one of the best in the United States. Oh, how much we miss it! We were spoiled by not buying the newest books, just putting them on reserve and waiting to be notified that they were in. A definite positive for the city.

[Dorian]

Originally Posted by jajosh07

i don't know why people are so down on the buckeyes... they all say "why don't we have a professional football or some other kind of team" but how can you beat the over 100 year tradition of Ohio State... could someone honestly tell me they would rather trade The Buckeyes for the browns or bengals? i think not... and I would venture to guess OSU brings more income to the city than either of those two teams

I wouldn't say that the buckeyes are a negative, but Columbus is a big city bigger than most would think and bigger than it feels so why can't they have pro teams and the osu teams? It's not like people will stop paying attention to the buckeyes. Other cities the same size or larger have good college sport programs and pro programs. That's what bothers me about OSU. But enough of that, I LOVED columbus when I visited. It seems like a fresh new and upcoming city with alot of positive about it. I like the wide open roads and how the city is set up on a grid with the roads, after the first few hours of being there I felt like I could never be lost in that city. Here in pittsburgh are roads were set up by how ever the cow walked to town,lol. The people were friendly and it seemed like there was plenty to do. Also in reasearch I learned that c'bus is one of the fastest growing major cities, has one of the best job markets in america, has a lot less racial issues than most cities in america, has a lot of great schools, and is rated one of the best cities for african americans in the U.S. which is rare for that state and the whole region.

[jajosh07]

one of the reasons the Columbus does not have pro football, baseball or basketball teams is because of the close proximity of Bengals and Reds (Cincinnati) Browns and Indians (Cleveland) and Steelers and Pirates (Pittsburgh). I think in the pro department Columbus has attempted to be innovative with the Crew (Soccer) and Bluejackets (Hockey).


One of the most positive things going for Columbus is the arrival of Skybus and the ability to get cheap flights to all the different US destinations. Interestingly enough in doing some online research I discovered that the European airline Skybus modeled itself after is in the process of starting a transatlantic ultra-low cost carrier and Port Columbus is in discussion of having the flights come here and connect with Skybus.

[Cherron]

What I like about Columbus is how easy it is to get around. I live in a small town halfway between Columbus and Cleveland and have visited both for hospitals, shopping, dining, museums, etc. But I quickly gave up on Cleveland as I just could not get the lay of the land in my head and was forever getting lost. Columbus is super easy to navigate though. It's like a city of cities actually, with many interesting neighborhoods. It's not a super large town, just a big town with a small town feel. It's growing in leaps and bounds though, so I just hope they plan well to keep the traffic flowing well.

[happyfeet888]

Best things about Columbus....
Ohio State- what a treasure! You can take a class in about anything and the university ads so much to the city.
Ohio State football
Variety of shopping and bookstores
Highbanks Park

[nebulous1]

Cost of living is good for a big city.
Lots of suburbs.
You can live outside the city and get to it so easily for all the things you love.

Oh yeah, and the Blue Jackets!

[jasonakers4]

I love the gay bars. Wall Street, Bodega, Union all amazing!

[stationplay]

Originally Posted by jasonakers4

I love the gay bars. Wall Street, Bodega, Union all amazing!

i don't think Bodega is gay, but one of the things that i like about columbus is that it is very gay friendly. So friendly that a visitor just might think that a certain straight bar might be gay! everyone is generaly welcomed everywhere!
i love that columbus....

is very diverse

is easy to get around in

you can have good conversation with just about ANYONE in the city ANYWHERE! people here don't have a problem sparking up convo. i love that!I have had some of the best converstations with people in the weirdest places on a daily basis!

has a large black middle and upper class. you usually don't see this outside of old guard black communities in atlanta,chicago or d.c. As a black kid I never grew up feeling like there was a thick "glass ceiling", and when i turn on the t.v. there are tons of black news anchors, a black mayor and several blacks in office.

it's just freaking comfortable. Sorry it's not california and there isn't tons and tons of sunlight, but also don't have to worry about the plastic men and women running around either.

THE Ohio State University. That's really all that you have to say. Sorry if we love our university. I mean.....why shouldn't we? What the hell?

German Village.

Short North

Berwick

Bexley

Reynoldsburg

Bryden Rd

Franklin Ave

Betty's food and sprits.

Bodega

Union Station

The Bannana Bean

i love my ciy. Sorry cleveland.