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Columbus is a much improved place now than when I left there in 1976, but the negatives still outweigh the positives for me regarding whether to return there when I retire. If it weren't for family and some old friends, it wouldn't even be a consideration, higher taxes notwithstanding.
One huge factor is the winters in Ohio. I have lived in the South for 17 years now and I'd I'd have to be nuts to return to that miserable frigid, windy, snowy weather and the endless depressing overcast, counting down the days til spring. Oh and did I mention the icy, dirty slush and salt that eats away at the car, the shoveling, scraping windshields, dead batteries, and sliding all over the road? Snow might have been fun when I was growing up in Columbus but way more hassle than I care to deal with now.
Summers in the South can be hot and humid, but some of the hottest summers that I can remember were 100 degree days in the midwest, while Florida enjoyed 80-90 degree weather moderated by coastal breezes. I say bring on the heat and humidity! Much easier to cool off with A/C or jumping in the pool than trying to thaw freezing toes and fingers!
Last edited by Bizjetpilot; 12-29-2014 at 08:40 PM..
Reason: spelling
Columbus is a much improved place now than when I left there in 1976, but the negatives still outweigh the positives for me regarding whether to return there when I retire. If it weren't for family and some old friends, it wouldn't even be a consideration, higher taxes notwithstanding.
One huge factor is the winters in Ohio. I have lived in the South for 17 years now and I'd I'd have to be nuts to return to that miserable frigid, windy, snowy weather and the endless depressing overcast, counting down the days til spring. Oh and did I mention the icy, dirty slush and salt that eats away at the car, the shoveling, scraping windshields, dead batteries, and sliding all over the road? Snow might have been fun when I was growing up in Columbus but way more hassle than I care to deal with now.
Summers in the South can be hot and humid, but some of the hottest summers that I can remember were 100 degree days in the midwest, while Florida enjoyed 80-90 degree weather moderated by coastal breezes. I say bring on the heat and humidity! Much easier to cool off with A/C or jumping in the pool than trying to thaw freezing toes and fingers!
I don't know why people have to dramatize winter like it's some new circle of Hell. It doesn't have to be miserable at all. A lot of people choose to hole up in their homes when they should be doing the opposite. Staying active, getting outdoors (there are tons of outdoor winter activities), etc. is important. Winters go by pretty fast that way. And regards to driving in the snow, at least no place in Ohio completely shuts down like some kind of apocalypse like cities in the South do with an inch of snow. The roads are cleared fairly quickly and you can still get where you need to go. And why would anyone need to shovel when there are machines to do it for you... or you can pay some kid to do it? This isn't rocket science.
Florida has absolutely awful weather April-November. I know because I've lived there. Just miserably hot and humid. In Ohio, that kind of heat is an extreme exception. Yes, it can get hot like that, but only for a few days at best before a front moves through. In Florida, it's constant for months. And then you deal with the swarms of bugs (mosquitos, ants, etc.) that invade your home. There is a reason why so many Florida houses have screened backyards with pools. You couldn't be outside otherwise. And you kind of support that point by the fact that you need to be inside or in the pool to enjoy that heat. So you don't really enjoy it or you'd be out in it. That's no different than people going into their heated homes in winter. And as far as freezing fingers and toes, that's why they invented gloves and thermal socks... but let's be honest... Ohio isn't Alaska.
Property taxes in Ohio are really higher than most states. It is ridiculous considering that we do not get much for what we pay. There is also municipal income tax, sales tax, and state tax. Little Columbus should not have such high taxes.
I do agree with the poster that said that Columbus is not a hot bed of tech talent. Cities like Silicon Valley and Austin have completely different priorities from Columbus. All we seem to care about is the Buckeye football team and muscles not brains. I don't believe that degrees correlates to fostering tech giants such as Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. I don't think those guys obsess about football every second of the day.
I wish that Columbus would be a major player in the tech sector and have lower taxes. It would help all of us.
Columbus has a higher % of tech jobs than Austin. And the city/region is landing more of this recently, like IBM and Klarna, just to name a few. And Columbus ranks highly for those with at least a bachelor's degree. It's a very educated city. I'm not sure what you're talking about, to be honest.
And what do you mean you don't get much out of it? Quality of life is very high in Columbus. Diverse economy, low unemployment, consistently falling crime rates, excellent roads, great higher education, health care, police and fire response, a rapidly growing park/trail system, etc. The only real negative I can think of is Columbus' public schools not being very good, but that's true of pretty much every major city regardless of taxes, and has more to do with a disinvested population living within the district. That might change over time with more and more people moving back into the city.
In any case, the point still stands that people only focus on taxes when it's been shown over and over again that cities in Ohio have some of the lowest cost-of-living in the nation. People should be absolutely thrilled to live in Ohio, but all they can do is complain about their property tax bill.
I don't know why people have to dramatize winter like it's some new circle of Hell. It doesn't have to be miserable at all. A lot of people choose to hole up in their homes when they should be doing the opposite. Staying active, getting outdoors (there are tons of outdoor winter activities), etc. is important. Winters go by pretty fast that way. And regards to driving in the snow, at least no place in Ohio completely shuts down like some kind of apocalypse like cities in the South do with an inch of snow. The roads are cleared fairly quickly and you can still get where you need to go. And why would anyone need to shovel when there are machines to do it for you... or you can pay some kid to do it? This isn't rocket science.
Florida has absolutely awful weather April-November. I know because I've lived there. Just miserably hot and humid. In Ohio, that kind of heat is an extreme exception. Yes, it can get hot like that, but only for a few days at best before a front moves through. In Florida, it's constant for months. And then you deal with the swarms of bugs (mosquitos, ants, etc.) that invade your home. There is a reason why so many Florida houses have screened backyards with pools. You couldn't be outside otherwise. And you kind of support that point by the fact that you need to be inside or in the pool to enjoy that heat. So you don't really enjoy it or you'd be out in it. That's no different than people going into their heated homes in winter. And as far as freezing fingers and toes, that's why they invented gloves and thermal socks... but let's be honest... Ohio isn't Alaska.
Outdoor activities? Sure, if you like piling on 50 pounds of clothes. I'll take shorts, a tee shirt and flip flops any day. As far as driving in snow down here, well, the schools may close for an inch, but the great thing is that it's usually gone the next day!
Property taxes in Ohio are really higher than most states. It is ridiculous considering that we do not get much for what we pay. There is also municipal income tax, sales tax, and state tax. Little Columbus should not have such high taxes.
I do agree with the poster that said that Columbus is not a hot bed of tech talent. Cities like Silicon Valley and Austin have completely different priorities from Columbus. All we seem to care about is the Buckeye football team and muscles not brains. I don't believe that degrees correlates to fostering tech giants such as Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. I don't think those guys obsess about football every second of the day.
I wish that Columbus would be a major player in the tech sector and have lower taxes. It would help all of us.
One could then associate the low vision and inability to innovate, renovate, and/or take risks in the build-up of a more diversified and prosperous society in Columbus and Ohio to its political leadership and political spectrum. Having re-elected its current governor for another spin is a testament of a population too much focused on Buckeye football instead of building the foundation for a new versatile and diversified urban landscape based on light rail transportation in conjunction with high speed rail.
For instance, St. Louis not only has excellent roads, but it also has a superb light rail and metrolink system. Columbus on the other has nothing, zero, nada; and one should notice that Columbus population is almost twice that of St. Louis. Columbus and Ohio political spectrum choose conventional anachronism and apathy in lieu of building a modern, diverse, versatile, and dynamic paradigm of public transportation and urban mobility.
Columbus has a higher % of tech jobs than Austin. And the city/region is landing more of this recently, like IBM and Klarna, just to name a few. And Columbus ranks highly for those with at least a bachelor's degree. It's a very educated city. I'm not sure what you're talking about, to be honest.
And what do you mean you don't get much out of it? Quality of life is very high in Columbus. Diverse economy, low unemployment, consistently falling crime rates, excellent roads, great higher education, health care, police and fire response, a rapidly growing park/trail system, etc. The only real negative I can think of is Columbus' public schools not being very good, but that's true of pretty much every major city regardless of taxes, and has more to do with a disinvested population living within the district. That might change over time with more and more people moving back into the city.
In any case, the point still stands that people only focus on taxes when it's been shown over and over again that cities in Ohio have some of the lowest cost-of-living in the nation. People should be absolutely thrilled to live in Ohio, but all they can do is complain about their property tax bill.
Tech jobs can be a very vague and relative term. A cable guy whose work for Time Warner consists of hooking up cable at your address so that one would have internet+tv+phone is a very low key tech job. There are some good signs in Columbus though, such is the case of IBM recent initiative; but it seems anemic at best.
One could then associate the low vision and inability to innovate, renovate, and/or take risks in the build-up of a more diversified and prosperous society in Columbus and Ohio to its political leadership and political spectrum. Having re-elected its current governor for another spin is a testament of a population too much focused on Buckeye football instead of building the foundation for a new versatile and diversified urban landscape based on light rail transportation in conjunction with high speed rail.
For instance, St. Louis not only has excellent roads, but it also has a superb light rail and metrolink system. Columbus on the other has nothing, zero, nada; and one should notice that Columbus population is almost twice that of St. Louis. Columbus and Ohio political spectrum choose conventional anachronism and apathy in lieu of building a modern, diverse, versatile, and dynamic paradigm of public transportation and urban mobility.
If there is any lack of ability to innovate or take risks, it may be because Ohio gets so little attention from VC funds. It's getting more lately, and every article I've read about it strongly suggests Ohio is a hugely untapped market and that when these funds are available, great things happen there just like anywhere else. But as I said, Columbus does have a strong tech scene, much better than most people seem to know about.
Ohio re-elected Kasich, not Columbus. Only 2 counties went for the Democratic candidate. Not even Cleveland counties went blue. Part of this is because of gerrymandering, which has made it much harder for Democrats to win non-presidential elections in the state. Another reason, and in this case perhaps even greater, is that Democrats put up an unknown, terrible candidate. Kasich was beatable, but Democrats dropped the ball. It has nothing to do with OSU, and that's a ridiculous claim.
Tech jobs can be a very vague and relative term. A cable guy whose work for Time Warner consists of hooking up cable at your address so that one would have internet+tv+phone is a very low key tech job. There are some good signs in Columbus though, such is the case of IBM recent initiative; but it seems anemic at best.
I have to disagree. There's been a lot of good news on new or expansion projects in the last few years related to tech jobs.
I just searched for a few minutes and came up with this list, and I'm missing a LOT of things.
For a city of the port of Columbus, this is not much really. It seems that the local press tries really hard to make a big deal of small scale initiatives. Core development is several orders of magnitude more important than sales force representatives + some local technical support + tier 1 call center + etc to go along with it.
For instance, Lansing, MI, have had a far more expressive, large, and significant investment from IBM than Columbus. And Lansing/East Lansing is about 8 times smaller population wise than Columbus.
I don't know why people have to dramatize winter like it's some new circle of Hell. It doesn't have to be miserable at all. A lot of people choose to hole up in their homes when they should be doing the opposite. Staying active, getting outdoors (there are tons of outdoor winter activities), etc. is important. Winters go by pretty fast that way. And regards to driving in the snow, at least no place in Ohio completely shuts down like some kind of apocalypse like cities in the South do with an inch of snow. The roads are cleared fairly quickly and you can still get where you need to go. And why would anyone need to shovel when there are machines to do it for you... or you can pay some kid to do it? This isn't rocket science.
Florida has absolutely awful weather April-November. I know because I've lived there. Just miserably hot and humid. In Ohio, that kind of heat is an extreme exception. Yes, it can get hot like that, but only for a few days at best before a front moves through. In Florida, it's constant for months. And then you deal with the swarms of bugs (mosquitos, ants, etc.) that invade your home. There is a reason why so many Florida houses have screened backyards with pools. You couldn't be outside otherwise. And you kind of support that point by the fact that you need to be inside or in the pool to enjoy that heat. So you don't really enjoy it or you'd be out in it. That's no different than people going into their heated homes in winter. And as far as freezing fingers and toes, that's why they invented gloves and thermal socks... but let's be honest... Ohio isn't Alaska.
jb, this is a subjective topic. Some people like it cold. Others like the warmth. If I was a gambler I'd say more like it warm than like it cold and therefore Columbus and other northern cities are less desirable than southern locales with respect to climate in the aggregate. As for buying a snowblower or paying the neighbor kid to shovel the driveway, does this factor in to the cost of living equation? What about autobody deterioration due to salt? There's a reason why California and Arizona antique cars are so sought after and a reason Ohio finds itself in the middle of the Rust Belt.
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