What's Ohio like
 

My husband might have a job offer in Columbus, OH. In all my trips, I seem to have missed Ohio. I've looked online for info. but am still interested to know what locals think. I've lived in VA, So. CA, NV, TX.

I grew up about 30 miles East of Columbus and just moved from there after 5 years in Westerville. I have also lived in Cleveland and Cincinnati. I really liked Columbus. They have some cool areas, Brewery District, German Village, Easton, and the Arena District. In the fall, Ohio State football is king. There is a great atmosphere all over the city and the campous tailgates start early (6:00 am). If you have kids, Westerville and Dublin have good school districts and house prices are reasonable. New Albany, Upper Arlington, and Worthington also have very good schools but are more expensive.

Good luck. If you go to visit, try going to Easton. It is a cool mall area with plenty of restaurants.

Trent: Ok - what part of Newark/Heath/ Hebron are you from?

I lived in Columbus for 3 years. My advice is to visit at least for a week before deciding. There are little to no outdoor activities besides golf. The weather is also very poor, dreary cold and rainy in the winter and hot and humid in the summer. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

A little story: Our next door Aussie-born neighbor and her Ohio native husband visited in the in-laws in Ohio a long time ago. The Aussie wife reported, upon her return to CA, that Ohio was the most b-o-r-i-n-g place on earth. She chose to announce this in front of my Ohio native husband who has never let her forget the moment. So there's one person's opinion.

It will be more like Virginia than the other places you have lived. You will get to enjoy four seasons. Fall will be wonderful with the changing leaf colors, apple picking, corn mazes, hayrides, and fresh air. You'll be in a great position to take driving trips to the Great Lakes, the Mid-South, Chicago, etc.

You'll only be bored if you decide to be.

Thanks for the ideas. I would enjoy the fall and seasons. When you say German Village, did German people settle first in that area? We have parts of Texas like that. Is there much hiking or camping or really just lots of golf? Thanks again!

There's hiking and camping within an hour or so from Columbus in the Hocking Hills and tha Appalachian mountains.

Columbus is a very educated city with probably the highest incomes in the state. Unlike Cleveland and Cinicinatti, it has always had a service economy. Government workers, university employees, the LImited Corp. world headquarters.

That said, it's a fairly "generic" place. It will likely feel fairly suburban, regardless of where you end up. While there are more urban, hip neighborhoods, most people live in more suburban communities.

It's a nice place.

There are little to no outdoor activities besides golf. (??)

There are plenty of outdoor activities.
What do you mean by the fact that there is only golf?

Although I actually hate winters now, some people like them. There is skiing, snowmobiling, baseball, football, soccer, gardening, wineries, festivals, theatres, fine arts, good restaurants plenty of hiking and camping, fresh water lakes galore. We can and do offer just as much as any other state. If you are active, there is always something to do. Fall is gorgeous and colorful. I personally love hot and humid, but then I have a pool to cool off in. Check out the website: www.hockinghills.com for a beautiful area. Although we are from the Cleveland area, we occasionally travel that direction. Good luck to you!

I personally think there is a lot to do, but am still looking forward to our planned retirement down south where there is NO MORE SNOW!

In terms of travel, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio is said to be the worlds greatest amusement park, according to Roller Coaster magazine. I think they have 16 or so coasters, plus the worlds highest and fastest. Its a great park, we loved it. Also has a very nice, clean beach located on the great Lake Erie. The Lake Erie Islands are delightful in the summer, which include Perry National Monument.

The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland and very cool. Next door is an ultra modern science center that looked very nice. The Cleveland Symphony is reportedly the best in the world.

There are five Presidents from Ohio, we visited Rutherford B.Hayes place in Freemont. Very nice home and museum.

Paramount's Kings Island is a great amusement park in Cincinnati, not as good as Cedar Point but worth a visit. Also there is the new Underground Railroad museum that we hope to visit next summer.

Columbus is about 2 hours from both Cincinnati and Cleveland. As far as arts, theatres, concerts, etc., if it isn't in Columbus, I'm sure you could find it in either of the other cities. They both have pro baseball and football teams (with big rivalries).

You are within easy travel time (6-8 hours approximate) of Great Smokey Mountain NP in Tenn., Mammoth Cave in Ky. (there are great state parks in Kentucky--like Red River Gorge--with hiking and camping), Chicago, Michigan (another popular vacation area) and Niagara Falls and Canada. You can easily go to the Kentucky Derby (Louisville) or Indianapolis 500 and there is a first class Tennis Tournament in the Cincinnati area in August. There's riverboat casino gambling in Indiana right next to Cincinnati.

Although I'm sure it isn't easy to relocate, you're lucky to have lived in so many different parts of the country. The midwest is definitely a different pace from the big city coast areas--but there is plenty to do.

I didn't mean to offend anyone from
Columbus or Ohio, everyone has their own interests and tastes. I would very strongly recommend visiting it before deciding. The skiing and snowmobiling mentioned is several hours drive away as are the beaches of Lake Erie. Since these are not within commute distance and are only weekend destinations, I wouldn't consider them part of Columbus. Columbus is surrounded by flat farmlands, with little cultural activities. Also, it depends what you are comparing your previous experiences to. I moved to Columbus from San Francisco which has many outdoor and cultural activities. In comparison to Texas or Virginia the contrast may not be that great. There is no question that the weather is poor. There are as many or more overcast days in Columbus as in Seattle.

RBC makes an interesting point, but given where you've lived, you will probably be quite content with Columbus. Anyone moving from San Francisco is going to be disappointed with Columbus, they are just different kinds of cities. And if you believe you can get to the mountains or the beach within an hour like one can in California, then yes, you are likely to be disappointed.

OTOH, Columbus is an inexpensive place to live, leaving you with more money to travel. Because Columbus is so centrally located, it is an easy weekend trip to drive and fly to many places.

Culturally, again, Columbus is not SFO, but very few places are. Compared, however, to cities like San Diego, Dallas, Houston, Richmond, or other cities near where you likely lived, you will probably be pleasantly surprised. A fine orchestra, good museums, a world-class Contemporary Arts center, some of the most interesting modern architecture in the U.S., a fine zoo, a ballet and opera company, touring shows, a huge theatre community, and the largest single-campus university in the country, which means huge cultural opportunities avialable to college students.

I did a whistle-stop tour of Columbus, Cincinnatti and Cleveland once in the dead of winter, flying into Columbus, driving south to Cincinnatti, then north back through Columbus and on into Cleveland. What struck me was how desolate each city was from other cities -- there was little in between, at least on the interstate. And though it was really cold out, I was very impressed with Cleveland and Cincinnatti, less so with Columbus. The part of Columbus that I was in was the University and though it was a nice university, there seemed to be a lot of sprawl.

I live in FL and a lot of people in Ohio jump on I-75 and end up on the west coast of Florida. I have to say that I really like people from Ohio, they seem genuine and nice, very normal sorts.

OK, that was my random and superficial report of what Ohio is like.

We had the good fortune to live in Columbus surburbs (east) in the late 70's. It was a great place to raise children. School system was excellent. We moved there from the east coast, and while it was very different it offered things that were new to us. Something we loved was the festivals or fairs so many towns had. We did the tomato in Reynoldsburg the pumpkin in Circleville/ the ice cream in Utica for example. Yes, football is king, and golf is big. The state run campgrounds/resorts were wonderful. The airprt is quite good and you can get "out" easily by air; interstate highways intersect the area. The people were warm, kind and civilized. My family loved our time in the heartland of America. I realize it was a long time ago but most of what we experienced is probably still the same. The pace of life was laid back and that was missed when we moved on...when we arrived in Ohio we had the reverse situation and had to adjust to a slower pace.

Did you see this? It tells about the German Village and explains alittle about the history--as per your question above.
:
http://columbus.citysearch.com/best/results/8427/

Anybody from Columbus want to comment more on the weather for her. There are probably more extremes than you are used to, but I never considered it to be an extremely rainy or overcast area--but I don't live there.

If you are interested in other cultures, there is Amish Country close by and Native American exhibits and outdoor dramas in the summer.

Here's another site
http://columbus.citysearch.com/profile/7865953/

Tandoori Girl,
I have to say that you definitely did not see any of Ohio by traveling via interstate, as it does not take you through any of the smaller cities and towns. I really do love the area MINUS cold and snow. As far as friendly, I have to say that I don't think our area can even compare to the hospitality of the south. Not a good thing when you don't even know most of your neighbors anymore, but I guess people are just too busy nowadays. My daughter just relocated to Tampa 4 weeks ago for a new job and commented many times as to how so many people have introduced themselves and have offered their help for whatever reason. She was very impressed.

By the way, I am one of those from Ohio that likes to head to Florida, but I do it by plane. My husband said he will never drive that far until it is to stay for good. One of these days...

Just pay someone to plow your driveway and shovel your paths. With money, everything in life can be made easier! It will be worth cutting back in some other areas to make your everyday life easier.

Following are the average number of sunny, partly cloudy and cloudy days in CMH and SEA. In my opinion, I would prefer Seattle, since it rarely snows or freezes and also does not get hot and muggy as CMH does. Columbus is cheap to buy a house and it is easy to travel away from it. Native Ohioans told me that they often meet fellow Ohioans when they travel since they like to get out of Ohio for better weather as well as more culture and excitement.

Sunny Partly Cloudy Cloudy
COLUMBUS,OH 72 103 190
SEATTLE 58 82 226

How much you like Ohio depends on how many obnoxious relatives you have still living there. Its a nice state otherwise. I will never go back.