MSS, what a nice report that your daughter is happy here in Tampa. It is a good city, lots to do, nice mix of folks, and there are plenty here from Ohio. And...no snow. My son, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to spend his winters in snow and is looking into colleges in the NE, though he's a few years away from that jump. So go figure, MSS. Guess we're all looking for something other than what we have. Maybe your future holds a spot somewhere in Tampa.

I'm with jor and I don't have any relatives living there (obnoxious or otherwise).

I spent 4 1/2 years in Dayton, 60 miles west of Columbus, and hated almost every minute of it. A few weeks in spring are tolerable as are a few weeks in autumn. The rest of the year is miserable from a climate standpoint. It is hot and muggy in the summertime and the winter has a wet cold that pierces to the bone. The worst aspect for me was the sun goes away in mid-October and you rarely see it again until late spring. Coming from the west coast and then the rocky mountians of Colorado, it was not a pleasing change.

On the other hand, as others have noted, the people are generally very nice and it is centrally located so you can get away from time to time.

RBC and Betsey-Nothing to do besides golf and boring??? Obviously, you two made up your minds you were going to hate being in Ohio before you moved here and your cappy attitudes kept you from enjoying Ohio.

That said; Columbus has one of THE finest metro park systems in the country. The metro parks are fabulous! AND, the Hocking Hills are only an hour away. Lake Erie is a little over 2 hours. You are in a great location to DRIVE anywhere you please for the weekend. The airport has some great fares and is very nice.

Columbus also has the 2nd best library system in the country, nice art museum, ballet, opera, broadway plays, 2 arenas with name acts, NHL hockey, Ohio State University, Capital University, Otterbein College, Ohio Dominican College and Franklin University; nice zoo, COSI, German Village, Easton Town Center, Polaris Fashion Place, Arena District for restaurants and night life, Short North with it's gallery hop and restaurants, Italian Village, Old Worthington. Nice convention center downtown Columbus, Murifield Golf Tournament, Grand Prix Show Jumping at Les Wexner's New Albany Estate, Wendy's Women's LPGA Tournament, men's regional NCAA basketball. If you are bored here you have a problem IMO. Plus, there are a ton of restaurants and movie theaters.

As for snow, it usually bypasses Columbus, we tend to get more rain than snow in the winter. Best school districts: Worthington, Upper Arlington, Dublin and Olentangy. Any other questions, feel free to ask.

And to those naysayers bashing my town, if you want to come visit, I will gladly show you around. ;-)

Any university town can't be all bad. I grew up in Indiana, and Ohio only seemed more interesting by comparison. I live in Philadelphia now and thought this article might be of interest to you. The rest can be found on phillynews.com:

Faye Flam
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Carlo Croce, widely considered the brightest scientific star at Thomas Jefferson University, is leaving and taking more than 30 people with him, a major loss for one of Philadelphia's premier medical research centers. In October, Croce, 59, will become director of the human cancer genetics program at Ohio State University in Columbus.Croce said he was going partly because Ohio State offered him more money and laboratory space . . .

Published on July 16, 2004, Page A01, Philadelphia Inquirer, The (PA)

Thanks for the article. OSU has the Arthur James Cancer Hospital, one of the best in the US now. No shortage of dentists either. There are tons of them graduating from OSU who decide to stay here in Columbus.

In addition to the fine Columbus medical facilities, Cleveland has the WORLD-renowned Cleveland Clinic hospital, where KINGS, heads of state and celebrities receive care and treatment.

I remember driving through Columbus on a cross country honeymoon drive years ago, and thinking how pretty and charming it was...beautiful homes, leafy streets...

I even thought it was a place I wouldn't mind living...

buckeyemom: I wasn't bashing your town, truly I wasn't. If they could relocated Columbus or Cincinatti or even Dayton to somewhere with a half way decent climate, I think it would be a nice place to live.

My problem is that there are dozens of cities with amenities at least equal to Columbus, many of which have much better climates. The original poster asked for our opinions about Ohio and I expressed mine. I did not intend it to be a bash-only information that reflected how I felt about the 4 1/2 years I suffered the Ohio climate.

I resent that people say that I am bashing Columbus. My major complaint in the postings was the WEATHER. Can any of you buckeyes dispute that the weather could be better in CMH? Also, you are giving advice to someone who is considering relocating there without ever visiting it. CM (the original poster) should visit Columbus and make up her own mind. Everyone has their dislikes and likes, mine are to be near the ocean, mountains and culture. Columbus has none of these.

RBC-I did not come out and mention you as bashing Columbus. I took you to task on your comments about nothing to do outdoors other than golf. I am sorry you had such a miserable time in Columbus, maybe your attitude had something to do with it.

As far as the WEATHER goes, it is no worse than any other city in the northern USA. We don't get huge snowfalls nor do we get below zero days alot. Sure it rains and sometimes it's dreary, but name me a place in the US that has perfect weather all the time. The past 2 weekends have been beautiful, low humidity, temps in the 70's and blue skies. Fall is the best time here. I'll take our weather over floods, fog, earthquakes, hurricanes any day...

RBC -- Why are you so defensive? Your opinions have been very clear and others have disagreed. Move on.

I did move on and out of CMH. As shown by the above postings, the Buckeyes still there are defensive of living there.

I would second the opinion that the winters are VERY dreary. There are events and things to do through OSU. I don't have children, but it seems like a good family town. If you want a lot of culture, probably not for you.