SperlingViews - Columbus, Indiana

I have lived in Columbus for most of my life. If you're planning to live here you'd better be able to fork out the bucks to do so. It's a snooty, clique-ish little town that some people envision as a wealthy exclusive community. Architecture is supposed to be the highlight of the town. Whatever. The city leaders refuse to acknowledge that there are so many homeless people and people living in poverty here. There is also a major drug/crime problem, and we're bursting at the seams with illegals. The citizens of Columbus are taxed to death! The city government has mismanaged finances so horribly-spending money we don't have-and continues to spend limitlessly for frivolous and unnecessary ventures even though the community is outraged. The city government turns a deaf ear to it's citizens and continues with it's own self-serving ludicrous agenda. Unemployment is high. yet the City Government continues to add fees for services that have always been covered by property taxes. Someone dreamed up the slogan for Columbus "unexpected, unforgettable". It should be "unbelievable, unaffordable".[read more...]

Housing here is in my opinion affordable, meaning , one could get a small house for 60 to 120 thousand and property taxes are low, it does get cold in the winter and warm in the summer so utilities are to be considered, Columbus is a small town, but has a lot of activities and a lot of churches to go to, and resturants too, friendly people. It is also planning a 7 million dollar senior center next year for all of its older population.[read more...]

hi, my husband and i are planning to move to this city and we have some questions that maybe, somebody can answer...we have two toddlers and we are looking for a family-friendly place, good public transportation, culture, entertainment. what are people in general like? is it possible to make friends? could young children attend clubs or cultural associations, soccer, martial arts, etc? is it a very close community hard to be part of? what about crime? thanks[read more...]

I've lived in Columbus for a while now (one from June 1994 to July 1999, then April 2001 to June 2005). Between my time there, I pretty much grew up in Indy. I'm originally from Sacramento, California and miss it very much. There are TWO Wal-Mart Supercenters, a Sam's Club, a Hilton in the works, two Starbucks, and countless new restaurants poppin' up. Sounds nice right?? Well, when you look at the pit of Columbus, there is alot of squaller and poverty. Manufacturing jobs have came and left since Republicans took over Indiana. Another story......now my summation of Indiana, and Indianapolis........ I grew up in Indianapolis 10 years of my life and I'm 23. I'm originally from Sacramento, California, a city about half the size. Now when it comes to crime, Indy has its fair share, and compared to all the major cities......Indy is up there with them. As for Sacramento, the only problem there is traffic and sprawl. Just imagine a population of metro Atlanta coming in California yearly and you'll see why people dread coming to California. Indianapolis and Indiana in general has surprisingly low traffic. With Indy being the major hub of the cities east of the Mississippi, sure there's jams and congestion, but in margins, it's very low. It should have a decent Transit System AT BEST (like run a light rail from Indianapolis to Columbus, then a route to Kokomo, Anderson and Muncie......and maybe one from Lafayette). The problem........POLITICS. Politicians in Indiana are still stuck on the easy way to make a buck and spend gobs of it and bitch about it later in a fiscal year. As big as Indy is, it is still somewhat behind. But to sum it up, when it comes to standards of living by dollars and cents (or sense to be technical), Indy is the shit. Sacramento is equally good as well. Another city to look into. The ONLY THING expensive in Sac is real estate (come on, it's California.....what do you expect???) If you wanna get away from big city hassles, come to a suburb about 45 miles from Indy called Columbus, nice town with much to offer, but be educated when entering.[read more...]

I'm originally from Rushville, IN. and now live in Prescott, AZ. I'm a Registered Nurse and am considering moving back to Indiana part-time. How is healthcare in the Columbus area? Are you happy with you local hospital?[read more...]

Columbus is a great town to raise a family. The lack of a mega-mall is not an obstacle to good living in my humble opinion. Although, if shopping is your thing, there is a JC Penney at the same mall another poster referred to, a Target and a Premium Outlets (just like in Gilroy) on the outskirts of town. In addition to better per student funding, lower student to teacher, student to librarian and student to counselor ratios, Columbus offers one of the most progressive, caring and aesthetically beautiful hospitals as well as a hospice system that should be the model for every state in America. They do drive fast...being a native Californian I thought I was ready for it, but I'm moving over to the slow lane! They also let you in when you need to merge, wave or say hi even if they don't know you, have a polished downtown and are a quick 45 minute drive to Indianapolis.[read more...]

Columbus was rated as the 6th most architecturally significant city in the US. It was also rated as 1 of the top 10 cities in America. I'm not sure of the criteria they used to come to that rating, but I do know that there is a low crime rate, good schools & hospitals, a low cost of living, and 'folksy' type people. It is an hour from Indianapolis, 1.25 hours from Louisville, and 1.25 hours from Cincinnati. I have lived in Indiana for about 10 years now. 2 in the southern part of the state, 2 in the northern part, and the rest here in the central part. I would have to say, in my opinion, this is the most attractive area of Indiana.[read more...]

As someone who grew up in a town with no form of public transportation, I find Columbus, Indiana to be quite on top of things with their ColumBUS bus transportation. It's cheap, only 25 cents to ride one way, and has routes that go all over town. Granted it's not the quickest way to get somewhere, but it's better than walking.[read more...]

There alot of drugs in and around Columbus. Meth especially. Coke, pot, etc.[read more...]

I lived in Columbus for a verrrrrrrrrry long year in 1993. It is such a small town that its easy to navigate. Its hard to become a member of the community because everyone is so tight, even at the churches. Cummins is the big company in town and other than that you have to drive to Indianapolis to get any work that pays more than min. wage. Its a pretty slow life, very laid back. It kind of reminds me of the old tv show Green Acres. I cant really say what the schools were like because mine were in day care back then. I do remember my daughter getting into trouble for correcting the teachers lack of proper english (we dont say aint or y'all). The weather was okay and the houses were priced okay. As far as gangs go, I never saw any in Columbus, but you will find them in parts of Indianapolis. The worst thing you are going to find in Columbus is some good ol' boy red necks. Oh yeah, and the local mall is so small it has a K-mart in it as the main store![read more...]

I have lived here 4 1/2 yrs., and I have never seen, or heard of any gangs. Believe me, Columbus is small enough where you would notice gang activity.[read more...]

i have heard that columbus Indiana may have a gang problem?[read more...]

Columbus is a great town to raise your kids. Low crime rate, great school system! Plenty of activities for kids and adults. Has the small town charm. But like everything else, it's not perfect. People here can be quite rude. Especially if you don't work for Cummins, or you're not in the right tax bracket. It caters to the rich. The people here drive like maniacs. For a small town they drive like they're in 'Frisco, or L.A. For big city activities you're in "the Triangle", Indy is 45 mins. away, while Cincinnati is about 1 1/2 hrs., and Louisville is an hour. Future job growth is great. Overall a decent place to live.[read more...]