SperlingViews - Cincinnati, Ohio

I travel frequently and have lived in several cities across the U.S. San Francisco and Chicago were always my favorite cities, and I also love the beauty of the Northwest and New England. Eventually, my work brought me to Cincinnati. When I came here, my new boss told me, "You know, when people move to Cincinnati, they never leave." I had a lot of trouble believing that. At first blush, Cincinnati seemed parochial and conservative, and I fully appreciated Mark Twain's comment that if the end of the world came he would want to be here, because anything that happens in the outside world takes 20 years to reach Cincinnati. But I have to admit that of all the cities I have lived in, I found Cincinnati the friendliest, most affordable and tolerant of all the cities I have lived. Racism and other forms of intolerance exist virtually everywhere, but I found, in Cincinnati, people who work hard to live together. I like working at UC, a hub of liberal activism, and I enjoy living in one of the city's trendy yet affordable and diverse neighborhoods, where I can walk to the grocery, the drugstore, the library, and to any number of delightfully ethnic restaurants. I am close enough to the university that I can commute by bicycle when I want to, especially now that we have bike lanes. Cincinnati has also been very good for my social life. I found it much easier to be accepted into the social circles here in Cincinnati than I did in other cities, and have become much more active outside my home and work than I ever was before. So, at least for me, Cincinnati provides a much higher overall quality of life than any other city. It's been 12 years, now, longer than I lived in any other city. I guess my boss was right, all those years ago...I believe I will be staying after all.[read more...]

Born here raised here in Cinci, OH for 39yrs peoples attitude are poor. Doesn't feel like home anymore. It's truely about what class your in. [read more...]

People in Cincinnati essentially get their news from FOX News and form their opinions accordingly. If you not a Tea Party Republican then you will be forever out of place. [read more...]

I wanted to give Cincinnati a chance, but it appalled and shocked me how backwards it was. I was raised in a Midwestern suburban area with diverse(religion, ancestries, etc) and highly educated, business families. It wasn't perfect, but I really loved how friendly and open everyone was to each other. I thought Cincinnati would be an amazing and more tolerant city. It wasn't! My first month at UC, I ventured out with friends downtown and got the most classist and racist comments directed towards me. When I went to a coffee shop in Gaslight Clifton, I was asked if I had "mixed" ancestry as if they were going to accept me based on what answer I gave. Someone at UC told me that American equals white. A salon at Kenwood Mall was super racist and jealous of me because I had full/thick, shiny hair. I don't want to continue with the rest, it's sooo depressing; Cincinnati is too race-oriented/shallow to consider living for another year. I dress conservatively and I'm very friendly to people because I was raised in a Christian household. By the way, I'm an American of Chinese descent. I've read some of the comments and I absolutely agree with you all. I wanted to love Cincinnati, but it's horrible! (Ok, there are amazing things to do, like the art museums, the theaters and the downtown areas, but seriously, when people are that unfriendly downtown and in certain suburban shopping areas, I'm shocked.)I can only hang with people that are like me; tolerant, friendly and kind. It's really too bad. I really love my friends at UC though :)[read more...]

As I have read all the comments on moving from Cincinnati, I can't help but agree with everyone. This is the worse city to come too. I relocated here for work, but; with no jobs here now, there is absolutely no reason to stay, I absolutely hate Cincinnati! Everyone is out for themselves, not caring about anyone else, the views on everything from religion, to racist, to everything moral, is unseen or unheard of in this town. Heaven forbid, if you are out of work, or become disabled, because you certainly will not find help here! The Dept. of Family Services are no help, just do a research on the department, and you will find, they recently were ordered to give people the help they so desperately need! It is the middle of January, and people have filed claims for food and other services in October, and still have no help! They claim they are running behind 30 days, I think October to January is longer than 30 days! I know, because I was one of the less fortunate ones. I have been trying to get medical help for my diabetes and high blood pressure, and my kidneys failing, and when you call for an appointment at one of the "so called free clinics", they tell you they cannot get you in, for at least 7 months! The only thing you can do, is go to University of Cincinnati, to receive medical help, taking up precious time to the ones that do have medical emergencies, such as gun shot wounds, which Cincinnati sure has plenty of crime! I am done with this city, and can't wait to move from here as quickly as I possibly can. Good luck to anyone moving here, or one's already trapped in this forsaken city! You will certainly need it! [read more...]

Job market is weak. Moved here April 2011 and have had a rough time finding decent work. Typical compensation is $10 to $13 per hour and employers here make you earn every penny. P&G seems to be hiring mostly Indians. Ford & GE not hiring. [read more...]

Winter in Cincinnati can be difficult to commute. We typically have several winter storms that wreak havoc with our roadways.[read more...]

As everyone would agree, Cincinnati is a good place to live if you are caucasian, heterosexual, married, and have or want to have children. Newcomers are not embraced and diversity is not well tolerated. It's very Christian and conservative, it is possible to find a niche if you have other views or beliefs, but it takes work. [read more...]

After I had lived here in Cincinnasti / Cincinnoisy / Cincinntrashti for just a few months, I realized I had made a big mistake moving here. That was two and one half years ago, so I have tried to give this poor town a chance. This is the most uncivilized, disfunctional town I have ever lived in - this after having lived in many places in the USA plus two third-world countries. And yes, I am willing to put my money where my mouth is; the house is on the market with an expectated 40K loss, but it's worth it just to get out of this place. Cincy started to become a haven for riffraff back in the mid 60s when the decision was made to put up section-8 housing everywhere. The result is that now there are no good or bad neighborhoods as the entire city is one big ghetto. Sure the mayor and his cronies are cleaning up the immediate downtown area, but by moving all the riffraff into what used to be good neighborhoods. Even on the edges of downtown, there are numerous abondoned buildings just taking up space, creating an eye-sore, and affording street hangouts for all the bums. These are usually the nearly-safe bums - not the ones who shoot each other on almost a nightly basis. Every night local news will carry stories averaging 2 murders per night plus the ever-so important car crash stories. And because Cincy is such a haven for riffraff, a third of the cars running around on her pothole-infested streets belong in a junkyard. Because a few years back the state of Ohio decided to cancel their vehicle emmisions-check program, you can now hear and smell junkers with absolutely no mufflers, cars with ghetto-gangbanging-monkey-jive played at 200 decibles, and cars with echo cans to create even more noise then those with busted exhaust systems. There are not enough cops here to be bothered this sort of thing. They're usually too busy doing murder reports. There is so much trash tossed out of car windows and dropped on sidewalks that I have a daily trash pick-up routine. There is usually plenty of air movement to help even the most humid days, but this same wind also carries Cincy's trash into everyones yards. You get absolutely nothing in return for the high property taxes that you have to pay here. So if you're a bum, come to Cincy; you will be well taken care of, but if you're a civilized human being, stay away. [read more...]

A mild 4 season climate.[read more...]

Trashinati is a pile of garbage in southwest OH. I am ashamed that I was born their. I refuse to claim it. There are a lot of ghetto trash and trailer trash low life fools that live there. Everyone is so trashy with no class and no education. It's just not the place to be for anyone who is classy and educated and actually wants to do something with their life. There were never any jobs in Cincinnati.Don't ever bother with this dump. You will never have a real life. Cincinnati is an abomination should be burned to ashes.[read more...]

Cincinnati has amazing world-class theater. Playhouse in the Park won a Tony Award for regional excellence, and The Ensemble Theater is an incredible little place – they perform world-premiere plays and musicals in what used to be one of the worst areas of town (it's gentrified now). If you're at all into the arts, the Symphony and many theaters downtown give you everything you need. Check out the Showboat Majestic (a theater on a boat) during the summers. Go to the University of Cincinnati's musical theater department and you'll see tons of future Broadway stars (people like Pamela Myers and Shoshana Bean are graduates). Plus the riverfront is awesome in the summer. We actually have nationally-ranked fireworks displays too. Who knew? We also have... professional sports. They're OK. We have them. haha. I will admit though, having grown up in the beautiful woodsy suburbs, that Cincinnati is a racist town. No sugar-coating. It's ugly. Just look at the ignorant comments about black men on this page. It's really embarrassing. And it's everybody -- from the poor folks in the inner cities to the appalachians across the river to the educated folks in Hyde Park. That town needs to do something serious about the racism. For all you P&G bashers ~ Procter & Gamble actually the one place in the city where you can find honest-to-God diversity. One of my friends is from China and works for P&G told me that he loves the company because it's so multicultural - he never has to apologize for having an accent or being different. [read more...]

Cincinnati has amazing world-class theater. Playhouse in the Park won a Tony Award for regional excellence, and The Ensemble Theater is an incredible little place – they perform world-premiere plays and musicals in what used to be one of the worst areas of town (it's gentrified now). If you're at all into the arts, the Symphony and many theaters downtown give you everything you need. Check out the Showboat Majestic (a theater on a boat) during the summers. Plus the riverfront is awesome in the summer. We actually have nationally-ranked fireworks displays too. Who knew? We also have... professional sports. They're OK. We have them. haha. I will admit though, having grown up in the beautiful woodsy suburbs, that Cincinnati is a racist town. No sugar-coating. It's ugly. Just look at the ignorant comments about black men on this page. It's really embarrassing. And it's everybody -- from the poor folks in the inner cities to the appalachians across the river to the educated folks in Hyde Park. That town needs to do something serious about the racism. For all you P&G bashers ~ Procter & Gamble actually the one place in the city where you can find honest-to-God diversity. One of my friends is from China and works for P&G told me that he loves the company because it's so multicultural - he never has to apologize for having an accent or being different. [read more...]

Moved to Cincinatti from San Francsico when I was 14, I am 26. Cincinnati is easly, hands down, the BEST city in the nation. From the friendly people of the midwest, the homey atmosphere, and a taste of all seasons (even the beautiful colors of fall) Totally, kid friendly, great place to raise a family, lots activites for the whole family. GREAT fireworks display on labor day, festivals during the summer, and low the cost of living. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this place. And the fans for the Bengals and Reds are very loyal and it makes it so much, more fun, losing or wininng. WHO DEY! Can't beat 5 dollar Reds tickets...hey it might be nose bleed but it keeps the kiddies out of trouble!! [read more...]

Many of the comments I have read about Cincinnati have been right on. It really depends on what area you live in. The city is divided by I-75 with Westside Eastside. The westside is primarly Catholic, these people don't move outside of the neighborhood. They typical move down the street from their parents who act as babysitters. The westside is very closed to outsiders and you are very excluded if you are not Catholic, although they have lots of great festivals if you like drinking draft beer and gambling. The Eastside is more upscale with diverse people but all still very conservative. Lots of people with designer clothing and BMW's. Northside is an older area but has come to life with tatoos and the gay area is big there. The norhtern area's Mason, West Chester are nice for raising a family. Northern Ky where the Cincinnati Airport is, is nice. Newport has a lot of attractions but again you have to be from the area or live here long enoughto know where to go. Even the people from this area rarely cross the bridge to go to Ohio and have never been to downtown Cinti. Oh downtown Cinti is dangerous. Has gotten worse over time. Lots of street beggars very aggressive and scary, lots of crime. Mt Adams is close to downtown and pretty interesting, great views of the city. The second oldest bar in the city is there City View. You have to ask but they keep a book behind the bar that people sign that come from all over the world. Do have the Big Ted Deluxe and a Bloody Mary. If You like sports you are in for a treat, it is a sports town with the Cincinnati Reds history that will blow your mind and of course the Cincinnati Bengals WHO DEY. Peter Frampton lives in Indian Hill which are all multimillion dollar homes and the place most desirable and unobtainable to live. Times to visit for Taste of Cinti in May and Octoberfest the largest Octoberfest in the US in Sept, worth a visit then as it is a very large German hertiage History. My feeling on Cincinnati is it has taken me 20 yrs to know the town, I am pretty much done with it although I will always be a Reds and Bengals fan. People here are on the cold side and are suspious of others.[read more...]

Great arts, parks, Italianate Architcture, National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and a thriving creative class...[read more...]

conservative, little natural beauty.[read more...]

the others who left comments did not give this city a chance. I move here from michigan two years ago and have been made to feal very welcomed.[read more...]

Cincinnati is an excellent place to raise a family. Many of the activities one could become involved with are centered around the family. The education system and activities from Fine Arts through Sports are comprehensive in nature.[read more...]

I live in Cincinnati, after having lived in Atlanta for about 14 years, and I have decided it is as far into the midwest as I would want to go. The city is big enough to support two professional sports teams, a great zoo, museums, diverse restaurants, a nice geographical profile near a major river, and still close enough to the South to make other regions accessible. The weather isn't terrible, but could be warmer in the winter! I like the historical value of the city and the art deco style that can be found.[read more...]