I've been here all my life.
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8/15/2008
I've lived in Columbus all of my life and I agree whole-heartedly with the vast majority of the opinions on here. I have spent time in Atlanta, NYC, various parts of Florida, Las Vegas, and many of the states along the east coast and I can definitely say that Columbus is uncultured. We have plenty of room for expansion and plenty of places that we could clean up but it doesn't seem like the city wants to do that. The museums here aren't very exciting and the few plays we have from time to time don't get advertised very well.
I absolutely hated being a teenager here because the only things I could do were go to the movies, Hollywood Connection, or friend's houses. I've always had an "alternative" appearance (facial piercings, tattoos, etc.) and even though I was a good person who made straight A's in high school, I would always either get kicked out of places because of the chains on my pants, glared at, or judged and preached to by either "open air" preachers or just random people. I would not want to raise kids here, especially now since the city is beginning to go downhill. The only things that people find entertaining here are the many bars and clubs, restaurants, drugs, and the two malls -- there's really not much for kids or teenagers to do, which is partly to blame for our drug problem. There is nothing really "local" to speak of because, as everyone has said, Columbus loves Wal-Mart (we have like, five) and other big chain stores.
You can't sit in a park and feel safe here because it seems like danger is always lurking...maybe it has to do with the lack of people in the parks. I can honestly say that I felt safer walking around New York City or taking the subway alone than walking around Columbus alone. My fiance just recently got mugged at a gas station in Phenix City (our neighboring city) as he was walking to his car. Fortunately, having grown up here, I know where to and where not to go, but every place is questionable, even on the north side.
The weather is horrid and unpredictable, the schools aren't the greatest, and the job market isn't too promising. I'm a student at CSU and they only focus on art and music majors -- I mean, honestly, in a city where Aflac and TSYS reign, wouldn't you think there would be more emphasis placed on majors that relate to occupations such as those? Placing emphasis on music and art isn't making people stay here or making Columbus more popular -- it's making them leave for bigger cities where they have a chance to put themselves on the map.
My advice -- don't move here unless you are positive that you have a job lined up somewhere, I wouldn't pick Columbus as a place to raise a family, and don't come here expecting culture or to be accepted by a lot of the people born and raised in the South if you are from somewhere else or you are left or liberal in your viewpoints. There are a lot of closed-minded people here that are unwilling to stray from their roots. Fortunately I was raised by open-minded people and I can see past people's differences. I think that Columbus needs more diversity and more culture, overall.
Amber | Columbus, GA