Reviews & Comments
Cincinnati, OH
Cinti. not worst city in world/US but not great ei -
6/23/2012I have resided and worked in Cinti. for 4 decades. Overall, I cannot recommend it as an interesting, imaginative place to live. Cinti. is an undistinguished third-tier American city that is less than the sum of its parts. Some of the parts are very good (e.g., highly rated children's hospital and symphony orchestra). Neither of the major universities are nationally ranked (the Univ. of Cinti. is ranked 143 among national universities by USN&WR.) I have no interest in professional sports so I have nothing to offer on the Reds or Bengals other than Hamilton County, which owns the stadiums and holds their enormous debt, is caught in a financial bind it cannot get out of. In my experience here, a lack of imagination, an aversion to innovation, an inability to think creatively, resistance to change (unless its been done elsewhere first and at least ten years ago), social parochialism all substantially contribute to Cinti.'s lack of status. There is a kind of copy-cat mentality as well. The city is in the midst of a controversy about building streetcars. The view of proponents seems to come down to this: popular cities (e.g., Portland, OR)have streetcars (or, insert any other feature) therefore Cinti. will be popular if it has streetcars (or, whatever). As to expense, taxes are high in Cinti. (OH itself ranks 7th in the nation in terms of total tax load as a percent of median income). Though they vary substantially from district to district in the four OH county area, property taxes are generally high and can be quite high outside Hamilton County, the county in which Cinti. is located. I live in the Milford School District in Clermont County, adjacent to Hamilton County, where property taxes are very high and going higher owing to a very expensive public school system with a voracious property tax appetite. A mile from my home in a different district, property taxes are about half for a home of about the same value because the share going to the school district is much less. Though I remained here for job and family, with retirement close I am looking to escape. All this said, you can enjoy a kind of complacently comfortable existence here, and the shopping is good. Spring and autumn are moderately pleasant while the summers are hot and humid and the winters cold and gray.