Dispelling Ignorant Columbus, OH Myths
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9/28/2013
As someone who lives in Columbus, I'd like to dispel a lot of ignorance that has been posted to this board, especially from one poster about a year ago whose comments overused phrases like "extremely boring" and "nothing to do" since it seems this person never left his/her house.
Columbus is a very diverse city. To the Clevelander who posted that nearly everyone was from West Virginia--I only laugh at this since a. it's not a fact and b. it's a very, very ignorant and prejudiced observation. Columbusites have their own prejudices about the aging city of Cleveland, so I guess turnabout's fair play (and I won't get into disparaging that city by stating some facts). 2013, Columbus was ranked the most intelligent city in the United States by the Intelligent Communities Forum, so I think that speaks for the so-called "brain drain". We did have an issue with that some years ago, however, since we've been growing at an average rate of 7% over the past few years, we've made up for it.
Traffic in certain areas can indeed be bad. Anything near the East side (i.e. I70) is a rough trek. The Polaris area is also notorious for bad traffic, but this is all part of living in a big city.
Columbusites can be, for the msot part, somewhat aloof. We're not overly friendly and we're not overly rude. Most people are quite polite, so to say that people are "awful" is again blanketing the city based on people you've met (whom aren't all from West Viginina ...).
Comments about the food scene are also hilarious. Yes, like any other city, Cbus has chain restaurants. However, go down to the Short North and to the downtowns of the suburbs and even downtown Columbus and you'll find many non-chain restaurants of high caliber from creative and talented chefs. The Mitchell establishments and others have won awards. I guess the person who stated this missed Restaurant Week the entire time he/she was here. Grandview, Upper Arlington and other inner suburbs have great restaurants. Go above and beyond an Olive Garden, please.
Things to do: Columbus has a nice Museum of Art, sports (pro hockey with the Jackets; Ohio State is the biggest college sports scene) and many, many recreational facilities. I can't even name them all ... Our Metroparks are amazing. Bike and leisure trails galore, from the city out to the country. Cricket and soccer fields. I could go on. If you're outdoors-y, you're within a half hour of countryside and maybe about an hour to camping. Not to mention Hoover Reservoir, which is popular for water sports.
The cost of living is pretty amazing here. The tax is under 7%, housing is very reasonable and it's easy to get around. The City school district is working to do better, but it's not that great. Meanwhile, many suburban school districts are very good, even the inner ring 'burbs. There are many, many neighborhoods to choose from depending on your style, desired atmosphere and, of course, your pockets. We also have many stable companies here, which helps to keep our average unemployment at a very reasonable rate as compared to other parts of the country (Nationwide Insurance, Limited Brands, Tween Brands, Deloitte, JP Morgan Chase ... just to name a small few.)
The weather can indeed be sketchy. We joke that if you don't like the weather in Cbus, wait five minutes. And it is true that our winters are hard to predict. One year it can be long and unbearable and the next, hardly any snow with warmer temps. Our fall can be cool and crisp one day, but then we have a late heat wave a few days. It really varies as will your utility bills as a result.
In short, if you review an entire city, please get out of your house and actually experience it before posting limited knowledge on the web.
dr799296 | Westerville, OH