Just the Right Size
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10/10/2015
Columbus may not be the biggest city but it certainly isn't the smallest. For comparison, I have spent time in both Chicago and Dayton, cities on either side of the city size spectrum and I can say without a doubt that Columbus is the best of the three. While Chicago may have more sports teams and famous landmarks and other points of interest downtown, the cost of living was outrageous and the population was just plain rude and don't even get me started on the God forsaken traffic. Columbus on the other hand has a great cost of living compared to cities all across America and for the most part people are generally nice and pleasant and traffic is better than you would expect. Once you take the time to learn the general traffic patterns of the city, its not too hard to get where you need to go and quickly. Columbus also has a decent amount of points of interest and there is plenty to do in and around the city. Dayton on the other hand couldn't be more boring and depressing. After going from Columbus to Dayton, I could slowly feel myself being drained due to the general lack of things to do. It felt like someone tried to build a copy of Columbus but ran out of money halfway through. With the exception of Wright-Patt AFB, it was hard to see any real job growth in the city. This is why I feel that Columbus is just the right size. Its big enough to be interesting and have plenty of opportunities but also not so big that it costs you an arm and a leg just to pay for the gas to get to work. I know there have been times that talking to friends in Chicago while I was in Columbus where gas has been 75 cents to a dollar cheaper per gallon. Another great thing about Columbus that many people overlook is its park system and green-space. All over downtown are parks and bike trails and places like the Scioto Mile, The Oval, and the Park of Roses which offer plenty of recreation areas. In the suburban areas, the Columbus Metro Parks system is top-notch and offers beautiful nature parks for everyone to enjoy. Another great perk of Columbus is its library system. Columbus has one of the best library systems in the country and it is integrated with the surrounding suburban libraries giving everyone in the city and its suburbs access to everything the combined inventory of all the libraries regardless of what part of the city they live in. Columbus also has excellent healthcare facilities. Both Ohio Health and Mount Carmel have large hospitals all across the city and OSU Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Childrens Hospital are nationally ranked Level 1 trauma centers. There are just so many more reasons to live in a city than whether or not its a "famous big city" and Columbus is able to cater to people of all ages, interests and professions.
Andrew | Columbus, OH