Maybe moving to Ohio... Suggestions/Info?

[PinkMartini]

Hey Everyone! Well, I'd like to get some info from anyone & everyone I can. My fiance & I are looking to move out of California. As much as we love it here, housing prices are completely ridiculous. $500,000 and up for literally, a shack :mad: We've been looking at moving to Ohio. He's been researching housing out there and it's in a range that we can afford. I've never been, he has, but it was a long time ago. We're planning to take a trip out there soon, to check it out, but can anyone give me any info on Ohio? I'm in school though and we'd need to be near a university so I could finish up.

We plan on starting a family as soon as we're married, so a 'family' place would be great. I am originally from Alaska, so the weather doesn't scare me. I'd rather be in -20 degree weather than 120 degree weather that we have here.

Anyone have any suggestions on cities? Schools? Do you like living in Ohio? What are the pros/cons? What natural disasters do you guys get out there? (I.E. we have earthquakes here) Any help would be appreciated :D Does anyone know of any online sources that I could research Ohio?

[MrsSmith]

The cities in Ohio are drastically different. Cleveland, Toledo and Cinci are on waterfronts, while Dayton and Columbus are inland...if that makes a difference to you. There are also different companies that are headquartered in each city if you are thinking about possible jobs for yourself of df if he ever wants to switch.

The cost of living is great :D That's one of the best parts of living here to me. My part of the state, NW, is very country and quiet, but you can get your taste of city if you want it. I live in the more populated area. So, we have major stores, restaurants, businesses, expressways (not state routes...LOL), concerts, etc.

State of Ohio (http://www.ohio.gov)
Travel and Tourism Dept. (http://www.discoverohio.com)
State profile from Movers.com (http://content.moversweb.com/tools/ohio-OH_costofliving/movingUtils.htm)

[claribella]

I just wanted to offer you support on your decision and to say "BRAVA!"

I also have decided to leave California. It is becoming unbareably hard to stay above water here financially.

Good luck!

[MichelleRenee]

I've lived in NE Ohio all my life. If you don't mind cold winters and drastic daily weather changes (i.e. 70 sunny one day, 30 snowing the next...) it's not so bad. I live about 45 minutes away from Cleveland in an adorable little town. I feel like we have it all... the lake is so close, and we can go to Indians games or concerts in the city... Blossom (outdoor amphitheatre) is close too. The Cleveland Orchestra is fantastic there, as well as Dave Matthews, Ozzfest, and a bunch of other summer concerts. In my town it is just so small and cozy. We have a beautiful gazebo and just enough stores that we don't ever have to go far.

In my opinion, NE Ohio is the best place in Ohio to live because I love Cleveland. (More features: Rock Hall, Tower City, Great Lakes Science Center) And there are so many smaller communities nearby that you can live in comfortable knowing the city is less than n hour's drive away!

Good luck! Maybe we could just trade... I would love to move to CA!

[ce_Kathleen]

I lived in OH for most of my life until moving to PA a year ago.

I grew up in a suburb of Cleveland and as MichelleRenee there are so many nice communities not far from the city and Cleveland has lots to do. There are also many universities/colleges in the Cleveland area (Baldwin-Wallace, Case Western Reserve, Cleveland State, John Carroll just to name a few off the top of my head)

I went to college in Columbus (at Ohio State) and it is definitely a different vibe than Cleveland but I loved it probably more! There is lots to do and it is a very family friendly area and growing! Again lots of schools (Ohio State, Columbus State, Capital, among others)

Then when I graduated from OSU I got my first job in the Toledo area. This is the area of OH that I liked the least. It was still great but it is much more "country" and laid back than the city atmosphere in Columbus or Cleveland. There were times where I was pretty bored living in the Toledo area b/c we would have to drive to Detroit or Canada for major stuff to do. BUT, once we had a network of friends it did get better and I enjoyed living there. Again there are schools near (U of Toledo, Bowling Green State)

Overall, OH is very family friendly no matter where you settle (I think at least) and the other really nice thing about OH is there is so much within driving distance (NYC is only 6 hours from Cleveland, Chicago is 6 hours from Toledo, Pittsburgh is 2 hours from Cleveland, Indianapolis is 2 hours from Columbus)!

Good luck!

[kemaji]

I'm actually a California native that moved to Ohio a couple of years ago. The short version of my story is: I met my (now) DH, I was living in CA and he was living in OH. We dated long distance for almost a year and I decided to move to see if we could make things work. I moved to Columbus, where he lived, we rented for about 6 months before buying our house.

I personally prefer Columbus over most all other parts of Ohio for many reasons, one of the most important being the weather. I don't like cold and I don't like winters (except to visit) and Columbus seems to miss the more extreme winter weather that the north and south parts of Ohio get. My husband's family lives just east of Cleveland, so I've been up that way a bunch of times and they can get a lot more snow than Columbus does on a more frequent basis.

I do miss mountains and I do miss the ocean, but I don't care what anyone else says, the great lakes do not compare to the pacific. There is no way that you can even begin to compare the two.

Ohio and Cleveland are definitely more liberal than the rest of the state, I generally attribute that to both having a fair size student base.

Feel free to PM me, I'll be happy to talk to you about adjusting to life here.