Is anyone here from Columbus, OHIO?

[dimimi]

Hi. Thanks for reading this! We are considering a move to Columbus Ohio. My husband would be working near Polaris. Which city would you prefer. We have 2 kids, one in middle school and one in high school. We are considering Dublin, Powell, Upper Arlington and New Albany. Thanks...also, does anyone know of a school that is hiring teachers! I am a special ed. teacher.

Thanks for your help. We are taking a ride up there tomorrow, Sunday. We are just looking around.

 

[hpygrll]

Hi Diane

East Sider here - lived here over 20 years and DH was born and raised here. You'll love Columbus!!!!

Out of the suburbs you've listed, Upper Arlington has the best schools hands down - but it's also harder to find housing unless your price range is quite high. Also it's farther from Polaris...

Powell, New Albany and Westerville (even thought that's not on the list) all have decent schools and are fairly close.

I think Dublin high schools are just ok - seems overcrowded to me....

I have two Elementary age kids but we're in Catholic School.

Lots of things to do here - you'll love it.

Go Bucks!

Jenny

 

[TandT]

Those are some VERY expensive areas of Columbus. We moved to Columbus from Houston TX about 2 years ago. I am ORIGINALLY from Columbus though.

When we first started "looking" for a home, we started in Dublin. We stayed in a corporate apartment for about 6 months in the Dublin area. Our real estate agent took us to a lot of properties in the area. Most of them were way overpriced and the ones that were affordable, needed ALOT of work.... Also, the city is way over populated IMO.....no thanks.

We continued to search throughout the city but wanted something kinda close to downtown since that's where my husband has to commute to work everyday.

Powell was a big NO. It is very nice but traffic in that area can get REALLY hairy. We owned a house in Powell before we moved to Houston.....great area...way overpriced as well and too far from downtown.


Upper Arlington....an older area but nice.....if you have disposable income...go for it.

New Albany is a new and very nice YET expensive area......a well sought after suburb ....that's why it cost an arm and a leg to live there.

So...After MUCH looking and researching we decided to take our real estate agent's advice on a city about 10 min from downtown called Grove City....it is an upcoming suburb. Word is...that it is the "GEM" of the Columbus area. Being from Columbus, I would of NEVER thought of moving there. I was soooo stuck on "Dublin" SO I was VERY hesitant. All the things I have heard 3- 5 years ago about Grove City was not that great.

Our HER realtor begged us just to "look" WOW....we were VERY impressed. A lot had changed....dramatically. We built a home in the NEW Golf Course community called "The Pinnacle" BEAUTIFUL subdivision with a golf course designed by golf pro Lanny Watkins. We got SOOOOO much for our money and the area is BOOMING. We were so glad we did this!!! The price of our home has gone up since we built and we are the HIGHEST selling zip code in the county. The houses start off from the 190's to 1 million dollars. Also has a community pool, clubhouse, gym and tennis court. It's about 20 minutes from polaris....easy access to I-71. The Press has talked so MUCH about this city being an up and coming area. ALSO....last year we had the Parade of Homes here in The Pinnacle!!!

If you have any questions PLEASE don't hesitate to ask. I hope this helps. Just FYI...... In Columbus, ALOT of people pick a place to live based on how "popular" it is. They end up paying more for the "area" than the house itself. And a lot of these places are just too overpriced for what they are offering....ie..size...amenities...condition of the home.
We found that Grove City had ALOT to offer. It has a "small" town feel and at the same time it's close to EVERYTHING...LOVE IT!!!!!!!!

PS....about the schools...Grove City Schools(Southwestern City Schools) it's a very nice school district..I don't put much weight on who has the"better" school district...Being a teacher you probably think otherwise..LOL.... Dublin, Powell, Westerville....Are they nice schools? ...definitley... Would I base where I live SOLEY on that...no way. My husband grew up in Detroit and went to the crappiest school district ever, and he turned out to become very successful College degree in hand!!

 

[twinklesstars]

I live just north of Columbus is Delaware. If you would like living close to downtown, Upper Arlington is really nice. It is minutes away from OSU. The schools are great. The houses are pricy though. Dublin has some nice areas too, but is very busy. New Albany is a really nice area. The schools are really good. The owner of Limited Brands (BBW, Victorias Secret, etc) lives in New Albany. If you like living in a more rural area but still close to the city, just outside Powell is very nice. Downtown Powell can be very congested as the main road is a two lane with several traffic lights. However, if you go north of the town (Home Road), there are lots that have several acres. The Polaris area is growing like crazy right now. The Olentangy school district is the best in Delaware County.
If you have any questions, please let me know. I'm pretty familar with the noth side.

 

[dimimi]

Thanks for your input everyone! It sure looks like we will have options!

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My cousin owns a house in Upper Arlington, I think she rents it out. Its really close to OSU, A very nice area for sure,

 

[dimimi]

We are really looking for a community that has it all...walking paths, parks, recreation center,etc.

 

[TandT]

We are really looking for a community that has it all...walking paths, parks, recreation center,etc.

The Pinnacle in Grove City has all of that!! Check out these links

www.pinnaclegc.com
www.pinnacleclubofgrovecity.com

 

[breezy1077]

Ok. I may be biased here, but I've lived a lot of places in Cols., and Dublin is by far the best area IMO. I have a special needs child - and the school has been everything I'd hoped for.

It's about 10-15 min. from the Polaris exit.

Dublin is close to everything, and very safe IMO.

Be careful about Grove City. It's a nice area, but it wasn't too long ago that they were in jeapordy of losing funding for sports - I'm not too sure what happened with that either. It's a nice area - but is in Southern Columbus and there's no easy way to get to Polaris, except to drive straight up 71 right through downtown gridlock.

Upper Arlington is nice, but you can get a lot more house for your money in Dublin! I'd argue that the schools are comperable too.

Out of all the areas you mentioned - Powell is the more up and coming area, but I don't like the schools. It's Olentangey School district - I've heard "ok" but not "great".

I may be biased, but I Dublin - and I'm pretty tough to please. Good luck with your search! And welcome to Columbus.



ETA: if you come to Dublin - you have to eat at a place called Mary Kelley's!!! It's on Muirfield Dr.

 

[breezy1077]

We are really looking for a community that has it all...walking paths, parks, recreation center,etc.

Dublin

 

[thedeans]

All the areas you mentioned are great areas. If you are looking for an older neighborhood Upper Arlington would be good, they have a lot of older houses. There are a lot of walking paths and parks in Dublin. I worked in Dublin for many years and loved the area. Pinnacle is a great area as well. My DH grew up in a housing development right by there and played in the fields were Pinnacle was built. Grove City is a wonderful area. I can’t believe how much it has grown in the last few years. The only bad thing would be driving up to the Polaris area. I have several friends that live in the Polaris area and they love it. We live in Hilliard and love it here.

I agree with breezy1077 if you visit Dublin you really need to eat at Mary Kelley’s!!!!

Good luck house hunting!

 

[TandT]

All the areas you mentioned are great areas. If you are looking for an older neighborhood Upper Arlington would be good, they have a lot of older houses. There are a lot of walking paths and parks in Dublin. I worked in Dublin for many years and loved the area. Pinnacle is a great area as well. My DH grew up in a housing development right by there and played in the fields were Pinnacle was built. Grove City is a wonderful area. I can’t believe how much it has grown in the last few years. The only bad thing would be driving up to the Polaris area. I have several friends that live in the Polaris area and they love it. We live in Hilliard and love it here.

I agree with breezy1077 if you visit Dublin you really need to eat at Mary Kelley’s!!!!

Good luck house hunting!

The only bad thing would be driving up to the Polaris area


I totally agree with that. That would be the only negative.

 

[Breezie]

We are really looking for a community that has it all...walking paths, parks, recreation center,etc.

New Albany has all these things, but as previous posters have said, it is expensive. I haven't owned any real estate or anything, but I grew up here and went to high school here. It's a beautiful area though. Hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[dimimi]

Wow, thanks everyone! I knew I could count on you! Could you tell me some nice neighborhoods/developments in Dublin and New Albany. Yes, we will be using a realtor, but it is nice to hear these things from people in the know. It would be nice to be near bike paths so my kids could ride their bikes to one of the community pools...they are swimmers. Thanks

 

[momto2girls]

There are so many wonderful communities in central Ohio! Seriously, you really can't go wrong. I live in Westerville, but will soon be moving to New Albany. Westerville is a wonderful area, but we are moving to New Albany because it seems that all of our friends are there. There is definitely a close-community feel to New Albany. Also, the club there is wonderful if that sort of thing appeals to you.

 

[breezy1077]

Wow, thanks everyone! I knew I could count on you! Could you tell me some nice neighborhoods/developments in Dublin and New Albany. Yes, we will be using a realtor, but it is nice to hear these things from people in the know. It would be nice to be near bike paths so my kids could ride their bikes to one of the community pools...they are swimmers. Thanks

We live near the Avery Park area in Dublin. I won't give the exact neighborhood , but this area is very close to park, pool and bike paths.

 

[dimimi]

Thanks Breezy. I guess Iwouldn't tell people my exact neighborhood either! I guess I shouldn't have asked that. It is just overwhelming! Which high school did you hear is best?

 

[Deb in IA]

I haven't seen anyone say anything about Worthington.

My sister lives there. Her house is very close to Morning Street elementary school and Worthington High School. It is a very nice neighborhood, and easy accessibility to major highways. There is also a bike path right behind their house that is great for walking, biking, jogging, etc. In fact, my brother-in-law often rides his bike to work at OSU Hospital.

 

[breezy1077]

Thanks Breezy. I guess Iwouldn't tell people my exact neighborhood either! I guess I shouldn't have asked that. It is just overwhelming! Which high school did you hear is best?

Actually, I don't know. But I'd guess that it's a toss up between Coffman and Jerome. Honestly, the schools in Dublin are great. Right now, our kids would go to Coffman, but we're close enough to Jerome that that might change before they get to that age....assuming we're still in the same house that is.

I don't know anything about the third high school, but it's a little close to Sawmill, so....

Coffman is established, Jerome is new. I'll ask around - schools are closed today because of the wind storm yesterday, but tomorrow - I'll ask the other moms for you.

Do you want me to ask about any sports teams for you?

 

[minniebeth]

Just came across this thread and wondering if there is any update, OP??