thinking of moving to columbus?? yes/no

[dana1003]

we are currently in bergen county nj and have been here all our lives..we just cant afford it anymore..it is way to expensive and find that we are just working to pay bills..we rent and pay 1500 plus utilites..we have six year old twins and would like to be in a house someday but not gonna happen here. my brother has been just outside of columbus for a year and loves it. he is paying the same for a house mortgage that he was paying here for a one bedroom..we plan on visiting in feb but dont wanna get our hopes up. any feedback about columbus would be great. my husband is an airbrush artist and custom bike painter so were hoping to find some custom motorcycle shops out there. thanks... ps) we are also thinking fort walton beach which we liked..he has family out there but dont know about living there

 

[Family Loves Disney]

Which state are you thinking of moving to? There is Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Ga, etc..

 

[design_mom]

I've lived in and around (suburbs) Columbus, Ohio my whole life. We like it here. February is kind of cold and yucky (not the best time to try to convince you to move here, although I doubt New Jersey is much better in Feb!) We have a nice 4-br house in a nice suburb with great schools (not a super-fancy house, but nice) on 1/3 acre and pay considerably less per month than you pay for rent.

But, yes, we would need to know WHICH Columbus you're talking about. Georgia? Ohio? There's also a Columbus, Indiana.

 

[dana1003]

sorry yes ohio

 

[Family Loves Disney]

Columbus, Ohio is nice, they have the Ohio State Buckeyes! Go Buckeyes (DH went to Ohio State)! That's all I know. lol. My in laws live in the Dayton area so I have to give a nice shout out about Columbus, Ohio.

However, Columbus, Ga is nice, you are near Florida and the Gulf. There is an Army base there, which would probably get your dh work at a motocycle business. It is warm majority of the year, Ga still has all 4 seasons, Winter is just not as brutal here than it is up north. Like today, it snowed here, but it was a dusting. HTH.

 

[noodle7729]

We moved from Columbus to eastern pa 4 years ago and miss it desperately. It's very different from the east coast. If you you can live 20 miles from the city and still take advantage of everything that it has to offer very easily. Housing, food, gas everything is so much cheaper than it is here. The city itself has so many things to do and the schools in most of the suburbs are great.

 

[pilotwife_02]

We made the move from NJ (moved from Central, but lived most my life in Morris County) to Columbus Ohio almost 4 years ago and LOVE it here. My sister and her DH came out to visit one weekend about 2 years ago and decided 2 months later to move as well and now my parents are in the process of moving here as well

We love that we were able to get 3x the house for the same price we were paying in NJ and the people are SO much nice. Property taxes are much cheaper. We are paying the same in property taxes for our house here (again which is 3x times the size) as we were in NJ and the school district we are in is great. If you want to look at the school districts to see how good they are you can google "ohio school district report card" and it will take you to the state's site and it grades each district. One thing I will warn you about is just because you live in one town does NOT mean you will send your kids to that town's school. So make sure where ever you decide to buy/rent you ask what school district you are in. That confused us when we moved here since I was so used to where we were in NJ that whatever town we lived in that's the school the kids went to.

The weather is pretty much the same temp wise as NJ, but you really don't get as much snow accumulation as NJ, but it seems to flurry a lot more.

Not sure what else you want to know, but as someone who made the move from NJ to here I can tell you we love it, so if I can answer any more questions for you, let me know!

 

[worm761]

I used to live in Columbus, OH. It really is a great city. There is so much to do! Now I live in Pensacola, FL...just up the street from Fort Walton Beach. Fort Walton is nice. The thing I like about it is that it is close to the touristy stuff without being a tourist town. KWIM? Everything I have ever heard or read about Fort Walton has all been good.

 

[emmababy]

I love Columbus!! Buckeye football is huge. There are a lot of great areas here. You might want to look at some of the outer areas such as Delaware, Sunbury, Hilliard.

Great malls and historical areas too. There is an Arena district where the Hockey stadium is.

Plus, you have a lot of daytrip places within a 2 hour drive. Cedar point, Lake Erie, Cincinnati, Indy arw all within 2 hours of each other.

 

[Mathfailure]

My family moved to Ohio this June from the East. It was a job transfer.

I do like most of it, but have found myself quite homesick for the look of the East and the ocean.

That said, the unemployment in Ohio is higher than the national avg. so please make sure you have a job lined up before moving. It could be a while before you find one.

The cost of living is lower, and the weather sure beats northern MA. I would like a hill or two near me! And rows of corn aren't my thing...

 

[design_mom]

That said, the unemployment in Ohio is higher than the national avg. so please make sure you have a job lined up before moving. It could be a while before you find one.

I don't think the unemployment rate in Columbus and surrounding areas is above the national average. In November 2009 (the most recent state results I could find) Franklin County was at 8.4% and Delaware County was at 7.2%. The national unemployment rate in November 2009 was 10%. There are a number of Ohio counties that are above the national rate, but Columbus has weathered the storm pretty well so far.

Still, your advice about having a job lined up is sound, no matter where she ultimately chooses to move.

Here's my source for Ohio's unemployment rates by county for Nov 2009: http://lmi.state.oh.us/LAUS/Ranking.pdf

 

[kkacar]

hi... I cant say anything for or against Columbus as I do not live there nor have I ever been there. As for Ft Walton Beach I am only 30 minutes from there in Beaches of South Walton. We go to Ft. Walton quite a bit for different things. Even with hubby having family in Ft Walton there are numerous places that you could choose that are close by and quite affordable such as Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Crestview and Freeport. They all have excellent schools and you are close enough to the Gulf to enjoy it with out being right on it.

kelli

 

[rickg15]

I live about 45 minutes from Columbus. Great place to live IMO. I've lived in VA Beach and Kentucky and wouldn't trade Central Ohio for any of it! Some really great new developments in Columbus, and some fantastic things to do. The Columbus Zoo is top notch. You are a few short hours from Cedar Point and King's Dominion as well.

Can't reccomend Columbus enough. Yes there is snow. We deal with it.

 

[santa's surpriz]

I live in a nw suburb of Columbus. It's a great place with kids. Since your kids are school age I would pay close attention to the school systems. Avoid Southwestern City Schools and Columbus City School districts if you can. Grove City has horrible financial problems in their schools. Hilliard (high taxes, though), Dublin, Worthington, Upper Arlington, Gahanna are a few good ones & have a lot to offer. Powell is pricey but an up & coming area.

There is a lot to do. Especially with young kids But understand this town is FANATIC about the Buckeyes! Being a newcomer, you will be blown away by the loyalty. Stock up on your Scarlet & Gray, you'll need it in the fall!

 

[dana1003]

omg we are totally NOT football fans so i hope there is other stuff...we are an 1 1/2 from the beach so dont know how much well miss it. as far as the look of the east coast im worried about that also..so used to the craziness here and accessability to everything(walking) that im worried that wil be to s l o w for us...liked fort walton allot ,but not a fan of the heat and living in ac for months..

 

[design_mom]

omg we are totally NOT football fans so i hope there is other stuff...

LOL! How do you feel about hockey? We have an NHL team and a major-league soccer team here... but most people are *crazy* about the Buckeyes. (I am not, even though I went to school at Ohio State. I just am not into football. But -- football Saturdays are a good time to go shopping. Everyone else is watching the game!)

 

[Normangirls]

I grew up in Grove City, and moved to NW Ohio years ago, but my whole family is still in Columbus. I still miss it a lot, and LOVE going home to visit (we're on our way there in just a few hours!).

Like a PP said, Grove City (Southwestern City Schools) are in really, really bad shape right now. They certainly didn't used to be that way, but there is so much conflict and drama they won't see any improvement any time soon.

But there are plenty of other suburb school districts that are outstanding, as well as offering affordable housing. I'd look at Gahanna first.

Our favorite things: OSU football, shopping (great outlets south of the city), the zoo, Franklin Park Conservatory, Short North/Gallery Hops, great dining. And (since I am now a farmer!) the state fair. They have lots of events/shows at the state fairgrounds throughout the year.

If I had to move away from here, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

 

[back4more OH]

I have lived in the Columbus area all my life and I really love it here. We live in Hilliard and the school system is really good. We just opened our third high school this past school year. Our taxes run about 2500-2700 hundred a year. We own a 3 bed 2 bath house on the west side of Hilliard. Great area we have lots of grocery schools, stores and restaurants nearby, plus driving around Columbus is pretty easy and there is so much do do here. I think it's great place to live and if you have any questions feel free to ask me.

 

[dana1003]

thanks for all the great replies...my bro lives in westerville which he says ispretty nice..as far as schools..i saw that hillard, gahanna?, dublin and pickerton? were good?? very scary to live somewhere all ur life and move to some place totally different than ur used to