Way OT: Your thoughts on the city of Columbus

Submitted by Blue in Yarmouth on

Having never been to the city before I have no real basis from which to draw any conclusion so I thought I would ask the board. For my part, my only information about the city of Columbus comes from this board which has always made it sound like a sewer and I just took that to be true.

On Friday I played in a golf tournament with Jody Shelley of the Philadelphia Flyers who although he plays for Philly, lives in Columbus. He has lived there since he signed his first NHL contract a number of years ago and when I asked if it was just because his wife was from there he said "no, it's just a great little city".

Now this isn't a guy who hasn't been around either. During the seasons he obviously lives in the city of the team he plays for (or very close by). He has lived in NYC and San Jose as well but still loves Columbus. My brother was part of our team as well and has been to Columbus a couple of times and said he also thought it was a nice city. 

I guess my question to the board is what is it about the city that makes everyone here hate it so much? Is it just that it's the home of the buckeyes or is there more to it? Additionally he also said the people there are great...I suppose if you are a member of the team they cheer for then that's possible...

.Anyway, I am genuinely interested in your opinions of the City of Columbus and whether the distain for the city is mostly due to the team that calls it home.

dothepose

July 9th, 2012 at 8:51 AM ^

It is home to the Buckeyes, so how could it be good with so much scarlet and gray? I honestly don't know what kind of answers you want from this board. The last thing we need is a discussion on how Columbus "isn't that bad". Plus my Dads side of the family is all around Columbus, and maybe the city isn't bad, but the people occupying it are.

1464

July 9th, 2012 at 9:51 AM ^

I'm occupying Columbus.  Not in the 'camping in a public parks with signs' sense but the 'I live here' sense.  I really like the city, and a part of me actually likes being part of the minority of college football fans here.  If I had to put a number on it, almost 10% of the city consists of Michigan fans...

I grew up in Livonia, Jackson, Battle Creek, and Ypsi.  Not representational of the greatest cities in Michigan, but I would choose to live in Columbus before any of those by a wide margin.

Blue in Yarmouth

July 9th, 2012 at 10:51 AM ^

I don't know for sure he just said if I ever wanted to come visit I was always welcome. It will likely be next summer as he heads back to New York shortly to get back into training. I will make sure to visit the places you mention though.

74polSKA

July 9th, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^

If your visit is around Labor Day and you enjoy Greek food and culture, you should check out the festival at The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral.  You might see Melina Kanakaredes there, apparently that is her husband's church.  If you have kids, I would highly recommend the Columbus Zoo or COSI.  COSI is close to the Scioto Mile/Bicentennial Park and not far from Tommy's Diner, a favorite of mine.  If you're a motorcycle fan, Farrow's HD is also in that area.  It's the oldest Harley dealer in the world and my dad designed and helped build the museum/soda fountain they have by the showroom.

Blue in Yarmouth

July 9th, 2012 at 11:31 AM ^

It will likely be next summer as the invitation was an open one but he is heading back to New York soon to start training for the upcoming season. This may be his last season though so if it is the trip could be during any time of the year. 

I just know Jody to be an honest person and when his description of the city didn't jive with anything I have ever heard about the place on this blog I thought I would try to see if those views were distorted from reality by our fan bias and whether it was really a place I would like to see or not. 

Judging from what I have read thus far it seems the bias does come in to play and the city isn't even close to what I had invisioned in my mind, so I think I will make the trip. Thanks again for the insight.

thisisme08

July 9th, 2012 at 10:33 AM ^

I just "visited" C-Bus with my wife on Friday.  She asked me why I was throwing a tantrum about not wanting to go there and I said "Because they poop in coolers". 

/coolstorybro

 

Side note; Schmidts Sausage Haus in Germantown has pretty good authentic German food/beer.

kehnonymous

July 9th, 2012 at 9:01 AM ^

On the off chance that you've paid rapt attention to all my posts, I'm a Columbus resident.

I've lived here for 9 years, and it's definitely an upgrade from where I used to live, which was the Flint area. Columbus has a lot to recommend it - it's a great food town for its size, people are generally nice and it's got a lot of cool neighborhoods around the downtown

It's got its minuses.  Buckeye fans are generally dongholes, as we all well know.  Now, most OSU fans are normal and nice and they share in our disdain for Those Guys, You Know Who I Mean - the problem is that they hand-wave it off as the "2 percenters" (an actual term I heard on talk radio)  It's a helluva lot more than 2 percent.

There are a surpisingly high number of Michigan fans here, though, and it's always good to give someone wearing M gear a 'Go Blue' - it's that much more satisflying.

Purkinje

July 9th, 2012 at 9:02 AM ^

I would be so pissed if I was Christopher Columbus. Someone would show me that hellhole and tell me it's named after me and I'd be all like, "THE HELL DID I DO TO YOU, 'MERICA?"

Ron_Lippitt

July 9th, 2012 at 9:05 AM ^

I travel for my job, and as it happens -- a few of my best clients are in C-bus.  Let me just say at the outset that it's impossible to be within 30 miles of that town without fearing some kind of disease.  It's like traveling into a buckeye radiation zone.

That being said - I have to give props for the city infrastructure and business base (particularly financial services) that have propelled that town into the 21st century.  When I was a kid in the 70's, Columbus was a joke.  Now the town is home to major corporations, and I might add, is larger than Detroit (re: population).  They have great suburbs and schools, and have a thriving nightlife area that's fun to take my clients to.

Bottom line - it's a great town that's not so little anymore.  And were it not the home to the buckeyes, would be a great place to live and raise a family.  But the people there are obnoxious for obvious reasons, and you still can't park a Michigan license-plated car there on gamedays.

Final point.  If you GOTTA live in ohio, my personal suggestion is Cinci.

raleighwood

July 9th, 2012 at 10:03 AM ^

I'm in a bit of a personal quandry.  I'm facing a relocation if I want to stay with my current company.  My two options are Jacksonville, FL and Cincinnati, OH.  From a strictly business perspective, it makes the most sense to move to Cincinnati (my manager and most of my counterparts are there).  From a more personal perspective, I don't think that I could stomach living in Ohio.  I would have serious issues putting Ohio plates on my car or paying property taxes in Ohio.

I've visited Cincinnati (Blue Ash) a few times and it seems like a pretty nice area.  Nice people, rolling hills, decent neighborhoods.  The biggest problem.....it's in Ohio.  I'm seriously leaning toward Jacksonville and the benefits offered in Florida (close to the beach, no state income tax....).

 

Raback Omaba

July 9th, 2012 at 10:07 AM ^

Have friends in JAX and have been there a lot - if it's ppl you are worried about, JAX may be worse than Ohio. When u get past the weather and beaches, Jacksonville really sucks - my friends, who transplanted from Michigan, said that aside from the other Midwest transplants (of which there are many), the people and attitudes of JAX locals are terrible - typical southern stereotypes. Don't move there expecting amazing ppl. They hate it.

raleighwood

July 9th, 2012 at 10:30 AM ^

I've heard that about the people in Jacksonville but how bad can it be?  I've heard that it's basically a combination of Southern Georgia and rural Alabama but you'd think that it would be a little bit better since it's a large city with some cultural events.  I went to the Gator Bowl a couple of years ago and had a good time (aside from the game itself).  It looks like the economy is picking up and there's a fair amount of new home construction.  

I've actually considered living in Northern Kentucky and commuting to Cincinnati but it just doesn't seem to be worth it.  The nicer towns are north of Cinci.  Once you leave the midwest, it's pretty hard to go back (grey skies, higher taxes....)

I live in Raleigh, NC now (and have for 16 years).  Pound for pound, this is probably a Top 5 place to live in the US.  Half of the population came from somewhere else (MI, OH, PA, NY, NJ, FL, SC.....) which makes for interesting college football watching.  I've got a great location not far from the hockey arena and 10-15 minutes from downtown.  I really hate to give this up......but the Florida beaches are tempting.

Ron_Lippitt

July 9th, 2012 at 11:17 AM ^

I TOTALLY understand your point about not wanting to don the ohio plates.  That would be a rough day.  On a side note -- when I moved back to Detroit from Chicago, I kept my watches on Central time for a year because I couldn't bear it.  That feeling eventually subsides.

Cinci is an interesting town.  It's not the same as C-bus/Cleveland/Dayton in terms of being diehard buckeyes.  There's a mix of folks there.  Particularly transplants from other cities who came for the same reason you'd go there.  Don't get me wrong.  It's still ohio and has it's fair share of scarlet/gray.  But it's a much more cosmopolitan city with the northern Kentucky bend as well.  They seem to be a lot more sensible with allegiances from all over the country, not just ohio.  And the city itself is VERY modern with an amazing business climate, and fantastic suburbs/neighborhoods.  And believe it or not, there's a large base of hardcore Michigan fans in Cinci.

To be fair, I don't know a lot about JAX.  But that would definitely be a whole different thing for you and your family.  I have a very close friend who transferred to Cinci from Chicago.  They couldn't be happier with their choice.

One other thing -- if you have kids, you would need to make SURE they are not influenced by anything ohio, lest they slowly evolve into something undesirable.  You get the least of that kind of thing in Cinci, but it IS still ohio, afterall.

ShaneGentry

July 12th, 2012 at 6:28 PM ^

Registered on here just to reply to your comment. I'm a Buckeye from the Cleveland area currently living in SW Florida. Most people from Ohio or Michigan don't understand the cultural differences between different areas of the State. Jacksonville is a great example of this. Jacksonville is basically representative of its name. It's deep south. You will stand out like a sore thumb from the dumbass locals. To make it worse the beaches suck. The city is badly designed. Lots of crime. North Florida is really south Georgia with a mixture of Alabama. If you're going to move to Florida go to Tampa or Ft Myers or Fort Lauderdale area (but not Miami unless you speak Spanish.)  Maybe Orlando. Anything north of that you will be culture shocked.

As for Columbus. It's a great city. Ann Arbour is an AWESOME college town. But Columbus is a state captial and is now Ohio's largest city with a crazy mix of college and professional. I'd love to live there if my professional life permitted.

thisisme08

July 9th, 2012 at 10:37 AM ^

Well Kentucky is right across the river.

My wife had an interview for a dance studio in Cincy and I straight up told her I was not living in Ohio and would commute to/from Kentucky.  She put me in my place and took a job thats located in central Kentucky (its still better than Ohio).   

befuggled

July 9th, 2012 at 12:42 PM ^

I lived there for about a year in the late eighties and also went to school 45 minutes away in Oxford. Cincinnati seems to have had more than its share of problems with racial relations in the last twenty years, and based on some of the people I talked to I have no trouble believing that.

I also distinctly remember some clowns distributing literature from the Aryan Nations or the like on 27 between Cincy and Oxford.

OysterMonkey

July 9th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^

I live in Cincinnati. It's a cool city, especially if you have a family. We've got a great zoo, a terrific Art Museum, and lots of other stuff. My only real complaint is that there aren't enough really good bookstores.

The people are nice, and, while there are a lot of OSU fans, they're by no means in the majority. I'd say UC has more fans, despite sort of being the "little brother" program of the state, but you'll get plenty of fans of UK, IU, Notre Dame, Xavier, etc. I bump into Michigan fans regularly, too.

I know the "Worst State Ever" meme gets a lot of traction on the board, but I'm a lifelong Michigan fan who's lived in Ohio all my life and never had much of an issue with the mouthbreather buckeye fans that are the stereotype. Not that they don't exist, but it's pretty easy to avoid places where those sorts of folks are going to be congregating. You'll run into the occasional dumbass in a bar or whatever, but I don't get anythign but good-natured ribbing when I wear Michigan stuff out and about.

But for the love of all that's holy, don't eat any Cincinnati style chili. Godawful.

neoavatara

July 9th, 2012 at 9:10 AM ^

I have lived in Cbus for five years now.  I have lived in the past in Flint, NYC, Minneapolis, Chicago, Washington DC, and grew up in Detroit.

All I can say about Columbus is it is ok.  It is far better than Cleveland or Detroit, there is no comparison. The economy was decent here even in the recession.  The city is fairly well run, and they have a pretty solid educated class here.



The biggest drawback is Buckeye fans.  

But as a place to live, it is better than many of the places I have been. 

bluebyyou

July 9th, 2012 at 9:29 AM ^

I think your analysis is spot on.  I have lived not too far from Columbus, at least for a good part of each year, for the last three years.  The rest of the time, I am in Maryland, between DC and Baltimore.

The biggest negative, of course, is the number of OSU fans, and they are everywhere.  If we weren't Michigan fans, I doubt I would ever notice.  Part of that may be due to the lack of professional sports teams, other than on NHL team.  OSU is the sports machine. ("Ohio" doesn't cut it in this discussion because there are a fair number of Ohio graduates here too).

Columbus has decent, but typically not great, food, a fair amount of concerts and is generally, an easy city to navigate.  People are friendly with the exception of one topic. There are a couple of excellent malls....Easton and Polaris, both are as good as any place anywere I have ever visited, and an old "food center" known as North Market, which has some very decent food stores, including a bakery that is excellent, a hard thing to find in Ohio.

bacon1431

July 9th, 2012 at 9:15 AM ^

My friend had an internship with the Blue Jackets one year so I went down to visit him. Only stayed in the arena district and then drove through OSU's campus. From what I saw, the city seemed real nice and my friend had an awesome park right by the house he was renting. But I will say that it was very expensive. All the bars and restaurants we went to seemed incredibly pricy. But again, I feel as though I was in the ritzy part of town.

triangle_M

July 9th, 2012 at 9:44 AM ^

Well you should go there, just so you aren't speaking from ignorance.  I'm not flaming you, I think its a piece of shit too.  Of course, my memories of Columbus are shaped to a large extent, by the fact that I was wearing maize on game day in the shoe.

Smash Lampjaw

July 9th, 2012 at 9:26 AM ^

that it was a fairly sophisticated college town/ state capitol, in the fashion of Indianapolis and Madison. My first and only stay there,  though, altered that view a bit. This was for a youth sports tournament, and I was surprised at the influence of Appalachia- not that there is anything wrong with that. I am sure that other events and other parts of town do not draw as many hilljacks, but Indianapolis and Madison it is not.

74polSKA

July 9th, 2012 at 9:36 AM ^

I'm just curious what youth sport you were playing.  We have our share of hilljacks around here, but we also have a very large rural agrarian population, who on the surface could be confused for said hillbilly. 

If you drive your mobile meth lab to your son's baseball tournament, you might be a redneck.  (It sounds funny in the Jeff Foxworthy voice in my head)