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Advice on living in Columbus?

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Started 4 years ago by rustbelt
Latest reply from mightymighty

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rustbelt

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This forum has been very useful as my wife & I prepare to relocate to Columbus from Cleveland in early 2008.
We originally wanted to rent but have been underwhelmed by available rentals ($1000-1200 range) in the Short North, German Village, Victorian Village areas. It doesn't help that we have 3 cats, 1 dog & don't want to be in a student-heavy neighborhood.
We're now considering buying. As people who appreciate old houses, I really like some of what I see in the Olde Towne East nieghborhoods, an area I am absolutely unfamiliar with.
The prices are affordable, the architecture is nice, but I've been led to believe - through this forum & others - that it's not the most desirable place from a safety standpoint. Especially areas right around Parsons Ave.
We expect some elements of urban living, but would rather not have to deal with constant inner city-type aggravations. OTE is also obviously too far away for us to walk to & from some of the places we like to frequent on & around High Street & downtown so that's a strike against it.
Any advice for a relocating couple who wants to rent or own in or near downtown? Any advice & info on OTE would be especially welcome.
Thank in advance.

Posted 4 years ago #
dru
IV
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if you are widening the search - I'd also suggest Italian Village (east side of SN), Harrison West (west of VV) and Merion Village (south of GV). the peripheries of these areas have more affordable options. one piece of advice about renting in these areas, so much of it is done by a sign in the yard - it's hard to search via online listings, papers, etc... so planning a weekend to come down and drive around might be key
as for OTE, there are others on the list who own/rent there and will have more informed opinions.
if you opt to buy, there's a note in your PM about mortgage info for urban neighborhoods...

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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Personally, if I were not a single woman or parent, I would have zero problem with OTE. There's some property crime, and it neighbors on some more dangerous violent crime areas, but overall I don't think anyone looking for urban living should be put off by the neighborhood at all.
I think Merion Village is a better neighborhood though, mostly because of it's proximity to GV and therefore the full on walkability of it all.

Posted 4 years ago #
luchobucho
Philadelphia, PA
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can i suggest chicago?
it starts with a "C" also!
:P
EDIT: I was joking......I would think that HW and MV would be pretty good spots to get slight less expensive, but quality housing........I've seen some nice properties while walking/running/driving thru those areas.

Posted 4 years ago #
vestanpance
Harrison West/at work OSU
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I have a house in Harrison West and love it. I know there are a few around me for sale, and some for rent.

Posted 4 years ago #
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Coremodels wrote Personally, if I were not a single woman or parent, I would have zero problem with OTE.
:lol: Core, when did you get your sex reassignment operation? :lol:

Posted 4 years ago #
vestanpance
Harrison West/at work OSU
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columbus wrote
Coremodels wrote Personally, if I were not a single woman or parent, I would have zero problem with OTE.
:lol: Core, when did you get your sex reassignment operation? :lol:
I was wondering the same thing

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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LOL...ok, poor phrasing ;)

Posted 4 years ago #
honavery
Arizona
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From my own searches I would think you would be able to find something in German Village for under $1000 to rent that would meet your needs. I have 2 cats and rent a 2 bedroom place for under $600, and live at Frankfort and High. Been awhile since I looked though.

Posted 4 years ago #
Coremodels
Really close to Explorer's Club.
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honavery wrote From my own searches I would think you would be able to find something in German Village for under $1000 to rent that would meet your needs. I have 2 cats and rent a 2 bedroom place for under $600, and live at Frankfort and High. Been awhile since I looked though.
Agreed, BUT I think it's tougher to do from a distance. Some of the best, particularly pets allowed places aren't advertised in those areas, just a sign out front (at least in my experience).
That said, http://www.metro-rentals.com is a good resource, craigslist isn't bad, and then there's realtors like Ned Merkle who do a lot of rentals in GV.

Posted 4 years ago #
somertimeoh
Harrison West
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I agree with dru, if you can spare a weeked, you'll have much better luck with rentals. The demand is so high in these areas, that's all the advertising needed. I relocated without that advantage and really missed out on a lot of great places, much bigger and less expensive that where I ended up!!
I had a friend that lived a block off Main on 18th in OTE and I never had a problem or felt unsafe, even when coming and going late at night. I think with OTE, as with any transitioning neighborhood, you have to judge it based on the block or two surrounding a house you might be interested in and that's also hard to do over the internet.
So basically, a trip south is in order for you!! Welcome!!
PS - why does everyone forget about Dennison Place :)

Posted 4 years ago #
BreakfastwithNick
Clintonville
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Yet another place to look would be some of the neighborhoods in Clintonville. It's a little further away from downtown, and technically in the University District ("A smart place to live," says the sign), but my wife and I just bought a house in the Glen Echo neighborhood, and it's definitely not student-heavy by us. Good prices. Nice family place. The homes in our neighborhood were all built in the 1910's-1930's. In fact, our next-door neighbors are selling their house.

Posted 4 years ago #
rustbelt

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It's not unusual for me to be in Columbus for work (the reason I'm moving, actually) so I/we have spent some time driving around looking at signs, copying down numbers, making calls, etc. But one place I've totally neglected (so far) is OTE.
I agree those steps seem to be better options than Craig's List or metro-rentals.com.
We're also somewhat picky in that we'd prefer to have a place to ourselves or, failing that, live side-by-side rather than top/bottom in a townhouse, condo, apartments, etc.
We looked at a rental in Clintonville this past weekend. I've always liked Clintonville, and wouldn't be surprised to end up there, but it might be a little too tame, for lack of a better word, for our liking.
What I was really wondering was whether anyone would reply & say, "OTE?!? Are you crazy? You'll get shot/mugged/stabbed there!"
And since no one's replied that way, it's on the list for our next scouting trip.

Posted 4 years ago #
Brewmaster
Portland, OR
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Welcome fellow rust belt diaspora!
I'll echo the suggestions of metro-rentals and to just drive/walk around.
Also, if you're interested in a 3-story, roughly 1,300 sq. ft. loft in the Brewery District, I could look into it for you. A neighbor of mine just relocated and last I heard (a week ago) was looking for someone to rent it out to. Lemme know.

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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Rustbelt:
The first house I bought was in Olde Towne. Olde Towne is coming along nicely and eventually I plan to do a new build (very modern and minimalist over there.) I would recommend trying to buy as close to Broad and Parson's as you can. There is a new coffee shop going in near Long and Parson's, The Columbus Music Hall, Black Creek Bistro, Carabar, Chop shop art gallery and the Lincoln Theater all in that corridor of Parsons, and very little crime. The Hamilton Park condominiums are very nice and should be in that range for a mortgage? If you look other places in Olde Towne you will get less property crime the farther from Main Street you get. Most of the problem is south of Main. There is a Near East Side group on yahoo that is worth joining to learn more. Woodland Park and Franklin Park South also have some nice stuff. I currently bought a place in Italian Village and my mortgage is less than what you want in rent. Matters what you are looking for? Olde Towne is fun because it has very eclectic and non-transient neighbors. Just by living there, you are invited to parties nearly every weekend. I think much of ColumbusÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ gay population has moved on to Olde towne.
http://www.oldetowne.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olde_Towne_East - rather accurate assessment of the area
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NearEastSide/
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2003/flagwars/
http://www.fpconservatory.org/

Posted 4 years ago #
Mercurius
First Avenue
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Plus two more Sin City's are coming out and its fun to brag that you've seen some Old Town prostitutes. I really hope they do some filming in Olde Towne. :lol:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458481/plotsummary
Some of my pics of the area
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48357405@N00/sets/72157594536308138/

Posted 4 years ago #
Motorist
The Trots
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I've lived in OTE for a little over 4 years and I really like it there. It is not for everyone but there are a lot of advantages to living there. First, a lot of people still think its dangerous, that you can't walk down the street in broad daylight without dodging bullets. Because of that you can still buy and rent very reasonably. I ended up with a (too) large house in OTE for less than a small condo in downtown.
As for crime, I don't think it's that much worse for violent crime than any other part of town. There seems to be a lot of petty property crime (car break-ins, stealing lawn furniture, stealing anything left outside and not chained or nailed to your house) but you'll get some of that no matter where you live. Anyone with basic street smarts should be fine. I have had one break-in and one attempted break-in since I have lived there. Both times the alarm scared them off and nothing of value was taken. As far as I know, none of my neighbors have had any break-ins in years. I did have a window shot out of my car (with a BB gun) last winter. Some punk went down the street and nailed 5 or 6 cars on my street. Thats my full crime report.
The biggest disadvantage over the other downtown neighborhoods is that it is not very walkable. We do have a great restaurant (Black Creek Bistro), some great bars (Carabar and AWOL), and a great gallery (Chop Chop). There is finally a coffee shop opening up on Long Street sometime around the first of the year. If you live in the southeastern part of the neighborhood, you are a short walk from the Krogers on Main Street and all that Bexley has to offer. Franklin Park is pretty accessible from the entire neighborhood.
If you are down sometime during the week and would like a tour guide through OTE some evening, shoot me a PM. I also know a good realtor in the neighborhood if you want to go that route. If you end up renting, I rented two different apartments from F&W Properties and was very happy with them. Their offices are at the corner of Broad and South Garfield.
Some friends just bought a place in Schumacher Place, it's nice too.

Posted 4 years ago #
Paul
Vancouver, BC
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Motorist wrote I've lived in OTE for a little over 4 years
I have had one break-in and one attempted break-in since I have lived there.
No offense, but ostensibly that sounds really bad.
"Oh, it's alright. Once every couple of years someone breaks into your house. Other than that, pretty quiet neighborhood."

Posted 4 years ago #
Motorist
The Trots
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Paul wrote
Motorist wrote I've lived in OTE for a little over 4 years
I have had one break-in and one attempted break-in since I have lived there.
No offense, but ostensibly that sounds really bad.
"Oh, it's alright. Once every couple of years someone breaks into your house. Other than that, pretty quiet neighborhood."
Without going into how stupid I was, the attempted break-in was the direct result of a lapse in street smarts. So one break-in in four years.
But on a positive side, I've never had a home invasion while I was getting ready for work one morning, then duct taped in my underwear while some punks ransacked my house and then stole my car from the garage. Thank God I don't live in German Village!
Break-ins happen everywhere. In the past 7 days in the 117 Cruiser District (German Village bound by Thurman, Parsons, Sycamore, and I-71) there were 4 burglaries. In the 120 Cruiser District (OTE, bound by Franklin, Wilson, Broad and 71), there were 3. That was this week. Next week, we might win by one in Olde Towne.

Posted 4 years ago #
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Motorist, you are hilarious! :lol:

Posted 4 years ago #