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The End of the Ocean performing at Independents' Day 2012 - Photo by Matt Ellis
This article is brought to you by the Schottenstein Real Estate Group.
Central Ohio has experienced significant growth over the last 20 years and has drawn in people of all ages and backgrounds making it a very diverse and exciting city. But what does it really have to offer? Here are some of reasons we believe that central Ohio is one of the best places to live in 2013:
- Proximity to Top 100 Living Communities: Publications like Forbes and CNN and many more come out with an annual reports on the best places to live in the U.S. While the rankings of these communities change on a yearly basis, central Ohio has been featured a number of times over the past 10 years. Some communities that have been featured include; Westerville, Gahanna, Bexley, Dublin & Upper Arlington.
- Access to schools & colleges: Central Ohio has a wide variety of education options. Public school districts have been on the rise due to population growth and if that isn’t your preference, there are many accredited private schools to choose from as well. Some private schools in the mix are; St. Francis DeSales, St. Charles Preparatory & Columbus Academy. In terms of colleges, central Ohio may be the best place to start your search. Columbus is home to The Ohio State University, which is one of the largest and most respected public universities in the country. Aside from OSU, there are many other viable options within a two-hour radius of central Ohio. Some of these schools include; Ohio University, Miami University, Denison, Kenyon and Ohio Dominican.
- Sports: Central Ohio is one of the best places to be a sports fan. As mentioned before, it is home to The Ohio State Buckeyes who consistently have a solid fan base making their games a hot commodity on any given weekend. But aside from the Buckeyes, you have the Columbus Blue Jackets hockey team, who are well-known for having one of the nicest arenas (Nationwide Arena) and deliver one of the best fan experiences. Also, Huntington Bank Field is home to the Columbus Clippers, a minor league baseball team, making it possible for fans to enjoy America’s pastime in the comforts of the arena district. Last, but certainly not least, central Ohio is home of the Columbus Crew. This MLS team is crowd favorite and were league champs in 2008.
- Music/Entertainment: Central Ohio has one of the best entertainment scenes in the Midwest, only rivaled by cities like Chicago and Indianapolis. Mainstream headliners like Maroon 5 and The Who can be seen at venues like the Schottenstein Center which is located just off of Ohio State’s campus. Other venues like the Newport Music Hall offer concerts almost every day of the week for music palate of any avid concert goer. However, if music isn’t really your thing, other options like COSI science museum and Jack Hanna’s Columbus Zoo & Aquarium offer great experiences for the whole family.
- Shopping: We all have to shop at some point and central Ohio does not fail to deliver on it’s options of places to spend a little extra cash. Easton Town Center and Polaris Mall are the premier shopping locations in central Ohio. With their extensive layouts, it would be nearly impossible to not find what your looking for in these merchandise oasis.
We love our city for these reasons and we believe you will too. Don’t think our list is complete? Feel free to comment on our Facebook or Twitter (@sre_group) and tell us what you believe makes central Ohio a great place to live.
This article was brought to you by the Schottenstein Real Estate Group.
The Schottenstein Real Estate Group has the distinct honor of being the only three time Developer of the Year chosen by the Building Industry Association (BIA), SRE Group is respected as one of the leaders in the real estate industry. We are dedicated to creating exceptional communities for living, working, shopping and entertainment. Our key personnel have developed, marketed and managed more than 10,000 for sale homes or condominiums, more than 25,000 rental units and a variety of commercial, retail, land and office projects throughout the Midwest and Florida.
More information about The Schottenstein Real Estate Group can be found at www.sregroup.com.
Photo by Matt Ellis Photography.
I would put the food/dining scene and cost of living in Columbus instead of some of these items.
Yeah… best reasons to live in Columbus, number 1, proximity to the suburbs of Columbus.
Sports: Just added a National Lacrosse League team (they play at OWU though I believe). Also, The Arnold and The Memorial (which expands to the President’s Cup this year and the U.S. Senior Open in a few years at Scioto). NCAA Tournament visits town every few years.
Along the lines of sports, central Ohio is home to some of the finest golf courses in America if golf is your thing.
Music: The LC concert venue/complex in the Arena District as well as some bigger acts at Nationwide Arena
Jobs/Unemployment: At last look, unemployment was at just 5.4% in Franklin county, well below the national average. Correct me if I’m wrong, but there’s five Fortune 500 companies in Columbus (and 27 state-wide).
Food/Dining – some of the best in the country. Test market for many chain restaurants as well.
Art could be worked into “Music/Entertainment” especially with what the Short North has to offer.
Completely disagree with #4. Written like it was copied/pasted from some generic travel article from about.com. I doubt very seriously that Indianapolis’ music scene is any better than ours. Putting Columbus’ and Chicago’s in the same sentence is just laughable.
By comparison, Cleveland’s music scene is FAR better than ours…there’s artists/bands that pass through there all the time (and skip us on their way to Pittsburgh or Detroit). Want to feel envious? Check out the calendar for the Beachland Ballroom or the Grog Shop and see everything we’re missing.
I’m not saying that I never find good shows to go to here, I do. It’s just obvious that this was written by someone who doesn’t have any idea what they’re talking about. Arena shows are not the litmus test.
This^.
#1, 4 , and 5…. hardly.
Did we all just get trolled by CU?
This is a HECK of a lot better of there attempts to “connect” with people on this board. I still say they need to list out simple fixes to home and/or apartment problems. Think of a local version of Ask This Old House. Yea, I know, damn good idea. You’re welcome Schottenstein group.
I almost stopped reading at:
“This article was brought to you by the Schottenstein Real Estate Group”
but like watching a train wreck I had to come back and see the comments.
Biggest problem with living in Columbus is the inferiority complex we have. Why was this article called ‘Top Five Reasons to Live in Columbus OHIO? Until we stop referring to Columbus as Columbus Ohio, and start to take more pride in living here, no one else will.
Schotgroup – same people that arm wrestled their way into cooper to put in a gas wasting/noise machine/venue.
The city bent over and let them have it like a boss.
Rather than turning cooper into something healthy, like a giant greenspace, park, BMX track, lake, trees, cyclocross track, skateboard park, – Xgames training ground, walking path
Yes, wasting gas in cars circling around a track is so much more fun. White people venue. (I am white it’s ok I just said that).
Cbus already has a car race track.
Train Wreck – boom.
Slightly odd to have one of my pictures from Independents day used, which is a festival I would consider a top reason to live in Columbus for, yet no mention of that or any festival?
There’s truth in the five reasons mentioned, but nothing that couldn’t of been discovered in a five minute google search
I’m sure these are nice little revenue producers, but ugh, what a generic article.
@musicfan2 – You’re talking about Arshot Investment Corp, who is doing the SPARC (Cooper Stadium Race Track) project. Different company.
What a waste of article space. This is article is junk. The food scene along with the young professionals isn’t even mentioned. In addition, the affordable cost of living??? What a joke.
@walker @musicfan2, but isn’t the “shot” in Arshot from Schottenstein? Full disclosure, I live in an M/I home and it has been a very good experience. (named for Melvin and Irving Schottenstein)
@Jody
Arshot is run by Bill, SRE Group is run by Gary.
I really hope that someone considering a move to Columbus chooses to make the decision by something other than this It reads just like the SEO splog glurge on most realtors’ sites.
Does any of this stuff differentiate Columbus from any other Midwest city? Doesn’t everybody have suburbs, sports, music, schools, and shopping?
This list is really effin pathetic. Instead of making Columbus seem unique it makes it sound like every other city. So a good reason to live in Cbus is b/c it’s next to some nice suburbs, has shopping and sports teams and a few decent colleges and has music venues that play out-of-town bands? Really? Epic fail.
Notice how The Arts isn’t on the list.
One other thing, the comment about the inferiority complex is dead-on with the Arts scene and the biggest problem with that is that people cover up their insecurities by having Hollywood-sized egos.
I’d like to see reasons 6-10. Just curious.
6. Highways – Columbus has multi-lane grade-separated roadways that allow you to drive fast. Zoom!
7. Sidewalks – Many Columbus neighborhoods have paths along the roadway that are dedicated for pedestrian use.
8. Trees – Located throughout Columbus, they are green and leafy for over six months each year!