Disappointment - Cincinnati: is this really it? (Kent, Norwood: appointed, hotel)

[autobahn2000]

Hi,
as I posted before, my employer wants me to move to Cincinnati.
I am currently living in Baltimore.

I am on a visit in Cincinnati with my wife and child. We are so disappointed!!!
Please, please you posters tell us we are wrong, tell us about those areas we have not seen that are great!

Why are we so disappointed?
yes, the housing situation and what you get for the money is great.
But...

Where are the URBAN areas where you park your car and walk around to inhale urban life. Restaurants, Cafes, Stores?
Baltimore in comparison has tons of problems yes, but downtown at the inner harbor you can walk around for an hour or two and be entertained. It is actually nice there, there are many tourists.

Our realtor drove us thru Oakley and Hyde Park. Hyde Park looked nice, but where is the area consisting of a couple of streets where you can walk around for an hour and get entertained by what you see. It has to have more then residential homes to be interesting.
That is the thing, it needs more than just one square with three restaurants.

We went to the "banks" area. OMG, there is nothing. It could be so nice. There is no promenade with cafes or a park. When this construction is finished will it be able to entertain me for an hour or two - walking along the water, having a cup of coffee, enjoying the scenery?

I heard Cincy has large companies headquartered in the city? Those well paid executives...where do they go to be entertained the urban way?
Where is the stuff we have not seen yet?
Yesterday I drove over to Covington. At first we thought oh not too bad. But the we drove three blocks south from our hotel (right at the river) and over to Newport. Utter despair grabbed us. All this looked like Baltimore downtown in the 80ies - from pictures I have seen.

HELP! What have me missed?

I found the following recommendations in this forum?
Anything else out there?
Hyde Park,
Oakley,
Mount Lookout

Clifton Gaslight to the OP. (the area around the UC campus)
East Walnut Hills
Mount Adams
Over the Rhine
Portions of Norwood
Pleasant Ridge

[TomJones123]

This ain't Baltimore, so if you want to compare you will be disappointed. On the other hand if you want to get settled and learn to enjoy Cincinnati for what it is, then you will likely have a better time of things. Cincinnati is similar to east coast cities in some respects, but is very different on many notable respects.

I think one of the biggest differences comes with the geography. Cincinnati is very hilly and has so many smaller, somewhat disconnected districts. Sad to say, due to the hills you will not be able to walk from one to the other. Bus, car, or bike but not hike. And in that is what makes Cincinnati dissimilar from it's east coast counterparts. It is very hilly, and very scenic with city life sprawled from hill to hill and on outwards into it's Midwest suburbs.

Best of luck.

[autobahn2000]

Thanks for your reply TomJones123 "city life sprawled from hill to hill"
What neighborhoods are these? I have 2.5 more days to check 'em out.
When you have guest from other parts of the country, what do you show them here in Cincinnati?

[abr7rmj]

Great, just the thread we need to linger on here for the next six months ...

You lament not seeing anywhere to walk around but then you admit that all you did was drive around. Perhaps that's the problem? Did you walk around downtown, walk across the bridges into Newport or Covington, walk along the riverfront east of the ballpark? There are literally hours upon hours of walking there, and they're expanding all the time. The riverfront parks are something unmatched in many cities - try walking through the International Friendship Park, Sawyer Point, etc.

And remember: The Banks is developing. It's in the process of being built. Of course it's mostly fenced off right now because it is a construction site in many places. By the end of this year there will be quite a bit more than what's there now. At least four more places are supposed to open just this summer.

Cincinnati's topography, as you noticed, differs from Baltimore in that it has hills - and lots of them. That significantly impacts what is built and where. But the hills also lend themselves to the creation of some awesome pocket neighborhoods tucked away from everything else. They're what give Mount Lookout Square its identity separated from the rest of the city. In other flatter cities, neighborhoods tend to blend into one another, robbing each of their individual personalities and characteristics. That's not the case here at all.

Go walk around Mount Adams and see if there's anything in Balmer that compares to it. And walk around the UC area from Ludlow up to Calhoun. Walk downtown from the Friendship Park up to Music Hall/Washington Park. Walk from Sawyer Point across the Purple People Bridge into Newport and the Newport on the Levee and have a drink at the Hofbrauhaus or check out the aquarium.

[Ohiogirl81]

Cincinnati's start-stop-start again development of its riverfront from an industrial/shipping/warehouse area to recreational/tourist/commercial area is about two decades behind Baltimore's. For one thing, Baltimore's history is national in scope, drawing tourists from all over the country, and helping spur development.

Cincinnati's history is more regional and local. People come to town for Reds games, eat at the ballpark, and go home. If they do stay overnight, they take the kids to the zoo the next day, or maybe to the aquarium in Newport. Or they drive in to see the art museum or go to a street festival ... and go home.

Also, the Banks is still a work in progress.The riverfront park(s -- there are three of them) near the Banks area are on the other side of Great American Ball Park, going east from downtown. Between two of those parks you'll find the Purple People Bridge, a pedestrian-only bridge that gives you easy access to Newport. Heck, I could spend at least two hours walking around Newport alone ...

Baltimore is also twice as big as Cincinnati. Newport and Covington are considerably smaller.

Cincinnati, like Baltimore, is a city of neighborhoods, but, as TomJones said, unlike Baltimore Cincinnati's topography does not allow the neighborhoods to be easily connected, especially on foot. Each neighborhood has its own distinct character (good and/or bad), and its own distinct neighborhood business district.

As for what you missed, Cincinnati's more urban neighborhood business districts, outside of downtown and Over-the-Rhine, include Mt. Adams, Corryville, Clifton, Mt. Lookout, Oakley, Northside ... I'm probably forgetting some. The art museum and Eden Park are an easy walk from Mt. Adams. Corryville -- not as great as it used to be -- and Clifton are near UC.

Give it another chance?

[TomJones123]

You have all the suggestions you need. You may never like Cincinnati no more than I like Baltimore. If you are looking for salt air and crab cakes, you will not find one and the other will likely not measure up.

[Ohioan58]

Several things. One, Cincinnati is heavily balkanized with tons of small neighborhoods and extremely sharp "gradients" between neighboring areas (you can go from tony suburb to slum in a few blocks, like around the Madisonville/Mariemont/Indian Hill area.) So in large measure that is what is causing that lack of walkability beyond a few blocks in any one direction.

Two, as stated, Cinci is 20 years behind the times in catering to that urban vibe of walking to places for entertainment. When my wife and I have gone downtown, it's kind of like, where the hell do we go now? We're at the end of the skywalk and we've seen everything, so time to drive back home.

Third, are local attitudes toward visitors and understanding what a visitor needs.

In SW Ohio and places like it in the Midwest, there is an attitude of non-accomodation toward tourists. Things like good, prominent signage and laying things out for tourists and visitors are not priorities here. Here, you really need to know where you are going, including all of the turns, etc.

Bottom line to the OP: yes, you get the area. Better like malls if you come here.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by autobahn2000

When you have guest from other parts of the country, what do you show them here in Cincinnati?

Sorry, missed the question. Northern Kentucky, CBD, OTR, CUF, Gas Light, and Mount Adams. Mind you, to be on foot in these areas - take in restaurants, shops, meander around to some bars, we take our time and it takes a while.

BTW - I'm a former New Yorker and have no trouble finding things to do in Cincy's urban landscape. But that's the thing. I am not comparing it to NYC. I hope that helps, and all the best.

[unusualfire]

Can't please everyone. For every one that dislikes many more likes. It the same as any other town.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by abr7rmj

Great, just the thread we need to linger on here for the next six months ...

Yeah, this thread needs to die quickly--like what else can be said about our Midwestern Fly Over City that would entice the East Coast OP to view it any differently, hmm? Let's just lick our wounds and move on while allowing the OP to move on, okay?