Pretty impressed with this city! (Cincinnati, Kent: neighborhoods, buy, university)

[MusicSoundsBetterWithYou]

So I been to Ohio a few times and love Ohio for its nature and its cute Americana towns. However, I never really been in Cincinnati. I drove by it a few times, been around the area but never actually hung out or stood Cincinnati, ever. Up until recently, I had went to visit a buddy of mine. I had no idea what to make of Cincinnati other then the football team and other then watching a video years ago about how there was a subway station in the making that was then cut short, which is a real shame.


To give some context, I am from NYC. I grew up getting around the city on foot or biking 95% of the time. I been to many cities in North America and Asia, which I find are great for getting around by foot (NYC, DC, Philadelphia, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Tokyo, Beijing, Osaka, Chongqing just to name a few).

My impressions with Cincy: I was actually impressed! Now, I know some people who live in Cincy will hate it or love it but I think this is a very impressive city.

I look at cities in this metric:
Walkability
bikeable
good public transit
Skyline (I don't put too much emphasis but it helps I guess)

And Cincy/North Kentucky/Covington/CVG has that! Granted, its transit system may not be on the scale of NYC, Chicago, DC, Montreal, San Francisco (I think BART is not that bad as some people make it) but I think the bus system is pretty good and efficient! As for biking, walking, running? I think its an excellent city for it! I found Cincy just big enough by walking I can be in lots of parts of the city within 30-40 minutes. I had an EXCELLENT run through Mt. Adams! I had no idea about those dang hills, with great views of Cincy!

I had no issues biking and found it easier to bike in this city then others actually. Awesome city to bike in.

Also, the John A. Roeblings bridge was really cool to see and run over to Covington and back into Cincy. And yes, that's basically a mini Brooklyn Bridge by the man who created both. Speaking of Covington, I also enjoyed it. YES, I know it has some work to be done but I see lots of potential! It was very easy to get around by foot/bike.


The architecture of Cincy is pretty cool too! It reminds me of if Colombus, NYC and Chicago were mixed together with a little of Boston in the Mt. Adams area.


I see potential in Cincinnati and think it can be more depending on the investments. I know some people think its nothing special and I'm not trying to make it more then it is. I'm just way more impressed with the city giving I knew not a whole lot of it and for the fact that lots of other "cities" in America, I don't look at as a city. I see Cincy much more of a city then places like Tuscon, Albuquerqe,Phoenix, San Antonio, Jacksonville, Fayetville (to name a few). Where walking is a challenge, everything is far away, and just not convenient.

So, for the natives, locals, long time residents, regular visitors of Cincy/CVG/North Kentucky area; what are your thoughts on Cincy as a pedestrian friendly city? What do you think can make it better? What is your thoughts on the potential (or none) of this city? Looking forward to the opinions! Thanks so much.

[Natural510]

I haven’t explored Cincy too thoroughly but do love the walkable areas I’ve been…downtown, OTR, Covington. It’s one of the country’s oldest major cities so has the bones for resurgence (happening slowly already). The rowhousing is beautiful and the streets remind me of Boston (which does have its annoying factor in the automobile age). I think it will have a resurgence like Louisville and Chattanooga where younger people from the coasts seeking cheaper COL will come in, fix up old housing, and the desirable restaurants/breweries/etc that come with it, since the winter weather is better than the rest of the state.

[blickcd]

Regarding being walkable, I think that depends on the location. I have lived in areas to the north and east of downtown, Reading and Oakley, and there were grocery stores, other shopping, restaurants, and bars within easy walking distance of my home. Also lived in Sharonville which, perhaps because of the neighborhood I lived in there, was pretty sprawled out. Could be walked, and did so on occasion, but it meant longer walks.

Maybe the bus service to the outer areas could be improved with more express routes. I looked into riding the bus, more as a backup plan, when I worked downtown and there were only a few times an express bus ran, which was not flexible enough for my schedule. I would guess the demand for added express busses isn't there. People complain about our rush hour and expressways but I've found them to be very drivable and easy to get around most of the time.

[TomJones123]

Sweet!!! Thanks for the post and feedback!

[Chas863]

This is the OP's first post of ANY kind EVER on City-Data and it reads like it was written by someone working for the Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. Perhaps it was.

[lluvia]

Originally Posted by Chas863

This is the OP's first post of ANY kind EVER on City-Data and it reads like it was written by someone working for the Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. Perhaps it was.

AI is my guess.

[TomJones123]

Originally Posted by Chas863

This is the OP's first post of ANY kind EVER on City-Data and it reads like it was written by someone working for the Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. Perhaps it was.

Originally Posted by lluvia

AI is my guess.

Geez...with comments like these no wonder city data is dead...who wants to sign up, post and immediately get insulted?

[MusicSoundsBetterWithYou]

Originally Posted by Natural510

I haven’t explored Cincy too thoroughly but do love the walkable areas I’ve been…downtown, OTR, Covington. It’s one of the country’s oldest major cities so has the bones for resurgence (happening slowly already). The rowhousing is beautiful and the streets remind me of Boston (which does have its annoying factor in the automobile age). I think it will have a resurgence like Louisville and Chattanooga where younger people from the coasts seeking cheaper COL will come in, fix up old housing, and the desirable restaurants/breweries/etc that come with it, since the winter weather is better than the rest of the state.

I think it has the potential to also make a resurgence. Lots of upside!

[MusicSoundsBetterWithYou]

Originally Posted by blickcd

Regarding being walkable, I think that depends on the location. I have lived in areas to the north and east of downtown, Reading and Oakley, and there were grocery stores, other shopping, restaurants, and bars within easy walking distance of my home. Also lived in Sharonville which, perhaps because of the neighborhood I lived in there, was pretty sprawled out. Could be walked, and did so on occasion, but it meant longer walks.

Maybe the bus service to the outer areas could be improved with more express routes. I looked into riding the bus, more as a backup plan, when I worked downtown and there were only a few times an express bus ran, which was not flexible enough for my schedule. I would guess the demand for added express busses isn't there. People complain about our rush hour and expressways but I've found them to be very drivable and easy to get around most of the time.

That's one thing I wish this city had more of, there's a big lack of markets that I've noticed.

For instance, in NYC, Philly, DC, Boston, Chicago, Pittsburg I can walk around and not worry about wear I can buy a bottle of water or other simple little items. I can easily find a Trader Joes, a local market, a Whole Foods, CVS etc without much effort.

In Cincy, there was the Dollar General and Krogers that seemed to be the two main big stores in the area. I couldn't even find a local market/deli to pick something up, which was a shame. I managed to find a Dollar Tree in Covington but that was by accident on my run and a little deep into Covington.

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Sweet!!! Thanks for the post and feedback!

You got it!

Originally Posted by Chas863

This is the OP's first post of ANY kind EVER on City-Data and it reads like it was written by someone working for the Chamber of Commerce of Cincinnati. Perhaps it was.

Nope! Not at all. Would be nice to get a paycheck from them though

Originally Posted by lluvia

AI is my guess.

Nope! Real deal over here.

Originally Posted by TomJones123

Geez...with comments like these no wonder city data is dead...who wants to sign up, post and immediately get insulted?

Hahahaha. Unreal, right? Somethings never change.

[Coseau]

There are 2 Walgreens downtown, one on East 4th & Main and the other that have longer business hours on West 6th & Race. There is a CVS on East 7th & Walnut, a United Dairy Farmers on St Gregory in Mt Adams. There is a convenience store a block away from the Roeblings Suspension Bridge in Covington on East 4th & Greenup and another one on West 4th & Russell.

The local markets are apt to be in the outlying neighborhoods such as Clifton and Corryville that have a large residential student population attending the University of Cincinnati. Not coincidentally those areas have the highest density tracts in the City with a high concentrations of people able to support these types of establishments.