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steven k, i totally disagree regarding my trade when it comes to unions. i am in the newer telecom. branch of local union 38. i am better trained,i make more, have better health benefits,and better pension/retirement/401k options than any non-union company offers their employees. the choice is a no brainer. besides, i get to work on the largest commercial building projects in the city(currently cleve. clinic heart center and the adjoining glickman tower. you dont know what your talking about !
Good for you. I wish you the best. Hopefully one day your union will do for you what my non union efforts has done for me. I'm 39 and retired ! Self made too, no silver spoon here. I couldn't find a union that could, let alone would, offer me more than what I couldn't do on my own.
And please cease from displaying your ignorance by stating I don't know what I'm talking about when you clearly have no idea of the extent of my knowledge or myself period. My resume and professional status in this world speaks for itself ! Oh......and did I mention that I am not college educated ! I finished high school................. I think.
1) Current or former Ohio location:
Dayton
2) Why do you want to leave or have left?:
too cold & cloudy, lack of job opportunities in my field, sinus problems, want to try new things
3) Where outside of Ohio and why:
New Mexico for weather, jobs, culture
4) 2nd and 3rd Place Choices:
North Carolina, Florida
5) What’s currently holding you back from moving if you haven't already left?:
we're in the process of moving
6) Anything else you want to say?
Ohio is a beautiful place. We will really miss the people here. We have met lots of good friends.
2) why do you want to leave?= Ashtabula is a joke. The town looks like a nuclear bombed was dropped on it, 50% of the city's residents either make or use Meth, there are no jobs, the city govt is a laughing stock, along with the city school board, and it's just plain ugly, with nothing to look at, but the that mercury filled cess pool, Lake Erie.
3)where outside ohio and why?= Colorado Springs, Colorado. Major high paying jobs in my field, beautiful scenery, clean air, and very little snow.
4)2nd and 3rd place choices= Maybe Houston, or Montana
5)what's holding you back from moving? I'm trying to save about $5000 for the move. Pro movers cost alot of $$$
6) Anything else you want to say= I say good riddance to Ohio and the midwest in general. Will the last one to leave Ashtabula please turn out the lights?
1) Current or former Ohio location:
Trashtabula. Err, also known as Ashtabula, OH.
2) Why do you want to leave or have left?:
I agree with the post above mine. This place is a toilet. There are no jobs, no opportunities, inadequate services for those that need them and it's commonplace to see trash, tires and random car parts pitched roadside. It snows here half of the year, everything is filthy, no one here cares and I am convinced it is the white trash capital of the free world. I absolutely loathe this area and I will literally celebrate, possibly on my knees thanking God, when I finally get to move out of here.
3) Where outside of Ohio and why:
Houston, TX is my place of choice.
4) 2nd and 3rd Place Choices:
Louisville, KY or Raleigh, NC.
5) What’s currently holding you back from moving if you haven't already left?:
My husband is one of the few with a good job locally.
6) Anything else you want to say?
I can't find any reason anyone would choose to live here.
NE OH, Akron area. We are located about 25-30 minutes from there, Wayne County. Lived here 1968-1982. Then 1984 to present. Took a short hiatus to S. CA (OC) while we were very young. Moved back due to family being here; needed to finish college, etc.
2) Why do you want to leave or have left?:
(a) Climate is biggest reason. Not Ohio's fault; it is what it is. I'm so sick of hearing, "If you want the weather to change, wait 5 minutes; it's Ohio." While I know that this is somewhat true, I just don't want to live in a place like that. I want a moderate climate at this point in my life. This is just a personal preference. Thinking about handling another harsh and brutal winter with cold temperatures that bite your face, etc., is enough to make me feel very hopeless. The grey and gloom of the winter months is getting to many of us right now. Yesterday, one of my older sons couldn't even change the tire on his vehicle as it went flat on the highway because the bolts were frozen on it. My husband as well as a police office tried and tried and couldn't get them off either. My son ended up getting the car towed to a tire shop in order for them to change the tire. This is the kind of stuff one deals with in the winter. Granted, this is not exclusive to Ohio. What I'm saying is that I want OUT OF THIS TYPE CLIMATE.
(b) College costs. I am really upset at how expensive even state college has become for our younger generation. There is something definitely amiss here.
(c) Lack of professional jobs in some industries and/or fields (aka education).
(d) Inequities in financing our schools. State of Ohio - wake up!!! There are some challenging problems in the state legislature; something is not right there. There has been a whole lot of money-mismanagement there for decades; now it appears we're in the hole. Really not fair to everyone who has stuck by this state for decades. Where is the accountability???
(e) There is a pervasive "status-quo" mindset around here (in my personal opinion). Change is not embraced too well. Sitting around waiting for the cows to come home (like we constantly hear on these boards; "wait, things are turning around, things are changing"). Some of us don't have 60+ years to wait for this change to occur...hoping that it will happen within our lifetime. For those that can wait, more power to you. You're a better person than I am.
(f) Putting up with a status quo or bleak life while using the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, and the Ohio Buckeyes as some sort of "pick-me-up from the dumps that my life is" device. I'm not a sports nut, however, the devotion that some Ohioans have to their sports teams is almost fanatical - like a religion! Not dissing anyone here; my own immediate family is somewhat like this, so I'm speaking from my own personal experience.
3) Where outside of Ohio and why:
Out West. I need sunshine and lots of it. I can deal with the cold, not my first choice to deal with the cold, but I could if I had to, as long as there's not the pervasive grey and gloom AND COLD AND FREEZING for what seems like months on end. First choice is CA (as we have many friends and business acquaintances that live there).
4) 2nd and 3rd Place Choices:
AZ or CO.
5) What’s currently holding you back from moving if you haven't already left?:
I would have to say that it's a combination of things; money, pulling a large family out of school, waiting for the two oldest kids to finish college, stepping outside of a comfort zone. For me, if it was just me, I could have left 6-7 years ago. However, my mom was still living and was sick. She needed us at that time. She has been gone for almost 4 years now. Our two oldest were in the midst and beginning of college. I feel that there are a few more things to finish up here at this point.
6) Anything else you want to say?
I am beginning to agree more and more that Ohio is becoming a welfare state to a large degree due to the demise of jobs. (Sorry to you Ohio Chamber of Commerce people/posters). I've seen a good state go downhill in the last 35+ years that I've been here. I remember down-sizing and huge corporations starting to shut down in the mid to late 70's when I was just a kid, and this trend has continued. Granted, there are certainly cities in NE OH trying very hard to revitalize, and they are doing a good job at it. I think that Ohio has a particular mindset about it. It's definitely a middle-of-the road type thought; there are both conservatives and liberals to be found, but mostly (in my opinion), people are moderate, salt-of-the earth type people, are very loyal and hard-working. I think that many of these people are just very tired and have put up with cr*p for years; many are wanting out. These are the people that seem to be holding up the rest of Ohio which is unemployed, (some) undereducated, and possibly on drugs or producing drugs, and on welfare. In my opinion, I think that more and more people (from the middle class) have entered into economic hardship trying to cling to what Ohio was, rather than what it has become. I don't blame the current Ohio administration for our problems because they did not cause it. Our problems have been caused by years and years of fiscal mismanagement, punitive tax policies towards corporations and individuals, and lack of proactivity. I feel like much of Ohio sits on their hands waiting for things to happen instead of being on the offense. I agree with the poster that says that Ohio portrays itself as a hillbilly state to some degree and/or the Amish. I also am sort of sick of this image, as it doesn't paint the whole picture of Ohio. No wonder people from other states think we're a bunch of hicks living in a middle of a cornfield. In reality, Ohio has a lot of educated people (highly educated as well), that cannot get professional jobs that are equal to their education. Instead, they have to settle for any positions that come their way and be happy for it.
P.S. - I am talking about NE OH in specific, before anyone jumps on me. I'm not going to speak for the whole state as I don't live in the whole state.
1) Current or former Ohio location:
Cleveland (Shaker Heights)
2) Why do you want to leave or have left?:
I want to live in a place with better job opportunities. I will have an accounting degree in a few years and Cleveland is not the place to be if I'm going to work in this field. I want to say the nightlife is dead, but there are some(I use that term lightly) to do here. It seems as if downtown will pick up a little after the Euclid Corridor project is finished. I also want to leave for a change of pace new scenery and to start over once I graduate from college.
3) Where outside of Ohio and why:
I strongly considering New York. I already have a close friend who got married and moved there. The job market is "fierce" as a lot of posters say on the NYC board, but there are certainly more opportunities then Cleveland.
4) 2nd and 3rd Place Choices:
2nd choice would be Chicago. I visited there and have some friends out there as well and love it, but there winters are horrendous so I'm up in the air with this city.
For my third choice, I would say Atlanta or North Carolina, but I don't think I can adjust to the sothern lifestyle. Maybe DC or Baltimore, I still have a some research to do.
5) What’s currently holding you back from moving if you haven't already left?:
College and bills. While I'm in college, I'm saving my money and I'm trying to pay off my debt so by the time I graduate, I will be in a better position to move. Family isn't holding me back to much, my sister is willing to move with me. I also had other family members who moved and didn't look back. I don't blame them either.
6) Anything else you want to say?
A few other posters mentioned that Ohio is becoming a welfare state. I have to agree. I was really mad when Walmart starting accepting foodstamps or whatever it is welfare people get. I think Cleveland has potential to be a great city but there really isn't much being done to improve it. Sure there is a major renovation project going on downtown and along Euclid Ave, but is it enough to bring more life to the city? We'll see.
Complexsimplicity, you sound about the age of my older children and/or nieces and nephews. They too, have had to leave NE OH for better employment opportunities. One lives in the Chicago area, loves it there. Other ones have moved to other states and/or Southern Ohio. I have a B.S. in Accounting; didn't really care for the field, although I have to say that the opportunities are not that great here; at least the pay is not.
I have been an entrepreneur since the late 90's (after going back to school to get a degree in nursing; did not complete it though), and I'll tell you business in my field (sales - health and wellness) is much better in the West than it is here. I wish you the very best of luck as you finish school.
Not everybody in Ohio is in love with it, so I am starting this post for those who want to leave, or have left to tell us why.
TELL IT LIKE IT IS
1) Current or former Ohio location:
Columbus
2) Why do you want to leave or have left?:
Got transferred here from NC and hate this place, especially the long depressing winters, the dirty cities including Columbus, high crime rate, lack of great shopping, low wages offered here to people.
3) Where outside of Ohio and why:
Charlotte, NC This is where I got transferred from and Charlotte is very cosmopolitan compared to Columbus, it's clean, great weather, crime isn't out of control, beautiful neighborhoods, and the shopping gets better and better every year.
4) 2nd and 3rd Place Choices:
Charleston, SC as a second choice Atlanta, GA as a third choice.
5) What’s currently holding you back from moving if you haven't already left?:
Company is closing operations here in Columbus in 3 years and moving it all down to NC so I'll be going back then and I can't wait.
6) Anything else you want to say?
Thank You for having this fill in the blanks, I honestly don't get what is so great about Ohio, sure the country landscape is nice, but that's all it's got going for it. The weather here just really stinks and that's the big decision factor for wanting to leave and not stay when my company moves. So many people up here want to leave and go to a state with a better climate and can't say I blame them one bit.
The other thing that bothers me is the fact that Ohio is very dirty in my opinion and it's even more dramatic in the winter because there is no vegetation to hide it. The day I came up here to pick out a house I could not believe how many neighborhoods are just literally collapsing, it's like no one cares. Garbage litters the streets, buildings just falling apart or sitting empty in what looks like forever. I then thought to myself "Why am I doing this". It gets very depressing here and I can't seem to shake it and the long winter only makes it worse. I look at the relocation packet I got on Columbus and the pictures and I have to say they pretty much lie in it because the pictures and data they provide are not what this place looks like or is like. I guess when your desperate to attract people you have to do all you can.
Last edited by west5548; 02-23-2008 at 09:48 PM..
Reason: additional information
I think Dayton and Ohio overall have gone downhill in so many ways in the last few years, from crime, to lack of jobs, terrible weather, very little culture, not much nightlife...I don't think having a glut of malls and restaurants can make all that better.
I LOVE Charleston!! I'm so glad to be here, and I've never looked back!!
Charleston is beautiful I agree 100% I picked it as my second choice next to Charlotte, but when I lived in Charlotte got in the car and drove 2 1/2 hours to Charleston at least a couple times a month. I love it there, the history, culture, beaches, historic shops, the list could go on and on.
Find I read this I lived in Louisville a couple of years ago...getting ready to visit Houston in April (then of relocating with a friend) Texas has a lot of job growth I believe that's why alot of people are relocating there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by comingtotexas
TELL IT LIKE IT IS
1) Current or former Ohio location:
Trashtabula. Err, also known as Ashtabula, OH.
2) Why do you want to leave or have left?:
I agree with the post above mine. This place is a toilet. There are no jobs, no opportunities, inadequate services for those that need them and it's commonplace to see trash, tires and random car parts pitched roadside. It snows here half of the year, everything is filthy, no one here cares and I am convinced it is the white trash capital of the free world. I absolutely loathe this area and I will literally celebrate, possibly on my knees thanking God, when I finally get to move out of here.
3) Where outside of Ohio and why:
Houston, TX is my place of choice.
4) 2nd and 3rd Place Choices:
Louisville, KY or Raleigh, NC.
5) What’s currently holding you back from moving if you haven't already left?:
My husband is one of the few with a good job locally.
6) Anything else you want to say?
I can't find any reason anyone would choose to live here.
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