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I am a grad student in CA applying to OU for a PhD. There are no threads for Athens so I thought I'd start here and see if anyone knows anything about Athens. Judging from the house rental pages and google image pages, Athens is tiny and slightly depressed (?) but these are hardly comprehensive sources. Any descriptions from anyone? Is it going to be too much of a culture shock for a gal from L.A.??
Well, my oldest son went to OU at Athens for four years, and we made many trips down there to drop him off, pick him up, and visit. This was a few years ago, when we still lived in Columbus, OH.
Funny thing is, he now lives and works in Los Angeles!
Athens is a very odd city for Ohio. It is rather small and economically struggling. However, it is far from a depressed or boarded up city. Rather it is much like a small town you would find in New England, including the setting around the city. It has a main street a few blocks long lined with small stores, typical stuff you find around college areas.
The campus is very pretty, right out of what you would see in Vermont or New Hampshire.
You have to be content with a small town lifestyle. For your major shopping "hit" you need to plan an hour and a quarter to get to Columbus, especially the Easton and the Polaris Shopping Centers. Easton blows away anything in Los Angeles, kind of like a much bigger version of The Grove, minus the Farmer's Market. Polaris is similar to Lakewood Center, though much newer.
Hopefully I can provide some helpful information for you regarding Southeastern Ohio. I will try to provide a lot details – so please, do not think that I am trying to be condescending in my comments.
I was born and raised just north of Athens (in Rockbridge) and my mother completed her Masters in Education at O.U. As far as an education from O.U., I believe they are very reputable and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about if you choose to attend the university. I have several friends who recently graduated from there and are currently employed in the Ohio education system. I also work with someone at my current job who graduated from Ohio University in the late 90’s – she loved the area.
I have traveled all over the U.S (including L.A.) as well as different parts of the globe. I moved out of Ohio immediately after high school and attended Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. I now reside in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., and work in Bethesda, Maryland. I moved out of Ohio because I wanted to experience different cultures and wanted a "bigger city" feel/faster pace of life. I enjoy visiting family and friends in Ohio, but I do not feel that I could return to live there. With that said, the people in Ohio are very friendly (the midwest charm), passionate about the Ohio State Buckeyes (a sea of Scarlet and Grey), and enjoy a slower pace to life.
Athens in one of the few liberal areas in Ohio (if that matters to you). It also offers more cultural activities than any other southeastern city in Ohio. I wouldn’t say that the city of Athens is depressed or run down. In terms of comparing the O.C. to Athens or even Ohio in general, you can’t compare them at all. If I resided in L.A. and then moved to Athens, I would be shocked.
- The landscape is very beautiful. Lots of open space! There are a lot of rolling hills, pine trees, wildlife, clean air (no L.A. smog in Ohio), etc.
- The weather is vastly different in Ohio vs. southern California – be prepared for snow, freezing rain, and lots of grey, cloudy days in the winter. I would recommend a car with front wheel drive and good tires for Ohio winters.
- People are very friendly. Doors will be opened for you, people smile and greet you, and everyone wears Ohio State memorabilia – even in Athens. Another big fashion statement in Southeastern Ohio are Carhartts and boots (Ohio a.k.a. "Rust Belt", heavily relies on manufacturing – most people in Southeastern Ohio work hard at factory plants and/or outside).
- Radio stations – be prepared for County Music. The only decent hip-hop radio station is Power 105.5.
- You won’t be seeing a lot of people driving Land Rovers, Mercedes Benzes, Bentleys, Porches, etc. like you would in L.A.
- Ohio State Highway Patrol – they literally patrol 24/7 and will pull you over for going 5 M.P.H over the speed limit. Be prepared for slow drivers and learn to set your cruise control. Do not speed in Ohio! Oh – watch out for wildlife on the roads. There are a lot of deer in the area and it is common to see dead deer (struck by cars) along the side of the highway.
- Chain restaurants and Wal-Mart stores can be found all over Southeastern Ohio.
Final conclusion: Now hopefully I’m not scaring you. I want to provide a realistic impression on the area. If you have never experienced a "small town" atmosphere before, I would highly recommend attending Ohio University in Athens. If you make the best of it while you are there, you’ll gain a lot of unique experiences. I would even recommend attending a local sporting event to see how the entire town comes to support their local team. One of the prettiest places in Ohio is only a short drive from Athens (Hocking Hills Region). There are a lot of natural caves, woods, hiking trails, etc. and I don’t think you will find anything like this in California. You can even go canoeing down the Hocking River.
Keep in mind that you’re not that far from Columbus – lots of shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc. Also, I would recommend driving to West Virginia. I know there are a lot of stereotypes about West Virginia, but it is a very beautiful state.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I can provide a lot of information about the area.
People either love Athens, wishing they could stay after graduation (like I did during the mid 90's) and figure out some way to make a living besides bartending... or they feel claustrophobic, like an outsider or just plain want to escape regardless of finishing their degree. I only mention the outsider part because you will be a grad student without the same extensive support system an undergraduate would receive. The locals are a strange mix of stereotypical rural trailer bumpkins and psuedo-progressive social drop outs that hang out in local pubs during the day after work but before the students come out and swarm the streets at night. Athens is mostly a college town geared towards making money from the students, but there are still a handful of shops, pubs and restaurants that are unique and have some history. The surrounding area is absolutely beautiful for those who like nature stuff, but there is not much to do besides the nightlife that lines Court Street and/or Union. I think there are something like 30 bars in uptown Athens?
Hopefully I can provide some helpful information for you regarding Southeastern Ohio. I will try to provide a lot details – so please, do not think that I am trying to be condescending in my comments.
I was born and raised just north of Athens (in Rockbridge) and my mother completed her Masters in Education at O.U. As far as an education from O.U., I believe they are very reputable and you shouldn’t have anything to worry about if you choose to attend the university. I have several friends who recently graduated from there and are currently employed in the Ohio education system. I also work with someone at my current job who graduated from Ohio University in the late 90’s – she loved the area.
I have traveled all over the U.S (including L.A.) as well as different parts of the globe. I moved out of Ohio immediately after high school and attended Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. I now reside in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington D.C., and work in Bethesda, Maryland. I moved out of Ohio because I wanted to experience different cultures and wanted a "bigger city" feel/faster pace of life. I enjoy visiting family and friends in Ohio, but I do not feel that I could return to live there. With that said, the people in Ohio are very friendly (the midwest charm), passionate about the Ohio State Buckeyes (a sea of Scarlet and Grey), and enjoy a slower pace to life.
Athens in one of the few liberal areas in Ohio (if that matters to you). It also offers more cultural activities than any other southeastern city in Ohio. I wouldn’t say that the city of Athens is depressed or run down. In terms of comparing the O.C. to Athens or even Ohio in general, you can’t compare them at all. If I resided in L.A. and then moved to Athens, I would be shocked.
- The landscape is very beautiful. Lots of open space! There are a lot of rolling hills, pine trees, wildlife, clean air (no L.A. smog in Ohio), etc.
- The weather is vastly different in Ohio vs. southern California – be prepared for snow, freezing rain, and lots of grey, cloudy days in the winter. I would recommend a car with front wheel drive and good tires for Ohio winters.
- People are very friendly. Doors will be opened for you, people smile and greet you, and everyone wears Ohio State memorabilia – even in Athens. Another big fashion statement in Southeastern Ohio are Carhartts and boots (Ohio a.k.a. "Rust Belt", heavily relies on manufacturing – most people in Southeastern Ohio work hard at factory plants and/or outside).
- Radio stations – be prepared for County Music. The only decent hip-hop radio station is Power 105.5.
- You won’t be seeing a lot of people driving Land Rovers, Mercedes Benzes, Bentleys, Porches, etc. like you would in L.A.
- Ohio State Highway Patrol – they literally patrol 24/7 and will pull you over for going 5 M.P.H over the speed limit. Be prepared for slow drivers and learn to set your cruise control. Do not speed in Ohio! Oh – watch out for wildlife on the roads. There are a lot of deer in the area and it is common to see dead deer (struck by cars) along the side of the highway.
- Chain restaurants and Wal-Mart stores can be found all over Southeastern Ohio.
Final conclusion: Now hopefully I’m not scaring you. I want to provide a realistic impression on the area. If you have never experienced a "small town" atmosphere before, I would highly recommend attending Ohio University in Athens. If you make the best of it while you are there, you’ll gain a lot of unique experiences. I would even recommend attending a local sporting event to see how the entire town comes to support their local team. One of the prettiest places in Ohio is only a short drive from Athens (Hocking Hills Region). There are a lot of natural caves, woods, hiking trails, etc. and I don’t think you will find anything like this in California. You can even go canoeing down the Hocking River.
Keep in mind that you’re not that far from Columbus – lots of shopping, restaurants, nightlife, etc. Also, I would recommend driving to West Virginia. I know there are a lot of stereotypes about West Virginia, but it is a very beautiful state.
Feel free to ask me any questions. I can provide a lot of information about the area.
Hi,
Im Sri Lankan and coming to USA for my higher studies. I have been selected to Ohio university. could you please let me know the living environment of Athens, housing and public transportation. Also is there any public transportation to kent state university from OU?
also could you please let me know rough idea about knoxville,TN and columbia,South carolina
Thank you.
Hi,
Im Sri Lankan and coming to USA for my higher studies. I have been selected to Ohio university. could you please let me know the living environment of Athens, housing and public transportation. Also is there any public transportation to kent state university from OU?
also could you please let me know rough idea about knoxville,TN and columbia,South carolina
Thank you.
Congratulations. The posts above would be a good description of Ohio University. I can't think of any public transportation to Kent. Maybe Greyhound?
Never been to Columbia.
Knoxville area has a population of 700,000 while Athens has a population of 20,000. University of Tennessee is also a much larger school than Ohio.
City of Knoxville would have everything you could want as far as restaurants, shopping etc. And the airport is about a 20 minute drive from campus. It is also close to the Smoky Mountains and lots of lakes if you enjoy outdoor stuff. You'll have less snow in Tennessee but the tempatures are usually about the same.
I grew up near Athens and now live near Knoxville. I wouldn't even consider going to OU if I could go to Tennessee.
The scenery around Athens is awesome, your not far from Hocking Hills park, and as far as transportation goes, there are bus services in and out of the city, and its not far from Columbus which is a much larger city than Knoxville.
As a current OU student, I would have to agree with nearly all of what has been posted above. Just out of pure curiosity, in what field are you pursuing your PhD?
Just to touch a bit on public transit for uskalu -- There are several buses in town (Athens Transit for around town, CATS for campus, and a couple specific to further off campus apartment complexes), but nothing that will connect you to most other cities around the area. If you want to head up to Kent, you'll have to drive or try the University-sponsored ride-sharing program.
If you live relatively close to campus though, all of campus and uptown are very walkable (just be ready for the hills!) distances. The main need for public transit or a car are trips out State street to your choice of big box grocery and other shopping. There is a CVS and a couple other convenience stores uptown, but if you want to actually do any kind of shopping, you'll likely need a ride.
Also, Beavercreek33 -- do you have some connection to the Tillman family?
Last edited by anorris; 05-03-2009 at 10:07 PM..
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Southeastern Ohio can provide unique experiences
