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I completely know how you feel. I have just moved across country from Denver to South Carolina (the coast) and I have felt like a fish out of water. I have been completely driven nuts by all the differences between the two places and I have really lost heart in my own ability to make choices. After all. I made the dire mistake of moving here. I have been in S.C. for three years now- I am planning another cross country move myself this Summer. I have been doing a lot of soul searching since making this mistake and I have determined that i shouldn't have chosen a place so completely different from how and where I grew up. That scenario just begs for failure. It is reasonable to miss what you know and love. While reading your list if places to move to I wasn't sure that any sounded right: Georgia- the people can be nice, but can also hugely redneck. Really only the Atlanta area is immune of that element. North Carolina is also a bad weather, buggy, redneck breeding ground. The Raleigh/ Durham & Chapel Hill area is nice. But, the South is hugely cliquish. Southerns hate Yankee's- surely you've heard that and even though you probably don't consider Maryland to be Yankee territory. They do. I'm from Denver, Colorado and I get called a yankee everyday here. I use to be a tour guide and one of my tours was all over Arizona. Arizona can be tricky- of course, it is freaking hot and don't let anyone pull the but its a dry heat bit on you 115 is freaking unbearable no matter how you slice it. You struck me like a young person and a lot of Arizona is old people. they drawn there after spending their earlier lives in cold places like Toledo. My thought is that maybe- Colorado, or Seattle, Washington or back to Maryland. You love Maryland and you'll find out soon enough that finding something you love is hard enough in life- don't run from it.
Hello all, Im new to this forum. I just started researching a few other states, and decided to join in. Ive been stuck here in OH, dangerously close to the Michigan line, for a few years now. I am trying relentlessly to get out, but it seems every other day something happens here to prevent it. Biggest mistake I ever made was moving here from Maryland. Here are my reasons.
1. People. There are some good people here. Dont get me wrong. Otherwise, they are very cliquey, rude, fake, and will backstab you in a moments notice. Getting drunk and driving old beat-up Camaros to the trailer park to see your girl seems to be the favorite pastime– It is at least in the part of Ohio that I am stuck in (Toledo). You have to be a “good ‘ol boy” to fit in here. Get drunk, and watch OSU!! If thats not your bag, plenty of tattoos, hat turned sideways, shorts falling off your rear, and plenty more alcohol coupled with pot (or something worse) is the way.
Aside from that, they have their own native language here. For example, instead of a “vacuum” it is called a sweeper. Sweepers are machine guns or brooms, not vacuums. When you say “thank you” to an Ohioan, all you get is “YEP”. “Your welcome” is not in their vocabulary. Also, soda here is called “POP”, A pop is a noise, not a softdrink. (I know, grow up, but these are pet peeves) These are just a few examples, there are many many more. The accent is a cross between the Kentucky drawl, and the Michigan roll. They couldnt come up with one on their own. There seems to be a problem with teenage pregnancy, and single women that have 5 kids with all different fathers.
2.The weather. Summers are oppresively humid, rainy, seldom sunny, and very short. Mosquitoes are as big as squirrels, and will attack you relentlessly even if you were swimming in a bath of bug spray. Winters are so cold that you cant even touch your steering wheel in the morning without your fingers freezing to it– thats if you can get into your car after scraping 3 inches of ice off of it. Long, gloomy, sub-zero winters are the norm. They last from October to April here. They use salt on the roads, so not only does your car freeze, it rusts out all over. The brown nasty slush on the roads in winter is no picnic either.
3. Economy. I have been trying to sell my house and move out, almost a year now. I have dropped the price twice. It is now quite less than what it appraised at. I live in what is supposed to be a “nice neighboorhood” by Ohio standards. Toledo is very slow right now. There are very very few jobs that dont consist of waiting tables, or low paid factory work. No wonder I cant sell it. Those that have good jobs here are either lawyers or doctors. Ohio has one of the highest bankruptcy rates, so go figure. I can say im glad to have the job that I have, but I have found it pays better elsewhere.
4. Toledo & Vicinity: I have never seen some where that is so sports-barified in my life. Chain restaurants and big box stores are everywhere. This is becoming the norm most everywhere though. It is ridiculous. It is impossible to get anywhere without driving. The bus system is sub par, and hardly runs anywhere– if you want to go to a bar or club, your out of luck unless a DD can be found. Walking anywhere is out of the question. That normally does not bother me that much, but just adds to the difficulty of having some kind of fun here. There is no culture here. The downtown is a lifeless concrete nightmare, and the rest is just ghetto stick houses. The only plus side, is 5/3 Field. I will give it that-- except that I object to it being named after a bank. Again, sign of the times.
Outdoors life is nearly non-existent. Cedar Point is the only plus if your into that. Going fishing in polluted lakes and rivers and getting wasted while doing it is all there is. I was in Fremont just today, and drove over the Sandusky river bridge, and it smelled of sewage. Golf and parks get old quick when they look the same. There are no mountains, ORV parks, or nice huge national parks here. Flat as a table top. You have to drive for 3 hours to see even small hills.
I could go on for hours, but that should give you a good idea. Thanks for reading my rant. I am looking at North Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, or Georgia right now as possible new homes. I have been to all, and have not decided which to move to yet. But I cant even move till my house sells. Pardon any misspellings or grammatical errors, its not because im from Ohio.
I know some of you wont feel the same way. This is just my opinion of this place.
IF you are worried about humdity, and bugs, stay the heck out of NC. As an Ohioan who relocated here, I can't say enough about the difference in the amount of bugs, spiders, especially in size...oh and the snakes.
No park systems to speak of here, not really. Nothing like Ohio's metro parks.
And strip malls, big box stores? Just about every single block on the street.
Least in the cities here. The mountains are slowly going towards that way as well. Property skyrocketing there.
Now if you want to move to some REAL small town, that has been unaffected by the influx of people moving to NC, you may be happy, but bring your bug spray, and watch for killer spiders. Brown recluses are all over this place, and you HAVE to have your dwelling treated at least once a year. Also talk about cliques? If you ain't a good ol' boy, better live in one of the huge traffic smog cities, and be prepared to be called a Yankee for your entire natual life.
You obviously haven't been anywhere in Ohio South of Columbus, with beautiful rolling hills and farms. Why would the largest REAL Amish community in the world reside down there, if not pristine land for farming?
I've not found a more beautiful place in the USA than that area.
Crystal clean.
I feel for you. But believe me when I say, whatever is in your heart to enjoy life, you will find it. No BS here. Ohio is a standard middle of the road kind of place. People where I grew up in southern OH are well grounded salt-of the earth folks. Def. not rude, but at times in a hurry or something occupying their time. Columbus and Cincy are good places to be. Cbus never took much of a hit in the last recession. But as always, depending on what you do, there are limitations no matter where you live.
So in all, it may just be a case that we all endure sometimes - that when some of us relo elsewhere, it isnt b/c we dislike where we were living. So in this regard we take with us our impressions of what we love (4u it is Maryland), and trust things are similar elsewhere. That happened to us in moving to Charlotte, NC. Very warm, humid summers, goodly number of bugs, no culture b/c everything is in transition from a sleepy southern state to a rising southeast star. The pace of life in CLT to me is stressing (my tolerance level). Projected growth looks good for the next 7-10 yrs.
So, enjoy NC...Charlotte/Mecklenburg county and NC in general has higher overall taxes than OH, mainly by "nickle & diming" taxpayers. Wages are not in pace with the rising costs. The "southern hospitality" in the city is thin. People do [i]act friendly[i]. Only you can never tell if they really mean it. Sorry to offend any from NC. At least in OH, you know where you stand.
We are moving back to OH next year, going to C-bus area. Being away, we realised what life we are passionate about. Our good friends and neighbors there really are the heart of it. We miss them dearly, and difficult times or no, nothing will stop us.
One last item: instead of AZ, have you considered living in CO? a relative lives in Denver for 4 years and swears he's there to stay.
Peace!
As an Ohioan living in the Charlotte metro area, I could not agree with you more. I can't wait to get the heck out of here. I'm currently looking to go to
Belmont or Cramerton, but wonder just how long it'll take before the Charlotte metro crap invades there as well. I've NEVER seen a city so intent on ripping every freaking tree down, to build tract housing in my life !!!
And a city with no workable infrastructure to handle the increasing population.
It's a mess here, and I'd give anything to be back in Ohio. People think NC, is the answer for everything, because of vacationing at the beach or mtns,
but it's WAY different living here, yes taxes too much, traffic, out of control,
over 80 different gangs identified in the Charlotte metro area, lots of crime, open season on officers, can't get enough teachers, schools overcrowded, no control over illegal immigrants, give them a license and they can't read English and NEVER carry insurance. Filthy trash all over, horrible air due to no control over cars and their exhausts. They *supposedly* have a safety check on your car once a year here, if so....why do all these cars with horrible exhaust fumes still drive around the entire city? I can not for the life of me figure that one out!! I actually have gotten sick in our eternal traffic jams because there are so many unsafe, polluting cars here on the road.
I know the original poster has since moved, but I figure I'll throw my two cents in anyhow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by OneWayOut
1. People. There are some good people here. Dont get me wrong. Otherwise, they are very cliquey, rude, fake, and will backstab you in a moments notice. Getting drunk and driving old beat-up Camaros to the trailer park to see your girl seems to be the favorite pastime– It is at least in the part of Ohio that I am stuck in (Toledo). You have to be a “good ‘ol boy” to fit in here. Get drunk, and watch OSU!! If thats not your bag, plenty of tattoos, hat turned sideways, shorts falling off your rear, and plenty more alcohol coupled with pot (or something worse) is the way.
Aside from that, they have their own native language here. For example, instead of a “vacuum” it is called a sweeper. Sweepers are machine guns or brooms, not vacuums. When you say “thank you” to an Ohioan, all you get is “YEP”. “Your welcome” is not in their vocabulary. Also, soda here is called “POP”, A pop is a noise, not a softdrink. (I know, grow up, but these are pet peeves) These are just a few examples, there are many many more. The accent is a cross between the Kentucky drawl, and the Michigan roll. They couldnt come up with one on their own. There seems to be a problem with teenage pregnancy, and single women that have 5 kids with all different fathers.
2.The weather. Summers are oppresively humid, rainy, seldom sunny, and very short. Mosquitoes are as big as squirrels, and will attack you relentlessly even if you were swimming in a bath of bug spray. Winters are so cold that you cant even touch your steering wheel in the morning without your fingers freezing to it– thats if you can get into your car after scraping 3 inches of ice off of it. Long, gloomy, sub-zero winters are the norm. They last from October to April here. They use salt on the roads, so not only does your car freeze, it rusts out all over. The brown nasty slush on the roads in winter is no picnic either.
3. Economy. I have been trying to sell my house and move out, almost a year now. I have dropped the price twice. It is now quite less than what it appraised at. I live in what is supposed to be a “nice neighboorhood” by Ohio standards. Toledo is very slow right now. There are very very few jobs that dont consist of waiting tables, or low paid factory work. No wonder I cant sell it. Those that have good jobs here are either lawyers or doctors. Ohio has one of the highest bankruptcy rates, so go figure. I can say im glad to have the job that I have, but I have found it pays better elsewhere.
4. Toledo & Vicinity: I have never seen some where that is so sports-barified in my life. Chain restaurants and big box stores are everywhere. This is becoming the norm most everywhere though. It is ridiculous. It is impossible to get anywhere without driving. The bus system is sub par, and hardly runs anywhere– if you want to go to a bar or club, your out of luck unless a DD can be found. Walking anywhere is out of the question. That normally does not bother me that much, but just adds to the difficulty of having some kind of fun here. There is no culture here. The downtown is a lifeless concrete nightmare, and the rest is just ghetto stick houses. The only plus side, is 5/3 Field. I will give it that-- except that I object to it being named after a bank. Again, sign of the times.
Outdoors life is nearly non-existent. Cedar Point is the only plus if your into that. Going fishing in polluted lakes and rivers and getting wasted while doing it is all there is. I was in Fremont just today, and drove over the Sandusky river bridge, and it smelled of sewage. Golf and parks get old quick when they look the same. There are no mountains, ORV parks, or nice huge national parks here. Flat as a table top. You have to drive for 3 hours to see even small hills.
I could go on for hours, but that should give you a good idea. Thanks for reading my rant. I am looking at North Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, or Georgia right now as possible new homes. I have been to all, and have not decided which to move to yet. But I cant even move till my house sells. Pardon any misspellings or grammatical errors, its not because im from Ohio.
I know some of you wont feel the same way. This is just my opinion of this place.
1. I think you're going to find rude, fake people just about anywhere, but there are some decent people here too (which at least you acknowledge). I've lived in Toledo my whole life and never noticed a 'good ol boy' mentality overall--although people here like their sports, I don't tend to so I hang out with people who don't either. But I wouldn't say that your other observation is the only other way.
I don't see what the big deal about the language is. Everywhere has some of their own slang and such. I've always called a vacuum a sweeper (and btw if you google sweeper you'll still get the ads for orick vacuums and such, so it's obviously recognized by people). I'm not a fan of using soda...it's always pop. And even if I moved to the south, I'd never be able to get used to calling Coke "Coke Coke".
As far as the accent, I notice on the east side people have more of an accent (I'd almost call it urban?) than anywhere else, but otherwise I don't notice it. I won't say we don't have one though. When I went to BG a girl asked where I was from and when I told her Toledo she was surprised because she told me I don't have the "Toledo accent" and she can always tell who's from there, but I can't say I've noticed much of a difference.
As far as yep, I'm sure I've used it on occasion depending on the situation, but I also use you're welcome. I did notice quite a few teens pregnant when I was in school, but nothing that seemed to be much more than anywhere else. As far as single mothers, five different fathers is a bit excessive, but I don't think it's up to anyone else to judge who people choose to have kids by and whether they're married or not when it happens.
2. I'll give you that the weather can suck, but it can also be nice. I've never had a problem with mosquitoes. I don't mind the salt; what I mind is the fact that it takes them forever to plow and there doesn't seem to be logic to snow emergencies. Last time, it was only a level one when it took five minutes just to get my little Saturn out of a parking lot, but it was a level three by the time i got off work later the next morning when the roads were already cleared (and I technically could then be ticketed for being on the road).
4. You're right as far as there not being much here. At least in my own experience.
5. There's culture here if you're into the various festivals we have. We have the most restaurants per capita anywhere--which is actually kind of a draw for some people. But it is disappointing that they're all chains. I was just discussing this the other day with a coworker--people ask for recommendations of a local restaurant and we don't seem to have many. I can actually only think of a couple. Personally, I like driving, but it is kind of a pain in the ass that there is no real public transportation to speak of (which really sucks when your car is in the shop--fortunately I was able to borrow someone else's).
I don't mind the parks around here--we actually have a couple nice-ish ones. But the water itself is a downside, especially when it smells bad. I took a few rowing classes downtown, and just thinking about what's in that water makes my stomach turn. I can't say I'd ever want to swim in it.
So, I guess in summary I think you're off base on a couple things (or at least needlessly worrying), but agree on most of it. Then again, I've been here my whole life and while sure, we have nice things for when people visit (art museum, the zoo, etc.) there's only so much of that you can do when you live here before it gets old.
As an Ohioan living in the Charlotte metro area, I could not agree with you more. I can't wait to get the heck out of here. I'm currently looking to go to
Belmont or Cramerton, but wonder just how long it'll take before the Charlotte metro crap invades there as well. I've NEVER seen a city so intent on ripping every freaking tree down, to build tract housing in my life !!!
And a city with no workable infrastructure to handle the increasing population.
It's a mess here...
Once again, I've gotta give you thumbs-up Mrs. P! Your assessment of living in a congested suburban jungle is right on the money.
I myself am very fond of the Carolinas. But I would never live in a place like Charlotte! The same goes for Georgia/Atlanta (great state; horrible city).
Being a small-town kindof guy myself, I'd much rather live far enough away from all the metro madness that the suburban stress 'n' sprawl wouldn't be likely to ever reach there—at least not in my lifetime
If I were anywhere near Charlotte, I'd probably be looking into Kings Mountain, Shelby or Forest City!
Toledo is boring, no culture and the ECONOMY IS HORRIBLE
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pilliod Njaim
I dare anyone to support this town. Someone list good things about this city. Try it. And don't come at me with **** from Cleveland or Cincy, or CBus, etc.
Sure (all within metro Toledo):
-one of the best/most complete zoos in America
-one of the best art museums in the world
-some of the best freshwater fishing anywhere
-sailing/swimming/fishing/parasailing on Lake Erie
-boating on the Maumee River
-a nationally-ranked metroparks system, including Oak Openings and Sidecut
-the Toledo Mud Hens and Fifth Third Field
-a vibrant arts scene
-Luna Pier
-one of the best charter high schools in America (The Toledo school for the Arts)
-one of the largest Islamic Mosques on the continent
-Ohio's largest Mexican barrio (La Viva)
-a very rich Lebanese and Syrian history
-some of the best Middle Eastern food anywhere in America
-the largest Arab-American festival in Ohio
-ethnic festivals of every kind just about every week of summer (the Polish, Mexican, Latin-American, Arab, Lebanese, Syrian, Hungarian, Irish, and German festivals)
-one of America's largest Polish enclaves (LaGrange)
-the jazz legacy left behind by Art Tatum and John Hendricks
-Murphy's on the Water, a nationally acclaimed jazz club
-Lyfe Jennings
-The Old West End
-America's largest collection of Late Edwardian and Victorian homes
-one of the busiest shipping ports on the Great Lakes
-major maritime and rail history
-some of the best freshwater marshes in America (Maumee Bay area)
-great variety of avian life, Toledo is a top bird destination
The fact that someone is complaining about mayflies and mosquitoes tells you just how easily they are annoyed. Are there more bugs in Toledo than other cities? Sure, the place was built on a ****ing SWAMP, but who cares? Bugs are the least of my worries...
The "Kentucky accent" is only present in Southwestern and Southeastern Ohio, not Toledo. I've heard a few interior Midwest accents (like Indiana) in Toledo, but NEVER a Kentucky accent. Toledo mostly speaks Michigan/Detroit-style.
Do some Toledoans say "yep" instead of "thank you"?- Damn straight they do, but again, who cares? "Thank you" is just a robotic retail response anyway. Can Toledoans be rude and impolite?- sure, but that can be said about any city, and part of the perceived "rudeness" is just because Toledoans tend to use vulgar/obscene language more openly than in some other places...
are there lots of Camaros??? Hell no, I have no clue where that came from. I personally haven't seen a Camaro in years. The Toledo area hardly has ANY trailer courts, and there is little to no stereotypical "white trash" to speak of. Now "white ghetto"...that's a different story.
No Sunshine? I got news for ya, Toledo is actually Ohio's SUNNIEST city. It gets the LEAST amount of rain in the summer. Oneway must of just seen a bad summer. 2006 was Toledo's rainiest summer in history, so I suspect that's where his sentiment came from. Just a couple years ago, Toledo went over a month WITHOUT rain. One thing I noticed about Toledo is that summer rain normally comes in the form of an extremely violent thunderstrom (much more intense than most places), and then afterwards, the skies clear. I love that. When I lived in Toledo, it was actually rare to have a whole summer day be dreary and overcast. I now live in southern Ohio, and the weather is markedly different in summer. There are fewer thunderstorms, more rain, more overcast days, and it is every bit as hot/humid as Toledo. Toledo tends to have more weather extremes (tornado to sunshine, blizzard to 60 degrees), and that's saying a lot since this is Ohio we're talking about. I personally like the weather in Toledo more than where I live now.
Teen pregnancies? No worse than any other Midwestern city I've seen. If you want to talk about sex, you should have noted that Toledo has an above-average AIDS rate.
Are there sports bars? Yep, this is OHIO, the birthplace of BW3's, Frickers, etc.
But Toledo actually has fewer sports bars than the other cities in the state. The sports bars are mainly in the suburbs. The CITY bars tend to be nightclubs, lounges, or neighborhood hangouts. There's some good ones too...
It sounds like the people bashing Toledo chose to live in a neighborhood they hated, or just didn't have much tolerance for those differant from themselves. Judging by the things they complained about, they would hate just about anything in Ohio, Michigan, or Indiana. Hell, onewayout likes PHOENIX. That's worlds different from anything in Ohio or Michigan...
If you like Phoenix, you probably will hate Ohio (Ohio is colder, greener, completely different landscapes, has water, etc.). I won't deny that Toledo's economy is somewhat weak right now, but the same can be said about almost all of the Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The rust belt syndrome has persisted, but that doesn't mean the area is unlivable, it just means you got to work a little harder to find a good job.
[sooooooooooooo true it sucks!!!!!!!!!!! QUOTE=rosesnivys;414259] Hi HI ALL.
I was born in ohio and I didn't find it appealing at all either, lol.
I moved out and never intend to return.[/quote]
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QUOTE=rosesnivys;414259] Hi HI ALL.
[/quote]
