Jump to content

Moving to Columbus: Need advice


YSR_Racer_99
 Share

Recommended Posts

We live in SW Ohio so aren't real familiar with the areas and dynamics of CMH.   My daughter just graduated college, and is moving to Columbus.    She will probably be working downtown, and is looking for a 2bedroom apartment or house to rent. 

Any advice appreciated.  

Thx

Jeff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, MidgetTodd said:

Rent on the north side of Columbus. The little extra drive time downtown will be worth it in rent savings and peace of mind being in a safer area. 

Westerville or Gahanna would be my suggestion 

What a strange recommendation. 

Working downtown, I’d suggest finding a place downtown if affordable for her. Other areas to look at would be Clintonville, Grandview, Upper Arlington, Short North, German Village, etc. All are super easy commute to downtown. Could even ride a bike during the summer. A little both further commute would be Hilliard, Dublin, Worthington, etc. Stay away from northeast and east. Commute times are killer. 

Do you have a ballpark idea of how much she’s looking to spend for rent? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live just south of polaris/just west of westerville and it takes me 15 minutes to drive downtown. I would say the average rent for a 2 bedroom is around 900/month if it isn't in murder town. Henderson Road has some decent apartment complexes in the area and it's convenient as 315 gives you access to most of the city. Housing near campus will be more expensive, so clintonville, upper arlington, bexley, and grandview, short north, german/victorian village while convenient, will probably want $1200/mo or more for a decent 2 bedroom. If money isn't an issue then those places are probably a good bet. 

 

also, places to avoid -

linden (very bad)
westgate/hilltop/near the casino (home invasions/robberies/murders/etc)
NE columbus in the area east of 71, south of 270 and north of 161 (kinda near pony, robberies/murders/etc)

probably more that other people know about

 

Edited by what
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, what said:

I live just south of polaris/just west of westerville and it takes me 15 minutes to drive downtown. I would say the average rent for a 2 bedroom is around 900/month if it isn't in murder town.

 

Christ my 20year mortgage is only $880 a month for 3 BR 2 bath ranch on 2 acres.  Yes I'm a hour out of town but my wife drives to Riverside every day and rarely complains. 

I just never understood the draw to wanting to live in the city. 

Edited by 2talltim
  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, 2talltim said:

Christ my 20year mortgage is only $880 a month for 3 BR 2 bath ranch on 2 acres.  Yes I'm a hour out of town but my wife drives to Riverside every day and rarely complains. 

I just never understood the draw to wanting to live in the city. 

Yeah I'd like to move out of Columbus but I don't really want to drive an hour to/from work every day. Not sure on my permanence in the central Ohio area as well so I'm hesitant to buy. 

 

Also, $900/mo is on the affordable end. If you want a fancy apartment downtown, prepare to shell out $1600+ a month. Rent a house in the burbs? Have fun paying $2500+/month. 

Edited by what
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, what said:

Yeah I'd like to move out of Columbus but I don't really want to drive an hour to/from work every day. Not sure on my permanence in the central Ohio area as well so I'm hesitant to buy. 

 

Also, $900/mo is on the affordable end. If you want a fancy apartment downtown, prepare to shell out $1600+ a month. Rent a house in the burbs? Have fun paying $2500+/month. 

That sounds just crazy to this old country boy, just to live on top of one another. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, 2talltim said:

That sounds just crazy to this old country boy, just to live on top of one another. 

The really stupid thing is, a couple years ago at an event, I was listening to city officials/the mayor talk about wanting to lure in more young recent college grads to Columbus and part of the plan was to build more housing for them. Their solution ended up being these expensive apartments. What recent college grad is going to be able to afford that kind of a rent payment? lol... 

Edited by what
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, what said:

The really stupid thing is, a couple years ago at an event, I was listening to city officials/the mayor talk about wanting to lure in more young recent college grads to Columbus and part of the plan was to build more housing for them. Their solution ended up being these expensive apartments. What recent college grad is going to be able to afford that kind of a rent payment? lol... 

The problem with cheap new housing is everyone wants it. it's discrimination to only give it to recent college grads. I'm surprised columbus got away with saying that, except that the people who raise a stink about being offended are the ones getting courted

Link to comment
Share on other sites

North side of town is generally best.  FWIW, I rent out our 1100 sqft 2 bed 1.5 bath house in Clintonville-ish (on High Street between Morse Rd and 161) for $1525/month.  The tenants are thrilled.  

I hate driving and work enough as it is, I'm happy to be 4 miles from work.  

All the places Casper suggested are good places to start a search.  German Village is probably better now, it was kinda skechy for a while, haven't been down there a whole heck of a lot recently.  Great restaurants are what bring me down now.

Edited by jacobhawkins
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I vote that she rents a cheap place well outside the city as Todd suggested for 6-12 months. She can use that time to save money and figure out if closer options are worth it. 

Friends of mine lived in grove city for a year. I think they paid $525 for a 2-bedroom apartment.

living in a city is most worth it if you can sell your car and use the several hundred each month to offset rent. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, motocat12 said:

The problem with cheap new housing is everyone wants it. it's discrimination to only give it to recent college grads. I'm surprised columbus got away with saying that, except that the people who raise a stink about being offended are the ones getting courted

well it wasn't cheap housing, the developer that went in on it with the city government built luxury condos while saying it was new housing for young professionals fresh out of college. everybody greasing their fingers. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, YSR_Racer_99 said:

Seriously, thank you all so much for your input.  Gave us a lot of good reference points.  Its very appreciated. 

If you have a budget in mind, I’m sure several can chime in with more details. Good luck! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, Casper said:

If you have a budget in mind, I’m sure several can chime in with more details. Good luck! 

Hoping for $800-900/ month, but not sure where that puts us as far as safety, convenience, etc.  But at least its a starting point.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

51 minutes ago, YSR_Racer_99 said:

Hoping for $800-900/ month, but not sure where that puts us as far as safety, convenience, etc.  But at least its a starting point.

in that range you'll be able to find something decent. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t understand the allure to down town living for $900/month...  my first mortgage (2009) was about that much, and it got me 3 bedrooms, a 2.5 car garage, and space for my dog to shit.

I only visited peoooe who rented in Columbus. I stand by my earlier post.  Have her save money and then decide if down town is worth it. Ask other people at her job where they live, etc. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, redkow97 said:

I don’t understand the allure to down town living for $900/month...  my first mortgage (2009) was about that much, and it got me 3 bedrooms, a 2.5 car garage, and space for my dog to shit.

I only visited peoooe who rented in Columbus. I stand by my earlier post.  Have her save money and then decide if down town is worth it. Ask other people at her job where they live, etc. 

Downtown is not $900, its closer to $1500 or more. If you live 20 minutes outside the city you can get a 2 bedroom place for around $900/mo. A 1 bedroom/studio is like $700-800 a month so it made more sense to me to get a 2 bedroom and have the ability to grab a roommate to split costs if I wanted. 

 

Hell, half the people I work with in their late 30's/early 40's still have roommates. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...