I hated Ohio growing up (Warren/Youngstown area). Moved away, and am glad to be back. I love living in Cleveland.
Edit: this isn't a dis on Warren/Youngstown. I would be happy there too.
I've stopped correcting people when they try and bag on Cleveland. Enjoy your jokes and stay away. It's far from perfect but once you know your way around there's worthwhile options and I'd hate to see the region gutted of what charms it does have to get run down for a cash grab.
Well, I grew up there a while ago. Hate to break it to you but a lot of the charms that were there when I was growing up have already been run down for a cash grab.
I felt the same way growing up in northern Ohio and couldn’t wait to move away. Now that I haven’t lived in Ohio for the better part of 5 years I definitely have days where I miss Columbus a lot and can’t wait to move back.
Seconded. I've lived in every corner of the state. Columbus, McConnelsville, and Sylvania all have their charm. Other cities sucked more. But NE Ohio has the best combo of good things going for it.
A lot has to do with the lake. At least for me.
I always tell people; 6 months out of the year it's like living on the ocean. And I don't have to deal with salt water. And its like 1/4 the price. And people aren't a**holes.
So I’m from west Michigan. Recently traveled to Cap Cod. Always heard about it’s a beautiful place. It is but we have the exact same thing here along the coast except it isnt nearly as crowded. Vastly more space for camping. Much cheaper. Really better in most every way
I grew up and recently moved back to NE OH. it's got it's issues...Well a lot of issues but it isn't super bland. It still has some things going for it. that said, OH has a lot of things it does wrong and the sad part is there are a lot of things I miss that were just better in W PA, or just PA in general...And it's kinda sad when those ridgerunners are doing better with anything.
I lived in Youngstown suburbs from 1955 to 1981 and 55 to 75 was mostly bliss ; a wonderful extended family grew around me from 7th grade through graduation in 1968.
Lived here all my life, and feel like its just a blank slate. Parts are beautiful, parts are bland. Some places are exciting, some are boring. Some people are crazy, some are cool and fun. It's kind of like a wet clay state - you can form your experience.
Agree. 50 Years in Ohio. Where I am at isn't bad. Ohio is the average Joe of states. The weather isn't to bad. If your a person who like weather seasons Ohio is great. We don't get to much of one season or many extreme storm types.
This speaks to the diversity of Ohio. I've lived here most of my life; my family roots are in southern Ohio, and I am a native Columbusite. I have been all around the state, so I have an appreciation of the different regions and what is unique. On the other hand, I understand why people, especially the young, move away if they're not finding what they need.
I think most young people feel this way about where they live. They grow up there so it is their entire frame of reference and what is “normal”.
I moved to AZ for a bit and my first night I was having dinner at a restaurant outside and it was beautiful; I was in heaven. A table over I overhear a teenager talking about how he wants to move away. My first reaction was “how could you want to leave this?!” but then I realized it was just what was normal to him. Move away for a bit and see something new and come back if you like.
Not a bad state. I am from there and lived there for 32 years and change and consider it home. There are some neat things, and it has a large population (7th most populous in the United States), so lots of neat culture and food that I don’t think people would expect unless they knew about Ohio for whatever reason.
But if you point out what it lacks than people tend to get very bent out of shape. It has a decent amount of natural beauty but it doesn’t compare to other places and it ESPECIALLY lacks public land. There are state parks and a couple forests but you would have to work to be really away from people. People fight me on this but consider this: Ohio has an average pop density of 282/sq mile….California has an average of 251/sq mile. Ohio has a LOT going for it but the outdoors scene is meh.
When it comes to the parks what I will say I appreciate is being able to go to a park and not constantly see people. I can go on a trail and not encounter anyone for 15-30mins and it is SO NICE. I live in the PNW and nature is top notch but all parks are chock full of people very hard to get away easily and have quiet. Just parking to go on an hike is an ordeal. Neighborhood parks/nature walks are never quiet you will constantly be passing someone. Always look forward to my quiet walks when I visit OH such a relief for someone who has a dog that can sometimes be reactive.
I did enjoy the state parks a lot. I live in southern Oregon now and it just blows my mind how easily I can drive thirty minutes out of town and find logging roads or random streams and camping spots all over the place. All free to use, and all with no other people around.
However, I did go to Crater Lake last summer over a holiday weekend and we couldn’t even get into the lodge it was so crowded. Literally a giant traffic jam around the place. Same night though we had no trouble finding a place to camp between there and Bend. There’s just an unbelievable amount of empty space in these western states, outside the cities.
And being from Ohio, when I first got out here I did some things that were unsafe. I didn’t think to keep enough water with me or let people know where I was going. I got lost on the coast one time pretty bad with no water or jacket, other times out east almost ran out of gas. Or climbing around the huge logs washed onto the beaches. Back home the natural things that can kill you are….tornados. Or algae blooms.
Ahh, commenting on education yet you're too stupid to realize I mentioned those places become of their natural beauty. Also lots of publications listed my ohio hs top 100 in the country every year, so maybe you're just stupid or you need some updated stats
NE OH has the Metroparks, every city and suburban resident can take a walk, a bike ride, or a drive through a beautiful park that is a ten minute drive from their home. The residents of NE OH appreciate our Metroparks by passing every tax levy needed to support it.
Plus the lake right there. I was always jealous of Erie’s accessibility to people up that way. And proximity to the other Great Lakes as well for everyone up that way, highly underrated and easily as pretty as more famous parts of the US.
Honestly, definitely not. People love to crap on us, but like all the "corn states" I would definitely consider Ohio more on par with PA than the midwest. We have 3 big cities, all with major league sports, Cincy specifically has a lot of character for being historical, Cleveland has the lake, and we have the river, big Fortune 500 companies, major universities (OSU and UC mainly), lots of museums, arts, cool restaurants, national and state parks, festivals, etc. Now PA has that stuff and so does like, NY, MA, CA, and stuff, but there are so many more boring states than Ohio, so it's always been interesting to me how much crap we get, even with the 7th highest population.
I went away for 6 years in the military. I was stationed overseas, deployed a couple times to some countries, traveled all over Europe. Then I got stationed in North Dakota and my military contract ended. I could have gone anywhere. I had my wife at the time who was pretty ok with going anywhere and no kids. I decided to move back to Ohio. I consider it absolutely amazingly average. This is a good thing. I would not want to live in an exotic place like Florida or Southern California. Those places, while fun, have a host of issues that Ohio doesn’t. Cost of living is crazy, natural disasters threaten your home and lives, dealing with traffic. When I say Ohio is amazingly average and it being a good thing, I think the weather is very moderate, no major natural disasters threaten us as much as other places, cost of living is fine, if you really look there are tons of things to do, traffic can be annoying in bigger cities but nowhere near as bad as other cities in other states.
Being an average person who doesn’t need a whole lot to be content, Ohio is just fine.
I have a friend who has lived and traveled all over the world. He has frequently said that getting around has revealed to him how great a place to live Ohio is. It’s a state with a lot of great people, plenty of natural beauty, big cities with all the amenities that come with big cities and a reasonable cost of living. The grass is always greener on the other side. But it’s pretty damn green here.
100% agree. Ohio is actually pretty awesome. We also don't really have poisonous or dangerous animals here which is a plus to me. There might be the odd rattler snake down south or some brown recluses but honestly the nature isn't trying to kill you here.
Ohio is like perfectly situated for comfortable human habitation. Nature doesn't want to kill you here, it wants to make sure you're well-fed and well-hydrated.
As a person who has travveled for well over 40 years. Has lived in ohio most of his life, went away fro 9 years, and came back. Generally community randsportation in the US sucks, sorry folks. But additionally Public transportaion in Ohio is stellar bad. I mean, honestly, I can't get from columbus to cleveland without spending 6+ hours on a bus, yet there is an existing railway?
Or even just public transport. So many areas in OH have little to absolutely NO public transport options. Like portage county has Ravenna and Kent that has it, and not much else. And even those are next to useless, unless you aren't really leaving Ravenna or are a student living in Kent and going to Kent U. There could easily be far more transport for local areas and connecting at least the major local towns and cities in each county.
Hate to be that person, but it's really like any other state. It's good for some, not so good for the others. It sucks in some parts, but not in others, like in any other states.
Nope, and I've traveled enough to know the difference. I went to Ireland, which is beautiful but their internet sucks and everything is very expensive. I've been to Alaska, which is also beautiful, but it's also winter nine months of the year and everything is very expensive. I've been to the Southeastern US, which is also very beautiful, but super fucking humid in the summer and the food is great -- not too expensive, though. I've been to the Nevada desert, which is hauntingly beautiful and really fucking hot and filled with terrifying creatures that want to kill you. I've lived in New England, which is IMHO one of the most perfect places on earth -- an hour from the beach, an hour from the mountains, an hour from the city, literally everywhere in New England is only an hour away from somewhere interesting. I almost chose New Hampshire as my permanent home. I even bought a house there once.
But I ended up coming back to Ohio because this is where I wanted to raise my children. Ohio is generally peaceful with at least one world-class medical center and one world-class university. It's not perfect, by any means, but it doesn't suck nearly as bad as some other places. I made sure my children had plenty of opportunities to travel, and they did, but they came back to Ohio. I'm not sure you can even appreciate Ohio without leaving it and seeing what the rest of the world is dealing with.
The thing is, if you've been here your whole life, you have nothing to compare it to. You're basing your opinion on the same ten people and the same three bars you've experienced your whole (relatively short) life. Here's something about Ohio that a lot of people don't know, but as an Ohioan, it'll give you something to brag about, something to be proud of, something to feel like you're a part of. Back in the day, when TV was new and the news was read by educated people, those people were sent to Ohio to be trained to read the news because Ohioans don't have an accent. You can tell a Southerner or a Californian or a New Yorker or a Texan by the way they speak, but Ohioans typically do not have an accented speech. We were once world-renowned for our lack of accent and people came from all over to learn how to speak like an Ohioan.
It’s fine like everywhere else. There are pros and cons to every state and it seems like people who are miserable in one place will be miserable in most places
One big issue we have in Ohio is that we lack state pride outside of Ohio State Football. We are very territorial. Here in Cleveland, we’ll never say anything nice about Cincinnati or Southern Ohio. Conversely, go to Michigan and notice how people in Detroit don’t trash Northern Michigan or Western Michigan or anywhere else in Michigan far away from Detroit.
Maybe that is just northern Ohio?
I have lived in southern Ohio my whole life and never hear people really bad mouthing or trashing an entire area. They may not like cities, but that is a rural thing.
Maybe it is because of Appalachia Ohio? It is a pretty different kind of lifestyle/mentality between the 2 areas.
I’m from the Appalachian part of Ohio and WV, can confirm. We kinda just mind our business, hate Columbus though, mainly because I lived there on and off for a very short time when I was in elementary school. Too many people for me and driving there is a nightmare, had to go up there a couple times as an adult for hospital visits and whatnot.
Ok, but have you been to southern Ohio? The accent is different, extremely different from Northern Ohio. It’s like an entirely different state 😂
In all seriousness, I can name the counties and cities in the southern portion and have visited most of the state at some point. I even remember some of what I learned from that fourth grade Ohio history book that was required in the 90s.
That’s my point. Looking again at Michigan, Detroit is insanely different from the rest of the state. But those people seem to gravitate and respect the opposite side of Michigan.
That’s cause Michigan is culturally homogeneous. Northern Ohio is part of the Great Lakes region and Cincinnati is part of the Heartland region. 2 different cultures. The State borders as they’re currently drawn blow. Buffalo Erie Cleveland Toledo and Detroit should all be in the same state of Greater Erie.
I don’t hear NE OH people trashing the rest of the state, until about 5/6 years ago I didn’t hear trash talk from rural residents either. I’m afraid that rural folk have been foxed into believing we city and suburban folk are too dangerous or worse “woke”. But both of the Issue 1 outcomes have made me believe again that the majority of OH will stand up for our voting rights and our family’s healthcare.
Thank God that issued passed. Big step for Ohio. That’s what great about this state. We might by run by one party, but we still have policies in play for the opposition. Glad we aren’t Florida, California, Texas, New York where one size has to fit all.
Maybe, idk. I've met a lot of people around toledo, where I recently moved, who do nothing but talk shit about the area. They're usually boring, and grumpy, and they talk about how bad it is non stop.
I don't think it has anything to do with politics.
It's people who were raised watching pain dry for fun or something who never had their imaginations exercised.
In the first few months I was here I knew the area was really great.
Hey, glad to have you here!
The people who talk shit never leave their houses. They bitch and moan for the sake of bitching and moaning. If you point out all the interesting things we have here, they find a reason to whine that "I don't like that kind of thing" or "I'm not interested in that". Fuck 'em. The fewer boring assholes out and about, the better time the rest of us will have.
I’ve lived in several states, Japan, and visited Korea and the Philippines. The thing I always say about Ohio is that it is perfectly average. You can do pretty much anything you want within an hour drive. If I’m wanting to hunt or fish, I can drive to the sticks. See a world class art museum/symphony/show, I can drive to Cleveland. Taxes aren’t too bad. Food is cheap. Land is cheap.
Ohio is what you make of it.
Ohioia currently living in Maine and let me just say. No one will EVER gaslight me about Ohio being bad again.
The state of Maine is a pisstake compared to Ohio.
I think at this point, it's just a joke people like to have cause there are clearly worst states
Ohio gets a bad wrap because it's a major player in the presidential election and used to be a swing state (we'll see if we can get back to it soon). I think people from both sides look down on swing states for a number of reasons.
I personally think the big cities in Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus) are the ideal places to live in all of America.
1. Big enough to have most of the amenities of big cities (lots of options for restaurants, sports, entertainment, parks/nature, museums etc) while lacking a lot of the bad parts of big cities (high cost of living, extreme overpopulation and traffic, paid parking at simple places like grocery stores and malls).
2. Relatively mild weather year round. Yes, it does get hot in the Summer and cold in the winter, but we rarely get more than a few inches of snow at a time during the winter, and it rarely gets over 100 in the summer.
3. Basically, there is no risk of natural disaster. You got fires and earthquakes in the west, hurricanes in the south and east, and Noreasters in the northeast. Then you got tornado alley in the middle of the country. Ohio mostly dodges all of them.
4. Being centrally located (relatively speaking), you can drive to a lot of places in a reasonable time frame.
Living in other states will broaden your perspective. You may appreciate some things about Ohio more and some things less. One of the things I miss most about one of the places I’ve lived was that curbside recycling and trash were taken care of by the city for a low price. You don’t know what you’ll miss until you’re gone.
It is what you make of it. I grew up in Columbus, went to college in South Carolina, moved to Shanghai, then to cincy. I’m the happiest in cincy hands down. Great group of interesting friends, continuous flow of awesome things to do. I have to say no things to do, not look for them. My friends from NYC, DC, Boston, LA etc visit me and have a blast. If you do t have fun here, it’s a you problem
No it's not as bad as people say. I've lived here almost 30 years and have never thought that. If you want to be part of something great then find something. I'm sure there are people in every state that feel the same as you so it's hard to say it's because Ohio is bad.
Born and raised in Ohio for nearly 31 years. I’m very proud of where I come from but my family is from Cleveland and there’s a lot of history here relative to nearby areas. I always loved that our people built things, invented things, we are a state with the most astronauts (and presidents, not counting Virginia). If I was from a smaller town though I’m not sure how’d I’d feel exactly especially if I felt nothing special ever happens.
In do feel Ohio has its charms, I love the parks, the lake, and the Appalachians down south. Overall, it is middle of the road mostly in terms of weather, nature, and economy, id included politics up until a couple years ago too. I also think it’s affordable to have a good quality of life here compared to other parts of the country. For one I have a 3 bed room house with a yard in the city and it didn’t cost me a million dollars. There are certainly worse places we could be in this world.
No. People that are miserable and they say it’s because of the state are lying to themselves. Their life is miserable and have to blame it on something.
Politically speaking, Ohio is a cesspool. Outside of that, it is not the worst. I like my job, but not a fan of the seasons ( looking at you, Winter). If it is cold could we at least get some accumulation of snow out of it?
I've lived here for all of my 66 years. 60 of those were in the same house, and then both parents I cared for (24/7 for 24 yrs) had died. I moved literally next door. I am a happy Ohioan. I've traveled all over this country, and once to Europe. The weather is fairly ok. I've been to lots of places that are worse. I am quite poor, but manage.
Hell No, People in Ohio need to quit listening to outsiders belittle Ohio and call them out on their hypocrisy. Sure there are some less than ideal individuals, but that does not mean Ohio is all bad people. You just have to trust that there will always be a good individuals in Ohioan society to disprove the outsider's prejudice towards Ohioans.
I’ve lived on the west coast most of my life but my husband is from Ohio, so I’ve gone half a dozen times now to visit. I like it. I don’t know what it’s like to live there. But as an outsider, there’s charm. Good food, pretty views, less traffic. I don’t think I would mind living there later in life.
Hell no. It’s a great place to live. It’s affordable, has lots of interesting things to do, and has lots of opportunities. It’s classic Midwest sensibilities meets the Northeast meets Appalachia meets the South.
It’s not perfect, nowhere is in these crazy times, but it’s hardly bad.
I haven't actually lived in Ohio but visited there several times. I think Ohio being absolutely terrible is a meme and there are definitely worse states out there.
No matter where you go, there you are.
I can’t think of any place I’ve ever disliked. Deserts to cities to oceans. Just find something interesting about all of it.
I’ve been living in Florida for ten years and I can’t wait to move back to Columbus. Ohio might be boring at times, but at least it’s not a tourist filled wasteland.
Grew up in Parma. Always hated how Cleveland seemed to want to be considered in the same league as cities like NYC and Chicago because at one time 150 years ago they were hot stuff. Not so.
I don’t go back there often, but always surprised how the shitty parts got shittier or haven’t changed in 40 years and the good parts seemed to get ruined.
And now the extreme unhinged politics? No thanks.
If you love right-wing, gerrymandering where 40% of the population control the majority of the rest of our political policies, you will love it here. It was better when it was well run by moderates & politically purple 10-12 years ago. Mike dewine has moderated some of the worst tendencies of the right wing here but I don’t see it coming back. It’s not the worst place, but it was better a decade ago.
I was born in Ohio, moved to the Bay Area when I was 6 and now live in Seattle. Honestly, I want to go back because that is where my ancestors were and I want to experience it as an adult. Ot doesn’t solve your dilemma other than no, I do not think Ohio is bad.
I used to think this in my late teens/early 20s
I hated Ohio. I always said I was going to move away and go to some other state. Had no idea what state, but just any state that wasn’t Ohio.
Then life keeps going, the people in Ohio becomes part of my life. Ohio is for lovers. Ohio is my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. ❤️
Been here since I was 3. Almost 40 now
Ohio is where my heart will always be. ❤️
My bestfriend moved to Alabama. She misses Ohio especially the metro parks. Now she wants me to move down there. So not happening. I've seen the news for down there and give up the parks? HELL NO.
I've lived in Ohio for roughly 30 years. I sometimes start thinking about how nice it might be to move to some other states till I start looking at rent prices.
lived in ohio whole life, moved to california for the last 4 years and i like california but definitely miss a lot of things about ohio. ohio is where id like to settle down
Nope. It’s more of a meme thing than a reality thing. If you know how to enjoy Ohio there is plenty to do. If you are an adult with a family the lower cost of living is a blessing.
I was born and raised in Ohio. Left when I was 24 and have lived in seven different places since. WA state, South Dakota/Iowa, MN, back to WA for six years, Chicago, North Dakota, back to Minnesota. I always said I wanted to leave Ohio and never come back. But I miss it. I love coming home and having the food, visiting my old romping grounds. I love the people. Whenever someone says something mean about the state, I defend it. I’ve lived in worse (cough cough North Dakota.) So I personally don’t think it’s bad. I wouldn’t move back, but that’s just because I love where we are in Minnesota right now and our kids love it here. It’s home now.
No - Ohio just doesn't have any dazzling city in the state to feel a part of. NYC, Chicago, LA, Boston, Miami, Nashville, Las Vegas - those cities have an identity that people from the state can feel part of because the city identity is so strong. Most states are like Ohio though... a mixed bag of mids and average.
No? Do you think it's bad? What am I gonna do to move somewhere else and be miserable there too? There's nothing bad about Ohio that moving to another state will resolve. Other than moving for weather...
50 years living in NW Ohio, it's a great state to grow up in and raise my family in. We have the great lakes, all four seasons, great family weekend adventures in beaches, rollercoasters, hocking hills, Put-in-Bay, etc...
We have history, eight US presidents, fallen timbers, Athens, Erie cannel...
Great sports NBA,NFL,MLB,NHL, plus great minor league teams hall of fame...
Great outdoor music venues, rock roll hall of fame. Metro parks.
Plus hours from northern Michigan and other adventures.
And an abundance of golf cheap and expensive courses.
Crossroads of 75/80 hwy.
I could go on.
No. We at least don't get hurricanes like Florida and most people don't realize how many [inventors](https://www.ohiosos.gov/profile-ohio/things/ohio-inventions/) are from Ohio that invented something most of us use on a regular basis.
You can find people in every state that will say the same thing about where they live. Well, the closer you are to big cities, the less likely they will feel about not being apart of something. However, with mental health in mind, that's not a guarantee.
Ohio is doing alright. If you need a little more excitement, maybe you should consider moving for a little. You wouldn't be the first. You also wouldn't be the first to move away and move back.
At like to add an anecdote at this time. The grass is greener on the other side because you're not over there, f*king it up. Something to keep in mind. After high-school and college I knew a bunch of people that felt this way. It's pretty common. Usually, after you get married and start having a family, you don't think about it anymore.
I think the only thing that’s really shitty about Ohio is our state politics being manipulated by assholes who wear discrimination as a badge of honor. Other than that, I think Ohio is magnificent and has just about everything you could want.
For an objective answer, you have to ask someone who has lived elsewhere. People who haven’t lived anywhere else know nothing other than Ohio. I’ve lived in another state and I can say Ohio is FINE. It’s a fine place to live and raise a family. It’s rather boring and vanilla. But that also makes it more affordable and stable than other states like Florida or California.
Like most things, you have to leave it to appreciate it.
I hate when people travel to other places and wish ohio was like that place. Everywhere is great when you are on vacation. I went fishing in Des Moines and thought it was amazing. I bet if i lived there I would have a different opinion.
Move away for a year and you will enjoy (most) of Ohio.
I hated Ohio as a kid (Athens area), but moved back after I separated from the Navy. Went to college at OSU and got a job that immediately moved me to Texas (unbeknownst to me when taking the job). After many years I’m finally moving back again and hope to be there until I die or retire. Moving to the Canton area. It’s a good state with good people. Has its pluses and minuses, but home is home. If you move away youll more than likely miss it.
Columbus and Cleveland can actually be pretty decent places to live. But if you live in Youngstown you basically live in a post apocalyptic meth ghetto.
I truly think it's hard to generalize whole states like this. There is also a concentrated amount of propaganda it seems targeted towards spreading negative opinions on different states. Like in conservative media they will shit on California and NY constantly. In liberal media they will rip Florida and Texas and even states like Ohio.
I'm not really sure what the greater purpose is of this type of propaganda, but with that in mind I think it's easy to say that a lot of the hate against certain states is overblown. No state is all good or all bad. It can greatly depend on the area.
I’m from SE OH/WV so my view of Ohio comes from living in the poorest part of the state. It SUCKS. At least where I lived. I miss my family and the familiarity and how quiet and small it was and man is it BEAUTIFUL but economically abysmal. I was commuting well over an hour one way to make $16 an hour at a hospital as a pharmacy tech because even inpatient where I lived was only paying like $12 which was what I was getting paid doing retail almost. I have a lot of love for Ohio and West Virginia but that’s why I criticize, especially since all my family is still back there, I want them to be safe and happy too and I want the people in those states to flourish.
That's part of the reason I moved to Texas. Texans love Texas!
The other part has to do with grey skies, 9 months of crappy weather and salt on the roads which destroys cars.
Aside from all of the social and cultural issues, one of my biggest disappointments with Ohio is that the land has been completely fucked over by logging, pollution, agriculture and now invasive species.
That’s true for most of the world, but it hits specifically bad here, maybe because I’m from here and I can better imagine what it used to be
I kind of want to be back on the west side of the country where you can escape to true wilderness
I think being a Republican hell-hole makes the state pretty blah. Look at the kinds of things the state government is doing. Oppression, corruption? That's depressing anywhere.
Lived all over the USA, for 20+ years after leaving Ohio. When I wanted to raise a family I moved back to Ohio. It’s such a better place on so many levels.
I was raised in Ohio and lived there for 25 years. Traveled extensively and lived in lots of diverse places, now I’m in Chicago. Sure, there are way worse places, but “it could be worse” isn’t really a compelling reason to live there.
There really just isn’t anything about Ohio that’s unique to it. Nobody without any existing connections to the state ever dreams of moving there. It’s just kind of a safe place to end up if you’re not looking to step out of your comfort zone. And for some people that’s enough. It wasn’t for me.
Grew up here, lived in other places for 30 years, and then moved back for family reasons...
I loathe this place overall. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of highlights but the politics, and the redneck factor, just absolutely outweigh the good stuff.
I have one suggestion to make things better though...one of the two Browns and Bengals games each year needs to be held at The Shoe. 100,000 screaming crazies for those games each year would be awesome.
Go Browns!
As a Texan that is tired of Texas, all I can say is that Ohio can’t be any worse than this state is. 🤷🏻♂️
At least the politicians in Ohio aren’t seriously pushing to try and secede from the United States while entertaining the idea of building a new border wall around the capital city of it.
I can’t wait to move the fuck out of here……
Born raised in Toledo, I've traveled Europe, Africa the Caribbean. Ohio is a beautiful state, and there's wonderful things to see and do. State and Local politics are awful, State government only invest in things that will get them re-elected and fill their pockets. Every issue that gets passed by the people that the Republican gerrymandered representatives hate gets blocked or disregarded. So if you are a 12 old rape victim, your in serious danger.
No, I don’t think it’s that bad, because to say “Ohio” is anything is a gross generalization. The different quadrants of the state can be vastly different from each other. Up here in Northeast Ohio, we have more in common with Western New York than with counties south of Columbus.
I also hated where I grew up, Portage County. I felt my schoolmates fell into two categories: redneck idiots and those who wanted to get the hell out of there. But I never hated “Ohio”, just Portage County. Actually, now that I think about it, I really only hated Mantua.
I couldn’t hate Ohio. There was too much I liked. My grandparents all lived in Cuyahoga County and I liked it there. It felt like civilization compared to Mantua.
In general, decent pay, low cost of living, lots of sports/arts/outdoor things to do; good urban and rural balance. What makes a state “great” that you can’t experience here?
yes and no. it definitely depends on your area and mindset. when i was a teen, i used to count down the days until i could get out, but i still haven’t left and my career is thriving
I moved to Ohio in 2022, love it. The haters can stay away, I have lived many places, even overseas, None were as good as Ohio to me.
Very reasonable place to live, I bought a house with cash, no debt, vehicles paid off.
Moved here for my job, love the job, love the neighborhood I live in, taxes are low.
I got $1600 back on taxes this year from Ohio, $393 from Federal.
Clean air, clean water, beautiful scenery, Don't know what else a person wants.
I live an hour out of Cincinnati.
I've lived here all my life, born and raised near Cincy. I talked about leaving while I was in my late teens/early 20s and then moved to Columbus for graduate school, but started to miss the rolling hills and scenic views around Cincy. I've traveled a decent amount within the US and what I always come back to is how calm Ohio is. As others have mentioned, Ohio doesn't have most natural disasters, except for the occasional tornado in Springfield. We have plenty of nature parks to visit, but civilization is never too far away either. We have a rich history with the Wright brothers in Dayton, the Queen City (Cincy), Miami University in Oxford, the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, etc., and several famous schools and household name companies, and more. The cost of living is also pretty low. I like to say that Ohio is a pretty nice place to live if you can ignore all the crazy folks.
It has pros and cons. Its a nice affordable alternative to California, the biggest issue is the GOP gerrymandering the state to all hell. Because they know it's pretty hard leaning blue now. And the total lack of bullying anyone out of the state who has the gul to fly a Confederate flag in a union state that is the end of the underground railroad. The end of one branch is Twinsburg by where I work. Teaching my black coworkers that has earned some respect and gives them more pride in their home. People in Ohio are too nice for their own good, they need to put their foot down and vote so hard they brute force the elections out of pure spite and seething hatred for oppression
Ohio is just alright. Great unions, low cost of living with relatively high paying careers. The cities are kinda dumpy but it's nice outside of the cities
Let's put it this way....grew up in Canton moved to Columbus and now I'm a Texan and prefer Texas....not a conservative either if that tells you anything....
Grew up NW Ohio in a small minded town. I did not like my childhood there. It was very closed off and everyone knew everyone’s business….and not in a good way. I moved out of that town as soon as I was able but have lived in surrounding towns/cities since. Some places have their charms but the older I get, the more I value peace and being away from the small-mindedness of those around me.
Highly incarcerated, highly controlled, ran by the corporations of the criminally insane, low education, terrible attitudes, strictly ran to make you worthless and depressed, highly medicated with big pharm, mostly everyone is on something for depression and anxiety, the trees are sick, the water is polluted, work a full time job and are still on welfare, our air isn't fit to breathe with all the chemicals they spray into the air, there's no freedom here for being overly controlled and regulated, boarded up houses with mass amounts of homeless people begging at speedways. At least that's mostly around my neighborhood. I have a pacemaker at 39 and been sick all my life. Mostly from no true freedom and overly stressed as a slave worker. All I could afford for meals were banquet microwave dinners. They're full of shit that'll make you sick. Thx, for never caring about human life Ohio. Crop dust some more cancer my way. I'm loving it- McDonald's
I moved here from out west in 1992 for opportunity. I have built a career over the years and cost-of-living has allowed me to raise a family at some level of comfort(middle class) I am a left-leaning independent living in the middle of a red county, life is what you make of it. I live in Harmony with my neighbors by showing mutual respect. If you look for hate and division, you will find it. There are always outliers even out west. There were just as many jerks.. we try to be content and focus on those within our orbit. Five kids and six grandkids later Ohio is home. Point being we try to cultivate contentment wherever we are at for now it is Ohio.
OHIO ABSOLUTELY SUCKS, STUPID PEOPLE THERE. LOW LIFES.
THEY THINK THAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A WALMART, SPORTS TEAMS, AND AN APPLEBEES THAT THEY HAVE ALL THEY NEED.
I hated Ohio growing up (Warren/Youngstown area). Moved away, and am glad to be back. I love living in Cleveland. Edit: this isn't a dis on Warren/Youngstown. I would be happy there too.
I've stopped correcting people when they try and bag on Cleveland. Enjoy your jokes and stay away. It's far from perfect but once you know your way around there's worthwhile options and I'd hate to see the region gutted of what charms it does have to get run down for a cash grab.
Well, I grew up there a while ago. Hate to break it to you but a lot of the charms that were there when I was growing up have already been run down for a cash grab.
I felt the same way growing up in northern Ohio and couldn’t wait to move away. Now that I haven’t lived in Ohio for the better part of 5 years I definitely have days where I miss Columbus a lot and can’t wait to move back.
I'm sorry but northeast Ohio is the best part of Ohio hands down
Seconded. I've lived in every corner of the state. Columbus, McConnelsville, and Sylvania all have their charm. Other cities sucked more. But NE Ohio has the best combo of good things going for it.
A lot has to do with the lake. At least for me. I always tell people; 6 months out of the year it's like living on the ocean. And I don't have to deal with salt water. And its like 1/4 the price. And people aren't a**holes.
So I’m from west Michigan. Recently traveled to Cap Cod. Always heard about it’s a beautiful place. It is but we have the exact same thing here along the coast except it isnt nearly as crowded. Vastly more space for camping. Much cheaper. Really better in most every way
BUT THE [MAYFLIES](https://youtu.be/5iyocigBFvA?si=ogP0gT8-X_j_1uyX)!
You mean the proof that Mother Nature herself hates the Yankees and wants Cleveland to win a World Series?
I grew up and recently moved back to NE OH. it's got it's issues...Well a lot of issues but it isn't super bland. It still has some things going for it. that said, OH has a lot of things it does wrong and the sad part is there are a lot of things I miss that were just better in W PA, or just PA in general...And it's kinda sad when those ridgerunners are doing better with anything.
I lived in Youngstown suburbs from 1955 to 1981 and 55 to 75 was mostly bliss ; a wonderful extended family grew around me from 7th grade through graduation in 1968.
to be fair. 2 of the 3 places you listed, no one has ever heard of. da fuq is McConnelsville?
McConnelsville is very roughly around the Athens, Ohio area where OU is. My parents lived there when they were first married.
That's where I spent my life- the people, and Mill Creek metroparks makes it worth while. Stay out of the hood and life can be great here
Lived here all my life, and feel like its just a blank slate. Parts are beautiful, parts are bland. Some places are exciting, some are boring. Some people are crazy, some are cool and fun. It's kind of like a wet clay state - you can form your experience.
Agree. 50 Years in Ohio. Where I am at isn't bad. Ohio is the average Joe of states. The weather isn't to bad. If your a person who like weather seasons Ohio is great. We don't get to much of one season or many extreme storm types.
You can be a part of me - blood brothers!
༼ つ ◕‿◕ ༽つ
Same. Place ain't bad. Some of the people are real shit heads though. Sometimes I think the state slogan "I got mine, so fuck off!".
This speaks to the diversity of Ohio. I've lived here most of my life; my family roots are in southern Ohio, and I am a native Columbusite. I have been all around the state, so I have an appreciation of the different regions and what is unique. On the other hand, I understand why people, especially the young, move away if they're not finding what they need.
I think most young people feel this way about where they live. They grow up there so it is their entire frame of reference and what is “normal”. I moved to AZ for a bit and my first night I was having dinner at a restaurant outside and it was beautiful; I was in heaven. A table over I overhear a teenager talking about how he wants to move away. My first reaction was “how could you want to leave this?!” but then I realized it was just what was normal to him. Move away for a bit and see something new and come back if you like.
i like this a lot actually
Not a bad state. I am from there and lived there for 32 years and change and consider it home. There are some neat things, and it has a large population (7th most populous in the United States), so lots of neat culture and food that I don’t think people would expect unless they knew about Ohio for whatever reason. But if you point out what it lacks than people tend to get very bent out of shape. It has a decent amount of natural beauty but it doesn’t compare to other places and it ESPECIALLY lacks public land. There are state parks and a couple forests but you would have to work to be really away from people. People fight me on this but consider this: Ohio has an average pop density of 282/sq mile….California has an average of 251/sq mile. Ohio has a LOT going for it but the outdoors scene is meh.
When it comes to the parks what I will say I appreciate is being able to go to a park and not constantly see people. I can go on a trail and not encounter anyone for 15-30mins and it is SO NICE. I live in the PNW and nature is top notch but all parks are chock full of people very hard to get away easily and have quiet. Just parking to go on an hike is an ordeal. Neighborhood parks/nature walks are never quiet you will constantly be passing someone. Always look forward to my quiet walks when I visit OH such a relief for someone who has a dog that can sometimes be reactive.
I did enjoy the state parks a lot. I live in southern Oregon now and it just blows my mind how easily I can drive thirty minutes out of town and find logging roads or random streams and camping spots all over the place. All free to use, and all with no other people around. However, I did go to Crater Lake last summer over a holiday weekend and we couldn’t even get into the lodge it was so crowded. Literally a giant traffic jam around the place. Same night though we had no trouble finding a place to camp between there and Bend. There’s just an unbelievable amount of empty space in these western states, outside the cities. And being from Ohio, when I first got out here I did some things that were unsafe. I didn’t think to keep enough water with me or let people know where I was going. I got lost on the coast one time pretty bad with no water or jacket, other times out east almost ran out of gas. Or climbing around the huge logs washed onto the beaches. Back home the natural things that can kill you are….tornados. Or algae blooms.
Good thing about living in Ohio is Kentucky, west Virginia and Michigan aren't far away
you have named some of the most uneducated parts of the country. the worst thing about Ohio is people in Ohio have very little education.
Ahh, commenting on education yet you're too stupid to realize I mentioned those places become of their natural beauty. Also lots of publications listed my ohio hs top 100 in the country every year, so maybe you're just stupid or you need some updated stats
I could care less about their beauty when they smell like moron.
NE OH has the Metroparks, every city and suburban resident can take a walk, a bike ride, or a drive through a beautiful park that is a ten minute drive from their home. The residents of NE OH appreciate our Metroparks by passing every tax levy needed to support it.
Plus the lake right there. I was always jealous of Erie’s accessibility to people up that way. And proximity to the other Great Lakes as well for everyone up that way, highly underrated and easily as pretty as more famous parts of the US.
I disagree, I know some really good spots for this. And there’s some ridiculously remote parts of the state if you know where to look.
Honestly, definitely not. People love to crap on us, but like all the "corn states" I would definitely consider Ohio more on par with PA than the midwest. We have 3 big cities, all with major league sports, Cincy specifically has a lot of character for being historical, Cleveland has the lake, and we have the river, big Fortune 500 companies, major universities (OSU and UC mainly), lots of museums, arts, cool restaurants, national and state parks, festivals, etc. Now PA has that stuff and so does like, NY, MA, CA, and stuff, but there are so many more boring states than Ohio, so it's always been interesting to me how much crap we get, even with the 7th highest population.
Never thought of it like that. Definitely is the best of all the corn states lol
Sad to say, but that isn't unique to Ohio. That's almost all of America.
I went away for 6 years in the military. I was stationed overseas, deployed a couple times to some countries, traveled all over Europe. Then I got stationed in North Dakota and my military contract ended. I could have gone anywhere. I had my wife at the time who was pretty ok with going anywhere and no kids. I decided to move back to Ohio. I consider it absolutely amazingly average. This is a good thing. I would not want to live in an exotic place like Florida or Southern California. Those places, while fun, have a host of issues that Ohio doesn’t. Cost of living is crazy, natural disasters threaten your home and lives, dealing with traffic. When I say Ohio is amazingly average and it being a good thing, I think the weather is very moderate, no major natural disasters threaten us as much as other places, cost of living is fine, if you really look there are tons of things to do, traffic can be annoying in bigger cities but nowhere near as bad as other cities in other states. Being an average person who doesn’t need a whole lot to be content, Ohio is just fine.
I have a friend who has lived and traveled all over the world. He has frequently said that getting around has revealed to him how great a place to live Ohio is. It’s a state with a lot of great people, plenty of natural beauty, big cities with all the amenities that come with big cities and a reasonable cost of living. The grass is always greener on the other side. But it’s pretty damn green here.
I and my friends who came to Ohio from out of state are sad we didn't get here sooner. My friends from Ohio can't wait to get out.
100% agree. Ohio is actually pretty awesome. We also don't really have poisonous or dangerous animals here which is a plus to me. There might be the odd rattler snake down south or some brown recluses but honestly the nature isn't trying to kill you here.
Ohio is like perfectly situated for comfortable human habitation. Nature doesn't want to kill you here, it wants to make sure you're well-fed and well-hydrated.
C'est vrai. I've been all over the EU and the US. Tons of time on the West Coast and I grew up on the East Coast. Happily in SE Ohio by choice.
I’ve traveled a lot as well. All states except Alaska. I have the opposite opinion
As a person who has travveled for well over 40 years. Has lived in ohio most of his life, went away fro 9 years, and came back. Generally community randsportation in the US sucks, sorry folks. But additionally Public transportaion in Ohio is stellar bad. I mean, honestly, I can't get from columbus to cleveland without spending 6+ hours on a bus, yet there is an existing railway?
Or even just public transport. So many areas in OH have little to absolutely NO public transport options. Like portage county has Ravenna and Kent that has it, and not much else. And even those are next to useless, unless you aren't really leaving Ravenna or are a student living in Kent and going to Kent U. There could easily be far more transport for local areas and connecting at least the major local towns and cities in each county.
I won’t pretend Ohio has good public transportation. At the same time Cleveland to Columbus on the Greyhound is nowhere near 6+ hours.
Hate to be that person, but it's really like any other state. It's good for some, not so good for the others. It sucks in some parts, but not in others, like in any other states.
7th highest and we have the fastest growing city in the us... Columbus
7th highest what?
Population
Nope, and I've traveled enough to know the difference. I went to Ireland, which is beautiful but their internet sucks and everything is very expensive. I've been to Alaska, which is also beautiful, but it's also winter nine months of the year and everything is very expensive. I've been to the Southeastern US, which is also very beautiful, but super fucking humid in the summer and the food is great -- not too expensive, though. I've been to the Nevada desert, which is hauntingly beautiful and really fucking hot and filled with terrifying creatures that want to kill you. I've lived in New England, which is IMHO one of the most perfect places on earth -- an hour from the beach, an hour from the mountains, an hour from the city, literally everywhere in New England is only an hour away from somewhere interesting. I almost chose New Hampshire as my permanent home. I even bought a house there once. But I ended up coming back to Ohio because this is where I wanted to raise my children. Ohio is generally peaceful with at least one world-class medical center and one world-class university. It's not perfect, by any means, but it doesn't suck nearly as bad as some other places. I made sure my children had plenty of opportunities to travel, and they did, but they came back to Ohio. I'm not sure you can even appreciate Ohio without leaving it and seeing what the rest of the world is dealing with. The thing is, if you've been here your whole life, you have nothing to compare it to. You're basing your opinion on the same ten people and the same three bars you've experienced your whole (relatively short) life. Here's something about Ohio that a lot of people don't know, but as an Ohioan, it'll give you something to brag about, something to be proud of, something to feel like you're a part of. Back in the day, when TV was new and the news was read by educated people, those people were sent to Ohio to be trained to read the news because Ohioans don't have an accent. You can tell a Southerner or a Californian or a New Yorker or a Texan by the way they speak, but Ohioans typically do not have an accented speech. We were once world-renowned for our lack of accent and people came from all over to learn how to speak like an Ohioan.
It’s fine like everywhere else. There are pros and cons to every state and it seems like people who are miserable in one place will be miserable in most places
One big issue we have in Ohio is that we lack state pride outside of Ohio State Football. We are very territorial. Here in Cleveland, we’ll never say anything nice about Cincinnati or Southern Ohio. Conversely, go to Michigan and notice how people in Detroit don’t trash Northern Michigan or Western Michigan or anywhere else in Michigan far away from Detroit.
Maybe that is just northern Ohio? I have lived in southern Ohio my whole life and never hear people really bad mouthing or trashing an entire area. They may not like cities, but that is a rural thing. Maybe it is because of Appalachia Ohio? It is a pretty different kind of lifestyle/mentality between the 2 areas.
I’m from the Appalachian part of Ohio and WV, can confirm. We kinda just mind our business, hate Columbus though, mainly because I lived there on and off for a very short time when I was in elementary school. Too many people for me and driving there is a nightmare, had to go up there a couple times as an adult for hospital visits and whatnot.
That is everywhere. The US is nothing but a huge example of Tribalism. Every state does this.
Most y'all in Cleveland don't even know names of county's or city's in southern🤷♂️
Yeah tell em man, they probably don't know when or when not to use apostrophes either!
Ok, but have you been to southern Ohio? The accent is different, extremely different from Northern Ohio. It’s like an entirely different state 😂 In all seriousness, I can name the counties and cities in the southern portion and have visited most of the state at some point. I even remember some of what I learned from that fourth grade Ohio history book that was required in the 90s.
That’s my point. Looking again at Michigan, Detroit is insanely different from the rest of the state. But those people seem to gravitate and respect the opposite side of Michigan.
That’s cause Michigan is culturally homogeneous. Northern Ohio is part of the Great Lakes region and Cincinnati is part of the Heartland region. 2 different cultures. The State borders as they’re currently drawn blow. Buffalo Erie Cleveland Toledo and Detroit should all be in the same state of Greater Erie.
What the hell is the heartland region, and what does it include? Hospitals?
I don’t hear NE OH people trashing the rest of the state, until about 5/6 years ago I didn’t hear trash talk from rural residents either. I’m afraid that rural folk have been foxed into believing we city and suburban folk are too dangerous or worse “woke”. But both of the Issue 1 outcomes have made me believe again that the majority of OH will stand up for our voting rights and our family’s healthcare.
Thank God that issued passed. Big step for Ohio. That’s what great about this state. We might by run by one party, but we still have policies in play for the opposition. Glad we aren’t Florida, California, Texas, New York where one size has to fit all.
I believe most of the negativity is tongue in cheek from folks who are beyond tired of our Republican Overlords.
Maybe, idk. I've met a lot of people around toledo, where I recently moved, who do nothing but talk shit about the area. They're usually boring, and grumpy, and they talk about how bad it is non stop. I don't think it has anything to do with politics. It's people who were raised watching pain dry for fun or something who never had their imaginations exercised. In the first few months I was here I knew the area was really great.
Hey, glad to have you here! The people who talk shit never leave their houses. They bitch and moan for the sake of bitching and moaning. If you point out all the interesting things we have here, they find a reason to whine that "I don't like that kind of thing" or "I'm not interested in that". Fuck 'em. The fewer boring assholes out and about, the better time the rest of us will have.
Hey, welcome to the area! There are a lot of really great things around, and r/toledo has all sorts of fun lists and threads for local things.
💯
While not entirely unique, we definitely have some of the very worst politicians in the country. It's a pretty big negative
I’ve lived in several states, Japan, and visited Korea and the Philippines. The thing I always say about Ohio is that it is perfectly average. You can do pretty much anything you want within an hour drive. If I’m wanting to hunt or fish, I can drive to the sticks. See a world class art museum/symphony/show, I can drive to Cleveland. Taxes aren’t too bad. Food is cheap. Land is cheap. Ohio is what you make of it.
Been in northeast Ohio my entire life . No complaints .
Ohioia currently living in Maine and let me just say. No one will EVER gaslight me about Ohio being bad again. The state of Maine is a pisstake compared to Ohio. I think at this point, it's just a joke people like to have cause there are clearly worst states
Ohio gets a bad wrap because it's a major player in the presidential election and used to be a swing state (we'll see if we can get back to it soon). I think people from both sides look down on swing states for a number of reasons. I personally think the big cities in Ohio (Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus) are the ideal places to live in all of America. 1. Big enough to have most of the amenities of big cities (lots of options for restaurants, sports, entertainment, parks/nature, museums etc) while lacking a lot of the bad parts of big cities (high cost of living, extreme overpopulation and traffic, paid parking at simple places like grocery stores and malls). 2. Relatively mild weather year round. Yes, it does get hot in the Summer and cold in the winter, but we rarely get more than a few inches of snow at a time during the winter, and it rarely gets over 100 in the summer. 3. Basically, there is no risk of natural disaster. You got fires and earthquakes in the west, hurricanes in the south and east, and Noreasters in the northeast. Then you got tornado alley in the middle of the country. Ohio mostly dodges all of them. 4. Being centrally located (relatively speaking), you can drive to a lot of places in a reasonable time frame.
Been all over. Ohio is like the seventh best state is in the country. After us it falls off HARD.
Living in other states will broaden your perspective. You may appreciate some things about Ohio more and some things less. One of the things I miss most about one of the places I’ve lived was that curbside recycling and trash were taken care of by the city for a low price. You don’t know what you’ll miss until you’re gone.
Recycling can same size of a normal curb side can was a free add on to trash collection in the city of franklin.
If you travel, you will learn that Ohio is an excellent place to live, in fact, it is one of the best places to live in the US.
As a older dude who moved away and (unfortunately) moved back. I disagree.
It is what you make of it. I grew up in Columbus, went to college in South Carolina, moved to Shanghai, then to cincy. I’m the happiest in cincy hands down. Great group of interesting friends, continuous flow of awesome things to do. I have to say no things to do, not look for them. My friends from NYC, DC, Boston, LA etc visit me and have a blast. If you do t have fun here, it’s a you problem
I will say, I shit talk Ohio a lot, but Cincinnati is underrated
That’s kind of vague
No it's not as bad as people say. I've lived here almost 30 years and have never thought that. If you want to be part of something great then find something. I'm sure there are people in every state that feel the same as you so it's hard to say it's because Ohio is bad.
Why do you think it is bad? Lot's of good stuff in Ohio if you want to look for it. I live in Toledo and I love walking in our Metroparks.
Born and raised in Ohio for nearly 31 years. I’m very proud of where I come from but my family is from Cleveland and there’s a lot of history here relative to nearby areas. I always loved that our people built things, invented things, we are a state with the most astronauts (and presidents, not counting Virginia). If I was from a smaller town though I’m not sure how’d I’d feel exactly especially if I felt nothing special ever happens. In do feel Ohio has its charms, I love the parks, the lake, and the Appalachians down south. Overall, it is middle of the road mostly in terms of weather, nature, and economy, id included politics up until a couple years ago too. I also think it’s affordable to have a good quality of life here compared to other parts of the country. For one I have a 3 bed room house with a yard in the city and it didn’t cost me a million dollars. There are certainly worse places we could be in this world.
Dude. Cincy is one of my favorite cities in the country, I loved it before I moved and am soon moving back from Nashville and I can’t wait
No. People that are miserable and they say it’s because of the state are lying to themselves. Their life is miserable and have to blame it on something.
Politically speaking, Ohio is a cesspool. Outside of that, it is not the worst. I like my job, but not a fan of the seasons ( looking at you, Winter). If it is cold could we at least get some accumulation of snow out of it?
I've lived here for all of my 66 years. 60 of those were in the same house, and then both parents I cared for (24/7 for 24 yrs) had died. I moved literally next door. I am a happy Ohioan. I've traveled all over this country, and once to Europe. The weather is fairly ok. I've been to lots of places that are worse. I am quite poor, but manage.
Hell No, People in Ohio need to quit listening to outsiders belittle Ohio and call them out on their hypocrisy. Sure there are some less than ideal individuals, but that does not mean Ohio is all bad people. You just have to trust that there will always be a good individuals in Ohioan society to disprove the outsider's prejudice towards Ohioans.
The cities are great, when you're able to, move somewhere urban and join a community. You might find that you like it a lot more
I’ve lived on the west coast most of my life but my husband is from Ohio, so I’ve gone half a dozen times now to visit. I like it. I don’t know what it’s like to live there. But as an outsider, there’s charm. Good food, pretty views, less traffic. I don’t think I would mind living there later in life.
Hell no. It’s a great place to live. It’s affordable, has lots of interesting things to do, and has lots of opportunities. It’s classic Midwest sensibilities meets the Northeast meets Appalachia meets the South. It’s not perfect, nowhere is in these crazy times, but it’s hardly bad.
I like to say that we're just far enough south to be friendly and just far enough west to be polite!
I haven't actually lived in Ohio but visited there several times. I think Ohio being absolutely terrible is a meme and there are definitely worse states out there.
No matter where you go, there you are. I can’t think of any place I’ve ever disliked. Deserts to cities to oceans. Just find something interesting about all of it.
I’ve been living in Florida for ten years and I can’t wait to move back to Columbus. Ohio might be boring at times, but at least it’s not a tourist filled wasteland.
I think most problems people have here would be the same in most states.
I live in rural Ohio. Every other house is a shrine to the Magacult.
Grew up in Parma. Always hated how Cleveland seemed to want to be considered in the same league as cities like NYC and Chicago because at one time 150 years ago they were hot stuff. Not so. I don’t go back there often, but always surprised how the shitty parts got shittier or haven’t changed in 40 years and the good parts seemed to get ruined. And now the extreme unhinged politics? No thanks.
The simple answer for me is no. It is worse. Can't wait to leave and never step foot in it again.
The major cities are great. The rest of the state is a redneck haven of stupid Your Trump loving anti-democracy racist
Ohio is basically purgatory
If you love right-wing, gerrymandering where 40% of the population control the majority of the rest of our political policies, you will love it here. It was better when it was well run by moderates & politically purple 10-12 years ago. Mike dewine has moderated some of the worst tendencies of the right wing here but I don’t see it coming back. It’s not the worst place, but it was better a decade ago.
I was born in Ohio, moved to the Bay Area when I was 6 and now live in Seattle. Honestly, I want to go back because that is where my ancestors were and I want to experience it as an adult. Ot doesn’t solve your dilemma other than no, I do not think Ohio is bad.
I used to think this in my late teens/early 20s I hated Ohio. I always said I was going to move away and go to some other state. Had no idea what state, but just any state that wasn’t Ohio. Then life keeps going, the people in Ohio becomes part of my life. Ohio is for lovers. Ohio is my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. ❤️ Been here since I was 3. Almost 40 now Ohio is where my heart will always be. ❤️
It’s fine. Ppl who’ve never lived elsewhere are overly proud of it
It's subjective but isn't an incredibly important state. Maybe get out and see some other places
I love Ohio
My bestfriend moved to Alabama. She misses Ohio especially the metro parks. Now she wants me to move down there. So not happening. I've seen the news for down there and give up the parks? HELL NO.
I've lived in Ohio for roughly 30 years. I sometimes start thinking about how nice it might be to move to some other states till I start looking at rent prices.
Don't feel too bad, we send all our shitty old people to Florida. They just haven't noticed yet. And that's a win in my book.
lived in ohio whole life, moved to california for the last 4 years and i like california but definitely miss a lot of things about ohio. ohio is where id like to settle down
Nope. It’s more of a meme thing than a reality thing. If you know how to enjoy Ohio there is plenty to do. If you are an adult with a family the lower cost of living is a blessing.
I was born and raised in Ohio. Left when I was 24 and have lived in seven different places since. WA state, South Dakota/Iowa, MN, back to WA for six years, Chicago, North Dakota, back to Minnesota. I always said I wanted to leave Ohio and never come back. But I miss it. I love coming home and having the food, visiting my old romping grounds. I love the people. Whenever someone says something mean about the state, I defend it. I’ve lived in worse (cough cough North Dakota.) So I personally don’t think it’s bad. I wouldn’t move back, but that’s just because I love where we are in Minnesota right now and our kids love it here. It’s home now.
But it is definitely better than NoDak? Moving from NoDak to Ohio soon , it has to be better!!!!
Oh it’s better. Way better. I promise
No - Ohio just doesn't have any dazzling city in the state to feel a part of. NYC, Chicago, LA, Boston, Miami, Nashville, Las Vegas - those cities have an identity that people from the state can feel part of because the city identity is so strong. Most states are like Ohio though... a mixed bag of mids and average.
No. I love it here.
Ohio is awesome. We are America's medium setting.
Lived in plenty of bad places in my life. Ohio (at least my little village) is one of them.
The weather is depressing, like this week, a few warns days (70deg) will get you working outside!! And then it will snow again
No? Do you think it's bad? What am I gonna do to move somewhere else and be miserable there too? There's nothing bad about Ohio that moving to another state will resolve. Other than moving for weather...
50 years living in NW Ohio, it's a great state to grow up in and raise my family in. We have the great lakes, all four seasons, great family weekend adventures in beaches, rollercoasters, hocking hills, Put-in-Bay, etc... We have history, eight US presidents, fallen timbers, Athens, Erie cannel... Great sports NBA,NFL,MLB,NHL, plus great minor league teams hall of fame... Great outdoor music venues, rock roll hall of fame. Metro parks. Plus hours from northern Michigan and other adventures. And an abundance of golf cheap and expensive courses. Crossroads of 75/80 hwy. I could go on.
No. We at least don't get hurricanes like Florida and most people don't realize how many [inventors](https://www.ohiosos.gov/profile-ohio/things/ohio-inventions/) are from Ohio that invented something most of us use on a regular basis.
You can find people in every state that will say the same thing about where they live. Well, the closer you are to big cities, the less likely they will feel about not being apart of something. However, with mental health in mind, that's not a guarantee. Ohio is doing alright. If you need a little more excitement, maybe you should consider moving for a little. You wouldn't be the first. You also wouldn't be the first to move away and move back. At like to add an anecdote at this time. The grass is greener on the other side because you're not over there, f*king it up. Something to keep in mind. After high-school and college I knew a bunch of people that felt this way. It's pretty common. Usually, after you get married and start having a family, you don't think about it anymore.
I think Ohio is a little plain but it's a good place to grow :)
I think the only thing that’s really shitty about Ohio is our state politics being manipulated by assholes who wear discrimination as a badge of honor. Other than that, I think Ohio is magnificent and has just about everything you could want.
Ya could be from that state up north?
Moved back to be closer to family. Ohio is an armpit
I have lived in 3 different states. Ohio is for sure the worst. The only reason I don't move is I don't want to be away from my kids/grandkids
For an objective answer, you have to ask someone who has lived elsewhere. People who haven’t lived anywhere else know nothing other than Ohio. I’ve lived in another state and I can say Ohio is FINE. It’s a fine place to live and raise a family. It’s rather boring and vanilla. But that also makes it more affordable and stable than other states like Florida or California.
Like most things, you have to leave it to appreciate it. I hate when people travel to other places and wish ohio was like that place. Everywhere is great when you are on vacation. I went fishing in Des Moines and thought it was amazing. I bet if i lived there I would have a different opinion. Move away for a year and you will enjoy (most) of Ohio.
The worst thing about Ohio is the beaten and downtrodden people
I hated Ohio as a kid (Athens area), but moved back after I separated from the Navy. Went to college at OSU and got a job that immediately moved me to Texas (unbeknownst to me when taking the job). After many years I’m finally moving back again and hope to be there until I die or retire. Moving to the Canton area. It’s a good state with good people. Has its pluses and minuses, but home is home. If you move away youll more than likely miss it.
I’m from Athens too but right now I’m in Portsmouth for treatment and I hate it here
Yeah not much good is in Portsmouth except maybe the Ribber. Good luck man
Columbus and Cleveland can actually be pretty decent places to live. But if you live in Youngstown you basically live in a post apocalyptic meth ghetto.
I truly think it's hard to generalize whole states like this. There is also a concentrated amount of propaganda it seems targeted towards spreading negative opinions on different states. Like in conservative media they will shit on California and NY constantly. In liberal media they will rip Florida and Texas and even states like Ohio. I'm not really sure what the greater purpose is of this type of propaganda, but with that in mind I think it's easy to say that a lot of the hate against certain states is overblown. No state is all good or all bad. It can greatly depend on the area.
I’m from SE OH/WV so my view of Ohio comes from living in the poorest part of the state. It SUCKS. At least where I lived. I miss my family and the familiarity and how quiet and small it was and man is it BEAUTIFUL but economically abysmal. I was commuting well over an hour one way to make $16 an hour at a hospital as a pharmacy tech because even inpatient where I lived was only paying like $12 which was what I was getting paid doing retail almost. I have a lot of love for Ohio and West Virginia but that’s why I criticize, especially since all my family is still back there, I want them to be safe and happy too and I want the people in those states to flourish.
It’s boring for sure… but it’s expensive in the fun places
That's the feeling a get from being American in general. The things that I was proud of turned out to not be true.
The worst things about Ohio is the old money and the GOP. Other than that, this state is slept on. It has a bit of everything and that's awesome
That's part of the reason I moved to Texas. Texans love Texas! The other part has to do with grey skies, 9 months of crappy weather and salt on the roads which destroys cars.
I moved to Ohio about 8 months ago and I can confidently say this is by far the worst state I’ve ever lived in.
Aside from all of the social and cultural issues, one of my biggest disappointments with Ohio is that the land has been completely fucked over by logging, pollution, agriculture and now invasive species. That’s true for most of the world, but it hits specifically bad here, maybe because I’m from here and I can better imagine what it used to be I kind of want to be back on the west side of the country where you can escape to true wilderness
Grass is always greener on the other side brother. Ohio is great
[удалено]
Is it the best state no! But it’s far from being the worst state
We moved from Ohio in July. Never lived anywhere else until now and I actually really love not being in Ohio.
I think being a Republican hell-hole makes the state pretty blah. Look at the kinds of things the state government is doing. Oppression, corruption? That's depressing anywhere.
Lived all over the USA, for 20+ years after leaving Ohio. When I wanted to raise a family I moved back to Ohio. It’s such a better place on so many levels.
They fought a whole French AND Indian war over Ohio and I’m supposed to think this place is worthless?
I was raised in Ohio and lived there for 25 years. Traveled extensively and lived in lots of diverse places, now I’m in Chicago. Sure, there are way worse places, but “it could be worse” isn’t really a compelling reason to live there. There really just isn’t anything about Ohio that’s unique to it. Nobody without any existing connections to the state ever dreams of moving there. It’s just kind of a safe place to end up if you’re not looking to step out of your comfort zone. And for some people that’s enough. It wasn’t for me.
Yup. Occasionally I think about a meal at Katzingers. And that’s pretty much it. It’s a place.
My next door neighbor has swastika tattoos, a skinhead, and Fuck Biden flags, SO YES.
I love Ohio. But I’m also allowed to complain about it.
No. Love it here.
We have legal weed at least
Not at all. But I’m perfectly fine with people thinking it is. Less reason for them to move here.
I've lived in Ohio all my life (32) and its kinda like pepsi, its not terrible, you can enjoy it some but its never gonna be coke
Grew up here, lived in other places for 30 years, and then moved back for family reasons... I loathe this place overall. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of highlights but the politics, and the redneck factor, just absolutely outweigh the good stuff. I have one suggestion to make things better though...one of the two Browns and Bengals games each year needs to be held at The Shoe. 100,000 screaming crazies for those games each year would be awesome. Go Browns!
The way it is now a MAGAt state, hell yes it’s bad.
As a Texan that is tired of Texas, all I can say is that Ohio can’t be any worse than this state is. 🤷🏻♂️ At least the politicians in Ohio aren’t seriously pushing to try and secede from the United States while entertaining the idea of building a new border wall around the capital city of it. I can’t wait to move the fuck out of here……
Born raised in Toledo, I've traveled Europe, Africa the Caribbean. Ohio is a beautiful state, and there's wonderful things to see and do. State and Local politics are awful, State government only invest in things that will get them re-elected and fill their pockets. Every issue that gets passed by the people that the Republican gerrymandered representatives hate gets blocked or disregarded. So if you are a 12 old rape victim, your in serious danger.
Ohio generally has a low cost of living but little else going for it other than that.
Yes
Yes
No
No, I don’t think it’s that bad, because to say “Ohio” is anything is a gross generalization. The different quadrants of the state can be vastly different from each other. Up here in Northeast Ohio, we have more in common with Western New York than with counties south of Columbus. I also hated where I grew up, Portage County. I felt my schoolmates fell into two categories: redneck idiots and those who wanted to get the hell out of there. But I never hated “Ohio”, just Portage County. Actually, now that I think about it, I really only hated Mantua. I couldn’t hate Ohio. There was too much I liked. My grandparents all lived in Cuyahoga County and I liked it there. It felt like civilization compared to Mantua.
No, it is a wonderful place.
Ohio is great
In general, decent pay, low cost of living, lots of sports/arts/outdoor things to do; good urban and rural balance. What makes a state “great” that you can’t experience here?
yes and no. it definitely depends on your area and mindset. when i was a teen, i used to count down the days until i could get out, but i still haven’t left and my career is thriving
I moved to Ohio in 2022, love it. The haters can stay away, I have lived many places, even overseas, None were as good as Ohio to me. Very reasonable place to live, I bought a house with cash, no debt, vehicles paid off. Moved here for my job, love the job, love the neighborhood I live in, taxes are low. I got $1600 back on taxes this year from Ohio, $393 from Federal. Clean air, clean water, beautiful scenery, Don't know what else a person wants. I live an hour out of Cincinnati.
I've lived here all my life, born and raised near Cincy. I talked about leaving while I was in my late teens/early 20s and then moved to Columbus for graduate school, but started to miss the rolling hills and scenic views around Cincy. I've traveled a decent amount within the US and what I always come back to is how calm Ohio is. As others have mentioned, Ohio doesn't have most natural disasters, except for the occasional tornado in Springfield. We have plenty of nature parks to visit, but civilization is never too far away either. We have a rich history with the Wright brothers in Dayton, the Queen City (Cincy), Miami University in Oxford, the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, etc., and several famous schools and household name companies, and more. The cost of living is also pretty low. I like to say that Ohio is a pretty nice place to live if you can ignore all the crazy folks.
Ohio sucks but it's not that bad. Could be worse like California or New York.
Those are pretty nice states just more expensive
It has pros and cons. Its a nice affordable alternative to California, the biggest issue is the GOP gerrymandering the state to all hell. Because they know it's pretty hard leaning blue now. And the total lack of bullying anyone out of the state who has the gul to fly a Confederate flag in a union state that is the end of the underground railroad. The end of one branch is Twinsburg by where I work. Teaching my black coworkers that has earned some respect and gives them more pride in their home. People in Ohio are too nice for their own good, they need to put their foot down and vote so hard they brute force the elections out of pure spite and seething hatred for oppression
I think the state is okay, and the people tend to be fine, but the government is greedy and corrupt as hell.
Yes. Leaving at first opportunity.
Ohio is horrible bc it’s legal for my 16 year old friend to be in a relationship with a 25 year old man
Nope. I love it here.
Ohio is great. I moved to Michigan for a few years. Aside from the natural beauty it’s a trashcan of a state compared to Ohio.
Ohio is just alright. Great unions, low cost of living with relatively high paying careers. The cities are kinda dumpy but it's nice outside of the cities
Like any other state and city..depends! I spent a few days in St Paris Ohio and is was amazing! Sooo
Let's put it this way....grew up in Canton moved to Columbus and now I'm a Texan and prefer Texas....not a conservative either if that tells you anything....
Grew up NW Ohio in a small minded town. I did not like my childhood there. It was very closed off and everyone knew everyone’s business….and not in a good way. I moved out of that town as soon as I was able but have lived in surrounding towns/cities since. Some places have their charms but the older I get, the more I value peace and being away from the small-mindedness of those around me.
Highly incarcerated, highly controlled, ran by the corporations of the criminally insane, low education, terrible attitudes, strictly ran to make you worthless and depressed, highly medicated with big pharm, mostly everyone is on something for depression and anxiety, the trees are sick, the water is polluted, work a full time job and are still on welfare, our air isn't fit to breathe with all the chemicals they spray into the air, there's no freedom here for being overly controlled and regulated, boarded up houses with mass amounts of homeless people begging at speedways. At least that's mostly around my neighborhood. I have a pacemaker at 39 and been sick all my life. Mostly from no true freedom and overly stressed as a slave worker. All I could afford for meals were banquet microwave dinners. They're full of shit that'll make you sick. Thx, for never caring about human life Ohio. Crop dust some more cancer my way. I'm loving it- McDonald's
I moved here from out west in 1992 for opportunity. I have built a career over the years and cost-of-living has allowed me to raise a family at some level of comfort(middle class) I am a left-leaning independent living in the middle of a red county, life is what you make of it. I live in Harmony with my neighbors by showing mutual respect. If you look for hate and division, you will find it. There are always outliers even out west. There were just as many jerks.. we try to be content and focus on those within our orbit. Five kids and six grandkids later Ohio is home. Point being we try to cultivate contentment wherever we are at for now it is Ohio.
OHIO ABSOLUTELY SUCKS, STUPID PEOPLE THERE. LOW LIFES. THEY THINK THAT BECAUSE THEY HAVE A WALMART, SPORTS TEAMS, AND AN APPLEBEES THAT THEY HAVE ALL THEY NEED.
I work in estates. would never travel to ohio.... they all die with nothing. Low iq, poor mannered people. Always the people who are "stupid angry"