Columbus, Ohio. Seventh smartest city in the world according to the Intelligent Communities Forum, home of the some of the most inclusive people on the planet, and the site of The Ohio State University.
Nobody outside of Columbus can articulate exactly why Ohio State gets a THE in front of its name. Maybe the college went to the college equivalent of graduate school and earned the right to have THE with several extra semesters working as an aide to other colleges. Pretentious or awesome, you be the judge.
College honorifics aside, Columbus has a reputation of being open-minded and inclusive, excellent traits for anyone looking to relocate there. It’s very hard to sell a city to potential new residents when the population’s attitude is “What are you looking at?” Thankfully, Columbus went the friendlier route and stands to gain more from it. But if you want more reasons to move to a new city, just read on.
Living in Columbus
The demographics of Columbus primarily break down into three categories: Caucasians at 60 percent, African-American at 28 percent, and Hispanic/Latino at 6 percent with other demographics breaking down in smaller percentages. Not to harp on the general “intelligent and open-minded” theme about Columbus, but the city would very much like everyone to be aware of its inclusiveness. To that end, the city openly celebrates the various cultural demographics, including the LGBTQ community.
As a matter of fact, the only demographic that might experience hostility in Columbus would be fans of the University of Michigan, because apparently inclusivity in Columbus does not extend to anyone wearing the blue and gold of the Wolverines. There are college rivalries, and then there is the Ohio State/Michigan rivalry.
Oh, and if someone yells “O! H!” at you, the appropriate response is “I! O!” It’s the city equivalent of yelling “Red Robin!” in a crowded place and expecting a response of “Yum!” We’re not sure why Ohio residents do this, unless everyone is participating in an ongoing spelling bee where the only question is “Spell Ohio.”
Rest assured, moving to Columbus will virtually guarantee you’ll never have to worry about spelling the word “Ohio” again. Think what the people of Schenectady, New York, could learn from their example.
Person 1: “S! C! H! E! N!”
Person 2: “Forget this, I’m getting a beer.”
Working in Columbus
The Census ACS 1-year survey reported the median household income for the Columbus Ohio metro area was $63,764 in 2017. The Columbus median household income was $9,743 higher than the median Ohio household income and $3,428 greater than the US median household income.
While those numbers may seem worrisome, the cost of living in Columbus actually ranks lower compared to other similar-sized U.S. cities including St. Louis, Salt Lake City, and Austin, which could allow new residents to make better use of their paychecks.
As with most major U.S. cities, there’s always going to be a demand for work in the health care fields. Additionally, some very well-known companies like Victoria’s Secret and Nationwide Insurance make Columbus their home, not to mention the numerous employment opportunities offered by the Ohio State University system. Also, the unemployment rate has generally stayed low in the last few years and the city has thousands of businesses operating within its limits.
So if you’re looking for employment opportunities in Columbus, you’ll be in good company. Unless you’re a Michigan fan. Seriously, we can’t overstate this enough; hide the blue and gold until you’re feeling bold and daring. It’s like the University of Miami over here; even people who never went to school at OSU route for OSU.
Things to Do
It should be noted that, thanks to the rabid OSU fans, the best time to travel, shop, and get anything done that involves leaving your home will be during any OSU football game. If it’s a home football game, you’ll be able to do anything, since everyone will either be at the game or watching the game.
Think this is an exaggeration? Even wedding receptions in Columbus are known to include a beer truck and outdoor widescreen showing of the game. So if you want to do something that doesn’t involve football, wait until the game starts before going.
But don’t’ go thinking that football is the sum total of Columbus’ offerings. There’s Summerfest and Red, White, and Boom, the Pelotonia bicycle ride, the Columbus Arts Festival, and something called Food Truck Fest.
Food truck festivals have become one of the major trend offerings for up-and-coming U.S. cities, right up there with arts festivals and craft beer. If a city offers a festival for any of those things, it’s looking to bring in the younger demographic. And it’s working in Columbus, all the more reason to get out there and try to get a beer and lunch while viewing a piece of art. Do all three and you get Columbus Trend Bingo. The reward? You get to live in Columbus.
And Columbus isn’t just for the trendy-minded people, either. For families, Columbus offers the Cosi Museum and the zoo. Remember, Columbus prides itself on being an inclusive city, and you can’t be inclusive if you don’t have some way to educate/entertain the kids.
And if you visit Topiary Park, you’ll see shrubberies cut to match the figures and landscape of – painter Georges Seurat’s masterpiece A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. That’s right; the shrubbery matches the painting.
Columbus’s Culture
Once upon a time someone working at Thurman’s Café decided to make a sandwich that, it’s assumed, would someday feature on the Food Network as one of those “holy hell that’s a lot of food” specials. While the name of that person may be lost to legend (or just Google it), the result was a monstrosity called the Thurmanator, and one-and-a-half pound burger covered in bacon, ham, mushrooms, onions, and a combination of mozzarella and American cheese.
Apparently, inclusivity extends to food offerings in Columbus, too.
Colonial’s Columbus Conclusion
Columbus sounding awesome but not sure where to start? Don’t panic about how to get there. We get that moving down the street can be stressful, and moving to a new state can be downright horrifying. But Colonial Van Lines has the experience and the expertise to make sure your moving experience will be straight forward and stress free.
Call a Colonial Van Lines professional and find out how to start your journey to Columbus.
Long Distance Moving to Columbus
February 23, 2020