I’m applying to grad schools right now, and the program at Ohio State is near the top of my list, but I’d really like to hear from those of you in the know what Columbus especially, but also the school is like.
For the background, I’ve lived most of my life in Pennsylvania, with brief stints in Indiana and Iowa, so I’m not expecting much culture or climate shock. Okay, so it will take some time to get used to the flatness, but I can deal with that. Also, I will soon be receiving my second bachelor’s degree from Penn State, so the hell that is a Big-10 college town on a football weekend is nothing new. For those with info on OSU, I’ll be applying for entry to the Ph.D. program in history.
I was most interested in getting a feel for what Columbus and the surrounding area is like. What the atmosphere is like outside of the typical college-town haunts; what the housing market is like (especially for those that are currently around); any really cool places to go (or nasty places to avoid); those sorts of things.
I can almost hear the standard advice now, so I’ll add that I am planning on visiting, and hopefully soon, but I figured I would see what the Dopers had to say first.
I don’t know anything about the history department but I’m going to law school at OSU right now.
I don’t know what kind of housing you are looking for. I would recommend staying on campus because I’ve had bad experiences trying to live in the slums around the campus.
OSU has a few good places to eat, some really wonderful gyms, and a thriving arts department. You can hear concerts and go to the art gallery and watch plays.
Also for entertainment are the sports. I love women’s hockey, men’s rugby, and pretty much anything else. If you’re not going to go see the big men’s sports, you are likely to have a cheap and entertaining evening with plenty of seating and happy fans (even when we lose).
Columbus has a nice place called the Short North. There’s some great shopping there, although it’s all pretty high priced. Also, they have a good convention center and a place called the Farmer’s Market which sells all sorts of international foods.
Buses are cheap for students, and go pretty much anywhere in the Columbus area.
My friend from Seattle doesn’t think there’s much of a night life in Columbus, and if you’re wanting glitzy clubs and bars, you may be disappointed. There’s hardly anything open after a certain hour of the night. But if you’re like me and want to watch movies and go to games and shop in nice places you might like it.
I have absolutely tons of links that I have stored up, and I won’t deluge you with them. Suffice to say that I like Columbus.
Even if you don’t give a toss, get an OSU football schedule so you can avoid restaurants that may be near televisions on afternoons when games are played.
I cannot be very helpful, but I just want to mention that Columbus as a whole is really not a “college town” (not that anyone is necessarily claiming that it is). OSU is of course a big deal, and OSU football is of course an even bigger deal and the talk of the town, but outside the neighborhoods surrounding OSU, Columbus largely does not revolve around the university.
The city is mainly a low-density, almost suburban, sort of place. The inner parts (including around OSU) are “urban,” to be sure, but are mostly single-family types of houses. Columbus is not an old industrial city like others in Ohio or most of the Midwest; I think its economy is mainly based on state government, OSU, and high-tech industry/business. It’s a wannabe sunbelt city in the Midwest, with rapidly sprawling suburbia and the infamous (among certain circles) Easton Town Center (link not working for me now, but maybe it will later). Outside of certain places that OSU students would frequent, plus some others (which I can’t really name, but it looks like Elysian knows them), I’d have to say my impression is that things are pretty bland and ordinary in Columbus. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Oh, and the city’s greatest contribution to mankind, located on Broad Street downtown, is the world’s very first Wendy’s.
As I suggested, that’s all probably not particularly useful information, but it’s my two cents on the feel of Columbus.
Cool, thanks for the input everyone. Your link worked fine for me PigBoy. Jurph, the first and third of your things to know are nothing new to me (after how many years at Penn State, including a few where we actually won some games!), and the second is well-known to us football junkies!
I came to Columbus to go to grad school more than 20 years ago and kind of forgot to leave.
I agree that you should be careful about where you live. Either live on campus or find something southwest of campus (Victorian Village or Grandview areas have some good possibilities). If you have a car there are lots more options. When you visit the campus have them introduce you to graduate students in your program and ask them for advice.
There’s actually lots going on in Columbus. If you’re into music there is always something in pretty much any genre (jazz, blues, classical, and pretty much any popular music option). Check out www.wcbe.org for a calendar of events around town. You can also look at The Columbus Dispatch, especially their Weekender section, for a general idea of events. (This site normally requires subscription, but they were having a free demo when I looked at it Tuesday; hope it’s still free.)
Lots of sports - mostly OSU, but there’s professional soccer and someday there might be pro hockey again.
There are also tons and tons of good restaurants (not all at student prices, but a lot are pretty reasonable), but again, having a car helps. Still, you can get to the Short North and Grandview on the bus (which is free for students) and that gives you a bunch of options.
Of course, if you’ll be in grad school, you won’t have time for much of anything but school…
My e-mail is in my profile if you have any other questions.
Thanks for the welcome, PigBoy. I’ve been lurking a lot and never quite getting around to posting.
This topic spoke to me because I temporarily housed innumerable new grad students while I was in grad school here (the first 6 years…) and have oriented several friends’ siblings, cousins and friends since then…
A car definitely makes it easier to get into reasonably nice, affordable housing. There is a lot of housing northwest, west and southwest of campus (within 5-10 minutes by car) that should be affordable to a grad student, is reasonably nice and in a safe area. Avoid anything east of High Street unless it’s more than a couple miles north of campus (Clintonville and Worthington are nice areas north). Northwest in general is a safe bet, although traffic can get messy. Southwest (some of Victorian Village and most of the Grandview area) is generally OK, although some areas are clearly much better than others. (E-mail me if you want some specific ideas.)
HOWEVER (you knew that was coming, right?) parking on campus is a royal pain. They’ve managed to shrink available parking annually (I experienced this while I was in school and have heard the complaint every year since I left and can even tell you where enormous parking lots have disappeared just in the past 2 years). This is one thing I would definitely ask other students in the History Department about. There tend to be secrets for getting good parking, probably even some near- rather than on-campus. You might be able to find something nice that’s on a reasonable bus route or find a place to live near someone else with a schedule like yours so that you can share rides. And sometimes just having the right schedule makes a big difference in finding a parking spot.
As far as the housing market goes, I live in Clintonville, a few miles north of Ohio State. I’m paying 385 for a one bedroom apt which includes heat in the winter. Apartments are readily available and at low prices. Decent areas to live in would be the Short North, Clintonville, and perhaps the Old Towne East neigborhood downtown. German Village is nice, but a bit pricey for what you get.
I don’t have a car, but they are quite useful here. The bus system works for up and down High Street, the major north/south street, but is more limited north of Morse Road.
Nightlife is disappointing. There are lots of bars (which will be smoke free Feb. 1) but they tend to be the “neighborhood” type as opposed to something more upscale.
The weather here is terrible. Summers tend to be hot and humid, winters are cold and grey with variable amounts of snowfall, springs are changeable but tend to be quite rainy. Fall is nice and this year we had nice weather from Sept. until Nov.
The economy has been terrible the past few years. This isn’t a dying manufacturing town like Northeastern Ohio, but the economic pain and lower tax revenues have hurt the entire state.
Columbus is a great big college cow town with delusions of city life. The weather’s not quite as terrible as has been discuused, but it’s often irksome. Public transportation is a big joke outside of riding the #2 up and down High Street-- this place seems afraid to take the next logical step in its growth and implement a light rail system here.
Calling the neighborhoods around OSU “slums” seems a bit much, but then my mileage definitely varies with regard to living where rents are cheap and your neighbors mind their opwn business. I stay just outside of German Village along a major throroughfare.
Columbus fairly bicycle friendly and I would enocourage you to consider biking a reasonable alternative form of transprtation, especially for college students around campus.
My dad went to Grad School at OSU (in Russian), and then began his career at OSU and so I spent a fair few years growing up in Franklin County. Upper Arlington to be precise. I really loved living there, and still would like to get back some day. My dad took the bus to OSU every day, but we also had a car and so driving was not a big deal.
From my perspective, there was so much U.A. and Columbus had to offer. Great schools, bike friendly, great parks, COSI. I liked it. Sometimes me and my dad would ride our bikes to the Amiga Users Group meetings.
I’m afraid I don’t have a more adult perspective, since we moved away when I was 13. But my parents enjoyed it and were able to make and keep good friends. They may have even stayed there if not for a better job offer.
The local paper (Dispatch) isn’t available for free online. However, if you go to Channel 10 you will find almost the same information. They are both owned by the same company.
