Columbus, OH

Awesome City!

Go Bucks

German Village is very nice.  Short North is vibrant.  Dublin is a beautiful suburb. But the overbearing nature that is Ohioi State brings it all down a couple notches.  If you don't care about OSU, you don't belong here.  Columbus is very suburban, flat, midwestern.   Make no mistake, while the city proper may be Ohio's largest city, the metro area is number three.  The newness of the place doesn't give it the sense of place that other Ohio cities like Cincinnati or Cleveland possess.  If you don't mind yelling "Go Bucks!" then Columbus is for you...otherwise, go elsewhere.

Columbus is the best large city in Ohio. Comparatively speaking, that may not mean much since Ohio contains Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Toledo. Columbus is highly accessible, centrally located and full of attractions. Polaris Amphitheatre is one of the best mid-size concert venues I have visited and the zoo is one of the best in the Midwest. The State Fair is a massive event and the near-by waters are safe to fish. Almost any type of cuisine can be had in Columbus and the city is relatively safe.

2.5 Neither good nor bad, I couldn't stop yawning ...

Useless midwestern city.

It's linked to OSU- period. Without the vibrant culture of this large university, Columbus is a glorified strip-mall cow-town. . .with the OSU culture, the town does have something to offer in terms of museums, music, partying, and sports. . .it's okay, but certainly cannot merit above 3-stars. . .

outside of Ohio State, Columbus reminds me of a big freaking cow patty. lots of rural nothingness.

One of the best I've ever been through, lived in, or looked at! A role model that many cities should follow, could us a MRT though.

Better than what you'd expect. Great music scene. GBV! GBV!

Bland but serviceable. I've lived here over 30 years and it's never been anything better or worse.

In a nutshell, Columbus is just a suburb of The Ohio State University. Buckeye fans are like meth addicts. The climate is awful, unless you absolutely hate seeing the sun. Nothing much to do but visit the 10,000+ strip malls or fast food chains, which a lot of people do as evidenced by the number of fat loads waddling around. There are more SUVs and trucks on the roads here than anywhere else in the world and they all hang out in the passing lane. In fact, most of the freeways are so clogged with trucks you'll be lucky to ever achieve 65mph. And if you go over that speed, the OSP revenue-collectors will be happy to take your money. Ohio is a tax nightmare. Its tax structure is based on 1920s thinking. On the plus side, the zoo is excellent. Violent crime is not as bad as most cities this size. Ohio itself is a rollercoaster-lover's dream and Columbus is centrally located with respect to Cedar Point and King's Island.

The local population is way too obsessed with Buckeye football. A local newscast actually had as a lead story of 'when the Buckeyes team plane would land at Port Columbus International Airport'. This was after the 2004 Alamo Bowl against Oklahoma State--hardly a major bowl game. There is little to do here except visit the mall and obsess about 20 year olds playing college football. There are some nice, cheap golf courses farther away from town in the rural areas. The economy here used to be excellent for white collar college graduates, but it's not as good as it used to be.

The only great and complete city left in Ohio. Not the perfect tourist city, Columbus is still a better place to live than vist. I have traveled all over and can say that Columbus has a large variety of shopping, arts (galleries/theaters), growing sports venues, and is a very interesting city full of unique modern and old urban neighborhoods. Downtown has three old gorgeous theaters and 4 modern new ones in the Riffe Building. This is where many local professional theater companies perform. For sports the NHL is in the great Arena District. The first soccer only stadium, in the USA, is where the MLS Columbus Crew plays. Other than that Downtown Columbus is mostly a business district, but has added 1,000 housing units in the last two years alone and is building much more residential at an astounding rate. What makes Columbus unique, especially for a Midwest USA City, is that the downtown is surrounded by maintained amazing urban neighborhoods and districts. If in the city be sur... Read more

B-O-R-I-N-G Ohio city in the middle of OSP Speed trap they call Ohio. As so eloquently said in Cannonball Run, As far as we know, there is no dealth penalty for speeding in the United States, although we're not too sure about Ohio Only thing good about Columbus is Buckeye Football and the Arnold Classic....oh yeah and Victoria's Secret HQ!!!

Came for an OSU football game, left with a genuine fondness for the city. Suprisingly abundant choices for good restaurants. If time permits a visit to the OSU campus is a must. Fantastic scenery and wonderful architecture. Seems like a little city in itself. Don't miss High St., The Oval, or Mirror Lake. Columbus is a fairly large city with a small town feel. Looking forward to returning some day.

Passed few there a few times and I can't quite figure out if it fits into an area, it isnt northern, southern,(for all those thinking midwestern, that really means northern)

Columbus, is one of the best cities in North America and that is a fact. Columbus is one of cheapest cities in America to eat or rent an apartment. I payed 265 dollars a month for a brand new 1 bedroom apartment in a clean neighborhood with nice parks and tons of stores. Columbus is one of the most integrated, friendliest and cleanest cities in the country. OSU has a massive campus, the size of a small city with tons of stores on adjecent High Street that cater to every niche you can possible have.

Has an amazing line up of dining. Columbus has the 4th highest saturation of restaurants. If visiting be sure to eat at M its modeled after a restaurant in SanFrancisco. Also, all the big chains are there Cheesecake Factory and so on

Columbus, while certainly not the best or largest city in America, has a TON of potential. In just 30 years it has catapulted to being the largest city Ohio and the 2nd largest city (behind Indianapolis) in the tri-state area (KY, OH, IN). Despite this rush of growth, Columbus has maintained a good economy, a good university, and a pretty low crime rate. Having one of the country's top public universities in the center of your city helps a lot. With nearly 7,000 people receiving diplomas from the Ohio State University each year, Columbus is a great place to start a business (not to mention to find people qualified to work in a white collar environment). Abercrombie & Fitch discovered this a few years ago. There are downsides to Columbus, however, and the biggest downside is definitely traffic & construction. Traffic is VERY unbearable at most times of the day. The Interstate loop (I-270) built to make travel easier around Columbus is a big problem. It is busier than I-70, which run... Read more

The most average city on earth. Which is to say, better than all the other cities in Ohio, and many others in the US, but dreadfully conformist and boring. The economy is sound-until recently you could get a good job here very easily (unlike anywhere else in Ohio nowadays). OSU is huge and one of the better state universities. The people are OK, but aside from a handful of energetic entrepreneurs and brilliant OSU profs., boring as hell. Until just a few years ago the city was over 90% white, but lately Columbus has attracted immigrants who have discoved they can live here at 1/500th the cost of NYC or LA). The public schools suck, but there's little crime and the air is clean. If you want a nice quiet family life, Columbus is the place for you. If you have an interest in anything besides money and sports, however, you'll find Colubus a very, very boring place. I managed to escape a decade ago; everyone I know who stayed seems to have morphed into a real estate agent with a ho... Read more

I have always considered the northeast of the US to be a decaying, dirty, unlivable part of the country. I was quite shocked to visit Columbus and realize how this city doesn't fit that stereotype. Columbus is a large city (1.5M metro) and has all the conveniences of a large city, but feels more like a large town. The real shocker for me about Columbus is the fact that it actually has a good economy, unlike the other countless armpits of Ohio (Cleveland, Toledo, and Dayton). The pro-sports scene is getting a lot better here, the nightlife is always good, and the distinct villages here give Columbus some real style. Right behind Boston, Columbus is the best college town in the country. Ten+ years ago Columbus was a sleeper town, but now Columbus has finally grown up. Mayor Coleman's plan for the future of Columbus makes me more anxious to stay here after I graduate.

There's not much to Columbus other than stuff related to the state government and the university -- but it's still better than half the cities in Ohio.

Compared to other cities that also host their state's capitol and state university campus (e.g., Madison, Austin, Albany, Columbia, St. Paul), Columbis just doesn't measure up. It's not in the same league with Cleveland and (especially!) with Cincinnati.

THIS CITY IS MUCH NICER THAN CLEVELAND