BUCKEYE54

They all also have climates that people in ohio and the midwest supposedly want to move to. For some reason I don't think some people in ohio have any concept of how hot it really gets in those places. I've lived in houston and atlanta for periods of time in my life and I couldn't believe how much I missed ohio's weather.

According to the bureau of workers compensation in april 2012 the unemployment rate for right to work states was .6% lower then collective bargaining states but the average hourly rate for all occupations in right to work states was 9.4 % lower as well. So who really knows what the best option is. I think there's probably pro's and cons to both.

This is actually untrue. I was born and raised in the south, and for years old-school deep south (aka backwards) states like Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, etc. have been trying to figure out how to have the economic growth that exists in other states like North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, etc. Obviously there's a different recipe for each success story, but low costs was only a marginal factor in TN and virtually negligible in NC and especially TX. Cost of living is actually very high in Dallas, for example, whereas Dallas (Houston being "Oil Capital of the World") is clearly the business capital of Texas, in a diversified sense. I know many of you yankee urbanists like to snicker at the big projects in Dallas, but the reality is that you could be dropped in Dallas and honestly swear you were in Chicago and be confused why so many TX license plates everywhere. Dallas has grown up, and it's become an completely enclosed, gentrified (or ghettofied) city. The secret has and always will be young people - education, and then retaining those graduates produced by the education system. TX reinvested a lot of its oil profits in the 70s into making UT and A&M world-class research institutions. NC just did it without a massive cash influx to begin with, by prioritizing UNC and NCST over anything else. TN's main growth driver is the Nashville area, which is a mecca for research, with Vandy, medical schools, national research center in one of the southern suburbs, etc. Outside of Nashville, TN has benefited from low costs and especially a lack of union workers, as companies like Nissan and Toyota have demonstrated a strong preference to avoid union regions in establishing new manufacturing centers. Unfortunately. Education is always the most important factor, and having a highly-qualified (and public health is also a factor, being healthy) workforce. It's all about human capital that sets states apart, very little has anything to do with costs. Having low costs will attract non-union manufacturing (which is still good), call centers, Indian casinos, and low-skill service jobs - this is absolutely not a basis for economic growth. No Fortune 500 companies, R&D companies, innovative tech startups, or anything that can add skilled labor opportunities to your economy, are looking for cheap. They are looking for quality places to locate over cheap places. States trumpeting their low costs over their education and quality of life are actively repelling good jobs, as a matter of fact. That's all my home state does and they will never figure out why it doesn't work and why the economy is still 100% tied to oil despite other states like Texas successfully diversifying. Then it comes down to an absolute truism when it comes to economic development. Conservatives craft nothing but dangerous, regressive, backward policies and trumpet them as business-friendly. There is a reason that the most economically prosperous places are usually the most progressive (different from "liberal") in their region - NC and VA are a perfect example of how a state that turned progressive left its Dixie neighbors behind in the dust. If you compare the economic benefits of MS to MN, you'll see a very high-cost yet progressive state up against a very low-cost yet regressive state. If you are an R&D company that employs 200 people, but has a major ripple effect in the economy due to your innovations (in other words YOU are the ED cash cow every state is dreaming about), which state are you going to locate in - MS or MN? I have to agree. Let me just say that I also feel that the amount of infighting that occurs between cities and regions in ohio does nothing but hurt the states perception and creates a stagnant(at best) and regressive environment(at worst).There needs to be a much more unified front if ohio wants to really see growth. Perception is huge especially when you are attempting to retain and attract new people and businesses.

That's fantastic! I caught the game against arkansas and saw them struggling to so its great to hear they were able to rebound and take it to another sec school!

Very true. I was thinking the exact same thing.

In some ways I really like this idea. Its a very good way to show companies that their sponsorship dollars will not only be tied to the stadium but also give them front row advertising along busy I-71.The video boards would also be helpful in advertising events going on in crew stadium such as games or concerts which would also help the expo center. I feel that building this tower may be a sign that the crew feel a new stadium is a long ways off but it probably is smart to gain more sponsorship money long before attempting to secure funding for a new stadium.

I live in german village and love it. In some ways its probably better than it looks in that its not just a historical area but a real neighborhood with very friendly and interesting people who you get to know.Its funny because I think sometimes tourists are dissapointed that people actually live here and not every street corner has polka bands and huge beer steins. One thing that I think some people fail to realize that although it is expensive to buy in the neighborhood it really isn't bad to rent.Schumacher place ,Brewery District,and Merion village which are next to german village are also cheaper to buy in and will allow you to have the benefits of german village as well. I've lived in alot of places in the US and this is by far my favorite for alot of reasons.

The marshall foul was a joke as was the yellow card he recieved in the 2nd half when going up for a header. Apparently, the ref didn't understand that the offensive player had the right to go for the ball. That may have been the most dominating performance that resulted in a loss that I've ever seen.

MORE: http://www.columbusunderground.com/arena-district-plans-for-future-residential-development I really hope they build that tower although I'm glad to see that someone is planning on developing the land.

My brother's girlfriend who is getting her doctorate and also works at fisher(OSU) lives at arlington park in hilliard. Although its suburban, it really is not a bad drive to osu and is directly off of fishinger rd which makes the commute better. They are less than a year old I believe and seem to be pretty nice and definately the most affordable edwards apts. I have heard of. I think she pays 700 for a 1bedroom although I have no idea what the rates are currently. Heres a link.http://www.livearlingtonpark.com/

My wife's family factors prominently in the history of kent and the house she grew up in which was built by her ancestors was built prior to 1825 and has architectural details that are very similar to that house so I'm sure it's very old.

Yeah it really was amazing! I was really was happy with the crews effort although the defensive collapse that gave up the equalizing goal was really disappointing.

To be fair, I think Ohio's cities have more to worry about regarding the perception of them outside of the state than what someone from another Ohio city thinks. Most of the perception of Ohio seems to be dated back to the 1960s and 1970s. The state still has significant problems, but nothing like in the past. The issue now is to get the kind of dynamic leadership that can bring cities back, something I don't think most Ohio cities have right now. No I agree. My point is that the negativity towards ohio cities from on outsiders perspective I feel has somewhat been perpetuated by the backwards notions that residents of one city have towards another. Its like its fine as long as you aren't making fun of my city. I've worked with people out of state that thought that cleveland was an industrial wasteland. After I corrected them they said they had gotten that impression from a guy originally from cincy. I would say cut the crap. Who cares how you got there and focus on how things are now and how to improve them.

There's also this old adage that states that respect is something that must be earned--if such is true of men, couldn't it also be true of cities? :| I think there are things that all of ohio cities have done at some point to either gain or lose respect.I will say that I feel that the infighting amongst ohio's cities holds the state back and creates a culture of negativity which permeates outside of the state and can be seen in some of the negative articles and perceptions of ohio's cities that have been seen over the years.

That would be great if we could get duka,mendes,and o'rourke all healthy for the game. It will be interesting to see who starts at GK as well. It seems like we might have a bit of controversy brewing.

Is duka playing this week? That would be huge if the crew got him back.The crew hasn't played yet this year with a predominately healthy starting lineup. It sucks luke rodgers wasn't granted a visa since I always enjoy his style of play for new york. I'm going with a 3-2 win for the crew. I'll say renteria,mirosevic,and finley with the goals.

Thats exactly who I was thinking of but I couldn't recall his name. Thanks for the help! This is really exciting news especially joined with the plans for redevelopment of the scioto peninsula.

I agree. Yet another reason why I force myself not to the read the comments otherwise I just get pissed off. Luckily, I feel that usually the comments are not necessarily indicative of the general publics feelings. There's one guy on the dispatch comments section for example who is either a transplant from cincy or still lives in cincy who goes out of his way to take potshots at columbus no matter what.

Theres a few 1970's style apartments in german village that look very similar that I've always hoped someone would teardown and replace as well. Maybe there's hope!

According to the pavilion page, the stage and the back of the house walls and roof are complete and they will begin building the steel framing for the white tensile canopy this month. I haven't had a chance to check out the progress so this will give me a reason to make it over to the commons.

I don't think many people in the medical field get to bolt for meals. Very true. My wife is a nurse practioner at children's and she's lucky to get ten minutes for lunch during a sometimes 15-16 hr workday. I do agree though that it would be great if the neighborhood had more amenities to attract people to the area. There are so many parents that stay for long periods of time from out of state or at least out of the city and it really would be ideal for there to be a hotel within walking distance to the hospital for those who do not want to use ronald mcdonald house. On a positive note, I will say most of my wife's immediate coworkers(other NP's or doctors) seem to enjoy living downtown or in the german village area. There is definite interest from the employees to live in the surrounding areas and I would love to see more revitilization along livingston and parsons. I feel that area has alot of potential.

Thanks for the info guys! I would love to go later on in the year but unfortunately the way our schedules are set up this was really the only time available. Hopefully, the weather will be a little nicer since we are going in late march. We were looking for a roadtrip and we have really been to most of the cities that are a decent driving distance from Columbus so hopefully toronto is alot of fun.

I'm headed to toronto in march for a few days and was wondering if anyone has any insight or recommendations on things to do,places to eat,or where to stay? My wife and I and a couple of friends are going and we all are pretty flexible in our itinerary. I thought we'd probably hit up some museums,maybe a sporting event or show,and just explore the city. We're getting a little too old for the clubs but I'm always up for a good bar or pub. I haven't been in a long time so any help would be greatly appreciated!

As I wrote in previous posts, it is my understanding from what I've read and also from what people who are very reputable have told me, sears initially looked at cleveland, cincy, and columbus to determine if any of the three cities would be suitable for them. To my understanding they may have had conversations with power brokers of all 3 cities at one time or another. Also I've been told tax breaks were being offered prior to sears even in the initial exploratory meetings. Sears finally determined that if they were going to move to ohio that columbus was the only city they were strongly considering. Again some of the reasons I have been told have to do with the limited and abercrombie hq'd in columbus, ohio state, and columbus having a reputation as being a young city. Look at the other finalist, Austin. Clearly sears is attempting to rebrand itself as a younger company and having a large pool of a young workforce is something that they are attempting to tap into. If anything, columbus grows in spite of kasich and his policies. He's certainly no more popular here then he is in the rest of the state. It would probably be more beneficial for him as far as a reelection bid goes to attempt to bring sears to one of his two largest metro areas. Not buying the conspiracy theories.

Not trying to piss off people. Good to see we can at least have a discussion about this.