I posted this a few months ago about Cleveland and I got great feedback, but I just got a job offer in Columbus.  I figured I would raise the discussion again about the capital city, as I will need to be moving down there Dec 1: 

 

I'm 22, just graduated from Miami this past may.  Born and raised in Mayfield on the east side of Cleveland.  Got a good job in Dublin, but I dont wan't to live in the burbs.  I want that urban feel. Old houses/apartment buildings with creaky floors and character. Walk-ability - to the corner store and to nightlife.

 

Where should I live in Columbus? I am fairly familiar with the areas in name only.  Most of my time in C-Bus has been in the campus area... lots of OSU friends, spent a good many weekends there.  I've been to downtown and the arena district, and I know from word of mouth, never experience, that the areas South to Southwest of campus are nice. 

 

Based on the following criteria, where do I want to live?

 

1) Old Houses or Apartment Buildings with creaky floors and character.  High density.

 

2) Walking distance to nightlife - Good nightlife with a young crowd.  To stereotype myself, I'm somewhere in between a polo shirt guy and an indie rock guy, not an ed hardy, guido guy though.

 

3) Close (Walkable?) to stores/restaurants. Ethnic stores/restaurants would be cool too... I'm Italian and I'd love to be able to get some good bread. As for restaurants, I like local joints more than chains. Maybe a not too far driving distance or COTA to some of these places if walking isn't in the cards.

 

4) A young crowd lives there - very important, probably the most important.  Although I don't want to be surrounded solely by undergrads, grad students and recent grad professionals would be cool.  I have some friends in the area but would like to meet people.  Maybe other transplants.  Thinking about finding people who need roomates on craigslist.

 

5) Not $1000/month.  400, 500, 600, maybe 700?  What's reasonable?

 

6) Close to OSU... my brother lives on 17th near Indianola, it'd be cool to be relatively close.  Not a dealbreaker.

 

Obviously safety too - don't want to get stabbed, but I am fine with a little grittiness.

 

Also, I like public transportation, although not when it takes twice as long as driving.  How is COTA?

 

Finally, when I choose the area, any advice on how/where to look?

The area between downtown and Ohio State and also just north fit your description quite well.  Harrison West (re: Tremont-ish), Victorian Village, Dennison Place, and Clintonville are all dense, wonderful neighborhoods with apartment buildings, non-college students (thank God), walkable, vibrant commercial corridors, etc.  Other notables include Grandview and German Village, but those two are a bit further from Ohio State.  Honestly, the best advice I can tell you on where to look is just go.  You can see a million things on this forum on people telling you where to go but it's best just to go and look yourself to get a feel!

I would second what ColDayMan said.  From your criteria, it sounds like the areas immediately north or south of OSU might be what you are looking for.  Most of the commercial activity in both areas revolves around the High Street corridor.  So you might look at rentals in upper stories on High Street or something close to High Street. 

 

One of our frequent posters, Columbusite, has an outstanding Columbus neighborhood guide at his website.  The neighborhood north of OSU is Old North Columbus.  The neighborhood south of OSU is the Short North.

checkout italian village area - South of 5th Ave, between High St and 4th St.  there are plenty of rental places available and great central location in short north - very walkable almost anywhere. 

 

*German Village - Maybe too quiet for you but it's still great for nightlife; just kinda subtle. You wouldn't hear many drunk people screaming walking past your house at 2am. You have S. High St. and the Brewery District nearby. A couple top notch bars sporadic, throughout. Thurman Cafe always has 20 people waiting outside, for a table on any given day.

 

*Marion Village (next to German Village so you get those amenities but cheaper housing - check out the area south of Thurman Ave. You're also near Schiller Park near the border of German Village which is one of the best parks to meet people at and full of festivals, outdoor plays, etc.)

 

*Grandview - Lots of OSU grads and ex-patriots so you would feel very comfortable here.

 

*Victorian Village/Italian Village/Harrison West/Dennison Place (explore everything near the N High St. Corridor). Check this area out on a saturday evening to understand how busy it gets.

I'd say Harrison West or Victorian Village would probably be the most ideal if you want to be within walking distance of both The Short North and the Arena District. Plus, you're close to 315 where you can hop on for the reverse-commute to Dublin for work.

 

http://metro-rentals.com/victorian_village.htm

 

Old North Columbus centered on N High between Lane and Arcadia may be your best bet. It's home to a more alternative scene with the highest concentration of live music venues and you've got variety in the bar scene from from hipsters to bros (one such bro bar is advertising some Jersey Shore event). I'd say that this neighborhood is only one of a couple that fits the bill for "eclectic". It's a part of the University District, which, if you stay at the northern (Old North Columbus) or southern end (Peach District and Dennison Place), will mean that you avoid the bulk of philistine OSU students. Iuka Ravine may be the lone option in East Campus which lies directly across from OSU and houses frat row. Homes line a quiet park located in (duh) a ravine in whose direction they are oriented rather than the rest of the rowdy neighborhood.

 

The Short North is really two different strips: the southern and northern halves. From Poplar to 1st is the heavily gentrified portion catering to suburbanites who find an urban setting to be a novelty for weekend trips.  From 2nd to Smith you more neighborhood oriented joints where you won't be bombarded by awful music (think mind-numbing remix after remix of songs that would be good if they weren't butchered).

 

Further north is South Clintonville which is a quiet area popular with grad students and professors. The downside is that it can be too quiet with only a couple of bars and no late night coffee shop. Thankfully, Old North Columbus is just south of here.

 

Grandview and 5th by Northwest are also quieter areas with a post collegiate crowd that are more upper-middle class, but they offer more in terms of restaurants and nightlife in their immediate boundaries.

 

Olde Towne East is an up-and-coming neighborhood just east of Downtown with a handful of bars and restaurants centered around Parsons Ave. There are a decent number of art college students that attend CCAD across the highway and rent can be favorable, but as a general rule stay west of Ohio and north of Main close to Downtown.

 

*Merion* Village (not to be confused with the town of Marion north of Columbus, wink wink nudge nudge, David) is worth looking into if you dig German Village (the Brewery District is just to the west within walking distance). It's also up-and-coming and is seeing new businesses pop up, mostly in the form of bars (half the bars in the area are gay bars, so you know more improvements are on the way). Outside of bars, the neighborhood doesn't offer much else aside from cheap housing, but I know a couple of people renting in German Village itself and living comfortably (they're not among the wealthy, older homeowners), so you may want to check there first for a good deal on a rental.

 

Really, it's not hard to get a feel for where you'll want to live: just start on High St in the Brewery District and head up north to Clintonville for most hoods and take a few detours off High in Olde Towne East, Harrison West, and Grandview/5th by Northwest.

 

If you want to browse the businesses available in each hood and take a photo tour of these areas you can check them out on my blog to get a better feel for them and see if they're what you're looking for.

 

Hey guys, I was just about to post something very similar to this thread so I'm glad I came across it.  I'm going to be finishing grad school in July and my gf is looking to go to the OSU for grad school so I will be looking for employment in Columbus.  What I'm looking for in neighborhoods is right on par with what is covered here, so thanks for all the info so far.

 

Columbusite - the link to your neighborhood guide is not working and I'm really interested in checking it out.

You're one day too late; I removed sections of my site that were lacking in demand. On the upside quite a few of the neighborhoods in question can be found in the Ohio City Photos section where I posted several of them.

Hey guys, I was just about to post something very similar to this thread so I'm glad I came across it. I'm going to be finishing grad school in July and my gf is looking to go to the OSU for grad school so I will be looking for employment in Columbus. What I'm looking for in neighborhoods is right on par with what is covered here, so thanks for all the info so far.

 

Columbusite - the link to your neighborhood guide is not working and I'm really interested in checking it out.

 

Same as before:

 

The area between downtown and Ohio State and also just north fit your description quite well. Harrison West (re: Tremont-ish), Victorian Village, Dennison Place, and Clintonville are all dense, wonderful neighborhoods with apartment buildings, non-college students (thank God), walkable, vibrant commercial corridors, etc. Other notables include Grandview and German Village, but those two are a bit further from Ohio State. Honestly, the best advice I can tell you on where to look is just go. You can see a million things on this forum on people telling you where to go but it's best just to go and look yourself to get a feel!

You're one day too late; I removed sections of my site that were lacking in demand. On the upside quite a few of the neighborhoods in question can be found in the Ohio City Photos section where I posted several of them.

 

Thanks for the head's up

No problem! If you have any questions about them I'm sure I can answer them.