I am currently on the apartment hunt for a location in downtown Columbus. I just graduated from college and need some advice on where to live.  The only areas I have heard about are the Short North & The Arena District (but only in passing) so I would love everyones' opinions on the different areas & their vibes/demographics.

 

I know basically nothing about where to live, definitely want to live in a complex. I've heard about flats on vine & the annex but would love some other options!

 

Here is what I am looking for:

 

1) New(ish) apartments. I am willing to spend max of $1000 per month, need parking options. Hate to say this, but definitely a luxury apartment complex.

 

2) Walkability. I've lived in the burbs my entire life and I am so excited to be able to walk around to run errands rather than drive. Being close to nightlife is also important, want to be able to not have to hike to the bars on weekends.

 

3) Safety. I am a 22 year old female, living on my own. Part of my rationale for wanting newer apartments is the added security

 

4) I like the idea of the Short North (the galleries & boutiques) but not sure HOW artsy the vibe is. I went to Miami if that helps describe myself

 

5) Young demographic. I don't have too many friends who will be in Columbus and I would like to meet new people. Really would like to be surrounded by young professionals rather than OSU undergrads/grad students.

 

6) Relatively close access to highways. I will be working in New Albany and need to be able to have a relatively easy commute. Don't want to have to drive across town to get to the highway. This is part of my naivety about Columbus so if regardless of your location, highway access is easy - disregard this comment!

 

Lastly, I need furniture. Not bringing my cheap furniture from college so I will need to purchase. Advice on either purchasing furniture at home & hiring movers or buying my furniture in Columbus?

You are going to want to easy access to 670. You might also consider the apartments at Easton in addition to downtown.

Don't know if you came across this - but it was mentioned in another Columbus apartment thread.

 

We've got a new apartment/home/condo hunting tool, here:

 

http://www.columbusunderground.com/urbanliving/

Also Columbus Underground would be an excellent website for this type of apartment-hunting question.  You might try posting your question there as well.

I am currently on the apartment hunt for a location in downtown Columbus. I just graduated from college and need some advice on where to live.  The only areas I have heard about are the Short North & The Arena District (but only in passing) so I would love everyones' opinions on the different areas & their vibes/demographics.

 

I know basically nothing about where to live, definitely want to live in a complex. I've heard about flats on vine & the annex but would love some other options!

 

Here is what I am looking for:

 

1) New(ish) apartments. I am willing to spend max of $1000 per month, need parking options. Hate to say this, but definitely a luxury apartment complex.

 

I'm going to open on a dour note. You will be joining 10,000 other young professionals and grad students looking for the same thing, at the same time. It's competitive and frustrating.

 

2) Walkability. I've lived in the burbs my entire life and I am so excited to be able to walk around to run errands rather than drive. Being close to nightlife is also important, want to be able to not have to hike to the bars on weekends.

 

Best place to start with walkability is to find a grocery store on a map and draw a 1/4 mile circle around it. This would put you in Short North, Grandview or German Village. So you're already looking in the right areas.

 

3) Safety. I am a 22 year old female, living on my own. Part of my rationale for wanting newer apartments is the added security

 

You will have to choose between new/high security, cool neighborhood, and $1,000 a month. Newer housing like that near downtown starts at $1,000 a month. Arena district one-room studios go for slightly under that.

 

4) I like the idea of the Short North (the galleries & boutiques) but not sure HOW artsy the vibe is. I went to Miami if that helps describe myself.

 

Short north is really a commercial strip that serves the residential neighborhoods of Victorian Village and Italian Village, roughly. In addition to the increasing amount of housing that's actually on or near High Street, those two neighborhoods are a mix of gays, grad students, wealthy urbanites, and some artsy hipsters. You'll be fine.

 

5) Young demographic. I don't have too many friends who will be in Columbus and I would like to meet new people. Really would like to be surrounded by young professionals rather than OSU undergrads/grad students.

 

Honestly, all of Columbus will feel young and smart to you, coming from southern Ohio. That was my impression, anyhow. Also, on a personal note, I'm moving there to finish grad school and I'm 32. Undergrads are one thing, but there is no such thing as a "typical grad student" in a large city.

 

6) Relatively close access to highways. I will be working in New Albany and need to be able to have a relatively easy commute. Don't want to have to drive across town to get to the highway. This is part of my naivety about Columbus so if regardless of your location, highway access is easy - disregard this comment!

 

They are about to reconstruct a major portion of the interstate system on the south side of downtown, so I think traffic will be dicey all around there for a few years at least. I personally have found highway access in Columbus to be pretty complicated, given how flat and featureless the city is, other than the rivers. But Short North/Arena is served pretty well by 670.

 

Lastly, I need furniture. Not bringing my cheap furniture from college so I will need to purchase. Advice on either purchasing furniture at home & hiring movers or buying my furniture in Columbus?

 

Always buy in the city you're moving to! That's my personal advice from when I graduated UC and moved to Chicago. I bought in Cincinnati and moved it up. It wasn't ready till the DAY I MOVED, they screwed the order up, I got it up there and couldn't get my couch through the door, etc, etc. Move first, buy a blow-up bed, and shop around in your new home city. You'll be able to easily measure everything and work with the local store on delivery. And avoid the ridiculous amount of gas that a moving truck uses.

 

 

If you're more young professional than artsy then Downtown including the Arena District will be more your thing (just avoid Park St which is full of drunk meatheads looking for easy chicks). The Short North is still quite artsy, but also gentrified: $10 cocktails, doggie bakeries, and expensive boutiques. You still have numerous  galleries, some nice bars, and a good dose of hipsters. You'll have a full-service chain grocery store there and the city's public market there. The Short North and Downtown are right next to each other, so it sounds like if you can manage to find a place close to the border that would be your best bet, but it's also one of the most popular parts of the city. Higher end and quiteer German Village just south of Downtown might be worth checking into. It's a lighter on nightlife, but the Brewery District next door is getting more nightspots and everything in GV is brick: it's a one-of-a-kind place and also very walkable. Downtown and Short North are just up the street in any case.

Drew, the creator of Toothpaste for Dinner, likes to troll people on the Columbus Reddit. Here's what he posted in response to a question about where to live in Columbus:

 

The safest neighborhood in Columbus is Restington. It's north of Downtown, but you won't find the petty thefts and property crimes you'd have in a neighborhood like Down West or Grang.

 

If you can't find a place in Restington (understandable - there are usually 3-5 year waiting lists for rentals) then you'd likely be just as fine in Tongate or Horace. These are more spread out and Horace in particular is notorious for the chip thief. "Keep your Lays at bay," if anyone remembers that. (It's what we said after the Chipper stole dozens of bags of chips from local residents.)

 

Up above Eagle Village there's a new development going in that's all eco. Not hooked up to electric, just solar and geothermal. If that's up your alley, then check it out, but I hear they tend to brown out in winter months.

 

Best of luck and let us know where you end up.

Restington, Tongate, and Horace? I'm not SUPER familiar with Columbus, but I've been dozens of times and have been on this site for pushing 10 years, and I've never heard of a single one of these places.

that's because you're not cool enough

that's because you're not cool enough

 

I'm actually in the middle of a rehab in Grang.

Restington, Tongate, and Horace? I'm not SUPER familiar with Columbus, but I've been dozens of times and have been on this site for pushing 10 years, and I've never heard of a single one of these places.

 

SMH. I bet you've never eaten at Mr. Eggs either.

Restington, Tongate, and Horace? I'm not SUPER familiar with Columbus, but I've been dozens of times and have been on this site for pushing 10 years, and I've never heard of a single one of these places.

 

SMH. I bet you've never eaten at Mr. Eggs either.

 

I glossed over the trolling part of the original post. Doh!! But I also don't use Reddit, and I don't see what would be funny about making up neighborhoods in a forum where people are seeing relocation advice.