right now i live in Monroe,MI but am looking for a change of scenery and a fresh start .

im wanting to move to Ohio and from what i can find on the web this little town looks appealing.

anyone live there or have an opinion ? thks

You're leaving Monroe? I love that town. Though I loved to visit it, probably wouldn't want to live there.

I'm usually just a casual reader on this site, but I can offer a little advice as I live near Washington C.H. Now, I don't know anything about Monroe, MI...but I can tell you WCH is extremely small and really doesn't have much to offer. I think the theme in Court House is fast food, maybe like 2 to 3 national sit-down chains, and not much as far as entertainment or shopping. On that note, Jeffersonville Outlet, which is pretty awesome is only 7 miles away. I don't know what your preferences are, but WCH is pretty much the way I just described it. I feel that there are many better smaller, quaint towns in Ohio than WCH. No offense WCH, I like you, honestly.

well i actually moved back to Michigan a year ago after being in Florida for 10 years and am realizing why i moved to begin with ( cant stand most of my family ) and just not really happy with the place.

and when i was in Florida i knew someone where i worked that was from Washington court house and had nice things to say about the area. so i thought i might check it out as i like the small town settings and

i see Dayton and Columbus are not to far away if i have to commute for work.

What about other small towns?  Ohio has many to offer, of a variety of flavors.  Affluent or working class towns, college or factory towns, in the hills, on rivers, on the lake, near big cities, far away from anything but corn.  Did something about WCH distinguish it from other small towns for you?  What would you like, specifically, in a town?

I know a guy that lived in Washington Court House. He said that you have to be careful what you say about people, because everybody knows everybody. I guess that's typical of small towns, though. He didn't have anything bad to say about Washington Court House.

 

If you enjoy being surrounded by lots of farmland, you will like Washington Court House.

I don't personally know much about it, but Cambridge, Ohio is a beautiful small town. It is located at the intersection of I-77 and I-70. It is a two hour drive to Cleveland and Pittsburgh. It's 1.5 hours from Columbus. I passed through it on my way back to Cincinnati from Pittsburgh once when there was a major accident that shut down the Interstate.

 

The old part of town is beautiful, it is fairly close to large cities, and it seems to have a relatively thriving downtown. I really liked the look of it when I drove through it and have wanted to return. I don't know much about it beyond that, though. But if you are looking for a quaint, small town to enjoy yourself this might be it.

 

If you need to commute to a larger city Cambridge might not be the right choice, though. No large cities are commuting distance.

 

Anyone here have any thoughts on Cambridge?

well i actually moved back to Michigan a year ago after being in Florida for 10 years and am realizing why i moved to begin with ( cant stand most of my family ) and just not really happy with the place.

and when i was in Florida i knew someone where i worked that was from Washington court house and had nice things to say about the area. so i thought i might check it out as i like the small town settings and

i see Dayton and Columbus are not to far away if i have to commute for work.

 

If you're in it for proximity to the bigger cities...you can't beat WCH. It's 7 miles from Route 71 (Jeffersonville), which is almost exactly half way between Cincy and Columbus (or about 50 miles to Columbus and 60 or so miles to Cincy). And as you said, I think Dayton is only about 45 miles from Jeffersonville as well. So definitely convenient for quick access to the good stuff. My only knock on WCH (and this is just my opinion), is that it's just so flat and surrounded by endless farm fields, and it just doesn't do anything for me. That might be different for some folks however.

Unclear why you picked Washington CH?  If you love the small town feel,  you should check out Vermillion, Ohio or perhaps a small town in NE Ohio where you can be near water and near some good food. 

If you're looking for small towns between cities in SW/Central Ohio, I'd put Wilmington, London, Urbana, and Lebanon over Washington C.H.  I don't know what kinda preferences you have but all four offer a bit more "life" and closer proximity to cities than Washington C.H.

BTW, I live in a small town myself, called Chillicothe. It is 28 miles southeast of WCH, 40 miles south of Columbus, and 80 miles northeast of Cincy. Chillicothe is very historic (first capital of Ohio) and has a bit more to offer than WCH. When we need to do the serious shopping, or serious entertaining we'll just go to Columbus or Cincy. The one thing that keeps me in Chillicothe is the beautiful hills and forests surrounding it. If not for that, I'd probably be in one of Ohio's bigger cities.

actually when i decided that i wanted to move to Ohio i looked up Washington c.h. because of what my friend that i worked with in Florida said about the town.

and like i said it looks like its proximity to the bigger cities is a plus , as im sure i will have to travel to the city for work.

i did consider Wilmington as well as Chillicothe but im not really sure at this point still doing research.

Wilmington took a huge hit when DHL closed its facility there.  Check out Granville, you'll be glad you did.

actually when i decided that i wanted to move to Ohio i looked up Washington c.h. because of what my friend that i worked with in Florida said about the town.

and like i said it looks like its proximity to the bigger cities is a plus , as im sure i will have to travel to the city for work.

i did consider Wilmington as well as Chillicothe but im not really sure at this point still doing research.

 

What are your primary criteria, besides being sort of near a city?

Chillicothe is way cooler than WCH if you ask me. I'll also put in a good word for Lancaster and Lebanon.

Because of the Smuckers headquarters and plant, Orrville is a very viable small town that's one hour south of Cleveland and even closer to Akron and Canton. The surrounding countryside has gentle rolling hills and is very pretty. But most Ohio small towns have seen better days, and young people with means have fled leaving only old people and the poor behind. I find small-town Ohio to be very depressing these days.

As such, growth is most likely to come from out of state-- people for whom small town Ohio is something exotic.

But most Ohio small towns have seen better days, and young people with means have fled leaving only old people and the poor behind. I find small-town Ohio to be very depressing these days.

hmm... this is something i really did not think about that i should consider as im 35 and currently single .

where i am at now at least there are people in my age group and not just old or poor .

Because of the Smuckers headquarters and plant, Orrville is a very viable small town that's one hour south of Cleveland and even closer to Akron and Canton. The surrounding countryside has gentle rolling hills and is very pretty. But most Ohio small towns have seen better days, and young people with means have fled leaving only old people and the poor behind. I find small-town Ohio to be very depressing these days.

 

True, though many of the small towns that are doing well are the ones close to large metros, where people can commute out for a job and start businesses counting on day trippers to the restaurants and shops.  In NEO there is Vermillion, Medina, Chagrin Falls, Chardon, possibly Oberlin (it might be a bit too far to commute), to name a few.  Central and SW Ohio have their fair share of towns like that, too.

My demographics are similar to yours and I would not consider moving to a small town anywhere.  Young people are converging on cities all over the country, not just here.  It may be that small county seats like Monroe and WCH have already outlived their purpose.  When our economy was farm-based and information traveled by horse, we needed a "capitol" every 30 miles or so. 

If you want something quirky/off-beat, consider Yellow Springs. It's near Dayton. There is a (small) state park nearby. And by nearby I mean walking/biking distance from the town center.

Yeah, if you're looking for young people, college towns are generally the best.  Yellow Springs, Oberlin, Oxford, Granville, etc are good bets as they have youthful vibes and vibrant town centers, are walkable, and close to larger cities.

Like a lot of posters are saying, there are many better towns in Ohio than WCH, and with your criteria, it sounds like you could pretty much choose any town within close proximity to I-71 and enjoy a small town feel with easy access to one of the Big Three (+Dayton) in Ohio. With that said, there really isn't anything wrong with C.H., and you may grow to enjoy it. Lastly, all the bigger cities in Ohio have amazing suburbs and surrounding towns, maybe that could be something you look into. I wish you luck!

Yeah i think i am going to think about this a little more. its not like i have to move right away or anything.

i may start looking for job openings in my field in one of the Big Three cities and that will help determine where i live.

thanks for all the help guys !!

Good luck.

Sorry if I dissuaded you. There are some really nice small towns in Ohio, but there are fewer of them than there used to be. Like others have said, the most vibrant small towns have colleges or are near larger cities. Some of the nicest small towns were energized when they were swallowed up by suburban sprawl yet didn't demolish their historic character -- Willoughby, Chagrin Falls, Berea (also a college town), Hudson, Medina, Hartville, Delaware (also a college town), Worthington, Newark, etc. I know there are similar towns in the Dayton-Cincinnati area but I just don't know enough about that area to say. Maybe Oxford (college town) and Lebanon could be included in that area?

Sorry if I dissuaded you. There are some really nice small towns in Ohio, but there are fewer of them than there used to be. Like others have said, the most vibrant small towns have colleges or are near larger cities. Some of the nicest small towns were energized when they were swallowed up by suburban sprawl yet didn't demolish their historic character -- Willoughby, Chagrin Falls, Berea (also a college town), Hudson, Medina, Hartville, Delaware (also a college town), Worthington, Newark, etc. I know there are similar towns in the Dayton-Cincinnati area but I just don't know enough about that area to say. Maybe Oxford (college town) and Lebanon could be included in that area?

 

Oh you didn`t dissuade me at all , you gave good advice that i probably would not have thought about. 

Cool.