So i was talking to a friend of mine at work about the problems that Ohio has been having the last few years. I was inspired to talk to him about this because of the "what's next...cleveland transit" thread, and it's mention of the "Can't-do spirit we have in Ohio"

 

He and I got to talking, and we realized that everyone in Ohio LETS people from other states badmouth us, and if Ohioans don't like/respect their state, who will? For example, when my cousin from FL came to visit all he did was bitch about it, and everytime he would meet my friends he would be like "it must suck to be from Ohio....." AND THEY AGREEED WITH HIM!! Why?! Why do people in Ohio let themselves believe our state sucks when it clearly does not.  If we want Ohio to be everything that it deserves to be, we need to kick the self hate. I know that it'll take some mountain moving, and YEARS of bitching to people hardcore about letting them hate their state, but I'm fed-up (as most/all of you all are too, I'm sure) and I'm willing to devote myself to this cause because it's incredibly important. Call it a lifelong ambition, because it might just take that long. 

 

I was inspired to start a student org. here at OSU, for starters, and I think i'm going to still carry through on that. (it would be nice if I could get some help on that, if there are any current OSU students here :-)) But i want to do more. i'm serious. I want to do something that will help to turn around the "can't-do it here in OH" attitude. I know it'll be HELLA-HARD, but i'm willing to work on it a lot because I

A) want people to know how nice OH is

B) i feel passionately about it

C) i know it's going to take A LOT to persuade the naysayers here to like our own state.

 

Here are my questions to you all:

A)who's with me

B)who has suggestions on how to go about this

 

Before anyone suggests that "it'll never work because this is Ohio" or that "that's a cute suggestion kiddie...no go run and play", know that I am DEAD SERIOUS, and that i'm am fully aware that doing this will take lots of energy and time and work; but I intend to do something about Ohio's mindset one way or another :whip:

 

And all I wanna know is....who's coming with me? (blatant and terrible Half-Baked reference...i apologize wholeheartedly :|)

 

[move]It's time to put our money where our mouths are and put all this Urbanohio-forum boosting to work!! Please help me!! I could use all the help i can get!![/move]

Steve

But Ohio DOES suck!  :-D

C'mon...i'm serious!! ::shakes fist towards sky:: :-)

What do you want us to do?  I'd be up for  helping if possible. 

 

Yes there are some OSU students(around 7-10) as well as a few alumni.

I'm not sure. I seriously only had this discussion with him like two days ago...that's why I asked if anyone had suggestions. It's such a big venture that I want to hear anyone else suggestions for what to do. Almost anything would help, even something as small as to start out by just trying to convince as many people as you can that Ohio doesn't suck and to get them to do the same. It's like a pyramid scheme :-)

^

I think having this site shows that Ohio doesnt suck....for starters.  Hopefully we can come up with some other suggestions though.

^

yeah, I decided to start asking for suggestions here knowing that this would be the best place to come across people that didn't think OH sucked

Floridians have no room to talk.

 

Six blocks inland from the coasts, Florida is nothing but strip malls and mobile homes.

 

They can't grow a decent shade tree down there.

 

And for all of their amusement parks, their roster of roller coasters is embarrassingly poor!

i'll join.

 

i don't have any ideas right now though

 

will sacks full of doorknobs be involved? :bang2:

Its a tough sell, because if you start off the conversation with "Ohio doesn't suck" then you've immediately given some credence to the idea that Ohio does suck.  In other words, you've immediately put yourself on the defensive against this idea that you want to combat.  It would be better to start off with the proposition that "Ohio is cool" (or something less geeky) and work to demonstrate it.  I would look at what people who think Ohio sucks are saying is great about someplace else, and then compile a list of things that Ohio has in that vein, as well as things that are unique about Ohio and then get those things out to people.  I'm thinking recreational amenities, cool neighborhoods, festivals, etc.

 

Perhaps what you might consider doing is being proactive with your friends and find some cool Ohio outings- go camping or canoeing, explore a cool neighborhood in one of Ohio's cities, visit some cool college towns, etc.  Its better to show people firsthand that Ohio is a great state than to say to them that Ohio doesn't suck.  Good luck!

Thanks X

 

Oh and Summit Street....yes. If that's what it comes down to...i (we) will resort to sacks full of doorknobs...big ones even. Hell, I'll even steal the ones off of the statehouse!

Start pilfering material from Chamber of Commerce websites.  They have the duty of selling their community to the outside world to come visit, live, or start your business there. (but site your references.)

I and Rich started this site in hope of people thinking "Ohio is just as good as other places" and apparently it has worked (and worked well).  Rich, we can make a difference ;).

I think it's a great idea.

 

I don't live in Ohio; I live in Indiana; maybe I should start a movement here:

 

"Indiana - not much worse than Ohio"

 

or

 

"Indiana - not as bad as Mississippi"

 

I can put up signs at airport arrival gates and where highways enter the state: "You are entering the Indiana time zone. Please turn your calendars back twenty years."

Oh didn't you know that I put it to rest and you be like O O O I'm sorry sorry please forgive me give me for ever disrespecting Cincy.

 

In case you didn't get it (Ohio).

what do you all think about having a student org that takes people to places that they didn't know we had in ohio and showing htem that they don't need to flee the state to live/visit cool places? Then later i could just start an ad campaign aimed at just getting the average ohioan to be proud of their state by showing them that if we are proud of it and take care of it, it grabs people's attention and makes them want to be a part of it. (obviously this is very down the road...i'm a dreamer..what can i say :speech:)

call up jenny granholm, ask her how her "cool cities" initiative is going......

I'm with ya, if there's anything I could do.  My only suggestion is to get those UrbanOhio.com bumper stickers out there in places where people will see them.  (I will heading off to Wisconsin this summer, so my part will be reduced to telling everyone that Ohio does not suck.  Don't worry, I hope to come back after two years!)

 

Anyway, this:

what do you all think about having a student org that takes people to places that they didn't know we had in ohio and showing htem that they don't need to flee the state to live/visit cool places?

sounds like a cool idea.  If you could gather up interested OSU students and come up with a way of paying for it, some trips to tour cities or whatever else would be great given OSU's central location in the state.  And it would not only be good for the Ohioans; you could also hope to get some students from out of state to spread the word back home.

 

I and Rich started this site in hope of people thinking "Ohio is just as good as other places" and apparently it has worked (and worked well). Rich, we can make a difference ;).

You, sir, should be the official state photographer.  Many of your photo posts at SSP seem to elicit a "gee, maybe Ohio doesn't suck after all" response from one or two people.

I'd be interested in an organization that spends all of its time badmouthing people and places that aren't from/in Ohio.  :D

 

j/k

 

I think it's a solid idea...I have no ideas on how to go about it, though.

Six blocks inland from the coasts, Florida is nothing but strip malls and mobile homes

...

...hah. aint that the truth.  I never ever undestood the Florida appeal, especially the inland areas.  Though, to be fair, i do like the older parts of Pensacola....(less than six blocks inland, tho, so doesnt count!).

 

Yeah, dont call it "cool Ohio'...call it "Real Ohio"  or "Deep Ohio"...beyond the negative and also the bland superfical stuff to the heart of the state.  I recall there was a series of guidebooks 10 years ago called "A Travelers Guide to Inner Ohio", which is sort of what yr getting at maybe.....???

 

 

 

...then there was that band T-shirt that the late singer for Braniac used to wear..(or so Im told)....

 

"Fuck Y'all, We're From Dayton Ohio".

 

 

^ I want a shirt like that!

Here is what the urban dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) had to say about Ohio:

 

 

 

The 17th state of the United States -- in 1803. Contains 13,000,000 people and its chief cities are Cleveland, Cincinnati, and the capital of Columbus. Ohio is known for being the home of the Wright Brothers, the first man in space, more presidents than any other state, and Generals William T. Sherman and U.S. Grant. Also home of the champion OSU Buckeyes. Unlike what others may tell you, there are larger hellholes in the universe. Ohio has a lot to offer and is a decent place full of decent people.

 

Ohio's old license plates said "The heart of it all,and man was that a shitty slogan"

 

The most American and least distinct of all 50 states, for better and for worse. A bit of everything from city, farm, suburb, decaying industry, new industry, colleges, malls, liberals, conservatives, etc. means that we have nothing that makes us really stand out. (Contrary to the POV of the person here who has some weird bitter vendetta about a car accident...if only we had a rep like Boston for bad drivers, at least that would be distinctive, but in reality we don't.) By the way, none of y'all can pronounce it right, which makes me think everyone here either just drove through once, or never got south of Akron or west of Athens.

 

Nothing says "generic" like "Ohio."

 

A pretty cool state, really kind of average in every sense. Very demographically diverse from the inbred hicks of the southeast to the liberal jackasses in Yellow Springs. Home of many historic places and people, such as Marietta, the first settlement in America's Northwest Territory. Also home to eight U.S. Presidents. Birthplace of Wilber and Orvill Wright, and both John Glenn and Neil Armstrong. Home of the largest state university in America, The Ohio State University, boasting an enrollment of over 50,000 students. In campus population, it is surpassed only by the University of Texas. A place with suposedly bad drives, although I haven't noticed a big difference when travelling to other states. Oft-maligned and berated by other Americans for being too average. All around, a pretty sweet place.

 

Californian: Are you from Ohio?

Ohioan: Yeah.

Californian: Don't you guys all have cows and refrigerators on your porches?

Ohioan: You are an idiot.

 

I was expecting much worse.  Aparently Ohio doesn't have that bad of a rep on the internet.

 

edit - I should have read all of the entries before I posted. The third page of entries seem to have all been made by people from Michigan.

What's with the two entries on that site that say people mispronounce Ohio?  Please don't tell me I'm supposed to say "O-hi-uh"!  I will die before doing that.

 

And this one: "The only state in the country with it's own, distinctive smell."  Have they not heard of New Jersey?  (But seriously, I like NJ!)

 

I like how we gained an extra 1.5 million people for that first entry, though.

And this one: "The only state in the country with it's own, distinctive smell." Have they not heard of New Jersey? (But seriously, I like NJ!)

 

Evidently that person has never been to Louisiana either.  You can go from the toxic smell of the plastics factories along the Mississippi (from Baton Rouge to New Orleans) to spicy smell of cajun food in Lafayette.

what do you all think about having a student org that takes people to places that they didn't know we had in ohio and showing htem that they don't need to flee the state to live/visit cool places? Then later i could just start an ad campaign aimed at just getting the average ohioan to be proud of their state by showing them that if we are proud of it and take care of it, it grabs people's attention and makes them want to be a part of it. (obviously this is very down the road...i'm a dreamer..what can i say :speech:)

 

Talk to the Geography department.....or pester ColDayMan enough so he will ask around the Urban & Regional Planning department. 

and what is this smell....maybe it's mom's apple pie and baseball. at least that is what the tourism materials would have you believe. that and the amish live in downtown cleveland/cincy/columbus :-)

I have been to a lot of the surrounding states and Ohio is by-far the nicest. Name 1 big city in Indiana besides Indianapolis. Name 1 big city in Kentucky besides Louisville. Name 1 city in West Virginia that has electricity. Name 1 big city in Pennsylvania (on the western half) besides Pittsburgh. Name 1 big city that does not look like a third world country in Michigan. Where else can you live in the heart of a downtown area and only pay $800 a month for an apartment? We are home to a world class orchestra, many hall-of-fames, one of the largest college's in the world, one of the best hospital systems in the world, and Cincinnatti has 10 fortune 500 companies. I dunno but Ohio does not sound that bad to me.

I've gotta take issue here on a number of points.  I think you're probably more right than me when you talk about "big cities", because other than Ft. Wayne, I think the cities I mention are probably pretty small...and I'm completely with you about how great Ohio is.  Nonetheless, I've gotta defend our neighbors here - I'd live in any of the states you mentioned, if I didn't love Cincinnati so much...

 

I have been to a lot of the surrounding states and Ohio is by-far the nicest. Name 1 big city in Indiana besides Indianapolis.

 

Ft. Wayne is a quite beautiful river town with a skyline and some very nice houses.  Muncie is a pretty small, but the downtown is very walkable, there's a number of nice restaurants, and lots of great architecture.  Bloomington is a college town, but it's a gorgeous college town with lots to do and see and places to eat and a fantastic town square.  One could do far worse than living in Indiana.

 

Name 1 big city in Kentucky besides Louisville.

 

Well, Louisville is pretty damn big...and Lexington isn't tiny.  Northern Kentucky may feed off Cincinnati, but they are great places too.  Maysville may not be big, but its downtown is fantastic.

 

Name 1 city in West Virginia that has electricity.

 

Indeed...but actually, I'd love to live in Charleston - I love river cities, and that's about as river city as you get - nestled into the valley, with those beautiful hills on the sides...I'd hate to live there if there were an industrial accident, of course, but I could definitely see living in Charleston.  Wheeling is a lot bigger than I'd always thought it was, with some cool bridges and some very nice neighborhoods...and being somewhere so close to the West Virginia mountain parks and lodges would be great - it's hard to find somewhere more beautiful than all that in the summer.

 

Name 1 big city in Pennsylvania (on the western half) besides Pittsburgh.

 

Erie's no slouch - not huge, but a manageable lake town.  I've always loved Butler - the hills, the downtown, the houses and neighborhoods - I could definitely live there.  Always seemed like a lot of young people in that city too.  And yes, you mentioned it, but Pittsburgh is pretty damn amazing.  Rivers, inclines, a skyline, hilltop views, lots of life, great people - any state with Pittsburgh in it is alright in my book.

 

Name 1 big city that does not look like a third world country in Michigan.

 

Ya got me there - I don't know anything about Michigan, except a couple weekends in Ann Arbor.  But I'm sure some other forumers may object!

 

Where else can you live in the heart of a downtown area and only pay $800 a month for an apartment?

 

I don't know if I'd call that a good thing - that means there's little demand.

 

We are home to a world class orchestra, many hall-of-fames, one of the largest college's in the world, one of the best hospital systems in the world, and Cincinnatti has 10 fortune 500 companies. I dunno but Ohio does not sound that bad to me.

 

Amen on that.  You could be describing Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati with that - and I've been to Dayton Opera - those folks are damn good.

 

All in all, I agree that Ohio is a fantastic place to be, one that's way underrated - but I'd say the same thing about the region as a whole.

i think we'll need to identify target listeners.

 

are these ohio hating ohioans teens that grew up in suburbia?

are they poor appalachian, inner city, or farmers?

rich business men?

 

most of these people don't realize how it is outside of ohio, and think if they have a boring life, then it must be the state. (how quickly does florida get boring when you sit on a beach all day).

 

i can understand the 'i want to go live in new york, it is a zillion times bigger thing', but almost nobody i've heard that hates ohio wants to go there. they all say california or one of the air conditioner all november states.

 

or they'll say: "man i hate columbus, there is nothing to do"...

then i say: "dude, you live on a culdesac on the hilliard outskirts, are you bloody kidding me mate?"

them say: "well, i'll go back to hanging out in front of a gas station, then when i get older, i'll move to california, then it'll be sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows everything."

(five years later they say:) man it sucks here, everything is boring, blah blah blah

 

 

then when talking about pizza, they'll say their favorite places are donatos, dominos, pizza hut, papa johns, and shit...silly ass wankers :D

A lot of people these days need instant gratification. They want their sports bars and lifestyle center's 5 min away. They don't want to take the time to go exploring Little Italy, Coventry, Lakewood or downtown Cleveland.

and what is this smell...

 

I...ts the smell of jobs and a good paycheck every week.

are these ohio hating ohioans teens that grew up in suburbia?

I think these are the main group, and I'm not how to please them.  There is a girl with whom I work in my dumb campus job whose parents have moved to some Denver suburb from the Cleveland area (Brecksville, I think), where she has grown up.  After she graduates in a couple weeks she'll move out there with her parents.  She talks about how she's ready to finally leave Ohio and never look back.  Other than a bit warmer weather and a view mountains out her window, how is life going to be any different or better in suburban Denver than suburban Cleveland?

 

I think a lot of people are not outgrowing the fantasy of being able to sit on the beach all day or whatever else if they lived somewhere "nicer."  Maybe they find life to be just as crappy when they actually move to these places, but by then the damage is done; Ohio still "sucks" and they're not going to move back just because where they are not sucks just as much.

 

and what is this smell....maybe it's mom's apple pie and baseball. at least that is what the tourism materials would have you believe. that and the amish live in downtown cleveland/cincy/columbus :-)

There was an article posted here about Ohio cities during the election season.  It proved that people in Dayton will give you pie if you visit them! :-)

and what is this smell...

 

I...ts the smell of jobs and a good paycheck every week.

 

ohio has a good job market?

^

If you have a job the cost of living is great.

I think a lot of people are not outgrowing the fantasy of being able to sit on the beach all day or whatever else if they lived somewhere "nicer." 

 

...and do we want people like that in Ohio?  The vally girl types?

 

I think the concept is to attract and retain the a more creative types, not the airheads.

^ I don't necessarily mean the airheads... just ordinary people who grow up thinking Ohio is dull because of things like its environment or geography (never seeing what Ohio does have to offer) and then act on those opinions by leaving before learning that perhaps there are other things to consider in making a home.

I'm with ya, if there's anything I could do.  My only suggestion is to get those UrbanOhio.com bumper stickers out there in places where people will see them.  (I will heading off to Wisconsin this summer, so my part will be reduced to telling everyone that Ohio does not suck.  Don't worry, I hope to come back after two years!)

 

Anyway, this:

what do you all think about having a student org that takes people to places that they didn't know we had in ohio and showing htem that they don't need to flee the state to live/visit cool places?

sounds like a cool idea.  If you could gather up interested OSU students and come up with a way of paying for it, some trips to tour cities or whatever else would be great given OSU's central location in the state.  And it would not only be good for the Ohioans; you could also hope to get some students from out of state to spread the word back home.

 

I and Rich started this site in hope of people thinking "Ohio is just as good as other places" and apparently it has worked (and worked well). Rich, we can make a difference ;).

You, sir, should be the official state photographer.  Many of your photo posts at SSP seem to elicit a "gee, maybe Ohio doesn't suck after all" response from one or two people.

 

I realize this is a dated thread and I only read stuff occasionally here so this is my 1st post, but I must say that a student group that does outings (Here's a good one: Yellow Springs, John Bryan State Park/Glen Helen Nature Preserve and Young's Jersey Dairy on the way back) and gives a good image of Ohio, especially among college students may be enough to convince a number of them to stay. Ohio has serious brain drain as I'm sure all of you know, so I don't see why some cities such as the three C's wouldn't want to pitch in some $ to try and make a positive impression on highly educated individuals who are currently fleeing in droves.

I dont see why someone wanting to live in a pretty place like Florida or california is superficial . Weather and scenery isnt superficial , artificial living environments in cold weather climates and people that act better than everyone else because they go to college forever is superficial. The same college people that act like people are dumb simpletons are the ones on the beach in florida on spring break taking their clothes off and getting trashed. Operas and cultural activities are superficial. Wow im talking regular in regular people talk because I am not trying to impress any one and no I dont have references. :shoot: