In a Starbucks on campus at Case Western Reserve University...

 

From one returning student to another:

 

"I worked Downtown all summer and there was so much going on!"

 

Sitting there, reading my Planning magazine, I was very pleased to hear this from one college student to another.  Spread the word, folks, Cleveland is alive!  The mythical tumbleweeds have been swept off the streets of the CBD yet again!

Although this should technically go into the "I Love Cleveland" thread (if it's still around), I think you have a good idea.

 

How about people post things in this thread (good or bad) that you overhear? This can be for any city in Ohio. Good idea, Map Boy! :-)

 

I figured what more appropriate area for a thread about discussions overheard than the City Discussion section!

 

Your bolded statement above was my intent precisely.

Well I told one of my bosses I might be moving to Cincinnati for a new job next month and he retorted "That place sucks!  It has the 4th worst traffic in the United States!". 

Well I told one of my bosses I might be moving to Cincinnati for a new job next month and he retorted "That place sucks!  It has the 4th worst traffic in the United States!". 

 

I remember Nashville's traffic being pretty bad (and I remember Nashvillians pretty much thinking that their city was the greatest place in the world..). How does Cincy's traffic compare?

I don't know despite having lived both places, it depends specifically on where you live and work.  Both are lop-sided so far as having undeveloped areas relatively close to downtown (about five or six miles) but then suburbs that continue on 20+ miles from downtown in other directions.  Definitely Cincinnati has much higher bus ridership and much larger downtown employment but it's also 25% larger overall and most of that recent growth has been suburban.  The big difference for me is that the drive up to I-275 from downtown Cincinnati on either I-75 or I-71 seems a lot shorter than equivalent distances in most cities just because there's a varied landscape and I-75 especially passes by a lot of interesting things and few strip malls.     

1-2-3 posts and we're off topic!  Congrats!

"Is there a buffet around here?"

Indiana family near fountain square, asking me where they could get a cheap truckload of food to eat before the Reds game.

"This city has changed. A LOT."

 

Referring to the changes at University of Akron, the Stadium downtown, and the new Art Museam and Main Library.

"Is there a buffet around here?"

Indiana family near fountain square, asking me where they could get a cheap truckload of food to eat before the Reds game.

 

A slim little clan, I imagine.

Overheard on the rapid in June from CLE to Tower City on weekend trip home; random guy across the isle having one-way conversation with my gf: "this city sucks...I'm moving to San Diego soon".  As if we gave a crap.

 

But last week on rapid from CLE to Tower City on another quick trip home with a buddy, I overheard an excellent conversation between an UO type from Seattle in town just to check out the city and some other unaffiliated guy with a biz suit on explaining in an enthusiastic but not overbearing way how awesome the city is and that the guy has to cut downtown some slack because of the ECP construction, and that he should come back again in a couple years once the dust settles to see the improvement.  An excellent ambassador to explain the context to the tourist.  Guess which conversation I preferred.

"Wow...people downtown after business hours, go figure."

 

Unfortunately this was my sister making a comment to her husband as we approached a packed FS and eventually a packed Cadillac Ranch, Lodge Bar, Sully's and so on (we were arriving downtown around 11:00pm).

 

It's funny how quick people are to make judgements about a place when they haven't even experienced it themselves in order to make a proper judgement...changing perceptions one person at a time.

"I really like what they've done to this area"

 

"Yeah, this is turning out really nice!"

 

Patrons as they were waking into Ponte Vecchio restaurant on the Superior viaduct

It's funny how quick people are to make judgements about a place when they haven't even experienced it themselves in order to make a proper judgement...changing perceptions one person at a time.

 

Yup....amazing, it's in?  It really does bug me when people make comments about downtown when they haven't been there in years, or, they are an office worker who immediately leaves downtown by 5:00 Monday through Friday.  I feel like I'm constantly defending my neighborhood and my decision to live down here.

I think if more people in Cincinnati traveled to other cities, they would realize how vibrant our downtown is. I feel that many of the people criticizing it don't know of much to compare it to.

 

It's funny how quick people are to make judgements about a place when they haven't even experienced it themselves in order to make a proper judgement...changing perceptions one person at a time.

 

Yup....amazing, it's in?  It really does bug me when people make comments about downtown when they haven't been there in years, or, they are an office worker who immediately leaves downtown by 5:00 Monday through Friday.  I feel like I'm constantly defending my neighborhood and my decision to live down here.

Wow, if nothing else..convenience. I think you mentioned you work downtown. Who wouldn't want to live close to where they work? You have everything in walking distance.

Wow, if nothing else..convenience. I think you mentioned you work downtown. Who wouldn't want to live close to where they work? You have everything in walking distance.

 

I do work downtown.  I have a 5-6 block walk to work from where I live.  Can you believe people say things like "Wow, I would not want to live that close to work!"  Or when it snows, some people say they would still rather be in their car, which makes no sense to me. 

 

On a side note, I can see my condo building from many of the conference rooms at work.  I have to make sure I don't face the windows whenever I go to a meeting because I start thinking "I wish I was there instead!"  On the other hand, I do see my office building from my condo, but I never think "I wish I was there!"  ;)

A patron at Inniswood Gardens in Westerville to his young children, after being hassled for the third time by park security for petty, child-related offenses:

 

"This is the city that invented prohibition: they have NO sense of humor."

 

And that patron would have been ME.

 

Sorry.

Wow, if nothing else..convenience. I think you mentioned you work downtown. Who wouldn't want to live close to where they work? You have everything in walking distance.

 

I do work downtown.  I have a 5-6 block walk to work from where I live.  Can you believe people say things like "Wow, I would not want to live that close to work!"  Or when it snows, some people say they would still rather be in their car, which makes no sense to me. 

 

On a side note, I can see my condo building from many of the conference rooms at work.  I have to make sure I don't face the windows whenever I go to a meeting because I start thinking "I wish I was there instead!"  On the other hand, I do see my office building from my condo, but I never think "I wish I was there!"  ;)

I have the EXACT same problem.  It is odd so many people think it is a problem to be so close to work/home-as if you cannot relax. Help me out commuters, is sitting in the car trying to quell road rage really relaxing?

 

 

I relish some of the conversations I've had when it comes to commuters/exurbanites especially:

 

Them: "Ugh, it took me an hour and a half to get to Avon - some stupid accident!"

Me: "Ouch - so by the time you got home, I had gone to the gym, put a load of laundry away, and had my first happy hour beer." :-D

i heard this last month and it made me laugh (same person):

 

"lorain is such a sh*thole....yada yada....some more yada....yeah, i wanna get us one of those spitzer marina condos with a boat launch."

^^I'm sure these insights endear you greatly so to your co-workers.

 

I have the opposite problem; I live in the city but work in the burbs. I have co-workers who brag to me about living "five minutes from work." I've ridden home for lunch with a few. With congestion and lights, we've never been able to make it in under 15.

 

Incidentally, with my reverse commute, I'm a hassle-free 20 minutes from home, no matter the time of day. But I'd trade that all for a job within walking distance...

 

    I met a japanese man in a foreign city. I told him where I was from. This is what he said.

 

  "I've been there. That's where baseball player Pete Rose is from. And you have Riverfront Stadium on the Ohio River, and that big arch."

^Hilarious...I mean Riverfront Stadium has been gone for years now.  :-D

Okay, an actual quote. From a neighbor and long-time resident of Italian Village, of the fevered pitch development in The Short North:

 

"We've gone past gentrification all the way to exploitation."

I relish some of the conversations I've had when it comes to commuters/exurbanites especially:

 

Them: "Ugh, it took me an hour and a half to get to Avon - some stupid accident!"

Me: "Ouch - so by the time you got home, I had gone to the gym, put a load of laundry away, and had my first happy hour beer." :-D

I know I look out my window with a martini at cars backed up waiting to get on the shoreway (or far off sirens on the innerbelt) and say "mmm thats a pity". sip

I was watching the movie the Oh in Ohio and Parker Posey said "the mistake on the lake has become the roar on the shore"  please tell me people don't actually talk like that.

^ oh yes, we do. we were hanging on that for a while...then there was "Flee to the Cleve" from 30 rock.  We eat that $hit it up.

I like LEAVELAND better.

 

Wakka wakka

 

*runs*

I like LEAVELAND better.

 

Wakka wakka

 

*runs*

you are a bad man

Hey we're Cincinnasty...

CoLAMEbus?

I've heard Cowlumbus and from some Michiganders around OSU V. Michigan Comeblowus.

 

While at the barber shop talking about sports the barber said:

 

Him: "Cleveland is not a city that will win a championship. The NBA may fool you, but they ain't winnin' no championship. I hate Cleveland sports."

 

Me:  "why"

 

Him: "I just do."

http://godhatesclevelandsports.blogspot.com/

I was watching the movie the Oh in Ohio and Parker Posey said "the mistake on the lake has become the roar on the shore"  please tell me people don't actually talk like that.

 

Hey...I love that movie for many reasons!

I was watching the movie the Oh in Ohio and Parker Posey said "the mistake on the lake has become the roar on the shore"  please tell me people don't actually talk like that.

 

That is a slogan that the Indy car race uses. The race is staged at the small airport that is directly north of downtown on Lake Erie.

I was watching the movie the Oh in Ohio and Parker Posey said "the mistake on the lake has become the roar on the shore"  please tell me people don't actually talk like that.

 

Hey...I love that movie for many reasons!

 

the funniest parts were in the deleted scenes on the dvd, just paul rudd being paul rudd.

I was watching the movie the Oh in Ohio and Parker Posey said "the mistake on the lake has become the roar on the shore"  please tell me people don't actually talk like that.

 

Hey...I love that movie for many reasons!

 

the funniest parts were in the deleted scenes on the dvd, just paul rudd being paul rudd.

 

You bought or rented?

library

damn!

Where I sit in my office, I get to here almost everything said about Cleveland. Some good - mostly negative.

I usually role my eyes, click my heels and think "Please leave, please leave, please leave."

Sometimes it works.

Anyway, I will have to write down some of the things for the future.

today i heard "soon enough, toledo will be a suburb of perrysburg, as long as the unions and democrats are in charge"

Just the other day I met a guy from the san francisco area, He said he was here for scribble jam. He said he was having a great time & he ate at white castle for the first time. He was like "we don't have these in cali". So I'm sure he'll give a positive report about Cincinnati. He also mentioned he has been given a hard time in san fran about being biracial. He was staying at the ramada on 8th st.

Last year when I worked at the hyatt, there was a gentleman from charlotte who was here on business for the IRS. He was fascinated with the river so I hooked him up with a good river view for him & his family that initially came with him. He was here for a few weeks along with probably hundreds of other IRS workers who converge on Cincy ever so often. About a month later I seen him again at the hotel & I said back again? This time he was on vacation, he said his kids had so much fun that they wanted to come back here for vacation, Him & his wife thought that was great because they said there is more for adults to do than when they went to places like orlando.

In short, I don't often hear negative comments from tourists or other people not from here. So many times I've heard, "I didn't think Cincinnati was this nice"  "I didn't think there was so much to do here"  "There are some beautiful buildings here"  I've heard it all!!  Now if only we could get a new class of residents!!

When I used to work downtown in the Carew I met this lady from Milwaukee. She was fascinated with the Carew and especially the Netherland Plaza. The next day I saw her again and she was ecstatic. She mentioned she took advantage of the Netherland Plaza tour and spent about 3 hours on it. Talk about overboard.

...He also mentioned he has been given a hard time in san fran about being biracial...

 

Damn! Shocked he's getting flack about that in SF of all places! Guess prejudiced people make it everywhere, even to the uber-accepting San Fran.

...He also mentioned he has been given a hard time in san fran about being biracial...

 

Damn! Shocked he's getting flack about that in SF of all places! Guess prejudiced people make it everywhere, even to the uber-accepting San Fran.

 

Uber-accepting San Fran?  :roll:  :roll:  From a personal observation, San Fran (the bay area) might seem to be "accepting" but its as racially polarized if not more than any other city.  I've never felt comfortable in San Fran.

I guess it's more a general perception thing. I've spent only a few days there and never really noticed anything weird. As a straight white guy, I'm probably more oblivious to the tension than if I were black/African-American or Asian or Hispanic etc. or of mixed race or Gay or Bi.

I guess it's more a general perception thing. I've spent only a few days there and never really noticed anything weird. As a straight white guy, I'm probably more oblivious to the tension than if I were black/African-American or Asian or Hispanic etc. or of mixed race or Gay or Bi.

 

No problem, at least your honest about it.

overheard a woman in my office on the phone talking about her recent weekend in Cincy...

she basically said "there's just so much to do in Cincy....yea, I had a lot of fun"

I work at Nationwide in Columbus for the time being.