It's certainly do-able. My good friend lives in Harlem with his wife a 2 kids, and my brother lives in Bensonhurst with his wife and daughter. My brother actually owns a free standing house with a garage, etc. It's not huge (about 1200 sf), but it's in a nice neighborhood,  and his inlaws live right down the street, so they help with the kid.

 

Yeah but Central Harlem is out of reach for everyday, middle class families to own.  You can still find a deal in Spanish Harlem, Sugar Hill or Washington Hts.  But even Eastern Washington Hts. that's adjacent to Central Harlem has gotten expensive.

 

There is a brownstone near me listed in the 2.5 million range (and I didn't pay that even after my top to bottom renovation) and condos listed at $800k for approx. 1k square feet.  It's crazy.

 

Staten Island also has a lot of free standing houses / yards, etc., while still maintaining a decent amount of density. I loved it as a kid. I had a park a block away, could walk to any number of places (including school), and a bunch of friends within a couple blocks.

 

and dont forget you also had that dump!  :-D

 

Yeah, I should qualify that my friend in harlem is an international technology consultant, and spends

as much time in London as he does in NYC, so he's not looking at it from a middle class standpoint.

 

And easy on the dump in SI. That was on the other side of down! :x

I lived in Westerleigh.

 

True story...my dad and my grandpa owned a boat (being Norwegian, they fished incessantly out in the ocean) and stored it in Great Kills Harbor. My mom also had a sailboat she kept out there. One day they were out doing some maintenance on the boat and a guy at a dock next to them tried to step from the dock onto the boat, but slipped and fell into the water. He pops up from underwater and yells "Jes@# Chr@#$!!" My mom and dad yell over to ask if he's alright and he says "Yeah, but I thought I was going to fall into water"

 

See back in the early 70's when this happened, the city was still pumping a lot of untreated sewage into the ocean. Lots of nasties would be floating in there at the time. It's mostly cleaned up now, but I guess it was awful back then.

At least nobody has said Las Vegas..

 

And Rapid City is by far the best city in the Dakotas.

Honestly, I'm surprised NYC is not getting the votes.

Honestly, I'm surprised NYC is not getting the votes.

Why?  NYC is a "I love it" or "I hate it" city.  There is no middle ground, which is why Chicago is winning.

don't hate on me, but I think Chicago is just OK to above average. NY on the other hand, I LOVE. Don't want to live there though. Just want to go there , eat, walk around, shop a little and just plain love on it.

 

too much energy though. Can't sleep a wink and am ready to come home after a few days.

I actually like nyc quite a bit, but it lacks a few things.  but my family is mostly in wisconsin and illinois.  a chicago relocation would put me closer to them.  hence, I like it the most.

 

I also like pretty much all of the rest of the cities in the above list.  serious, move me there, I will be happy anywhere.

don't hate on me, but I think Chicago is just OK to above average. NY on the other hand, I LOVE. Don't want to live there though. Just want to go there , eat, walk around, shop a little and just plain love on it.

 

too much energy though. Can't sleep a wink and am ready to come home after a few days.

 

You sound just like my father.  He hates NYC.

Yes, I voted thinking if to live  outside of Ohio as being my favorite in choosing my vote. I voted Chicago but NYC can compete with any city in the world as being the greatest as cities go. World's favorite city, no one would pick Chicago, but of coarse NYC would be a good case to argue for.

don't hate on me, but I think Chicago is just OK to above average. NY on the other hand, I LOVE. Don't want to live there though. Just want to go there , eat, walk around, shop a little and just plain love on it.

 

too much energy though. Can't sleep a wink and am ready to come home after a few days.

 

You sound just like my father.  He hates NYC.

I love it, it just exhausts me

Honestly, I'm surprised NYC is not getting the votes.

Why?  NYC is a "I love it" or "I hate it" city.  There is no middle ground, which is why Chicago is winning.

 

Chicago is just a bigger version of Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, etc. I'd love to live there, just saying. Just typical midwest on a larger scale and more skyscraper-centric. I don't think of it as a cosmopolitan city and for a metro of 9 million or whatever, it definitely should be.

Came across this thread and thought if bring it back for fun!

 

For the old members, I'm curious about whether or not your perspective has changed, and for the new members like me, what's your favorite Non-Ohio city?

 

For me, large city I'd probably go with Chicago, although there are many I haven't seen or seen a lot that I would like to try out.

 

Mid-sized, probably Rochester NY from what I've seen and heard, Louisville from places I've actually visited.

 

Small cities, probably Columbus Indiana. Amazing place! Least favorite would be Gatlinburg.

NYC is the best in the world, nothing comes close. Chicago, however, is just oh so damn accessible and affordable for Ohioans, and I am tempted to pick up and move there.

 

You've got me looking at a map thinking about major cities I've visited and spent time in the urban core. Really, I've only ever been to the big Ohio Cities, Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Detroit, Las Vegas (if you count that), Ft. Lauderdale, DC, NY, and Boston, so my experience is limited. I've been South but mostly just to go to the beach somewhere.

 

I guess I should give the whole Seattle/Portland/Denver thing a try as well as the California thing. However, I'm mostly comfortable with my Northern/Eastern bias.