Posted February 13, 201015 yr Greetings, all... As I mentioned on the career networking thread, yours truly was a casualty of the latest round of layoffs at my office. The writing had been on the wall for a while and this wasn't totally unexpected, but it still sucks. Thanks to a couple of large projects via the stimulus program, our office was able to maintain a decent workload for about a year longer than most other architecture firms, but all good things must end sooner or later. The good news is, this means I get to leave NYC and move back home to Cincinnati. I've been pretty burned-out with NYC for a while and had been itching to move back to Cincy, but my job was the only thing keeping me in New York. Well, that's no longer the case, so I'm not going to waste any more time here than I have to. Besides, unemployment benefits will go much further in Cincinnati than they would here in New York. My plans haven't been totally ironed out yet, but right now I'm looking to move to Cincinnati around the end of February or early March. I have some family in town who I could stay with for a couple nights, but I'll need to find a real place to live pretty quickly. Here's the deal: I'll be able to afford up to about $600 a month in rent, for a studio or one-bedroom apartment. I'll consider moving in with roommates if I have to, but I'd much prefer having my own place. My main requirements for the apartment are that it's clean, quiet, and reasonably well-maintained. I have one cat, so any prospective landlord will have to be okay with that. In terms of location, I'll be looking mainly at Clifton Gaslight, Prospect Hill, Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park, and Fort Thomas. That said, I'm not terribly picky about location as long as it's convenient to downtown and UC, and is in a reasonably quiet and safe neighborhood. I'm willing to consider certain parts of OTR, but to be honest, after living in NYC for the past couple years I'm a little burned-out with the whole urban pioneer lifestyle. (I'm more than happy to do my shopping and drinking in OTR, though.) I'm hoping to start grad school at DAAP this spring or fall (fingers crossed), so it would be ideal to be living either within walking distance of campus, or on a direct bus line to campus. I plan on getting a used car, but I don't want to be totally dependent on it. My unemployment benefits will last for at least six months, and by that time I'm hoping to be in grad school or have a job. I also have some credit issues, so any prospective landlord will have to be willing to cut me some slack during the application process. Paying rent and the security deposit won't be a problem, though, and I can provide references from previous landlords. So, if you know of anything or have any leads or contacts, feel free to respond here or contact me privately... Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance...
February 13, 201015 yr I'd consider Pleasant Ridge.... I'm not ruling out any neighborhoods at this point, as long as they're clean, quiet, and convenient.
February 13, 201015 yr If UC is your focus, I'd stay on the 17 bus line, which also adds Northside and College Hill. PRidge requires you to have a car to get to campus unless you love standing on corners in the 'hood' waiting for a transfer bus.
February 13, 201015 yr Thanks for the heads-up about the bus routes... Hyde Park and Mount Lookout have the advantage of being on the #24 line, which also directly serves campus... I'd love to end up back in Fort Thomas, but getting to school via public transit would require a ride on TANK and a transfer downtown. (If only Cincinnati had some sort of rail transit system....) That said, right now I'm not in a position to be too picky, so I'll consider just about anything.
February 13, 201015 yr Although I'd prefer to find a permanent place and save myself the hassle of moving twice, I'd also be willing to consider a temporary sublet situation for a few months until I find out if/when/where I'll be going to grad school. Also: I'll be looking for a reliable used car in the $2000-3000 range. If you know somebody who is trying to sell one, feel free to let me know.
February 13, 201015 yr UC has the free shuttle buses for students that run to the Gaslight District. There should be plenty of places there around $600. My landlord just sold out to a larger company that upped all the rents, otherwise I'd suggest them. I'm moving for co-op towards the end of March if you need a sublet/don't mind a roommate. That seems like it's about a month too late for when you're moving back, though.
February 14, 201015 yr Thanks... Do you know anything about the building at 266 Senator Place (two blocks north of the Skyline Chili on Ludlow)? I've been in touch with the landlord of that property, and he's got a one-bedroom available. The location is perfect and the outside of the building looks fine, but I've never been inside the apartments there. Anybody familiar with Lookout Apartments at 506-508 Riddle Road, or with any of these properties?
February 14, 201015 yr Gaslight is generally a pretty good landlord as Clifton Gaslight goes. Most of the stuff on Senator is decent.
February 14, 201015 yr I've never been in there either. I have heard good things about Gaslight too, though. The Lookout Apartments have the benefit of being a 3 minute walk to DAAP, but it's kind of a bigger building. I know where it is, but haven't actually ever known anyone who lives there, either.
February 14, 201015 yr Thanks... I'm guessing most landlords' offices are closed over the holiday weekend, but I'll start making some calls during the week.
February 14, 201015 yr By the way, if any DAAP people are coming to NYC for co-op and are looking for a studio apartment for the spring and summer quarters, I'm trying to sublet my current place. Rent is $1425/mo, location is steps away from the 190th Street station on the A train. 30 minutes to Columbus Circle, 40 minutes to the Financial District. The apartment is clean and quiet, and the landlord is attentive. It's available March 1st, and the current lease goes through August.
February 15, 201015 yr +1 registered Democrat in Ohio and in Hamilton County... For the first time in my life, my vote will actually count! :)
February 15, 201015 yr By the way, if any DAAP people are coming to NYC for co-op and are looking for a studio apartment for the spring and summer quarters, I'm trying to sublet my current place. Does that gin you live in stay in the apartment? Or come with you to Cincy?
February 15, 201015 yr Sorry, all the booze comes with me... If I haven't finished it off by the time I leave.
February 15, 201015 yr Greetings, all... As I mentioned on the career networking thread, yours truly was a casualty of the latest round of layoffs at my office. The writing had been on the wall for a while and this wasn't totally unexpected, but it still sucks. Thanks to a couple of large projects via the stimulus program, our office was able to maintain a decent workload for about a year longer than most other architecture firms, but all good things must end sooner or later. The good news is, this means I get to leave NYC and move back home to Cincinnati. I've been pretty burned-out with NYC for a while and had been itching to move back to Cincy, but my job was the only thing keeping me in New York. Well, that's no longer the case, so I'm not going to waste any more time here than I have to. Besides, unemployment benefits will go much further in Cincinnati than they would here in New York. My plans haven't been totally ironed out yet, but right now I'm looking to move to Cincinnati around the end of February or early March. I have some family in town who I could stay with for a couple nights, but I'll need to find a real place to live pretty quickly. Here's the deal: I'll be able to afford up to about $600 a month in rent, for a studio or one-bedroom apartment. I'll consider moving in with roommates if I have to, but I'd much prefer having my own place. My main requirements for the apartment are that it's clean, quiet, and reasonably well-maintained. I have one cat, so any prospective landlord will have to be okay with that. In terms of location, I'll be looking mainly at Clifton Gaslight, Prospect Hill, Mt. Lookout, Hyde Park, and Fort Thomas. That said, I'm not terribly picky about location as long as it's convenient to downtown and UC, and is in a reasonably quiet and safe neighborhood. I'm willing to consider certain parts of OTR, but to be honest, after living in NYC for the past couple years I'm a little burned-out with the whole urban pioneer lifestyle. (I'm more than happy to do my shopping and drinking in OTR, though.) I'm hoping to start grad school at DAAP this spring or fall (fingers crossed), so it would be ideal to be living either within walking distance of campus, or on a direct bus line to campus. I plan on getting a used car, but I don't want to be totally dependent on it. My unemployment benefits will last for at least six months, and by that time I'm hoping to be in grad school or have a job. I also have some credit issues, so any prospective landlord will have to be willing to cut me some slack during the application process. Paying rent and the security deposit won't be a problem, though, and I can provide references from previous landlords. So, if you know of anything or have any leads or contacts, feel free to respond here or contact me privately... Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance... If you are looking around the Clifton area call Dan Deering: (513) 281-7159 mention me and the fact you did the streetcar map (he was one of the three people who initially proposed the project).
February 16, 201015 yr Thanks to TheCOV, it looks like I'll be moving into a nicely-renovated one-bedroom apartment in Westwood. That's a huge source of stress off my shoulders. (I've also found a likely subtenant for my current place in NYC, and will be getting my sizable security deposit back... Another big source of stress eliminated.) Now I just have to get used to the idea of living on the west side... This is a guy who was born in Mariemont, grew up in Fort Thomas, and who has been across the Western Hills Viaduct maybe four times in his life (twice because I was lost)... I may need to buy a Volvo to compensate. :)
March 2, 201015 yr Just a quick note to let everybody know I've arrived safely here in the 'Nati. Special thanks to UO members theCOV for finding me a great apartment, and taestell for helping me unload the truck... With the help of friends and family, and with a good housing situation, this turned out to be one of the most straightforward, drama-free long-distance moves I've ever done, and I've done quite a few. Hopefully this foreshadows a happy future for me here! In a few weeks I'll learn my fate regarding grad school, and find out whether or not I'll be sticking around for the long-term. In the meantime, though, it's great to be home.
March 2, 201015 yr Welcome back! "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
March 11, 201015 yr Thanks... It's good to be back. Any suggestions for a decent local bank? Up until recently I had been pretty happy with my bank in New York, TD Bank (formerly Commerce Bank), and I was planning to keep using them. However, they seem to have lost a $4000 deposit check that I sent by mail last week, and I'm becoming increasingly frustrated by their inability to give me a straight answer as to its whereabouts. I'm now thinking that I'd much rather be able to deal with a local bank where I can walk into a branch and make a deposit in person, and not have to deal with this bank-by-mail bullshit. So, how are Fifth Third Bank, PNC Bank, etc.?
March 11, 201015 yr I don't know Fifth Third but PNC is good for me. It's also out where you were so you have more options that way. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 11, 201015 yr I use Huntington. Every time I overdrew and got the fee-chain-reaction thing goin on, they refunded me most of it. They are also extremely nice in the bank, and on the phone.
March 11, 201015 yr US Bank "It's just fate, as usual, keeping its bargain and screwing us in the fine print..." - John Crichton
March 11, 201015 yr Some of the credit unions in town are pretty good, if you can avail yourself of them. I'd go with convenience.
March 11, 201015 yr I had a bad experience with US Bank in Chicago, so I'm not inclined to give them my business. At this point I'm leaning toward Fifth Third or PNC, as they seem to have the most branch locations and ATMs in the Cincinnati area, as well as places where I'm most likely to end up for grad school. Although I'm tempted to run with Fifth Third out of loyalty to Cincinnati-based companies, PNC seems to have the edge for no-fee checking and better customer service reviews online. Anybody have experience with the CINCO Credit Union at the University of Cincinnati?
March 11, 201015 yr I have bad experiences with both US Bank and 5th/3rd. The latter's "Jeannie" ATM machines are like something out of the Tron era (original Tron--not remake). Anecdotally, I also hear the most complaints about 5th/3rd. PNC has been pretty good.
March 11, 201015 yr There are billions of 5/3 Jeanies in Cincinnati. This was pretty much my reason for going with 5/3 in the first place. Truthfully, I think all big banks are bad, and I've heard complaints about every single one. Small, neighborhood banks were the best in terms of customer service and lack of fees. Unfortunately, most of these small banks have been bought by the big banks.
March 11, 201015 yr I have bad experiences with both US Bank and 5th/3rd. The latter's "Jeannie" ATM machines are like something out of the Tron era (original Tron--not remake). Anecdotally, I also hear the most complaints about 5th/3rd. PNC has been pretty good. Sequel, not remake. I try to use credit unions...unfortunately, both my wife and i have separate credit unions and both of them are out of state. Luckily we can still do banking through the shared branch agreement.
March 11, 201015 yr Truthfully, I think all big banks are bad, and I've heard complaints about every single one.
March 17, 201015 yr As an epilogue to all of the above, today I received notification that I've been accepted into the Master of Architecture program at the University of Cincinnati. Unless OSU or UK make me an offer I can't refuse, I'll be enrolling at UC in the fall. Thanks to all who welcomed me home... Looks like I'll be able to stick around for a while!
March 17, 201015 yr Thanks for the suggestions... I went ahead and opened an account with PNC. They got a cooler tower downtown anyway! Nice choice! Congrats!
March 17, 201015 yr Congrats! "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 18, 201015 yr Thanks... I went ahead and dropped off my tuition deposit at DAAP this afternoon. I guess I'm officially a Bearcat now!
April 7, 201015 yr How are you enjoying life back in the Nati? Honestly? Is it what you were hoping for, so far, or were you romanticizing the city from afar? Perhaps it's too early to tell.
April 7, 201015 yr That or the Nasti. It's shorter, no? Truthfully, it's a bit toungue-in-cheek, but by no means unheard of. I think it started in the hip-hop community, but went mainstream with an anti-litter commercial: "Don't trash the Nati!"
April 8, 201015 yr I think it started in the hip-hop community, but went mainstream with an anti-litter commercial: "Don't trash the Nati!" There were billboards!
April 8, 201015 yr I think it started in the hip-hop community, but went mainstream with an anti-litter commercial: "Don't trash the Nati!" There were billboards! Yeah, I guess I should have said "anti-litter campaign" rather than "anti-litter commercial". (The phrase even appears on trash cans.) Do we all agree that the litter campaign made the nickname mainstream? Pretty powerful marketing! LOL
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