In Search of a City: Columbus Is What You Make of It
Several years ago, a friend of mine told me that she wanted to move to Portland, Oregon, where she could sell her car and change her lifestyle. She sought a walkable life, where she could immerse herself in the arts, eat healthy foods, and experience vibrant public spaces.
When I pointed out that she could easily do all of those things in Columbus, she dismissed my suggestion as impossible. Yet, she lived in the Short North and worked downtown. Her daily routine took her past the North Market, Columbus Museum of Art, downtown theatres, the Arena Grand cinema, and Short North galleries.
She lived within two blocks of High Street, where buses run every few minutes and taxi cabs routinely cruise for fares. She could bicycle to work in less than ten minutes.
Her neighborhood in Columbus was full of sidewalk cafes, a great park, a lively music scene, and hundreds of independent retail stores.
Why do many people feel they must leave Columbus to experience something they could choose to do here?
Tags: Arena Grand, arts crafts, Columbus Museum of Art, galleries, North Market
June 9th, 2009 at 9:21 am
Because the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence?
June 16th, 2009 at 8:16 am
Hi Cleve,
I experienced this when I moved to Columbus from the DC area. I felt as though I’d landed in an unwalkable land (I live on the Westside, where commercial activity is behind High Street and downtown). Right now, your level of walkability in Columbus is deeply tied to your neighborhood location. There are a number of neighborhoods where you can live the life your friend described. But there are also a lot of good neighborhoods that are struggling to reach that goal. I think a huge part of our problem is a lack of decent/reliable transit and safe bikeways to further out Columbus neighborhoods like Westgate.
Keep up the good work!
Jackie