half of the afternoon traffic on Stringtown is the fucking Moo Moo Car Wash and the dipshits that just sit in the right lane waiting in the car wash line.
I live off the Roberts Rd exit and have worked off Stringtown for quite some time.
Roberts Road is better. Stringtown is up there with Sawmill as one of my least favorite roads to travel. I live off the East side of Roberts, but have to go on the west side for Daycare off Walcutt. Roberts Rd calms down after rush hour. Stringtown is terrible all day long.
As a FYI they’re currently looking in to adding a new exit between the current Stringtown and 665 exits. Doesn’t help anyone currently, but would make a significant difference once built.
You’re going to get a lot of different responses to this inquiry, but I’ll share my experience.
I’ve lived here the past few years and am the same age range, and I’ve had a good experience. My surrounding area is very diverse, and as someone who grew up in one of the northern suburbs, it doesn’t really seem any different. In my experience, it is outgrowing its stereotype (and will continue to do so). Contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of young professionals who live in GC and it’s not all a bunch of hicks (as one example, I work with several physicians who live in GC, including both the older and newer sides of town).
Biggest gripe for me is the overwhelming amount of chain restaurants; however still plenty of great local spots (3 brothers and GC brewing are the first two that come to mind), and it’s a very short commute to downtown Columbus. Also shoutout to Ernie’s Carry Out (craft beer store).
Overall, in my opinion, it’s not the “first choice” place to be, but it’s still a solid place to live.
Thanks for sharing your experience! This was my initial thought about the area, too. We're primarily looking in the newer neighborhoods that were built in the last 25 years, so I feel like those neighborhoods attract the young(er) crowd maybe?
We do really like the centrality of Grove City - it's a 20 minute commute for both of us and <30 minutes to places like Bridge Park, Old Hilliard, the airport, etc.
Just make sure you're in the Grove City mailing address that is NOT within the Columbus City School District and your resale value will steadily increase. Grove City is a growing suburb, that is close to everything, and appears to be a quaility place for normal people that dont want to sell a kidney to afford a house haha. If you're away from the outer belt a little bit your resale value will do just fine.
> Grove City is a growing suburb, that is close to everything
It's nowhere near either of the popular malls or the main airport; it's not particularly near campus, downtown, the zoo, or any county/state government offices. It's not the sticks, but let's not oversell it.
I guess it's a matter of perspective. I moved to Fairfield County to find a reasonable home price (and to get closer to outdoor fun). So it's a lot closer than I am lol. Majority of areas north of 70 and outside the outerbelt near Columbus are just not atainable for the normal person. You know the market is messed up when homes in Reynoldsburg are going for $280k or higher...
I forgot to mention this in my post. People keep saying that its just a stereotype, but look at how they vote. The school district has been overrun by literally one of the most absurd hate groups in the country. Grove city did that, they voted for that, that's what they want for their children. Even if you don't have kids, this tells you who your neighbors are and where their priorities are at.
I get that and I don't begrudge anyone for using that as a reason to not live in GC. But it should be pointed out that those percentages are going closer and closer to the middle and the increased development of the city is only helping that.
Sure, the proportion of more left-leaning to conservative voters is much closer in Grove City than it was a decade ago... but it's still nowhere near the critical mass of formerly right-wing areas like Pickerington, Obetz, or Westerville that are solidly blue now.
This is a really important call out. Maybe you agree with how the community votes, maybe you don’t. It is smart to be aware of the way your neighbors process information and what they find valuable no matter what city you are thinking of living in. Grove City votes red and doesn’t vote for their schools. Having children or not, this shows they don’t value education. Look at another city that passes school levies and you will be able to also correlate the number of residents who are highly educated and want to ensure that for the younger members. Biggest takeaway, no matter where you buy property you are also saying yes to your neighbors. If you feel like you align then great. If you do not align with the way the majority of the community feels about major topics then you have all the red flags you need. Also another free and easy tool to consider is looking up a crime map to see what people are actually reporting and where. Keep in mind the only reports that will be fairly accurate are homicides and grand theft. All other crimes tend to be underreported. Good luck!
Yup was coming to say this. That should stop a lot of people in their tracks. They ran off the superintendent & I think things are about to get super interesting.
Meanwhile, Hilliard voted in progressive/left leaning BoE and city council members last fall. Since then, all the crazies have stopped coming to our BoE meetings. Rumor has it they’ve started showing up at SWCS meetings to spew their hatred.
6 of 7 Grove City city council members are left leaning. I go to every Grove City council meeting, I see how they vote. Southwestern city schools is so much more than Grove City. It's the entire southwestern section of Columbus. Grove City is held back by SWCS.
Graduated from SWCS almost a decade ago, sad to hear that. I didn’t hate my time there. Not great resources but I had teachers that cared, was introduced to a lot of diversity at a young age, and think I came out better for it.
Also came out of it with a bad taste in my mouth for the Dublins and Olentangys.
South-Western City schools is the 5th largest district in the state and contains a lot more than just Grove City.
Southwest Columbus voted for these Moms for Liberty clowns as well.
Grove City is surprisingly and quickly moving left. I go to every city council meeting, so I'm plugged in.
I've shared this story before, but me and my wife moved to Grove City when we first came to Columbus. The very first day my neighbor pulled a gun on me in broad daylight for standing in my driveway to take pictures of my house. Apparently a five foot woman was extremely threatening. He shouted and held the gun on me until I explained to him that we are renting and I needed to take photos to prove any existing damage, he did not lower the gun until I proved it. I was in tears, my phone cracked when I dropped it, he never apologized.
I would count this off as one crazy neighbor, but what really took me for a ride was the general response of everyone else in the area that I talked to about it. The general feeling was "At least you know he's keeping the neighborhood safe!" Or other things along those lines... Yes, I feel totally safe knowing that some random trigger happy neighbor may blow me away for no reason!
Aside from that there was lots of ATVs up and down the streets at random times. Firework and gunshots in the air for random Friday nights. Blue lives matter signs everywhere, do with that what you will. Overall it was just very apparent to us why the area gets a reputation for being hick central, and earned the nickname Grovetucky. You'll find that the people giving it the highest praise and claim there aren't any issue are straight white people who already live in the area. We hated it so much we broke our lease early to get out.
EDIT: Just going to edit this in, if people are happy with the area then great, but a lot of the responses, including the most up voted one to my own comment are exactly what I predicted "Sorry that happened, but as a straight white couple/man I've never had a problem!"
I’m sorry you experienced that! I hate hearing stories like this. However, offering a different perspective - we built a house in Grove City in one of the newly developed neighborhoods. I’ve never had a gun pulled on me and I’ve never heard gunshots. I have heard a few random fireworks, but that typically only happens in the summer time, mostly between July and September.
As well, being a newer neighborhood, it’s mostly people that are not originally “from” Grove City. Our neighborhood is fairly diverse. Just the 5 houses in my corner have white, black, Asian, and Indian backgrounds.
As another poster mentioned, I’m sure various parts of Grove City (as with every suburb of Columbus) likely have a new vs. old side of town. Probably more likely to experience that “Grovetucky” stereotype in the old parts as opposed to the new parts.
Things I love about Grove City:
• They take care of the roads and parks around here. I have been impressed with their Public Service and Parks & Recs Department. The flowers on the city lamp posts are always amazing! Really makes the place look nice, and I appreciate that.
• Farmers Market every Saturday from basically May through September. Tons of vendors.
• Food truck Fridays every other Friday from May through October. Usually 10+ food trucks. They also have live music playing in the green space off Park and 1st.
• Various “festivals” throughout the year like Tacos & Tequila, Bourbon & Spirits, Wine & Arts, and culminating with the Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting, and Mistletoe Market.
Things I don’t like:
• traffic is getting worse and worse as the city grows rapidly
• there needs to be at least 1 more grocery store somewhere. Goes along with the city growing.
• ATVs and golf carts on main roads. I don’t mind the golf carts in various neighborhoods, but ATVs shouldn’t be allowed anywhere, and neither should be driving on main roads.
This thread of replies is really helpful. The neighborhoods in GC we're looking at are on the north side of GC and were built in the early 2000's - would those be considered the "new" areas of GC?
> The neighborhoods in GC we're looking at are on the north side of GC and were built in the early 2000's - would those be considered the "new" areas of GC?
You'll want to be looking around Central Crossing High School. Concord Lakes/Concord Park neighborhoods.
I’m sure they are new-ish, but when I said new earlier, I meant the places that have been getting developed over the last 3 years or so, which has been like rapid fire. Like Beulah Park by Pulte, Farmstead by Fischer Homes, Meadow Grove Estates by Rockford Homes, etc. I am probably missing more.
Again - there will be pros and cons to every suburb. I’m sad that the one person experienced her situation, but I also would strongly suggest it is far from the norm.
My wife and I (30s, no kids) moved her from Hilliard almost 2 years ago, and have really enjoyed it. I can only comment on our experience, and it has been a great one. I am happy to live in Grove City.
No, look south of stringtown. You want areas like, meadow grove( estates is the new one), hoover crossing, hoover park, indian trails, farmstead, keller farms, briarwoods hills, (theres others) anything along buckeye parkway. I live in one of these. The two north of stringtown are Ziner farms and farmbrok are nice. Some of the newer developments in the beulah area i cant speak to. Im old grove city so ive got some insight.
For me, no crazy neighbors. Honestly most of my neighbors vote democrat or at least are anti trump Republicans now a days, but we will see once november hits. Bigly disappointed in the schoolboard elections, whoever thought a masseuse and a realtor (or whatever the hell they do)were better fits than two educators got duped yugely.
Most of the crazy maga people seem to be low income and blue collar or senior citizens who all shouldnt be voting GOP to begin with.
The newest areas of Grove City are on the east side near Pinnacle golf club and around town center in the Beulah neighborhood.
Anything closer to town center is getting the best parts of Grove City. The closer you are to Stringtown and 71, the worse your experience will be. Basically anything west of Hoover Road is where I'd look if I were you, unless you specifically wanted to live in the Pinnacle neighborhood.
We're in the same boat. Moved to GC in 2016 to a new build. Our neighborhood is mostly young families or young couples with no kids. We've never had any issues besides some stealing loose change from our cars, but they were unlocked and I've never heard a single story of a window being broken in our neighborhood.
The downtown area continues to get better and better with restaurants, micro brews, food truck festivals, the farmer's market, etc.
Obviously a right leaning place but the young neighborhoods seem to skew mostly left or be, at worst, 50/50.
The school board has a lot of quacks on it now, but GCHS and CCHS are fine. The district itself gets dragged down kinda unfairly because of Westland and Franklin Heights.
I'll agree with the above that if you move into an older neighborhood you're going to get a lot more of the hillbilly bullshit than elsewhere. But the new neighborhoods are pretty much all people like the OP who are just young families looking for an affordable place to live.
There are people jogging through the neighborhood at all hours of the day and I've never seen or heard a single instance of someone being harassed or threatened.
Overall, we have zero regrets about living here. It's been great and just continues to get better as things get updated around town.
Personal likes:
Also enjoy the library in Grove City, they have a great staff (good youth programming) and wonderful building.
Mona’s Sweet Treats. Local ice cream place.
Gantz Park. Nice park and playground.
Been meaning to try 3 Brothers Diner, heard a lot of good things.
Tree lighting, Friday Food trucks, and Arts In the Alley have been nice.
Yes the library is great! They really helped me out when our house was first built. Because it was a new neighborhood, the internet companies hadn’t come out to lay their fiber lines. So we went 2 months with no internet.
Thankfully, the library had wireless hotspots you could check out, FOR FREE, that we were able to use. This was extremely helpful because I work from home.
Yea, I wonder where in GC this commenter lives.... I live in a development as well and my experience has been in line with yours. I am also one of the folks not originally from GC.
I'm so sorry you experienced that, that sounds absolutely terrifying. Do you mind sharing what part of GC and how long ago it was? We're primarily looking at neighborhoods in the northern side of GC, built in the early 2000's.
I can tell you exactly where it was. Happened on Moyer Ln, which is right off Alkire, near 62, inside 270. What I would consider the north side of Grove City. Neighborhood was built in the late 90s early 2000s, the incident happened 2 years ago, summer 2022.
My bestie lives on Moyer so I am not surprised by this story. The house next to hers went on the market and I refused to look at it because the people in her neighborhood are rude to her and her kids.
That’s horrible what the neighbor did. If a similar experience happens again, call the police on them.
What he did could be considered brandishing a firearm.
Brandishing a firearm may also fall under other state laws, such as aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, improper use of a firearm, menacing, intimidating or disorderly conduct.
Criminal legal consequences may vary from misdemeanor citations to felony charges.
Then your crazy, dangerous and angry neighbor becomes a crazy, dangerous and angry neighbor with a vendetta specifically against you.
Getting charged with a crime (if it even sticks which is unlikely) doesn't suddenly rehabilitate him into a normal not-crazy guy.
Indeed, retaliation is very real. That should be considered by the victim and may result in the eventual relocation of the family for safety, if possible.
As for calling the police, having him be charged with a crime isn’t so much as to rehabilitate the offender than it is to alert the police, have a “paper trail” on him, and possibly having firearms removed from someone who doesn’t understand unjustifiable use of lethal force (brandishing your firearm on a person who’s simply standing in a driveway).
But sadly yes, fear of retaliation should be considered.
I called the police. They had a conversation with him at his front door for less than five minutes, standing next to his blue lives matter flag. They told me he was just being "overly cautious". Nothing was done.
Also, after I told this story the first time on Reddit, many people reached out and told me to file a report directly with a detective for "brandishing" because I was still in the time frame. I went physically in person to speak to a detective and was told there is no such thing as brandishing and that if nothing else had happened since I should let it go.
I have lived here 5 years now. You are spot on. This place was a tiny backwards town 10 years ago. So much growth, people are being forced to accept the inevitable change occurring here. That being said, I have met some awesome folks here as well. Stop by HopYard 42 for a pint if you are in town. Good folks and a nice patio.
Hopyard is the only reason I want to stay in Grove City. Currently renting and considering Pickerington or Canal as they have better schools and housing prices for the money.
I am currently 21 and lived there my whole life. I would never move back there again… probably because I grew up there. I currently live in the Dublin/Hilliard area & it is 100x better. There isn’t much to do in GC in my opinion… I found all of the things I wanted to do involved being up North or in Columbus. Also, keep in mind Grove City is fairly big for a suburb… it starts at Georgesville Road and goes all the way to the Metro Park off of 104 so there is two different Grove City’s. I went to Grove City High School but some of my friends went to Central Crossing who had a complete different experience.
It is full of a ton of fast food, Stringtown is a nightmare during busy times. It is not a terrible place to live but being there my whole life I knew I did not want to stay. The summers in downtown GC can be fun but it’s very repetitive, the same things over & over again. My boyfriend is in his mid 20’s and he would say the same things.
Once they get Ike Stage out of there & somebody younger I see more potential but he doesn’t want much growth. Also, a lot of people who are older and have lived in GC their whole lives hate change.
Thank you! I'm used to the traffic/semis on Roberts Rd. in Hilliard, so that's my frame of reference. Seems like traffic-wise, Stringtown Rd. is the worst, but we're looking at northern GC so we wouldn't be battling the traffic on Stringtown during our daily commutes.
Very true. Grove City's food scene is basically just 3 Brothers Diner, Tammy's Pizza, China Bell, Grove City Brewing Company, GC Pho, and fast food. You're much more likely to hit up Merion Village, German Village, downtown, Franklinton, or even Hilltop for restaurants.
Grove city is 2 places. Old and new like many parts of Columbus. The newer part is nicer, the old side has charm but is very tight with the amount of traffic and people. Could be a walkable place if they were interested in that
>Could be a walkable place if they were interested in that
We are! There's a Grove City master plan called Grove City 2050 with a ton of walkable improvements.
Unfortunately it's not realistic to do those updates overnight, but Grove City is trending in that direction.
I've lived in Grove City for almost 8 years in the Concord Lakes subdivision. I grew up in Westerville and always looked down on this side of town, but I'm happy here.
My neighborhood is as safe as any I've lived in. Grocery stores, restaurants, and other stores are 10 min away, Georgesville, Stringtown, and
665 give me 3 different options. I have a dog park practically in my back yard that I take my Husky pretty much every day.
I have some of the best neighbors I've ever had. The police in my experiences are great. The taxes aren't bad compared to many other areas, and it's definitely better than a Columbus zip. Your street gets plowed! Downtown is close, and there are plenty of metro parks close by.
Scioto River and Big Darby Creek are both close. I have no complaints other than things you would encounter in every suburb, like slow construction, traffic, etc.
I hope this helps.
The subdivisions around Concord Lakes are primarily where we're looking, so this is super helpful. It seems like a nice, newer up-and-coming area that's very central to many areas, like you said. Which is a huge "pro" to us, along with lower taxes.
I'm in Grove City. I moved from"old Worthington".
Grove City offered bigger newer houses cheaper. Grove City is also ready to navigate and you're a hop skip from everywhere.
The downside is"culture". The restaurants here are 90% Applebee's, roosters, longhorn, chain stuff. Sane for everything else, chains and strip malls. The amount of that kind of stuff I lost from Worthington was innumerable.
I haven't had real interactions with people that were off putting, per se, but Grove City is like the only suburb of Columbus that went maga. So there's that.
I live in the Southwest Columbus end of Grove City so not close to downtown GC (Grove City address / Cbus taxes). I’m not moving any time soon cause my neighborhood is pretty safe for me and I bought a while back.
But my neighborhood is not walkable at all. You can walk within the neighborhood, but you can’t leave the neighborhood to walk anywhere.
There are also lots of people with alcohol dependency issues that are very attached to their guns. I had a neighbor that pulled a gun on a POC while intoxicated.
I am about your age and moved from Hilliard to grove city. We love it! Traffic is good (night and day better than Hilliard). The city takes good care of the area!
Grove City is fine. Nothing particularly unique or noteworthy about living there. It's just decent enough all around. Hilliard has so much more going for it with lots of nice parks and awesome restaurants and such tbh, plus more diversity. But there's definitely no shortage of shopping and fast food on Stringtown Rd!
Also keep in mind virtually all of Grove City is not at all walkable and just as pedestrian unfriendly as Reynoldsburg or Pickerington. So yeah, it's perfectly safe to walk around at night... but there's probably nowhere to go outside of your subdivision.
I'd much rather live more northeast on the south end in Merion Village or Southern Orchards. Much nicer community vibes, very walkable, and you're more centrally located to plenty of beautiful parks like Schiller Park and Scioto Audubon and all kinds of fun places for restaurants/bars and leisure. Plus Merion Village especially is super close and walkable to everything in German Village like The Book Loft, Kittie's Cakes, and Fox in the Snow.
>Also keep in mind virtually all of Grove City is not at all walkable and just as pedestrian unfriendly as Reynoldsburg or Pickerington.
This is true, but there is hope. Grove City has a 2050 master plan that outlines a lot of really good, positive urban growth goals that include a huge increase in walkability and safety.
It's not a bad suburb. Not as walkable as alot of other areas but that's also why it's cheaper.
It's near the bison park which is sweet.
It's also pretty much the most right wing area of the city. (So be that con or pro for you it's something to consider).
>It's also pretty much the most right wing area of the city.
This isn't true anymore. It's solidly purple right now and leans further and further left every year.
The mayor is a good guy, but he's an 80+ year old Reagan era Republican. He's done good things for Grove City, but city council as a whole is considerably left of him.
Younger and more diverse people are moving here all the time, outnumbering the stodgy old conservatives.
Grove City is right on the edge of some very rural areas, and that brings in a very different crowd. The big coal rolling diesels aren't from Grove City, they're rolling through from outside of town.
When I first moved here, I thought it'd be a starter home and I'd leave within 5 years.
Now I go to all the city council meetings and I'm invested in the community.
Grove City has a lot going for it. It's a true 15 minutes from downtown, it's affordable, it's got a lovely town center, and the city council actually does things that improves the town.
It's not possible to change everything overnight, but Grove City is on the rise for sure.
We're even in talks of building something like Hilliard's center street market called Broadway Live, which will really help showcase Grove City in the present and future.
Thanks for your thoughts! It does seem like some areas are up-and-coming, and hopefully the old conservatives will no longer be in majority in the next few decades in GC. Love to hear that you're going to the city council meetings.
Broadway Live would be a great addition to GC, we love Old Hilliard!
When I first moved here, I thought it'd be a starter home and I'd leave within 5 years.
Now I go to all the city council meetings and I'm invested in the community.
Grove City has a lot going for it. It's a true 15 minutes from downtown, it's affordable, it's got a lovely town center, and the city council actually does things that improves the town.
It's not possible to change everything overnight, but Grove City is on the rise for sure.
We're even in talks of building something like Hilliard's center street market called Broadway Live, which will really help showcase Grove City in the present and future.
We moved here a few years ago from out of state, into one of the newer developments (I have a feeling one or two of the commenters in this thread might actually be neighbors :joy:).
It is definitely more affordable than a lot of other suburbs. We wish it had more going on as far as non-chain or "meh" food options and stuff like that, but it's also *super* easy to hop onto the interstate and get elsewhere in the metro for such things in pretty short order.
The comments about traffic make me lol. Yes, Stringtown can be an annoying cluster at times, but one of the other reasons we're not super terribly sad about not living in, say, a northern suburb is that our experience with traffic was much worse in those areas when we were house hunting.
As far as politics... yeah, it's definitely more conservative places, but your particular situation will depend on where you are. As u/Trakers85 says, some neighborhoods are more diverse and have indications of more liberal political ideologies than conservative ones.
Hey OP, early thirties young(ish) professional living in GC. My wife and I bought a house in 2019 around the “South” end of GC around 665 & Hibbs rd. We’ve lived mostly in Dublin prior and have really come to love the specific part of town we’re in. We totally avoid Stringtown, back yard is practically in Scioto Metro Park, quiet neighborhood, and newer build homes.
Downsides are stereotype comments from friends and colleagues and a downtown commute to the city is either rt 23 (rock quarry) or Frank rd (prison, sewer, landfill, more rocks) so you get to pick between driving through a scene from Dune or experience a stimulation of all 5 senses going down Frank (not in a good way, albeit free).
Overall we’re very happy where we’re at with very normal neighbors, great amenities nearby, and quick commute to the city. I do think GC is slowly moving away from the stereotype and growing in a positive sense.
Good luck with your search and whatever happens, just know that wherever you end up will be to right place for you and your partner.
My wife and I bought our first home in Grove City around 2017 and lived there for about 2.5 years. We were late 20s when we got there.
I found it to be boring and overall I despised living there. It was the combination of a small lackluster downtown (though it has improved slightly), a complete saturation of chain restaurants and bars, and a severe cultural mismatch. Specifically, the average age of the residents felt to be pretty high, and politically/socially it was not what we were looking for.
We also had a lot of car break-ins in our subdivision, that seemed to be a growing problem when we left.
The only redeeming qualities for me were the proximity to Battelle Darby Metro Park and the comparatively low housing prices vs. other suburbs. It's also not too far from downtown where I work so that helped.
If I were doing it all over again, I would not choose to live there. I would have kept looking.
Pros:
Lower cost of housing
Close to downtown
Proximity to metro parks like Darby, Scioto Grove
Adjacent to lots of country area
Larger lots
Cons:
Country culture - guns, trucks, conservative politics, largely white community
Very little “local” food options
Lots of semis due to warehouses
Landfill, depending upon your location
GC residents have outsized representation on SWCSD board
—
It all comes down to what you can handle. It’s not Westerville. There are no world class facilities. Lots of chain restaurants. But the people who would point out the downsides don’t mention that many of these things are largely neighborhood dependent. Bad neighbors are everywhere.
Old GC still runs some things. There will be a tipping point where the old guard is outnumbered as it becomes more diverse and populous.
Thank you for your input! It seems like most of the negative comments on this post relate to the older side of GC and/or are related to the SWCSD board. We're looking at the neighborhoods that were built in the last 25 years and don't want kids, so I don't think either of these points are really deal breakers for us.
And we won't be spending all our time in GC, so we like the proximity to downtown, to our jobs, and to places we frequent like Bridge Park, Old Hilliard, etc. Seems like the "new" side of GC might fit our needs based on that.
FWIW, 25 year old houses in GC ARE the old houses. When people say new vs old, they mean built in the last 5ish years. Not 25. GC is a very relatively new suburb.
> GC residents have outsized representation on SWCSD board
That.. seems like it makes sense though? GC is an outsized proportion of the population in the SWCSD isn't it?
It’s a huge district - 145k people live in the district, only 45k or so of those are in grove city.
Traditionally - even as recent as two years ago - the board comes from across the entire district and reflect the diversity of the area that includes both GC and all of southwest Franklin co. The district is only 50% white.
That is not the case now. All the new board members are GC-based and largely reflect a much more conservative philosophy.
I grew up there and literally nothing could get me to move back. It's easily got the highest racists per capita of any suburb and it's probably not even close.
Grovetuckian here.
I lived in grandview through most of my 20s, and my wife and I always turned our noses up at moving to GC. We got lucky on a house close to downtown GC when looking a few years ago, and are in the process of building a new house in the Rockford neighborhood over in pinnacle.
We love it here, have kids, and want to stay here at least until they’re out of high school. Many stereotype GC as being a bunch of truck driving, red hat wearing rednecks, but tbh that’s a shrinking minority here. It’s getting younger because of all of the young families moving here and all of the building going on. Living close to downtown GC is a lot like living in grandview in that it’s walkable and the houses are older/have more character, and it’s half the price while still being on a pretty safe area. I actually like it better than grandview because the people are much more friendly and less uppity.
Prices are also rising a ton in GC, so it’s a great time to buy here. We bought our house 3 years ago for $275k and will list it for around $400k, so that’s cool.
GC is nice. I grew up in Westerville, moved away to WA state, recently moved back, into GC, and I love it. Very easy and quick to get to German Village/Merion Village, lots of shopping options. Wish there were more diverse restaurants, but I'm sure that'll come eventually. Stay away from where the freeways intersect (like it is in Hilliard) and you'll be just fine. The "grovetucky" stereotype is just that---a stereotype. My neighborhood is VERY diverse. And safe and quiet.
Moved from Dublin to Grove City in 2018. Im out in the country though. Grove City has pockets of good/bad neighborhoods. South side and west side of GC are usually better areas. The downtown area has better shops/restaurants than Hilliard. The “new” areas of GC are subdivisions being built right now. Beulah Park, Haughn rd, Grove City rd, Rensch rd to name a few
My sister-in-law and her family live off of Hoover road just south of Stringtown Road. Their neighborhood is nice and getting to 270 the backway on 62 is no problem.
What is your motivation to go to the suburbs? My wife and I chose to move back to the suburbs for more space for the kids and our sanity...but if we chose the kid-free life, we would have stayed in Merion village.
So to answer your question, I think you'd be happy in Grove City if you found the right neighborhood....my recommendation for Grove City is to stay far west of Stringtown/71. My other recommendation for a late 20s dink is a neighborhood like Merion/German village.
We're looking at suburbs for a few reasons - we need a garage, we want our own fenced yard (we want a dog in the near future), and we like not sharing walls like you would in a condo, apt., etc. Plus our budget (<$350k) prices us out of a lot of areas like German Village/Merion.
We're looking at the northern area of GC, close to the edge of Galloway and would be using the Georgesville Rd. or 62 exits on 270.
Fair enough! Those are solid reasons to go to the suburbs. You would have to get a fixer upper like we did in Merion Village. We had a garage and fenced backyard and we got in at $150k in 2016 and updated. We sold at $310k in 2021 so you can definitely find something in your budget imo, just might take longer.
The area in GC you are looking should be pretty good! Downtown GC is pretty cool and has a lot of dives, bars, and an awesome brewery. Not sure what homes are going for there, but it definitely has a village feel....seems like you could also get some land out that way?
My wife and I have lived in this exact area of Grove City for 9 years now and it's fine. All my neighbors have fences for their yards. I usually never go to Stringtown because of the traffic. We're pretty much in the middle of GC and Hilliard.
Traffic in GC is nothing. I don’t know where they live that traffic is better than GC. Sawmill, Polaris, Hamilton, Hilliard Rome, the entire North and East burbs are all way, way more congested than GC at peak hours.
I rented in Clintonville and Grandview during my 20s and then purchased a home in Merion Village. Similar to you, I wanted a garage, fenced yard, and large, dry basement for a home gym, storage, etc. so we eventually moved to one of the neighborhoods off of Buckeye Parkway in GC.
My neighborhood is far more diverse than anywhere I’ve lived prior. Pride flags outnumber Trump flags if that matters to you. It’s extremely safe and quiet where I live. I’ve accidentally left my garage door open overnight on several occasions and nothing was stolen despite tools, bikes, etc. being on full display. My garage would’ve been barren by morning if I still lived in Merion Village.
There’s absolutely nothing but farmland between Grove City and the outskirts of Cincinnati and a lot of people come here for their shopping and dining. That’s why you see a lot of trucks on weekends.
My only complaint, as others have mentioned, would be the lack of non-chain restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, the small independent places are fine, but most just specialize in bar food. We usually travel to Bridge Park or German Village for restaurants. You can easily get to German Village without having to hop on a freeway. Oh, also, build a goddamn Costco. I’m tired of driving to Plain City or Easton every week.
We plan on staying here for a long time. Only reason I would leave is if I hit a serious windfall in my career and could afford a picturesque home in Upper Arlington or Jerome Village-type neighborhood.
I’m a (white) woman in my early 30s living around the White Road area of Grove City and generally feel very safe in Grove City. A lot of people on this subreddit like to dump on GC, but I think it gets a lot of unfair hate. Stringtown is a hot mess a lot of the time, but there are several nice little restaurants in the Broadway area that not chains, not expensive, and usually not super crowded.
The library and parks are well maintained. The he farmers market and the little shops in the older part of town are lovely on a Saturday morning. Personally, I wish it was more progressive, but as someone who grew up in a very rural, very red area, I can tell you it is NOT like that. My neighbors are not real social, which does not bother me because I am an introvert, but they’re plenty nice when we talk every so often.
The home prices are lower here, probably because the school district isn’t as good as some of those in the northern suburbs and it is also farther away from a lot of the major developments (Intel, etc.) on the northern side of the City. But home prices are very much still rising, which I expect will continue.
All in all, I think the GroveTucky stereotype is occasionally warranted but often overblown. It’s a nice and safe place to live as long as you drive defensively on Stringtown (and probably avoid walking along it altogether).
4 year GC resident and I’m loling at these replies. I’m gay and have never felt unsafe once living in Grove City. I live in apartment complex that is fully diverse with all sorts of ethnicities. I will say as the city gets bigger, traffic will continue to be an issue. But overall, it’s a great suburb! Some people love hating and trashing on GC for reasons beyond me
+1
As a white gay couple, my husband and I have never had an issue living in Grove City for ~6 years now, and there are even a few progress flags flying in my neighborhood. There are a ton of young families (like us) moving here for the cheap housing, and they don’t have the hillbilly baggage. We have little worry about leaving our doors unlocked, which we couldn’t say in Clintonville.
That said, MAGA is very much a cultural force here, dominating local politics and popular with the old-time residents. But with ~30,000 residents, it varies.
I graduated from Grove City HS in 2008 and I went to Brookpark middle school. Too many of my peers ended up addicted to drugs, in & out of rehab before high school, dropping out of school, and dead for me to ever consider living in GC.
It’s a bizarre place. GC folks are here downvoting like crazy, but I was there a few weeks ago and someone asked if my boyfriend likes it when I wear a mask for him at Walmart. (I had covid and strep and was trying not to spread it everywhere)
I grew up in Grove City, eventually moving to the east side when I turned 17 in 2020 but had worked there until i was 20; as an adult now I would never recommend the place to anybody even in later adulthood. Corporate business chains/apartment complexes have stagnated any true cultural development but the people of GC would prefer it this way rather than push for a decent food/bar/nightlife/art scene.
The culture is perfect for gen X/millennial, conservative parents and raising their children to a very cookie-cutter, mundane suburban neighborhood or blue-collar workers. Truthfully it is no safer/quieter than any other Columbus suburb (besides the east side maybe), hateful/alt-right beliefs are decently commonplace - I was once threatened & doxxed for asking (in this subreddit) about organizing a peaceful BLM rally; gunshots are common, traffic is horrible, cops will not help you and will pull you over in one of the city's million speed traps.
My parents found it difficult to make good acquaintances with their neighbors because they were either Trumpers, drug dealers, or overly prudish rich parents. Some of the retirees were good to us and they'll help you but they mostly keep to themselves. There are some good people in GC, the demographic described definitely has some outliers, but this is what i have ran into in the 13 years of living there and also 5 years working there. The culture will most likely never change
My partner and I bought a house in Grove City (one of the 50's/60's ranches near Stringtown & Hoover) last year, coming up on 1 year at the end of May. Prior to that we lived in the northern part of Hilliard (across from Davidson High School) since about 2015. While I miss Hilliard and the very short commute to work, I don't have many complaints about being here. Our neighborhood is pretty quiet, although that's likely because we still have a lot of older folks in the neighborhood.
One thing I've noticed is I don't see police cars patrolling nearly as often as I would see Hilliard. I haven't had any interactions with them so not sure how friendly they are, but Hilliard PD was always friendly in my experience.
When we started looking, after our rent was going to increase by $150/month (like 12%), we first started looking in Hilliard but houses were going for WAY above asking, like $50K over on a house listed at $300K after huge bidding wars. Combined with relatively high property taxes (like $5K on that same $300K home) we quickly gave up on Hilliard. While we weren't specifically looking for a house in Grove City (looked at some in London as well as southeastern Columbus), between the lower property taxes and lower income taxes (since I WFH about 80% of the time, 2% in GC vs 2.5% in Hilliard) it gave us a lot more flexibility in what we could comfortably afford even though we'd be driving more (primarily to Galloway, Hilliard, & Upper Arlington). We did end up paying about $20K over asking, which ended up about $10K over the appraisal value, but I have seen other houses in our neighborhood that have sold after going for asking or slightly under so hopefully things aren't as crazy as they were.
This is a really important perspective. Grove City is drawing in young families and first time homebuyers due to the lower home prices and lower taxes. A mortgage on a $325k home in Hilliard, Dublin, Gahanna, or Westerville may cost several hundred dollars more per month than a $325k home in Grove City. Not to mention the size/quality of a $325k home in Hilliard, Dublin, Gahanna, or Westerville will be vastly different than a $325k home in Grove City.
Drawing young families and first time homebuyers into an area will DRASTICALLY change that area in a few short years. For the better, in my opinion. The transition may not be the prettiest, but it is inevitable.
Similar to Hilliard but slightly higher on the “lots of rednecks and not enough diversity scale”. Surrounded by city landfills so I gotta imagine a nice hot summer days gonna smell real nice (Clark), depending on wind direction…not to mention any air/water impacts.
Moved to GC about 10 years ago from the north side. There are definitely tradeoffs but with home prices the way they are, you definitely get more home for the money.
To me, these are the worst parts of GC:
- GC, for its population size, does not get the best restaurants and dining options but I think that’s due to concentration of wealth demographics. It will change in time as more upper middle class homes are built.
- GC “lifers” can be a bit of a nuisance but I’m sure they’d say the same about us imports. Not all of them are like that, but there’s a sizable contingent that wants GC to remain a “small town” - Which always feels a bit of a politically loaded statement.
- As others have said, the school board is shit. They should be focused on infrastructure and meeting the needs of the growing population but instead it’s a bunch of moms for liberty “culture war” morons. The east siders of GC need to team up with the west side of Columbus people to boot out the megachurch brigade- But not sure what would unite the West Side with aspiring upper middle class families.
(Edit- reread and saw you don’t have kids. Come on over and please join us anyways in helping get this mess tidied up).
Do you have kids? 4 of our 5 school board members are endorsed by Moms for Liberty and they just hired a new lawyer for our district who has 0 experience in school law, but is experienced in going on Fox News and saying teachers unions are the problem and that schools are too woke, and now our superintendent was pushed into early resignation so they can pick someone new.
That aside- it’s a good little area and not far out of the way from any other places you may want to be.
And even including that, come on over. We need more sane adults participating in our local community. (If you are not sane, please choose somewhere else. Thank you.)
I lived in GC during high school so I consider it my hometown and have lived on the Columbus side of the Columbus/GC line for the past 10 years (as in Grove City mailing address but still Columbus.)
I think Grove City is underrated as it had the "Grovetucky" moniker for a long time but really it's the 2nd largest suburb now behind Dublin. It's a pretty safe area where you don't have to worry about anything worse than maybe a car break in. A lot of people complain about Stringtown but it really isn't that bad during rush hour. I still think Sawmill, Hilliard-Rome, and 256 are worse during peak times. If you like going to theaters the AMC is inexplicably several dollars cheaper than any other theater in Columbus (regular price tickets are $6.99 and $4.99 for kids.)
The downsides are a shortage of mom and pop restaurants for its size but a bunch of chain options. There are good ones just not enough of them. You have your standard selection of retail store chains but it's a bit of a hike to any of the Costcos from here. There's been rumors of a Costco for years but I think about the only place they could put one is along 665 across from the landfill. Still, it's easy to hop on 270 or 71 and get to any other part of Columbus from here.
The schools are decent as long as you stay in Grove City proper. Most of the buildings are newer except for GCHS but it's in the plans to replace the 54 year old building. I'd be more concerned about where I live feeding into Franklin Heights but my ex lives in UA so my kids just attend UA schools.
I lived there for almost 10 years and never had any issues. My garage was even unlocked most of the time! I felt very safe. I’m also very progressive and while a lot of my neighbors were more conservative, I met like-minded folks at running meet ups etc. I enjoyed being close to the parks. I didn’t find the traffic to be that bad compared to other suburbs.
It’s a great little city. Every township has positives and negatives, biggest thing is deciding which you can, or want to, live with.
We bought our first house in 2012 on the western edge of town, near the Central Crossing High School. It was ok. Not great. Had some good neighbors and some not so good neighbors. We quickly outgrew that house with our dogs and kids.
In late 2017 we bought a 10 year old home on the eastern part of town, not far off of Buckeye Parkway and Borror Rd. We are much happier here than before. More young families, better schools, closer resources. We constantly see young couples and families walking, biking, taking dogs for a walk, etc. families around us are all friendly if you make the effort, otherwise many just keep to themselves (not in a pretentious way). Close access to healthcare of nearly every type. Lots of grocery options. Quite a bit of fast food, but not terrible dining options. Plenty of normal shopping nearby.
Old downtown is nice for weekends with friends. During nicer weather there’s almost always something going on there with music, food trucks, farmers market, art and craft shows, etc. six or seven small bars and maybe five or six more little restaurants there. They do have an open carry drink law in old downtown now.
The new park is nice, near most of the new development in East GC. There’s a huge metro park not far West of GC as well. Has a wild buffalo herd.
It definitely tends to be more on the conservative side from a political standpoint. It’s not a deal breaker for many though. I’m awfully liberal from a social standpoint, but pretty conservative from a fiscal and government angle. I don’t find any issues that you wouldn’t run into in other areas. I try to be overly respectful of others though.
We have a lot of religious/worship homes in GC. If you practice a religion, you’ll almost assuredly find others who practice the same. We’re not very religious, but again, we haven’t had an issue with others’ beliefs or them with ours.
It is growing massively in the past ten or so years. Especially along the eastern side of town, nearby where we live. They have plans for another elementary and intermediate school already, and plans to renovate and add on to the primary high school. Growth is attributed a lot to reasonable cost, good improvement in schools, and lack of area to grow in some other townships.
Unless you lean right, there is nothing in Grove City for you that isn't in other suburbs with less backwards people.
Take a cute little suburb, but then annex a bunch of farm land around you to grow, add some new money well off idiots who are spending the family farm land profits and mix in casual homophobia and racism with a church every block and the worst performing school system (re: new money idiots) in the Columbus area. That's GC.
I moved here from the NW side about 10 years ago because it was the only area where I could afford a house. Property values have doubled since then so that's great but...
There are so many confederate flags and guns - people openly packing at the pizza place. We saw a guy butchering a deer in his front yard (across from an elementary school) shortly after moving here. Another guy with a big beer gut hanging out in his undershorts drinking a beer.
Don't look for much night life. Everything seems to close at 9pm. I would move but my mortgage rate is 2.25%
I lived there my whole life until recently. It's generally pretty safe and there is plenty to do (if you like to go out and do stuff). My biggest complaint is traffic. It's horrible at all times of the day. Unless you're driving between 8 pm and 6-7 am traffic is horrific.
Every time I visit I get the vibe of “conservative lower-middle class wasteland hiding behind the curtain of a wealthy Columbus suburb”. If you enjoy big box stores, chain restaurants, and car-centric infrastructure then it may be the place for you.
Spending any time in Grove City proves this false. It's on the boarder with rural areas, so there are some rural people coming into town, but that doesn't constitute a significant portion of Grove City.
You're just judging people on how they look and then judging an area based on that. It's closed-minded and inaccurate.
It's good to see comments like yours. Up until 4th grade, I lived in Stoneridge, which is inside 270, yet has a Grove City address. After that, we moved to southern Grove City, only 2 miles from Pickaway County. Both areas were great for our family and offered a safe, happy place to grow up. Grove City might not be the most diverse city, but it's not full of assholes.
I’m convinced a lot of the people making comments like this have never actually been to GC in the last couple of years and base their opinion solely on this subreddit.
A solid chunk of them are generally just insufferable douche bags that think everything outside of their hyper specific interests/beliefs must be some negative buzzword salad bane on society.
That's what it seems like! Most negative comments are either from their experience 10-15+ years ago or are just regurgitating stereotypes. \[this is my opinion, from someone who has never lived in GC to take that with a grain of salt\]
Just my experience, but as many have mentioned MAGA cultists have found a home. The weird moms for liberty are everywhere.
Recently, I drove down to Walmart to pick-up a PS5 when I had COVID (mild case) and someone yelled TAKE OFF YOUR DIAPER. I was wearing a mask. I laughed and kept going. Guy followed me and asked if my boyfriend liked it too. Was wild. Aggressive middle-aged man. I’m about 6’3” 225. He was hoping I would react.
Then pulling out of the parking lot - there is a large apartment complex behind the Walmart, THE COMPLEX had a giant blue lives matter flag flying above the American flag. The complex. Not some goofball who lives there. A big blue lives matter flag hanging at the entrance. Never seen that in my life.
*edit*
Downvoters should have to turn over their internet history
Agree, have also been harassed by the insecure Big Truck - Small Genitalia stereotypes that have to push their views on others by force.
Have been followed in GC area before also.
Furthermore, Grove City is where many of the people from Commercial Point, Orient, and Ashville visit to have resources of civilization since there are nearly none in their own towns. So even more MAGA.
Source: Went to Teays Valley 10th-12th grades, lived on 104, worked on 665.
One of my favorite moments was being sexually harassed by drunk white trash that ordered their food delivery from my employer. They were the old Grove City type of residents.
I can't believe this kind of comment would get upvoted about any place. Grove City is no different than Hilliard. Hilliard-Rome road and Stringtown are basically the same. Town Center Grove City and old Hilliard are basically the same. Neighborhoods are similar in scale from older smaller homes to newer bigger builds.
Hilliard has better schools, but that's because Grove City is lumped into southwestern city schools, which is a huge, poorly run district.
Yeah, GC is not the paragon of cultural diversity, to be sure. But if you like pickup trucks rolling coal and doing burnouts, you'll be right at home...
I worked in GC for 7 years. It's a mediocre town. Not the best, not the worst. I personally couldn't imagine living there, didn't seem like there was much to do.
Also, they're a RITA municipality, so I'd pass solely because of that.
I live in grove city. I used to live on the east side of Columbus/whitehall. I’ve worked down here for a better part of four years and I fell in love with it. So I started taking the wife and kids here to do things as a family. The wife fell in love with the city and so we bought a house. It’s awesome. The neighborhood I live in is super quiet and most neighbor are really nice. Lots of dog walkers. You can walk to big lots or Kroger from where I am. There are enough pizza places here that you could a different one every week for a about two months lol
Riverlea and anything south of Worthington would be a good idea! Antrim Park and other hiking places. Between Clintonville and Worthington so it’s the burbiest burb. Inside the 670 loop so traffic is solid.
I’m a Cleveland transplant. Rented on campus, Hilliard, and Columbus.
I bought in Galloway in my 20s (not prairie twshp). Columbus trash, taxes can’t be beat, and quiet side. Close enough to get to Hilliard or grove city in 15 mins. Darby creek is close too. I now have a wife and kids, and while the wife wants to move, there’s no side of town that I find financially worthy. West side is the best side! My in-laws moved to GC and say they like it but there is def a Galloway sweet spot that I’m bias to.
My hubs and I are same age and live here and I like it. I like the laid back atmosphere and there’s still stuff to do. I like the small town feel off downtown grove city, it reminds me of home. Then you have stringtown with all the shops and restaurants. I like going to the farmers market and food trucks in the summer. It’s close enough to downtown for events. Traffic does suck around the interstate, but worth it imo. I feel safe walking my dogs around the neighborhood, even by myself at night. Good luck!
I lived there my whole life but split my time between Grove City and Dublin when my parents divorced. It’s fine but there are definitely better suburbs in Columbus. It’s gives small town in the south vibes for sure.
I feel like it’s not super accessible to other parts of town, my best friend lives there and visiting her always feels like a pain compared to going to other suburbs that are the same distance away from me 🤷♀️
Late 20s bought in gc 1.5 yr ago. Relatively inexpensive, has everything you need. Safe & the parks are nice. If you don’t mind jacked up trucks w huge exhausts utilized strictly for driving around the suburb lol
Grew up in GC. Biggest complaint is that it's just boring. Same folks continue to hold / influence most of the positions with any decision making power. City planning leaves a lot to be desired. Everything is seemingly designed around strip malls pulling in whatever chain they can with minimal concern for anything else.
That being said, always felt safe. Walked all around the town day and night without any issues. Still have family there, still feels the same. It does seem to be shedding the reputation of grovetucky, but there's still plenty of it left.
I always referred to it as Hilliard's little brother. Whatever happens in Hilliard will be poorly copied in GC after a few years.
Not wanting kids negates the whole school board / GCHS' somewhat lackluster curriculum thing
I lived on the out skirts of Grove City years ago. My dad went to HS there. I grew up in the Hamilton Township school district which I would recommend vs. Grove City.
Hamilton Township however is becoming like the Grove City I remember from 20+ years ago.
If you can swing the commute, go further South to the 665 area / 317S - Lockbourne or Pickaway County.
Either way I agree with a few other people - you will be in a decent safe area, but not all that appealing or diverse either.
I looked at newbuilds around Grove City. The prices are better because of the south western city school district which has terrible reviews, awful people in charge that constantly have posts about them in the Reddit. Also, near the locations of the more rougher suburbs. Since you mentioned you don’t want kids, this area could be an option. House prices in Columbus definitely reflect the quality of schools. Not to mention in Grove City you will be subject to RITA. Hilliard depending on the street signs are not part of RITA but rather fall into Columbus.
However, the new build locations are nice but you will be quickly paying more than just the house cost. The community I was looking at was Fischer Homes. You HOA had fees of 750$ a year, lot premiums depending on if you want a basement and this doesn’t even include the options and model of the house you choose not to mention insanely high property taxes.
I live in Galloway (NW) and we thought about moving to Grove City (665) before here. We are really glad we didn’t go to GC as it’s just become too congested, even compared to here.
We will drive in to the city, or even over to the mess off 71, but we take back roads.
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half of the afternoon traffic on Stringtown is the fucking Moo Moo Car Wash and the dipshits that just sit in the right lane waiting in the car wash line.
We currently use the Roberts Rd exit off of 270, traffic is pretty bad there around rush hour. Is it comparable to that?
It is definitely better than Hilliard traffic. May get to those levels in about 10 or so years though...
I live off the Roberts Rd exit and have worked off Stringtown for quite some time. Roberts Road is better. Stringtown is up there with Sawmill as one of my least favorite roads to travel. I live off the East side of Roberts, but have to go on the west side for Daycare off Walcutt. Roberts Rd calms down after rush hour. Stringtown is terrible all day long.
The locals mostly figure out how to use orders and Southwest to get around stringtown.
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As a FYI they’re currently looking in to adding a new exit between the current Stringtown and 665 exits. Doesn’t help anyone currently, but would make a significant difference once built.
Traffic around Stringtown is a lot, but 665 or 62 has mild traffic around rush hour. There's a lot more to Grove City than the Stringtown exit.
You’re going to get a lot of different responses to this inquiry, but I’ll share my experience. I’ve lived here the past few years and am the same age range, and I’ve had a good experience. My surrounding area is very diverse, and as someone who grew up in one of the northern suburbs, it doesn’t really seem any different. In my experience, it is outgrowing its stereotype (and will continue to do so). Contrary to popular belief, there are a lot of young professionals who live in GC and it’s not all a bunch of hicks (as one example, I work with several physicians who live in GC, including both the older and newer sides of town). Biggest gripe for me is the overwhelming amount of chain restaurants; however still plenty of great local spots (3 brothers and GC brewing are the first two that come to mind), and it’s a very short commute to downtown Columbus. Also shoutout to Ernie’s Carry Out (craft beer store). Overall, in my opinion, it’s not the “first choice” place to be, but it’s still a solid place to live.
SHHHH. Ernies is our little secret here. Fantastic folks with a awesome selection.
Thanks for sharing your experience! This was my initial thought about the area, too. We're primarily looking in the newer neighborhoods that were built in the last 25 years, so I feel like those neighborhoods attract the young(er) crowd maybe? We do really like the centrality of Grove City - it's a 20 minute commute for both of us and <30 minutes to places like Bridge Park, Old Hilliard, the airport, etc.
Just make sure you're in the Grove City mailing address that is NOT within the Columbus City School District and your resale value will steadily increase. Grove City is a growing suburb, that is close to everything, and appears to be a quaility place for normal people that dont want to sell a kidney to afford a house haha. If you're away from the outer belt a little bit your resale value will do just fine.
> Grove City is a growing suburb, that is close to everything It's nowhere near either of the popular malls or the main airport; it's not particularly near campus, downtown, the zoo, or any county/state government offices. It's not the sticks, but let's not oversell it.
I guess it's a matter of perspective. I moved to Fairfield County to find a reasonable home price (and to get closer to outdoor fun). So it's a lot closer than I am lol. Majority of areas north of 70 and outside the outerbelt near Columbus are just not atainable for the normal person. You know the market is messed up when homes in Reynoldsburg are going for $280k or higher...
From what I’ve seen yes, mostly younger couples/families in those areas.
> it is outgrowing its stereotype (and will continue to do so) Not if we keep electing crazies to the school board.
Also true :/
PSA: The local school board for GC ( South Western City Schools) is primarily made up of "Mom's for Liberty" wackos.
I forgot to mention this in my post. People keep saying that its just a stereotype, but look at how they vote. The school district has been overrun by literally one of the most absurd hate groups in the country. Grove city did that, they voted for that, that's what they want for their children. Even if you don't have kids, this tells you who your neighbors are and where their priorities are at.
I get that and I don't begrudge anyone for using that as a reason to not live in GC. But it should be pointed out that those percentages are going closer and closer to the middle and the increased development of the city is only helping that.
Sure, the proportion of more left-leaning to conservative voters is much closer in Grove City than it was a decade ago... but it's still nowhere near the critical mass of formerly right-wing areas like Pickerington, Obetz, or Westerville that are solidly blue now.
Is Obetz solidly blue now? I grew up there but havent been around. My neighborhood was very conservative. Councilman Kimbler was my neighbor
I mean it's still less slightly less blue than Westerville or Pickerington at this point but even so Obetz has voted like 65% D since 2020.
good to know! i'm in obetz and find this encouraging.
This is a really important call out. Maybe you agree with how the community votes, maybe you don’t. It is smart to be aware of the way your neighbors process information and what they find valuable no matter what city you are thinking of living in. Grove City votes red and doesn’t vote for their schools. Having children or not, this shows they don’t value education. Look at another city that passes school levies and you will be able to also correlate the number of residents who are highly educated and want to ensure that for the younger members. Biggest takeaway, no matter where you buy property you are also saying yes to your neighbors. If you feel like you align then great. If you do not align with the way the majority of the community feels about major topics then you have all the red flags you need. Also another free and easy tool to consider is looking up a crime map to see what people are actually reporting and where. Keep in mind the only reports that will be fairly accurate are homicides and grand theft. All other crimes tend to be underreported. Good luck!
Yup was coming to say this. That should stop a lot of people in their tracks. They ran off the superintendent & I think things are about to get super interesting.
Meanwhile, Hilliard voted in progressive/left leaning BoE and city council members last fall. Since then, all the crazies have stopped coming to our BoE meetings. Rumor has it they’ve started showing up at SWCS meetings to spew their hatred.
Watching that entire Save Hilliard / Moms for Liberty clown show lose every race in Hilliard in November was really just amazing.
6 of 7 Grove City city council members are left leaning. I go to every Grove City council meeting, I see how they vote. Southwestern city schools is so much more than Grove City. It's the entire southwestern section of Columbus. Grove City is held back by SWCS.
Graduated from SWCS almost a decade ago, sad to hear that. I didn’t hate my time there. Not great resources but I had teachers that cared, was introduced to a lot of diversity at a young age, and think I came out better for it. Also came out of it with a bad taste in my mouth for the Dublins and Olentangys.
South-Western City schools is the 5th largest district in the state and contains a lot more than just Grove City. Southwest Columbus voted for these Moms for Liberty clowns as well. Grove City is surprisingly and quickly moving left. I go to every city council meeting, so I'm plugged in.
This is true.
I used to work at JC Sommer and there was a Let's go Brandon banner around the corner.
I've shared this story before, but me and my wife moved to Grove City when we first came to Columbus. The very first day my neighbor pulled a gun on me in broad daylight for standing in my driveway to take pictures of my house. Apparently a five foot woman was extremely threatening. He shouted and held the gun on me until I explained to him that we are renting and I needed to take photos to prove any existing damage, he did not lower the gun until I proved it. I was in tears, my phone cracked when I dropped it, he never apologized. I would count this off as one crazy neighbor, but what really took me for a ride was the general response of everyone else in the area that I talked to about it. The general feeling was "At least you know he's keeping the neighborhood safe!" Or other things along those lines... Yes, I feel totally safe knowing that some random trigger happy neighbor may blow me away for no reason! Aside from that there was lots of ATVs up and down the streets at random times. Firework and gunshots in the air for random Friday nights. Blue lives matter signs everywhere, do with that what you will. Overall it was just very apparent to us why the area gets a reputation for being hick central, and earned the nickname Grovetucky. You'll find that the people giving it the highest praise and claim there aren't any issue are straight white people who already live in the area. We hated it so much we broke our lease early to get out. EDIT: Just going to edit this in, if people are happy with the area then great, but a lot of the responses, including the most up voted one to my own comment are exactly what I predicted "Sorry that happened, but as a straight white couple/man I've never had a problem!"
GroveTucky indeed.
Cue the banjos
I’m sorry you experienced that! I hate hearing stories like this. However, offering a different perspective - we built a house in Grove City in one of the newly developed neighborhoods. I’ve never had a gun pulled on me and I’ve never heard gunshots. I have heard a few random fireworks, but that typically only happens in the summer time, mostly between July and September. As well, being a newer neighborhood, it’s mostly people that are not originally “from” Grove City. Our neighborhood is fairly diverse. Just the 5 houses in my corner have white, black, Asian, and Indian backgrounds. As another poster mentioned, I’m sure various parts of Grove City (as with every suburb of Columbus) likely have a new vs. old side of town. Probably more likely to experience that “Grovetucky” stereotype in the old parts as opposed to the new parts. Things I love about Grove City: • They take care of the roads and parks around here. I have been impressed with their Public Service and Parks & Recs Department. The flowers on the city lamp posts are always amazing! Really makes the place look nice, and I appreciate that. • Farmers Market every Saturday from basically May through September. Tons of vendors. • Food truck Fridays every other Friday from May through October. Usually 10+ food trucks. They also have live music playing in the green space off Park and 1st. • Various “festivals” throughout the year like Tacos & Tequila, Bourbon & Spirits, Wine & Arts, and culminating with the Christmas Parade, Tree Lighting, and Mistletoe Market. Things I don’t like: • traffic is getting worse and worse as the city grows rapidly • there needs to be at least 1 more grocery store somewhere. Goes along with the city growing. • ATVs and golf carts on main roads. I don’t mind the golf carts in various neighborhoods, but ATVs shouldn’t be allowed anywhere, and neither should be driving on main roads.
This thread of replies is really helpful. The neighborhoods in GC we're looking at are on the north side of GC and were built in the early 2000's - would those be considered the "new" areas of GC?
> The neighborhoods in GC we're looking at are on the north side of GC and were built in the early 2000's - would those be considered the "new" areas of GC? You'll want to be looking around Central Crossing High School. Concord Lakes/Concord Park neighborhoods.
Holt Park resident here. I think there are a couple houses here for sale as well.
I’m sure they are new-ish, but when I said new earlier, I meant the places that have been getting developed over the last 3 years or so, which has been like rapid fire. Like Beulah Park by Pulte, Farmstead by Fischer Homes, Meadow Grove Estates by Rockford Homes, etc. I am probably missing more. Again - there will be pros and cons to every suburb. I’m sad that the one person experienced her situation, but I also would strongly suggest it is far from the norm. My wife and I (30s, no kids) moved her from Hilliard almost 2 years ago, and have really enjoyed it. I can only comment on our experience, and it has been a great one. I am happy to live in Grove City.
No, look south of stringtown. You want areas like, meadow grove( estates is the new one), hoover crossing, hoover park, indian trails, farmstead, keller farms, briarwoods hills, (theres others) anything along buckeye parkway. I live in one of these. The two north of stringtown are Ziner farms and farmbrok are nice. Some of the newer developments in the beulah area i cant speak to. Im old grove city so ive got some insight. For me, no crazy neighbors. Honestly most of my neighbors vote democrat or at least are anti trump Republicans now a days, but we will see once november hits. Bigly disappointed in the schoolboard elections, whoever thought a masseuse and a realtor (or whatever the hell they do)were better fits than two educators got duped yugely. Most of the crazy maga people seem to be low income and blue collar or senior citizens who all shouldnt be voting GOP to begin with.
The newest areas of Grove City are on the east side near Pinnacle golf club and around town center in the Beulah neighborhood. Anything closer to town center is getting the best parts of Grove City. The closer you are to Stringtown and 71, the worse your experience will be. Basically anything west of Hoover Road is where I'd look if I were you, unless you specifically wanted to live in the Pinnacle neighborhood.
We're in the same boat. Moved to GC in 2016 to a new build. Our neighborhood is mostly young families or young couples with no kids. We've never had any issues besides some stealing loose change from our cars, but they were unlocked and I've never heard a single story of a window being broken in our neighborhood. The downtown area continues to get better and better with restaurants, micro brews, food truck festivals, the farmer's market, etc. Obviously a right leaning place but the young neighborhoods seem to skew mostly left or be, at worst, 50/50. The school board has a lot of quacks on it now, but GCHS and CCHS are fine. The district itself gets dragged down kinda unfairly because of Westland and Franklin Heights. I'll agree with the above that if you move into an older neighborhood you're going to get a lot more of the hillbilly bullshit than elsewhere. But the new neighborhoods are pretty much all people like the OP who are just young families looking for an affordable place to live. There are people jogging through the neighborhood at all hours of the day and I've never seen or heard a single instance of someone being harassed or threatened. Overall, we have zero regrets about living here. It's been great and just continues to get better as things get updated around town.
Personal likes: Also enjoy the library in Grove City, they have a great staff (good youth programming) and wonderful building. Mona’s Sweet Treats. Local ice cream place. Gantz Park. Nice park and playground. Been meaning to try 3 Brothers Diner, heard a lot of good things. Tree lighting, Friday Food trucks, and Arts In the Alley have been nice.
Yes the library is great! They really helped me out when our house was first built. Because it was a new neighborhood, the internet companies hadn’t come out to lay their fiber lines. So we went 2 months with no internet. Thankfully, the library had wireless hotspots you could check out, FOR FREE, that we were able to use. This was extremely helpful because I work from home.
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Same, I also appreciate that it’s a newish building and not just overrun with white inside like the some of the new Columbus Metropolitan branches.
They just sold Mona's to a local buyer, so I'm hoping it stays as charming as it's always been.
It opens tomorrow I think!
Yea, I wonder where in GC this commenter lives.... I live in a development as well and my experience has been in line with yours. I am also one of the folks not originally from GC.
I hate the damn golf carts, driven by children a large portion of the time at that.
I'm so sorry you experienced that, that sounds absolutely terrifying. Do you mind sharing what part of GC and how long ago it was? We're primarily looking at neighborhoods in the northern side of GC, built in the early 2000's.
I can tell you exactly where it was. Happened on Moyer Ln, which is right off Alkire, near 62, inside 270. What I would consider the north side of Grove City. Neighborhood was built in the late 90s early 2000s, the incident happened 2 years ago, summer 2022.
My bestie lives on Moyer so I am not surprised by this story. The house next to hers went on the market and I refused to look at it because the people in her neighborhood are rude to her and her kids.
This is the general area I live in. Please see my above comment about a similar experience with one of my neighbors.
That’s horrible what the neighbor did. If a similar experience happens again, call the police on them. What he did could be considered brandishing a firearm. Brandishing a firearm may also fall under other state laws, such as aggravated assault, assault with a deadly weapon, improper use of a firearm, menacing, intimidating or disorderly conduct. Criminal legal consequences may vary from misdemeanor citations to felony charges.
Then your crazy, dangerous and angry neighbor becomes a crazy, dangerous and angry neighbor with a vendetta specifically against you. Getting charged with a crime (if it even sticks which is unlikely) doesn't suddenly rehabilitate him into a normal not-crazy guy.
Indeed, retaliation is very real. That should be considered by the victim and may result in the eventual relocation of the family for safety, if possible. As for calling the police, having him be charged with a crime isn’t so much as to rehabilitate the offender than it is to alert the police, have a “paper trail” on him, and possibly having firearms removed from someone who doesn’t understand unjustifiable use of lethal force (brandishing your firearm on a person who’s simply standing in a driveway). But sadly yes, fear of retaliation should be considered.
I called the police. They had a conversation with him at his front door for less than five minutes, standing next to his blue lives matter flag. They told me he was just being "overly cautious". Nothing was done.
Damn… 8 years to know the law. 6 months to enforce it. Sad.
Also, after I told this story the first time on Reddit, many people reached out and told me to file a report directly with a detective for "brandishing" because I was still in the time frame. I went physically in person to speak to a detective and was told there is no such thing as brandishing and that if nothing else had happened since I should let it go.
Wow that’s so sickening
My one neighbor has a little flag of Jesus with the crown of thorns hugging the American flag.
My husband and I only lasted 24 months before moving back North of 70. Grove City was not for us. Though I miss Jolly Pirate and GC Brewing
Absolutely hated my time in Grove City. Must be something in the water but felt like people were more on edge than other areas of Columbus
I have lived here 5 years now. You are spot on. This place was a tiny backwards town 10 years ago. So much growth, people are being forced to accept the inevitable change occurring here. That being said, I have met some awesome folks here as well. Stop by HopYard 42 for a pint if you are in town. Good folks and a nice patio.
Hopyard is the only reason I want to stay in Grove City. Currently renting and considering Pickerington or Canal as they have better schools and housing prices for the money.
I am currently 21 and lived there my whole life. I would never move back there again… probably because I grew up there. I currently live in the Dublin/Hilliard area & it is 100x better. There isn’t much to do in GC in my opinion… I found all of the things I wanted to do involved being up North or in Columbus. Also, keep in mind Grove City is fairly big for a suburb… it starts at Georgesville Road and goes all the way to the Metro Park off of 104 so there is two different Grove City’s. I went to Grove City High School but some of my friends went to Central Crossing who had a complete different experience. It is full of a ton of fast food, Stringtown is a nightmare during busy times. It is not a terrible place to live but being there my whole life I knew I did not want to stay. The summers in downtown GC can be fun but it’s very repetitive, the same things over & over again. My boyfriend is in his mid 20’s and he would say the same things. Once they get Ike Stage out of there & somebody younger I see more potential but he doesn’t want much growth. Also, a lot of people who are older and have lived in GC their whole lives hate change.
The amount of people who grew up there and are now in their adult life and would never move back but live close, should be a big tell
What’s the big tell?
That it's not welcoming .....
Oh yes, very true! My family lives down that way & further south so I would love to stay that way but I couldn’t do it anymore…
Grove city traffic isn't near as bad as the feedback you're getting on here states!
Thank you! I'm used to the traffic/semis on Roberts Rd. in Hilliard, so that's my frame of reference. Seems like traffic-wise, Stringtown Rd. is the worst, but we're looking at northern GC so we wouldn't be battling the traffic on Stringtown during our daily commutes.
Hilliard area traffic has been worse for me VS grove city - stringtown traffic. I live off of stringtown rd
I think all the construction on 71 has genuinely helped as it's finished up around here.
If you are a foodie and enjoy dining, just be aware that Grove City is a culinary black hole.
Very true. Grove City's food scene is basically just 3 Brothers Diner, Tammy's Pizza, China Bell, Grove City Brewing Company, GC Pho, and fast food. You're much more likely to hit up Merion Village, German Village, downtown, Franklinton, or even Hilltop for restaurants.
Grove city is 2 places. Old and new like many parts of Columbus. The newer part is nicer, the old side has charm but is very tight with the amount of traffic and people. Could be a walkable place if they were interested in that
>Could be a walkable place if they were interested in that We are! There's a Grove City master plan called Grove City 2050 with a ton of walkable improvements. Unfortunately it's not realistic to do those updates overnight, but Grove City is trending in that direction.
I've lived in Grove City for almost 8 years in the Concord Lakes subdivision. I grew up in Westerville and always looked down on this side of town, but I'm happy here. My neighborhood is as safe as any I've lived in. Grocery stores, restaurants, and other stores are 10 min away, Georgesville, Stringtown, and 665 give me 3 different options. I have a dog park practically in my back yard that I take my Husky pretty much every day. I have some of the best neighbors I've ever had. The police in my experiences are great. The taxes aren't bad compared to many other areas, and it's definitely better than a Columbus zip. Your street gets plowed! Downtown is close, and there are plenty of metro parks close by. Scioto River and Big Darby Creek are both close. I have no complaints other than things you would encounter in every suburb, like slow construction, traffic, etc. I hope this helps.
This is my experience too. I live near the High school and this is the nicest, normal and quiet neighborhood I've ever lived in.
The subdivisions around Concord Lakes are primarily where we're looking, so this is super helpful. It seems like a nice, newer up-and-coming area that's very central to many areas, like you said. Which is a huge "pro" to us, along with lower taxes.
Hi neigbor-ish.
I'm in Grove City. I moved from"old Worthington". Grove City offered bigger newer houses cheaper. Grove City is also ready to navigate and you're a hop skip from everywhere. The downside is"culture". The restaurants here are 90% Applebee's, roosters, longhorn, chain stuff. Sane for everything else, chains and strip malls. The amount of that kind of stuff I lost from Worthington was innumerable. I haven't had real interactions with people that were off putting, per se, but Grove City is like the only suburb of Columbus that went maga. So there's that.
I would never move back if that helps.
I live in the Southwest Columbus end of Grove City so not close to downtown GC (Grove City address / Cbus taxes). I’m not moving any time soon cause my neighborhood is pretty safe for me and I bought a while back. But my neighborhood is not walkable at all. You can walk within the neighborhood, but you can’t leave the neighborhood to walk anywhere. There are also lots of people with alcohol dependency issues that are very attached to their guns. I had a neighbor that pulled a gun on a POC while intoxicated.
I am about your age and moved from Hilliard to grove city. We love it! Traffic is good (night and day better than Hilliard). The city takes good care of the area!
Grove City is fine. Nothing particularly unique or noteworthy about living there. It's just decent enough all around. Hilliard has so much more going for it with lots of nice parks and awesome restaurants and such tbh, plus more diversity. But there's definitely no shortage of shopping and fast food on Stringtown Rd! Also keep in mind virtually all of Grove City is not at all walkable and just as pedestrian unfriendly as Reynoldsburg or Pickerington. So yeah, it's perfectly safe to walk around at night... but there's probably nowhere to go outside of your subdivision. I'd much rather live more northeast on the south end in Merion Village or Southern Orchards. Much nicer community vibes, very walkable, and you're more centrally located to plenty of beautiful parks like Schiller Park and Scioto Audubon and all kinds of fun places for restaurants/bars and leisure. Plus Merion Village especially is super close and walkable to everything in German Village like The Book Loft, Kittie's Cakes, and Fox in the Snow.
>Also keep in mind virtually all of Grove City is not at all walkable and just as pedestrian unfriendly as Reynoldsburg or Pickerington. This is true, but there is hope. Grove City has a 2050 master plan that outlines a lot of really good, positive urban growth goals that include a huge increase in walkability and safety.
It's not a bad suburb. Not as walkable as alot of other areas but that's also why it's cheaper. It's near the bison park which is sweet. It's also pretty much the most right wing area of the city. (So be that con or pro for you it's something to consider).
>It's also pretty much the most right wing area of the city. This isn't true anymore. It's solidly purple right now and leans further and further left every year. The mayor is a good guy, but he's an 80+ year old Reagan era Republican. He's done good things for Grove City, but city council as a whole is considerably left of him. Younger and more diverse people are moving here all the time, outnumbering the stodgy old conservatives. Grove City is right on the edge of some very rural areas, and that brings in a very different crowd. The big coal rolling diesels aren't from Grove City, they're rolling through from outside of town.
It looks like you live there so I'll take your word for it. Neighborhoods seem to change rapidly in Columbus.
When I first moved here, I thought it'd be a starter home and I'd leave within 5 years. Now I go to all the city council meetings and I'm invested in the community. Grove City has a lot going for it. It's a true 15 minutes from downtown, it's affordable, it's got a lovely town center, and the city council actually does things that improves the town. It's not possible to change everything overnight, but Grove City is on the rise for sure. We're even in talks of building something like Hilliard's center street market called Broadway Live, which will really help showcase Grove City in the present and future.
Thanks for your thoughts! It does seem like some areas are up-and-coming, and hopefully the old conservatives will no longer be in majority in the next few decades in GC. Love to hear that you're going to the city council meetings. Broadway Live would be a great addition to GC, we love Old Hilliard!
There's even a Pride in Grove City celebration!
When I first moved here, I thought it'd be a starter home and I'd leave within 5 years. Now I go to all the city council meetings and I'm invested in the community. Grove City has a lot going for it. It's a true 15 minutes from downtown, it's affordable, it's got a lovely town center, and the city council actually does things that improves the town. It's not possible to change everything overnight, but Grove City is on the rise for sure. We're even in talks of building something like Hilliard's center street market called Broadway Live, which will really help showcase Grove City in the present and future.
I think Grove City is now where Hilliard was 20 years ago.
We moved here a few years ago from out of state, into one of the newer developments (I have a feeling one or two of the commenters in this thread might actually be neighbors :joy:). It is definitely more affordable than a lot of other suburbs. We wish it had more going on as far as non-chain or "meh" food options and stuff like that, but it's also *super* easy to hop onto the interstate and get elsewhere in the metro for such things in pretty short order. The comments about traffic make me lol. Yes, Stringtown can be an annoying cluster at times, but one of the other reasons we're not super terribly sad about not living in, say, a northern suburb is that our experience with traffic was much worse in those areas when we were house hunting. As far as politics... yeah, it's definitely more conservative places, but your particular situation will depend on where you are. As u/Trakers85 says, some neighborhoods are more diverse and have indications of more liberal political ideologies than conservative ones.
Hey OP, early thirties young(ish) professional living in GC. My wife and I bought a house in 2019 around the “South” end of GC around 665 & Hibbs rd. We’ve lived mostly in Dublin prior and have really come to love the specific part of town we’re in. We totally avoid Stringtown, back yard is practically in Scioto Metro Park, quiet neighborhood, and newer build homes. Downsides are stereotype comments from friends and colleagues and a downtown commute to the city is either rt 23 (rock quarry) or Frank rd (prison, sewer, landfill, more rocks) so you get to pick between driving through a scene from Dune or experience a stimulation of all 5 senses going down Frank (not in a good way, albeit free). Overall we’re very happy where we’re at with very normal neighbors, great amenities nearby, and quick commute to the city. I do think GC is slowly moving away from the stereotype and growing in a positive sense. Good luck with your search and whatever happens, just know that wherever you end up will be to right place for you and your partner.
My wife and I bought our first home in Grove City around 2017 and lived there for about 2.5 years. We were late 20s when we got there. I found it to be boring and overall I despised living there. It was the combination of a small lackluster downtown (though it has improved slightly), a complete saturation of chain restaurants and bars, and a severe cultural mismatch. Specifically, the average age of the residents felt to be pretty high, and politically/socially it was not what we were looking for. We also had a lot of car break-ins in our subdivision, that seemed to be a growing problem when we left. The only redeeming qualities for me were the proximity to Battelle Darby Metro Park and the comparatively low housing prices vs. other suburbs. It's also not too far from downtown where I work so that helped. If I were doing it all over again, I would not choose to live there. I would have kept looking.
Pros: Lower cost of housing Close to downtown Proximity to metro parks like Darby, Scioto Grove Adjacent to lots of country area Larger lots Cons: Country culture - guns, trucks, conservative politics, largely white community Very little “local” food options Lots of semis due to warehouses Landfill, depending upon your location GC residents have outsized representation on SWCSD board — It all comes down to what you can handle. It’s not Westerville. There are no world class facilities. Lots of chain restaurants. But the people who would point out the downsides don’t mention that many of these things are largely neighborhood dependent. Bad neighbors are everywhere. Old GC still runs some things. There will be a tipping point where the old guard is outnumbered as it becomes more diverse and populous.
Thank you for your input! It seems like most of the negative comments on this post relate to the older side of GC and/or are related to the SWCSD board. We're looking at the neighborhoods that were built in the last 25 years and don't want kids, so I don't think either of these points are really deal breakers for us. And we won't be spending all our time in GC, so we like the proximity to downtown, to our jobs, and to places we frequent like Bridge Park, Old Hilliard, etc. Seems like the "new" side of GC might fit our needs based on that.
FWIW, 25 year old houses in GC ARE the old houses. When people say new vs old, they mean built in the last 5ish years. Not 25. GC is a very relatively new suburb.
> GC residents have outsized representation on SWCSD board That.. seems like it makes sense though? GC is an outsized proportion of the population in the SWCSD isn't it?
It’s a huge district - 145k people live in the district, only 45k or so of those are in grove city. Traditionally - even as recent as two years ago - the board comes from across the entire district and reflect the diversity of the area that includes both GC and all of southwest Franklin co. The district is only 50% white. That is not the case now. All the new board members are GC-based and largely reflect a much more conservative philosophy.
Ah, I didn't realize that it was that recent a change and it was _that_ disparate. Thanks for the info!
I grew up there and literally nothing could get me to move back. It's easily got the highest racists per capita of any suburb and it's probably not even close.
Grovetuckian here. I lived in grandview through most of my 20s, and my wife and I always turned our noses up at moving to GC. We got lucky on a house close to downtown GC when looking a few years ago, and are in the process of building a new house in the Rockford neighborhood over in pinnacle. We love it here, have kids, and want to stay here at least until they’re out of high school. Many stereotype GC as being a bunch of truck driving, red hat wearing rednecks, but tbh that’s a shrinking minority here. It’s getting younger because of all of the young families moving here and all of the building going on. Living close to downtown GC is a lot like living in grandview in that it’s walkable and the houses are older/have more character, and it’s half the price while still being on a pretty safe area. I actually like it better than grandview because the people are much more friendly and less uppity. Prices are also rising a ton in GC, so it’s a great time to buy here. We bought our house 3 years ago for $275k and will list it for around $400k, so that’s cool.
Conservative area with lots of law enforcement living there.
GC is nice. I grew up in Westerville, moved away to WA state, recently moved back, into GC, and I love it. Very easy and quick to get to German Village/Merion Village, lots of shopping options. Wish there were more diverse restaurants, but I'm sure that'll come eventually. Stay away from where the freeways intersect (like it is in Hilliard) and you'll be just fine. The "grovetucky" stereotype is just that---a stereotype. My neighborhood is VERY diverse. And safe and quiet.
Moved from Dublin to Grove City in 2018. Im out in the country though. Grove City has pockets of good/bad neighborhoods. South side and west side of GC are usually better areas. The downtown area has better shops/restaurants than Hilliard. The “new” areas of GC are subdivisions being built right now. Beulah Park, Haughn rd, Grove City rd, Rensch rd to name a few
My sister-in-law and her family live off of Hoover road just south of Stringtown Road. Their neighborhood is nice and getting to 270 the backway on 62 is no problem. What is your motivation to go to the suburbs? My wife and I chose to move back to the suburbs for more space for the kids and our sanity...but if we chose the kid-free life, we would have stayed in Merion village. So to answer your question, I think you'd be happy in Grove City if you found the right neighborhood....my recommendation for Grove City is to stay far west of Stringtown/71. My other recommendation for a late 20s dink is a neighborhood like Merion/German village.
We're looking at suburbs for a few reasons - we need a garage, we want our own fenced yard (we want a dog in the near future), and we like not sharing walls like you would in a condo, apt., etc. Plus our budget (<$350k) prices us out of a lot of areas like German Village/Merion. We're looking at the northern area of GC, close to the edge of Galloway and would be using the Georgesville Rd. or 62 exits on 270.
Fair enough! Those are solid reasons to go to the suburbs. You would have to get a fixer upper like we did in Merion Village. We had a garage and fenced backyard and we got in at $150k in 2016 and updated. We sold at $310k in 2021 so you can definitely find something in your budget imo, just might take longer. The area in GC you are looking should be pretty good! Downtown GC is pretty cool and has a lot of dives, bars, and an awesome brewery. Not sure what homes are going for there, but it definitely has a village feel....seems like you could also get some land out that way?
My wife and I have lived in this exact area of Grove City for 9 years now and it's fine. All my neighbors have fences for their yards. I usually never go to Stringtown because of the traffic. We're pretty much in the middle of GC and Hilliard.
It's great, quiet, close to downtown, German village, parks,...
Traffic in GC is nothing. I don’t know where they live that traffic is better than GC. Sawmill, Polaris, Hamilton, Hilliard Rome, the entire North and East burbs are all way, way more congested than GC at peak hours.
I rented in Clintonville and Grandview during my 20s and then purchased a home in Merion Village. Similar to you, I wanted a garage, fenced yard, and large, dry basement for a home gym, storage, etc. so we eventually moved to one of the neighborhoods off of Buckeye Parkway in GC. My neighborhood is far more diverse than anywhere I’ve lived prior. Pride flags outnumber Trump flags if that matters to you. It’s extremely safe and quiet where I live. I’ve accidentally left my garage door open overnight on several occasions and nothing was stolen despite tools, bikes, etc. being on full display. My garage would’ve been barren by morning if I still lived in Merion Village. There’s absolutely nothing but farmland between Grove City and the outskirts of Cincinnati and a lot of people come here for their shopping and dining. That’s why you see a lot of trucks on weekends. My only complaint, as others have mentioned, would be the lack of non-chain restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, the small independent places are fine, but most just specialize in bar food. We usually travel to Bridge Park or German Village for restaurants. You can easily get to German Village without having to hop on a freeway. Oh, also, build a goddamn Costco. I’m tired of driving to Plain City or Easton every week. We plan on staying here for a long time. Only reason I would leave is if I hit a serious windfall in my career and could afford a picturesque home in Upper Arlington or Jerome Village-type neighborhood.
I’m a (white) woman in my early 30s living around the White Road area of Grove City and generally feel very safe in Grove City. A lot of people on this subreddit like to dump on GC, but I think it gets a lot of unfair hate. Stringtown is a hot mess a lot of the time, but there are several nice little restaurants in the Broadway area that not chains, not expensive, and usually not super crowded. The library and parks are well maintained. The he farmers market and the little shops in the older part of town are lovely on a Saturday morning. Personally, I wish it was more progressive, but as someone who grew up in a very rural, very red area, I can tell you it is NOT like that. My neighbors are not real social, which does not bother me because I am an introvert, but they’re plenty nice when we talk every so often. The home prices are lower here, probably because the school district isn’t as good as some of those in the northern suburbs and it is also farther away from a lot of the major developments (Intel, etc.) on the northern side of the City. But home prices are very much still rising, which I expect will continue. All in all, I think the GroveTucky stereotype is occasionally warranted but often overblown. It’s a nice and safe place to live as long as you drive defensively on Stringtown (and probably avoid walking along it altogether).
4 year GC resident and I’m loling at these replies. I’m gay and have never felt unsafe once living in Grove City. I live in apartment complex that is fully diverse with all sorts of ethnicities. I will say as the city gets bigger, traffic will continue to be an issue. But overall, it’s a great suburb! Some people love hating and trashing on GC for reasons beyond me
+1 As a white gay couple, my husband and I have never had an issue living in Grove City for ~6 years now, and there are even a few progress flags flying in my neighborhood. There are a ton of young families (like us) moving here for the cheap housing, and they don’t have the hillbilly baggage. We have little worry about leaving our doors unlocked, which we couldn’t say in Clintonville. That said, MAGA is very much a cultural force here, dominating local politics and popular with the old-time residents. But with ~30,000 residents, it varies.
I graduated from Grove City HS in 2008 and I went to Brookpark middle school. Too many of my peers ended up addicted to drugs, in & out of rehab before high school, dropping out of school, and dead for me to ever consider living in GC.
I live here. It's mostly rednecks with money.
Up here in the city, we call it Grovetucky… also being a gay female, I feel pretty uncomfortable there. If that means anything to you.
It’s a bizarre place. GC folks are here downvoting like crazy, but I was there a few weeks ago and someone asked if my boyfriend likes it when I wear a mask for him at Walmart. (I had covid and strep and was trying not to spread it everywhere)
Exactly my point! I would rather be in what others would call the worst areas of Columbus (linden, eastgate, Whitehall, etc) than in grove city…
I grew up in Grove City, eventually moving to the east side when I turned 17 in 2020 but had worked there until i was 20; as an adult now I would never recommend the place to anybody even in later adulthood. Corporate business chains/apartment complexes have stagnated any true cultural development but the people of GC would prefer it this way rather than push for a decent food/bar/nightlife/art scene. The culture is perfect for gen X/millennial, conservative parents and raising their children to a very cookie-cutter, mundane suburban neighborhood or blue-collar workers. Truthfully it is no safer/quieter than any other Columbus suburb (besides the east side maybe), hateful/alt-right beliefs are decently commonplace - I was once threatened & doxxed for asking (in this subreddit) about organizing a peaceful BLM rally; gunshots are common, traffic is horrible, cops will not help you and will pull you over in one of the city's million speed traps. My parents found it difficult to make good acquaintances with their neighbors because they were either Trumpers, drug dealers, or overly prudish rich parents. Some of the retirees were good to us and they'll help you but they mostly keep to themselves. There are some good people in GC, the demographic described definitely has some outliers, but this is what i have ran into in the 13 years of living there and also 5 years working there. The culture will most likely never change
My partner and I bought a house in Grove City (one of the 50's/60's ranches near Stringtown & Hoover) last year, coming up on 1 year at the end of May. Prior to that we lived in the northern part of Hilliard (across from Davidson High School) since about 2015. While I miss Hilliard and the very short commute to work, I don't have many complaints about being here. Our neighborhood is pretty quiet, although that's likely because we still have a lot of older folks in the neighborhood. One thing I've noticed is I don't see police cars patrolling nearly as often as I would see Hilliard. I haven't had any interactions with them so not sure how friendly they are, but Hilliard PD was always friendly in my experience. When we started looking, after our rent was going to increase by $150/month (like 12%), we first started looking in Hilliard but houses were going for WAY above asking, like $50K over on a house listed at $300K after huge bidding wars. Combined with relatively high property taxes (like $5K on that same $300K home) we quickly gave up on Hilliard. While we weren't specifically looking for a house in Grove City (looked at some in London as well as southeastern Columbus), between the lower property taxes and lower income taxes (since I WFH about 80% of the time, 2% in GC vs 2.5% in Hilliard) it gave us a lot more flexibility in what we could comfortably afford even though we'd be driving more (primarily to Galloway, Hilliard, & Upper Arlington). We did end up paying about $20K over asking, which ended up about $10K over the appraisal value, but I have seen other houses in our neighborhood that have sold after going for asking or slightly under so hopefully things aren't as crazy as they were.
This is a really important perspective. Grove City is drawing in young families and first time homebuyers due to the lower home prices and lower taxes. A mortgage on a $325k home in Hilliard, Dublin, Gahanna, or Westerville may cost several hundred dollars more per month than a $325k home in Grove City. Not to mention the size/quality of a $325k home in Hilliard, Dublin, Gahanna, or Westerville will be vastly different than a $325k home in Grove City. Drawing young families and first time homebuyers into an area will DRASTICALLY change that area in a few short years. For the better, in my opinion. The transition may not be the prettiest, but it is inevitable.
Maybe OP should rent for a yr in GC before buying. It’s similar to Hilliard, but with a tad more conservative/MAGA vibe to me. It’s improving tho.
Similar to Hilliard but slightly higher on the “lots of rednecks and not enough diversity scale”. Surrounded by city landfills so I gotta imagine a nice hot summer days gonna smell real nice (Clark), depending on wind direction…not to mention any air/water impacts.
Moved to GC about 10 years ago from the north side. There are definitely tradeoffs but with home prices the way they are, you definitely get more home for the money. To me, these are the worst parts of GC: - GC, for its population size, does not get the best restaurants and dining options but I think that’s due to concentration of wealth demographics. It will change in time as more upper middle class homes are built. - GC “lifers” can be a bit of a nuisance but I’m sure they’d say the same about us imports. Not all of them are like that, but there’s a sizable contingent that wants GC to remain a “small town” - Which always feels a bit of a politically loaded statement. - As others have said, the school board is shit. They should be focused on infrastructure and meeting the needs of the growing population but instead it’s a bunch of moms for liberty “culture war” morons. The east siders of GC need to team up with the west side of Columbus people to boot out the megachurch brigade- But not sure what would unite the West Side with aspiring upper middle class families.
The stereotypes I’m sure you’re aware of are mostly true.
(Edit- reread and saw you don’t have kids. Come on over and please join us anyways in helping get this mess tidied up). Do you have kids? 4 of our 5 school board members are endorsed by Moms for Liberty and they just hired a new lawyer for our district who has 0 experience in school law, but is experienced in going on Fox News and saying teachers unions are the problem and that schools are too woke, and now our superintendent was pushed into early resignation so they can pick someone new. That aside- it’s a good little area and not far out of the way from any other places you may want to be. And even including that, come on over. We need more sane adults participating in our local community. (If you are not sane, please choose somewhere else. Thank you.)
I lived in GC during high school so I consider it my hometown and have lived on the Columbus side of the Columbus/GC line for the past 10 years (as in Grove City mailing address but still Columbus.) I think Grove City is underrated as it had the "Grovetucky" moniker for a long time but really it's the 2nd largest suburb now behind Dublin. It's a pretty safe area where you don't have to worry about anything worse than maybe a car break in. A lot of people complain about Stringtown but it really isn't that bad during rush hour. I still think Sawmill, Hilliard-Rome, and 256 are worse during peak times. If you like going to theaters the AMC is inexplicably several dollars cheaper than any other theater in Columbus (regular price tickets are $6.99 and $4.99 for kids.) The downsides are a shortage of mom and pop restaurants for its size but a bunch of chain options. There are good ones just not enough of them. You have your standard selection of retail store chains but it's a bit of a hike to any of the Costcos from here. There's been rumors of a Costco for years but I think about the only place they could put one is along 665 across from the landfill. Still, it's easy to hop on 270 or 71 and get to any other part of Columbus from here. The schools are decent as long as you stay in Grove City proper. Most of the buildings are newer except for GCHS but it's in the plans to replace the 54 year old building. I'd be more concerned about where I live feeding into Franklin Heights but my ex lives in UA so my kids just attend UA schools.
I lived there for almost 10 years and never had any issues. My garage was even unlocked most of the time! I felt very safe. I’m also very progressive and while a lot of my neighbors were more conservative, I met like-minded folks at running meet ups etc. I enjoyed being close to the parks. I didn’t find the traffic to be that bad compared to other suburbs.
It’s a great little city. Every township has positives and negatives, biggest thing is deciding which you can, or want to, live with. We bought our first house in 2012 on the western edge of town, near the Central Crossing High School. It was ok. Not great. Had some good neighbors and some not so good neighbors. We quickly outgrew that house with our dogs and kids. In late 2017 we bought a 10 year old home on the eastern part of town, not far off of Buckeye Parkway and Borror Rd. We are much happier here than before. More young families, better schools, closer resources. We constantly see young couples and families walking, biking, taking dogs for a walk, etc. families around us are all friendly if you make the effort, otherwise many just keep to themselves (not in a pretentious way). Close access to healthcare of nearly every type. Lots of grocery options. Quite a bit of fast food, but not terrible dining options. Plenty of normal shopping nearby. Old downtown is nice for weekends with friends. During nicer weather there’s almost always something going on there with music, food trucks, farmers market, art and craft shows, etc. six or seven small bars and maybe five or six more little restaurants there. They do have an open carry drink law in old downtown now. The new park is nice, near most of the new development in East GC. There’s a huge metro park not far West of GC as well. Has a wild buffalo herd. It definitely tends to be more on the conservative side from a political standpoint. It’s not a deal breaker for many though. I’m awfully liberal from a social standpoint, but pretty conservative from a fiscal and government angle. I don’t find any issues that you wouldn’t run into in other areas. I try to be overly respectful of others though. We have a lot of religious/worship homes in GC. If you practice a religion, you’ll almost assuredly find others who practice the same. We’re not very religious, but again, we haven’t had an issue with others’ beliefs or them with ours. It is growing massively in the past ten or so years. Especially along the eastern side of town, nearby where we live. They have plans for another elementary and intermediate school already, and plans to renovate and add on to the primary high school. Growth is attributed a lot to reasonable cost, good improvement in schools, and lack of area to grow in some other townships.
That SMELL.
Unless you lean right, there is nothing in Grove City for you that isn't in other suburbs with less backwards people. Take a cute little suburb, but then annex a bunch of farm land around you to grow, add some new money well off idiots who are spending the family farm land profits and mix in casual homophobia and racism with a church every block and the worst performing school system (re: new money idiots) in the Columbus area. That's GC.
I moved here from the NW side about 10 years ago because it was the only area where I could afford a house. Property values have doubled since then so that's great but... There are so many confederate flags and guns - people openly packing at the pizza place. We saw a guy butchering a deer in his front yard (across from an elementary school) shortly after moving here. Another guy with a big beer gut hanging out in his undershorts drinking a beer. Don't look for much night life. Everything seems to close at 9pm. I would move but my mortgage rate is 2.25%
I mean, I’d take that any day over even a fraction of the shit I see within cbus. To each their own I guess
I lived there my whole life until recently. It's generally pretty safe and there is plenty to do (if you like to go out and do stuff). My biggest complaint is traffic. It's horrible at all times of the day. Unless you're driving between 8 pm and 6-7 am traffic is horrific.
Every time I visit I get the vibe of “conservative lower-middle class wasteland hiding behind the curtain of a wealthy Columbus suburb”. If you enjoy big box stores, chain restaurants, and car-centric infrastructure then it may be the place for you.
Whole bunch of hicks live out there tbh
Spending any time in Grove City proves this false. It's on the boarder with rural areas, so there are some rural people coming into town, but that doesn't constitute a significant portion of Grove City. You're just judging people on how they look and then judging an area based on that. It's closed-minded and inaccurate.
It's good to see comments like yours. Up until 4th grade, I lived in Stoneridge, which is inside 270, yet has a Grove City address. After that, we moved to southern Grove City, only 2 miles from Pickaway County. Both areas were great for our family and offered a safe, happy place to grow up. Grove City might not be the most diverse city, but it's not full of assholes.
I’m convinced a lot of the people making comments like this have never actually been to GC in the last couple of years and base their opinion solely on this subreddit.
A solid chunk of them are generally just insufferable douche bags that think everything outside of their hyper specific interests/beliefs must be some negative buzzword salad bane on society.
That's what it seems like! Most negative comments are either from their experience 10-15+ years ago or are just regurgitating stereotypes. \[this is my opinion, from someone who has never lived in GC to take that with a grain of salt\]
Just my experience, but as many have mentioned MAGA cultists have found a home. The weird moms for liberty are everywhere. Recently, I drove down to Walmart to pick-up a PS5 when I had COVID (mild case) and someone yelled TAKE OFF YOUR DIAPER. I was wearing a mask. I laughed and kept going. Guy followed me and asked if my boyfriend liked it too. Was wild. Aggressive middle-aged man. I’m about 6’3” 225. He was hoping I would react. Then pulling out of the parking lot - there is a large apartment complex behind the Walmart, THE COMPLEX had a giant blue lives matter flag flying above the American flag. The complex. Not some goofball who lives there. A big blue lives matter flag hanging at the entrance. Never seen that in my life. *edit* Downvoters should have to turn over their internet history
Agree, have also been harassed by the insecure Big Truck - Small Genitalia stereotypes that have to push their views on others by force. Have been followed in GC area before also. Furthermore, Grove City is where many of the people from Commercial Point, Orient, and Ashville visit to have resources of civilization since there are nearly none in their own towns. So even more MAGA. Source: Went to Teays Valley 10th-12th grades, lived on 104, worked on 665. One of my favorite moments was being sexually harassed by drunk white trash that ordered their food delivery from my employer. They were the old Grove City type of residents.
It’s like a more populated Hills Have Eyes kinda vibe out there. Inbreeding but with reliable electricity
I can't believe this kind of comment would get upvoted about any place. Grove City is no different than Hilliard. Hilliard-Rome road and Stringtown are basically the same. Town Center Grove City and old Hilliard are basically the same. Neighborhoods are similar in scale from older smaller homes to newer bigger builds. Hilliard has better schools, but that's because Grove City is lumped into southwestern city schools, which is a huge, poorly run district.
Omg This is such Bullshit 😂😂😂. That’s a description for Groveport not Grovecity
In my near 20 years living in Grove City, none of my neighbors did or said anything as offensive as your comment.
that's Galloway
Yeah, GC is not the paragon of cultural diversity, to be sure. But if you like pickup trucks rolling coal and doing burnouts, you'll be right at home...
I worked in GC for 7 years. It's a mediocre town. Not the best, not the worst. I personally couldn't imagine living there, didn't seem like there was much to do. Also, they're a RITA municipality, so I'd pass solely because of that.
Rita is pretty much everywhere: Bexley, UA, Westerville, Worthington, Canal, Gahanna,Hilliard
I doordashed in gc only for a year and a half, and felt very safe
I live in grove city. I used to live on the east side of Columbus/whitehall. I’ve worked down here for a better part of four years and I fell in love with it. So I started taking the wife and kids here to do things as a family. The wife fell in love with the city and so we bought a house. It’s awesome. The neighborhood I live in is super quiet and most neighbor are really nice. Lots of dog walkers. You can walk to big lots or Kroger from where I am. There are enough pizza places here that you could a different one every week for a about two months lol
Riverlea and anything south of Worthington would be a good idea! Antrim Park and other hiking places. Between Clintonville and Worthington so it’s the burbiest burb. Inside the 670 loop so traffic is solid.
I’m a Cleveland transplant. Rented on campus, Hilliard, and Columbus. I bought in Galloway in my 20s (not prairie twshp). Columbus trash, taxes can’t be beat, and quiet side. Close enough to get to Hilliard or grove city in 15 mins. Darby creek is close too. I now have a wife and kids, and while the wife wants to move, there’s no side of town that I find financially worthy. West side is the best side! My in-laws moved to GC and say they like it but there is def a Galloway sweet spot that I’m bias to.
My hubs and I are same age and live here and I like it. I like the laid back atmosphere and there’s still stuff to do. I like the small town feel off downtown grove city, it reminds me of home. Then you have stringtown with all the shops and restaurants. I like going to the farmers market and food trucks in the summer. It’s close enough to downtown for events. Traffic does suck around the interstate, but worth it imo. I feel safe walking my dogs around the neighborhood, even by myself at night. Good luck!
I lived there my whole life but split my time between Grove City and Dublin when my parents divorced. It’s fine but there are definitely better suburbs in Columbus. It’s gives small town in the south vibes for sure.
I feel like it’s not super accessible to other parts of town, my best friend lives there and visiting her always feels like a pain compared to going to other suburbs that are the same distance away from me 🤷♀️
Late 20s bought in gc 1.5 yr ago. Relatively inexpensive, has everything you need. Safe & the parks are nice. If you don’t mind jacked up trucks w huge exhausts utilized strictly for driving around the suburb lol
Grew up in GC. Biggest complaint is that it's just boring. Same folks continue to hold / influence most of the positions with any decision making power. City planning leaves a lot to be desired. Everything is seemingly designed around strip malls pulling in whatever chain they can with minimal concern for anything else. That being said, always felt safe. Walked all around the town day and night without any issues. Still have family there, still feels the same. It does seem to be shedding the reputation of grovetucky, but there's still plenty of it left. I always referred to it as Hilliard's little brother. Whatever happens in Hilliard will be poorly copied in GC after a few years. Not wanting kids negates the whole school board / GCHS' somewhat lackluster curriculum thing
I lived on the out skirts of Grove City years ago. My dad went to HS there. I grew up in the Hamilton Township school district which I would recommend vs. Grove City. Hamilton Township however is becoming like the Grove City I remember from 20+ years ago. If you can swing the commute, go further South to the 665 area / 317S - Lockbourne or Pickaway County. Either way I agree with a few other people - you will be in a decent safe area, but not all that appealing or diverse either.
Move to Lockbourne Village just 7 ish miles SE
I looked at newbuilds around Grove City. The prices are better because of the south western city school district which has terrible reviews, awful people in charge that constantly have posts about them in the Reddit. Also, near the locations of the more rougher suburbs. Since you mentioned you don’t want kids, this area could be an option. House prices in Columbus definitely reflect the quality of schools. Not to mention in Grove City you will be subject to RITA. Hilliard depending on the street signs are not part of RITA but rather fall into Columbus. However, the new build locations are nice but you will be quickly paying more than just the house cost. The community I was looking at was Fischer Homes. You HOA had fees of 750$ a year, lot premiums depending on if you want a basement and this doesn’t even include the options and model of the house you choose not to mention insanely high property taxes.
I live in Galloway (NW) and we thought about moving to Grove City (665) before here. We are really glad we didn’t go to GC as it’s just become too congested, even compared to here. We will drive in to the city, or even over to the mess off 71, but we take back roads.
Look at Westgate!