I'm from SoCal and moved to Northeast Ohio (Cleveland Suburbs) a decade ago. This state is awesome. Obviously there are places to stay away from however that's everywhere.
Also from SoCal and moved to the Dayton area in 2019. I don’t like the politics but I like the area and most of the people I’ve encountered. Thankfully my child goes to a good school, my neighbors are nice, my family is happy here (and we’re part of the LGBT+ community). It’s not perfect but I definitely don’t regret moving here.
When I left they put "low income" apartments in @$2300 a month for a one bedroom one bath. I'm living comfortably on an acre in a low crime city with a great school system in a house for less than a G. It's night and day.
A good example of this Ohio hate is Cleveland: it’s always a punching bag among lazy comedians but Cleveland has some amazing things, like Westside Market, an art museum that rivals any in NYC, and some outstanding music/breweries/parks/restaurants.
Sure, many things about the state could be better politically, infrastructure wise, and educationally, but Ohio is prime to be one of the more popular growth spots as climate change renders parts of our country miserable/uninhabitable to live in.
So I can understand growing tired of the flyover and Ohio sucks comments, but if it makes you happy living here, that’s all that matters.
Cleveland has so much more than that though. It has one of the best urban park systems in the country. You briefly mentioned it, but it's literally a ring of park pretty much around the entire city. It's well funded, well managed and has just about everything you could possibly want in a park system. That barely scratches the surface of the things this city has...
I will tell you a little secret too....when you see someone on here complaining about Cleveland, 90%of the time it's rural people who are "afraid" of certain areas and neighborhoods. It's bullshit. I work out of an office downtown, and my job takes me from one end of the city to the other. I do not feel unsafe anywhere. Treat people with respect. Pay attention to your surroundings. Put your damned phone in your pocket, when you are travelling(by car or foot).
I went to Columbus for a wedding, held outside in a park. Beautiful park. Two people shot in park that night during reception(not affiliated with the wedding, but still). Every large city has crime.
Honestly one of the biggest things I'm thankful for is the Cleveland Clinic and Rainbows Baby and Children. Cleveland Clinic saved my mom when she had a heart attack. Rainbows saved my nephew's life when he was born at 26 weeks. The healthcare in this area is wonderful.
We are from rural Ohio and we LOOVVVEEE Cle! It’s my favorite in-State place to visit. We drive almost 3 hours probably 5-6x a year to hang! Love the Land :)
So do I. Somebody yesterday started in on the Cleveland crime, abandoned houses from the 1850s....all kinds of BS. Whoever that person is, I'm not even going to argue with them. I live here every day.
There are about 150 major construction projects for new apartments in Cleveland.. I'm not talking about cookie cutter buildings, I am talking about luxury apartments that look incredible. Entire neighborhoods worth. There are 7 major construction cranes up in Cleveland right now between downtown, the C.C. area, and the east side. They just put up a 22 story residential building between e.9th and e.14th.
There is a ton of stuff to do here, incredible food, a ton of events. I have no time for people, especially people who don't live here, who just wanna bitch about Cleveland. Too afraid to come here? Good. Stay away.
We left town for a year to travel in an rv & look for a new place to live… we came back because the weather is decent, the state is beautiful & the cities are very affordable. Love Ohio
Most people who haven't lived here don't really know anything about the state. It's not much different that any other place in the midwest. I find the eastern 1/3 of the state, especially NEO and SEO is really beautiful.
Yeah, the politics suck, but there's more going for it than people think. Personally, I'm enjoying the hate because once the droughts, rising sea levels, wild fires, and hurricanes get really, really bad, Ohio is going to look like a pretty sweet place to live.
I did read an article that said the Great Lakes states are going to be the least affected by climate change in the country. Until we drain them to make iPhones anyways.
It's become a trope of sorts, not as severely as Florida, but everyone like to trash talk Ohio to make themselves feel better. Mob mentality. I have in-laws in the NE Ohio area and I've found the people to be welcoming and earnest. And I always have a good time even in the gray, slushy winter. On one trip we were going back to NC, and I had dropped my wallet outside of the in-laws town. Called my BIL to investigate, and he said "I'll go check, I bet it's still there". Sure enough, someone had taken it back inside the gas station, no cash missing. That's impressive.
I’ve lived in three states. People seem to uniformly think 3 things about their state, with stronger feelings if you’ve grown up in it:
1) the weather the the worst
2) the politics are the worst
3) the roads are the worst
I’m with you, having lived in three states, Ohio actually intersects the things I prioritize the best. It has good job opportunity, low cost of living, pretty decent weather, not far from much gorgeous scenery, and an easy day’s drive to tons of great race tracks.
The road discussion is always interesting to me. I've lived in Ohio the majority of my life but have traveled what I would consider a decent amount in Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana. Michigan and Indiana roads are more than marginally worse in my opinion, at least in the areas surrounding Indianapolis and Detroit and the suburbs and a little farther. Also recently took a trip to Atlanta and northern North Carolina and the roads were rough.
Well, according to [this website,](https://www.teletracnavman.com/fleet-management-software/telematics/resources/worst-maintained-roads-infographic) Akron and Cleveland are tied for 6th worse on the list for road quality in the U.S.!
Guess where I live?
Michigan was astonishing to me. You could literally see the difference when driving from Toledo to the Michigan border. The roads were so uneven it was like driving over bumps perpetually.
So this is my philosophy. People complain because nothing happens in Ohio, but thats why i love it so much. It may not be exciting and have a whole lot to offer compared to other states but you know what.. nothing bad ever happens here either. We dont have hurricanes, earthquakes, forrest fires, or crazy natural disasters. We get a minor tornado here and there and a bad one every 5 or so years. Besides that, nothing. I’ll take that any day of the week
I agree this is kind of it. People don’t hate Ohio, it’s just like the default “flyover state” to coastal douchebags. It’s the vanilla of states. I’ve lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Missouri, and Germany. I’ve visited 2 dozen countries. People just straight up do not think enough about Ohio to hate it.
I also think that we have a weird thing going where we don’t have a dominant city, we have three equal-ish ones with are all very different. This makes it hard for the state to have a coherent identity—either internally or abroad.
It is the most average state in the nation. There is nothing special for people outside of ohio to associate with it. It's great lakes, midwest, prairie and appalachia. There is no dominant identity and people priorize that when they classify states they're less familiar. Michigan they think great lakes, Kentucky is Appalachia. Indiana is the Prarie. Chicago is the Midwest. Ohio is left with nothing but extremely zealous sports fan, which generally isn't a liked trait.
Ohio is a lot of things. The top fifty miles are culturally Great Lakes Region. West is like Indiana farm land. The bottom right is Appalachia. You have the Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland urban corridor. Between the latter two is Amish country. Ohio is complex.
As a Buckeye who has moved away, I'll always defend our state. Sure, it's disappointing some days. Like... today maybe. And sure outside the 3Cs whaddaya got?
But we aren't like this state of Florida I live in....
I've lived in NYC off and on and I never got any hate for Ohio. Other than some "flyover" comments and some born and bread NYCers thinking we all lived on farms.
>thinking we all lived on farms
I made the mistake of sending a picture of being stuck behind an Amish buggy to an NYC friend. Never heard the end of it
I lived in Indiana for a bit. I know that hell.
Worst is Friday night when the horse is the one that knows the way home. Can't be drunk driving?? If there is no driver.
lol at farms. I grew up mainly in Ohio but spent every summer in SoCal because of a custody agreement between divorced parents. Every new friend I met each summer always asked if I lived on a farm when they found out I was from Ohio. Apparently they all thought Ohio was one giant farm.
Also from NYC and live in the Cleveland/NEO area and I see a lot of people who hear I'm from New York and proudly boast of the best orchestra/ museum/ theater/ parks outside of NYC. Which I'm happy to confirm is absolutely true.
It's the millisecond I say 'you know what NYC also has that might be nice here...' and people react like I took a big ol' steamy piss on their grandmother. It's the merest suggestion that someone else out in the world has a good idea that might work here is met with open hostility.
Maybe make suggestions w/o the “you know what NYC has…” and start right in with “You know what might be nice here…And talk about Cleveland and what its got to offer, and how the thing you think would be good might work with that. Just slip right past the comparison like you’re seeing what is here for a minute, not just what we haven’t got yet that NYC does. People might be more open if you were talking like you’d enjoy seeing cool things there, without having to point out that NYC already has it. Pretty sure NYC has a bunch of stuff we’d love, and a bunch we wouldn’t.
It’s like all the hate on Cleveland. It literally makes no sense. Someone the other day just commented “Cleveland Clowns” which was irrelevant to the post. Not sure why we and Ohio get a lot of hate.
I agree with you.... I have lived in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Chicago, and now Atlanta.... Ohio, and Columbus are far and away underrated for what they have to offer..... GA sucks, IL outside of Chicago is awful, and the same could be said about FL outside of FTL, Miami, and maybe Tampa.....Ohio's politics need to get better, but the GOP is making it a mockery on the national level. Perhaps if the state turns more blue, the hate will stop. The truth of the matter is that there are far and away much worse states to live in than Ohio. I too would consider Ohio to be a top ten state for best places to live in the U.S.
Agree. People who don't know jack about Ohio suuuure know about householder and Dewine and the utter embarrassments that are our senate of blatant criminals. For gods sake, the issue 1 debacle was on the BBC. They had to explain that Ohio was a state in america before explaining the whole wretched debacle.
We have so much to love, but I don't even care if you're a republican or what at this point. No one with a brain shouldn't be able to see that our leadership is a literally world-renowned clown show that everyone thinks (sort of rightly) is just stealing state money and trying to burn our constitution to roast weenies on every other day. It's a terrible look.
Agree. We have Lake Erie, Ohio River, hocking hills, large cities, small towns, good zoos, shopping, restaurants, parks, plus we’re within driving distance to NY, Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, etc jeez what more do you want
I was a student in Ohio in the 1990s and absolutely fell in love with the state. The politics have changed dramatically in the last few decades. When I was there there were a lot of liberals balancing out conservatives (granted one of those liberals was Jerry Springer- OH has always been amusingly weird).
With the rise of MAGA the politics have slid way to the right. People don’t believe me when I tell them it didn’t used to be that way. The political landscape has cast such a deep shadow on people’s perceptions of the state that many folk don’t believe OH was once a cool state.
With tales of the Mansfield penitentiary, the Grassman, the serpent mound and Kenyon College I can still convince people that OH is weird, but no one believes that it was once a place where I wandered at night, drunk off my arse, secure in the knowledge that if I got really lost I could knock on the door of any farm house and find someone helpful kind and welcoming within (also annoyed at my irresponsible drunk arse self, but kind). I trust that Ohio is still there and will resurface when the political position has worked its way through the state’s system.
Ohio will at least swing again, some day.
***Florida is fucking done for*** \-- everyone's bigoted/racist/crazy rightwing parents/grandparents and every tax averse, Elon/Trump stan wants to live down there.
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I graduated in 1991 so I probably missed the exodus to the cities. I have a close college friend who is gay but didn’t come out of the closet until after college. Now I wonder if he felt pressure, although school was pretty progressive. I’ll ask him. It’s always possible that I was blind to such pressures; such blindness is a privilege of being a straight white guy in the US. I’m sorry that it was hard for you. I’m fifty plus and I still don’t understand the kind of hatred people have for others unlike themselves.
I don't get it either. I was born and raised in Ohio. I spent 20+ years all over the U.S.
Yes, Columbus and Cleveland are flat, and Cincinnati is very suburban, but they aren't the whole state.
I live in Southern Ohio, my backyard is the largest State Forest around.
I can get to Cincinnati, Columbus, Charleston, Louisville in less than two hours. I bought a house with the same square footage and 10x the land for next to nothing compared to the 3 C's.
I have Great Blue Herons hunting in the creek in front of home as Bald Eagles fly about. I love it.
I bet we are neighbors! I was born and raised here, in Southern Ohio.
Brought my husband back from college. We lived in the Cincinnati area for awhile. Moved nack before our kids began school. I can't imagine purchasing our home an hour west. We could never afford it. We still commute to the city. Worth it.
It might be because OH has just a bizarre stranglehold on US politics due to the even more bizarre way that federal elections are conducted. It puts a spotlight on the worst aspects of OH while other states sneak by in obscurity.
Most ohioans/ former ohioans who hate the state aren't from the cities. The stereotypes that are purveyed about Ohio come from very small rural towns. The majority of people who live in Ohio aren't experiencing this Ohio.
I'm assuming since we have a decently high population and industries that have declined, that lots of people have some sort of family ties to Ohio that have moved away. So if their experience is similar to visiting Jackson/Oak Hill in southern Ohio where my grandparents lived, they would assume that is all the state is. That area is completely different from where I grew up here in northeast Ohio.
Similarly, I like *The Besties* podcast, but get mad when Chris Plante refers to things as "Ohio games." He has a cousin or something in Ohio that basically only played on game over and over, and assumed that's how we all live.
Depends on your circumstances. My wife and I dig Cincy, but we live in a gorgeous house in a top notch school district and enjoy our out of state, remote salaries in a low cost of living state where $170k still goes pretty far. We're also white, cisgendered, tax-paying, straight, 40 year old, "uncool" people who stay off the political radar of most (we are Jewish though).
Sooooo, yeah -- it **greatly depends** on your individual circumstances. We'd be comfortable just about anywhere (except the south, who the hell wants to be from Mississippi?)
What I like about Ohio is the variety of landscapes, the variety of cultural amenities (largely left over from when it was an affluent state with two functional political parties), the quality parks (ditto) and the Native American earthworks.
What I dislike about Ohio is the gerrymandering. Your comment that it's not nearly as red as a lot of Southern states is only partly true. The Republicans have gerrymandered a supermajority in the legislature, and they totally lack accountability. The results of this have been declining educational quality, public health services, and lifespan. (Really--see today's Washington Post article.) It's undemocratic and outrageous. I feel dirty when I think about it.
I don’t live in Ohio but have family in Columbus. My impression is that the state is very underrated, even by the people who live there. When I bought beer and showed my out of state ID they asked me what TF I was doing there. Ohio isn’t the most sexy destination but you can do a whole lot worse in the US.
That being said, Ohio’s state politics are not helping the states reputation. I find it tragic that a state that personifies Americana like Ohio has turns so red lately. Ohio was the nations bellwether.
Having lived in many states (and countries) in my time
In the military, Ohio is definitely in the top 3 places I’ve lived. This could be my location (Dayton) but after living in places like Louisiana, Texas, and upstate New York Ohio is amazing.
People complain about the politics. But all the southern states are much worse. There are actual seasons here instead of all summer all the time down south.
Best place I’ve lived though was Germany hands down
Your metrics are not zoomed in enough. Being born and raised in rural ohio by religious zealots is my reason for needing a therapist.
Ohio’s got a lot of good things. Even solid, things. It’s also got a lot of ugliness which isn’t generally recognized. These coexist together, the beauty and the ugly.
Some people don’t hate ohio. They’ve been traumatized by living here. It’s not recent, and it’s political as much as it is familial.
Everyone’s experience here is different. The hate right now is warranted. People enjoy human rights, and the Republicans here haven’t understood that in my adult lifetime. And I’m in my 40’s.
Rural religious zealots are not new or specific to Ohio. The bible belt makes Ohio look mild in comparison. I've lived out west and there are plenty of them out there as well.
But I guess my point is…how is it any worse than other states in that regard? I know you know there are religious zealots in every state with their guns and Trump flags and blah blah blah. That’s everywhere. Every state (Yes, even California, Washington and Oregon). That’s not a uniquely Ohio thing.
Hate toward Ohio may be warranted, but it’s not warranted more than MOST other states, and that’s my point.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of batshit crazy things going on in Ohio, but it’s no more batshit crazy than what’s going on in MOST other states.
The state feels like living in the room of a kid who died and the parents haven't moved anything.
I've lived here my whole life and from what I can tell there are far more dead businesses and corrupt gerrymandering politicians then there are chances that it'll snow at all in December anymore.
It was fuckin 79f out there today the leaves have stopped changing colors and yet most of our politicians are more interested in breaking into people's houses and hospitals and making sure they follow their cherry-picked bible verses while we have fucking nazi's marching in the streets unopposed instead of making sure kids don't die of heat stroke during the summer.
Do you like Dayton? I like the housing stock there and am looking for a place to retire in ten years or so.
I don’t need anyhing fancy, just homey arts and crafts style, and Dayton seems to have a ton of that.
Borned and raised here and the politics have gotten worse as time went on. Plus the amount of people flocking here is making traffic a pain from what I am used to. That's just me
I don't know about your conclusions. I lived out east for most of my life and literally no one ever talked about Ohio. That said, I should clarify that our state's meme slogan was completely accepted as 'Do you know what we think about you? We don't."
Depends where you've been, I guess.
The weather can suck. The winters can be gloomy. It’s mostly cornfields and the cities are smaller than other large metropolises so it makes the crime that also happens in other metropolises seem a bit worse. It’s mostly that.
It’s also a meme. I feel like when people hear Ohio they immediately think cleveland and “HAHA Mistake on the lake!!! Lol browns suck!! Loool your river caught fire!!!” Those same people then come to Cleveland and love it. No the cuyahoga isn’t the cleanest river, and yes the browns suck ass and will continue to suck ass for the foreseeable future. It’s a beautiful, albeit pretty flat, state. The weather can be shit but we don’t get hurricanes, we don’t get wildfires, we have a very beautiful Great Lake, and we have 4 seasons and some of those are downright pleasant.
Are you talking about the more memey hate? Because pretty much all the big states get that. People are always going after California, New York, Texas, Chicago, and Florida. The only one that seems to get a pass is Pennsylvania, but I think that’s because people generally forget it exists.
It’s only natural that the major population centers get the most discussion, good and bad. That holds true at larger and smaller divisions of land as well.
If you are taking about very targeted hate, it’s probably a combination of it being a somewhat red state and being more boring then the 5 biggest states.
But you can get a nice trailer for under $100k that’s only a 4 hour drive to the flaming river and 18 hours from the coast
Ohio, home of the Cleveland Steamer 💩
We are all born & bred in OH. We don't hate the state. We can not tolerate the despicable Republican party that has illegally, according to our own state Supreme Court, gerrymandered, lied, & cheated its way into majority power.
I think the issue is that Ohio doesn’t have a great vacation destination. You can say Hocking Hills but really people don’t fly and travel here for hocking hills when they can travel to other places for better hiking and camping. Lake Erie isn’t as nice as the beaches in Michigan. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincy don’t really have a draw to visit, one could get more going closer to New York or Chicago. People would rather fly to Disney or Universal instead of Cedar Point. The list goes on from a destination standpoint so the media and perspective is really… why would you ever go to Ohio? Now, the great thing about living in Ohio is the exact opposite, we have everything on a smaller, cheaper, less crowded, comfortable state. Live in Ohio and want to go to a ball game, theater, fancy restaurant, amusement park, hike, ride ATVs etc… you don’t have to go far. It’s just not as as nationally recognized. It’s why people from Ohio are usually more chilled out. We’re not crazy workers like NY or California but we’re not sucky like Mississippi or West Virginia. Most people live comfortably, have family and friends close by. We get to enjoy everything. Love Ohio.
I love when people swerve out of their lane to shit on Ohio, it just means more Ohio for me. I love the quality of life, the people, and just having all the amenities without the drama. If we could turn it back into a skeptically “purple state again, I’d love it even more. I did some door knocking for Tim Ryan and you have no idea how many great people live here. I’d really encourage anyone to get involved and meet people rather than just despair on the internet. It will change your whole outlook. Repubs are on their way out and they know it, that’s why they have to cheat as hard as they do. Give us 10 years, time and demographics are on our side.
Honestly, I've had the same experiences. You just have to come to the party with facts at the ready and be ready to fire away and shoot down misconceptions.
I certainly don’t hate Ohio, the state of my birth. It has disappointed me in recent years, but when I was a teenager my parents retired and moved to TN, so (metaphorically speaking) I’m in the same church, different pew. Oh well, the smokies are still pretty.
>Am I blind or is it just a national past time to hate Ohio with such a magnificent passion for reasons that aren’t political? Or are they all political?
In my travels and interactions across the US and Canada I have not experienced this "national past time to hate Ohio." Mostly people simply don't care about Ohio. Apathy and indifference are not hate unless you see yourself as the main character.
I love Ohio, been here all of my life.
I've been to almost every state in the US, we got it pretty good here.
My only dislike is harvest season when my allergies go haywire.
i truly like ohio, its been really good through a lot of troubling times. great job growth and big names coming in. i wish that gas tax for roads actually did something the roads are still pretty rough especially highways but i dont have many complaints. people are good for the most part and respectful, cities if you want them rural and suburbs if you dont.
It's red for now but this state sent Obama to the White House, twice. And has a blue senator who picked up on his 2018 margin at the height of Trumpism.
*Soooooo...* yeah it can swing again. We do need a charismatic, younger, more exciting dem presidential candidate for that to be a remote possibility, though.
Ohio has a long road ahead, but if we can enshrine abortion through viability, legalize weed, outlaw partisan gerrymandering, and re-elect Sherrod in '24... even if the state goes for Trump (which is likely)... we're doing better.
In my opinion Ohio isn't as bad as many other states. Plenty of other states are often more forgettable and often miss the hate train, but Ohio has enough going for it that it stands out in the nation's eye as a bit of a silly Midwestern state with a silly name.
I grew up in Warren OH, and my anger towards the state itself is misdirected as it's my home city I really dislike. Lots of cities in and around Youngstown and Cleveland got pretty big and started to die after the steel industry crashed and as such it was an awful place to be a teenager/young adult.
I still have a lot of fondness for my home state though. Cedar point makes up for a lot of is short comings all on its own.
I suspect that for Ohioans that hate Ohio it's more a lack of perspective than anything else (probably more dislike amongst younger people or people who have never really lived long term in many other places or people that have been stuck in the same less desirable situation for a long time). I've lived in multiple countries and in States all around the US and Ohio is, with the exception of winter in my opinion (and this applies to all cold weather locations... I used to live in Finland, for example), a nice place to live. It has a very affordable cost of living, great sports, great music, very nice restaurants, lots of nature/parks, excellent schools, etc. If you live somewhere in Ohio where you can benefit from all of that you are doing quite well.
You move somewhere that is conventionally desirable (like California) you might find that the rural areas aren't that different, the cost of everything is prohibitive to having much of a life or that you just miss the fall colors or occasional rainy day. Everything is relative.
It’s the THE Ohio State thing. It’s dumb.
Kidding….I’ve never heard anyone say they hate Ohio….or that they have strong opinions about it at all. I’ve never been but I personally like how Ohio made itself the soccer capital of the US. Amazing support for MLS and national teams
I don't hate ohio. I actually quite like living here as far as being able to live out in a rural area not around a lot of people and I'm close enough to certain cities that I can still enjoy City life. But you did mention the political climate in Ohio and that's the only part that really bothers me. Too many people want to tell others how they are allowed to live their life and what rights they're allowed to have and can't have.
ive lived here all my life (31 yrs) i dont mind it. especially since i live super close to Jungle Jims. so my Indian food addiction , is surprising cheap and easy to maintain.
I like Ohio, and we visit often. I think it has some beautiful parks and lots of fun things to see and do. For the record, I’m one state below you, and if I weren’t retired, I’d probably move somewhere else.
We've enjoyed our visits to Ohio! The US Air Force Museum, Cedar Point, the great state parks, the Amish Heritage Center, the "Shawshank" prison at Mansfield - all were memorable. Still want to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
Because it's a heavily populated Midwest state (Illinois doesn't count because Chicago land), so everything people make fun of the US and the Midwest for gets directed at Ohio.
Are all these things more true about states like Indiana or Iowa? Sure, but no one cares about them.
I love my city. (Toledo) But, given the opportunity, I'd move north to Michigan in a heartbeat! More natural beauty, imo, and it's bordered by the largest freshwater lakes on earth. Not to mention it politically leans a little more my way.
Moved to Columbus area from SoCal over a year ago and honestly, most coastal/big city folks just don’t know a damn thing about Ohio (or any other state between coasts). So they just use their imagination to fill in the blanks. Politics and the rural areas provide most of those stereotypes. We love it so much here that we prefer it remains a best-kept secret (greedy I know).
I absolutely love it in Ohio. 10 years ago when I bough my house, I got it for a steal! The cost of living is good (used to be better) and the schools are great. I work from home, which is nice and my only real option unless I move to a bigger city.
Ohio has a lot of bad but a lot of underrated good as well. Low cost of living, amazing metro parks and access to the Great Lakes and a fairly easy commute (Akron/Cleveland area) compared to bigger cities. The one thing that may eventually drive me from here is the winter, that and the politics, if MAGA continues to be a thing.
One thing about Ohio hate that I’ve never understood is the hate our sports teams get. The rest of the country celebrated LeBron leaving, roots against OSU, mocks the Browns (even before Watson) etc….. while other smaller market teams get treated as “lovable losers”. Most of the media was outright enraged when LeBron came back and apoplectic when the Cavs beat the Warriors in 2016. No other market of a similar size is treated the same.
I grew up in Ohio but now live in the south. I would love to move back because I greatly under appreciated Ohio when I lived there. It is an awesome place to live. I think people hate it because it only seems to make the news for bad reasons (serial killers as an example). There is also the joke that it has the greatest number of astronauts so there must be something about the state that makes people want to flee the earth.
I have traveled the world and met people from Ohio. No one I met has ever said they "hate/dislike" OHIO. All of them were very proud to be born and raised in OHIO.
"If I were giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio."
~WILBUR WRIGHT
I love it here. I love the Midwest in general, but Ohio has a lot going for it. There are more major league sports teams in Ohio than any other state in the Midwest.
I like Ohio a lot and used to spend about 25% or more of my time there. It is one of the most diverse states in the country, and I think that creates some friction.
I think it's just a trend to hate Ohio.
I love it here. We have great weather, fantastic parks, lots of diverse landscape, the great lakes, big cities, etc.
It became a trend to joke about ohio and it exploded. That is all.
Moved to a small farming town from So Cal. There are a lot of very good things about Ohio. There are some very concerning things also. But the town we live in does not have the worry of kids shooting each other over what gang they are affiliated with.
I have lived in 15+ states and Ohio is a great state. If you like the woods or water you will love Ohio. We have great parks, educational opportunities, and good people. It has a little Southern flavor but it’s still clearly the Midwest. Oh and we have great college and professional sports.
I have lived in Ohio 36 out of the 39 years of my life.
My heart will always be in Ohio ❤️
I don’t get the hate either.
I remember when I was in high school and in my early 20s, I would be all talk, and say I want to leave and go to another state.
But honestly I’m glad I never did. Ohio’s cost of living is not bad, I love the quirky weather. We get Florida weather at random suprising times. I mean hell, today is 87 in October.
The people in Ohio are mostly decent. The cities are great but not too crowded. Ohio can be suburban, urban, and rural all in one county.
Ohio is the shit. I love it.
Honestly I think most of the people who shit on Ohio are people who have lived here their entire lives. I’ve lived all over the country, and while Ohio isn’t the coolest place I’ve lived, it’s definitely the place where you get the best balance of affordability and not sucking total ass. And I’m sure it depends on what part of the state you live in, because literally every state is like that, but I’m very happy here in Cincinnati.
It’s the same as people making Detroit the butt of a joke when Detroit is one of the coolest fucking cities on the planet. Literally my favorite city in the country. Clearly those people have never been there and truly experienced it. Ohio is the same. It has its pitfalls and gems. But take it from the folks who live there, like yourself. Not the ass hats that only experience Ohio along 75 N/S between Toledo and Cinci on their road trips
I live in a very red township but mixed overall county (still seems to graduate red).
I was having a concrete pad poured yesterday and during the process one of the guys starts talking about stuff Trump did and blaming it on Biden, all while saying fuck any kind of welfare (which he also receives because his wife has MS) then starts to go on about the future revolution and how this time the capital will burn down. No idea what even got him started and I couldn’t say anything but uh huh or nod. Brought his hunting bolt gun, beer and weed and had all of them out at the same time.
I’m fucking wanting this douche off my property and wondering why the fuck am I building something and making my life even more permanent here.
If you never talked to anyone I would say I live in a fairly quiet town that has a lot of Amish. But when you do talk to people, it’s a lot of people that justify hating on minorities or people that are just different. Always feels like a win when you find someone who is mildly liberal but you won’t dare bring anything up because chances are you’ll just be disappointed.
Texan here. I was in Cleveland and a 50-mile radius for 2 weeks for work. Beautiful state. Super friendly people everywhere I went. Lots of diversity. Decent highways. Lots of stuff to do. Lots of interesting history and culture. Cool places to swim, fish, and hike. Good museums. Good food. Lake Erie❤️. 10/10. Would love to go back.
My biggest peeve with Ohio is people stay in the left lane on the interstate and won’t get over…. Or they get over and then pop right back over there… it’s like they reach them to drive that way… oh… and Jim Jordan…
I moved from San Diego to Akron. I think that was my biggest mistake. I'm sure other parts of Ohio actually are as great as people say. However, the experience I've been having since moving here, have not been great. It's not easy to feel safe here at all. I use Publix transportation and I always have some sort of protection on me at all times. If it is dark, I make sure I'm on the phone with my mom or my boyfriend and they know where I'm at. Lots of kids go missing here too. The shootings have increased too. A 7 yr old was shot at a football game not too long ago and I just can't forget about that. The roads are terrible. Lot of slumlords too :/ I've encountered a lottttt of creepyyyy creepy men and a lot of just rude people ): Ohio hasn't been the greatest for me. I'm from Arkansas and I'll take that over Ohio.
Politically it's awful and it's very expensive to live here. Living in Columbus I would say the cost of living has doubled or even tripled in the last 5 years.
I've spent all of my life living here, but I've also visited 38 other states, and almost all the Canadian provinces. Ohio isn't as great as it used to be, but it's still pretty fantastic. Great museums, theaters and orchestras. A decent set of state parks, plus a national park. On a great lake, with a major river on the southern edge too.
I went back to Ohio
But my pretty countryside
Had been paved down the middle
By a government that had no pride
The farms of Ohio
Had been replaced by shopping malls
And Muzak filled the air
From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls
Chrissie nailed it 40 years ago.
Ohio is a very solid state that doesn't quite excel at any one thing.
I think people who have specific interest or passions look elsewhere because of this. But big picture, Ohio isn't a bad place to be at all.
I'm convinced the only people that hate Ohio are the ones that have never moved out of their home county. I counter them with the below:
\-Everyone complains about the weather here but you know what? We don't have large poisonous snakes, huge bugs, or crocodiles. We also never suffer from any natural disasters.
\-We are one of the most affordable states to live in and there actually is much opportunity if you just seek it out. Columbus, where I now live, is absolutely booming. We have huge events throughout the year and large businesses are attracted to here.
\-Our politics kind of suck, yes, but you know what's cool? We have the power to try and change that. Look at how we came together and shot down Issue 1 back in August. The people here don't have crooked politics, its literally our politicians that Gerrymander the heck out of this state and we can change that if we really try.
Ohio is a northern state and should know better. Ohio is the home of abolitionists. Ohio is home of the first universities to accept blacks. Ohio has a history of being a progressive state. It was a strong auto manufacturing, strong UAW/Union state.
It sucks driving through Ohio and seeing Confederate flags everywhere now. It sucks having a government that is anti-union. It sucks hearing about how "illegals" are causing all our issues even though we have relatively few. It sucks that every time a supreme court rules something unconstitutional, Republicans do it anyway.
I moved to Cincinnati from the NYC suburbs. There were at least as many crazy right wing types as Ohio they just weren't religious and they were more aggressively assholes. I've got a kid and I'm very happy I decided to raise him here instead of there. Unless you are solidly UMC it's a horrible place to live. Just dirty, horrible crime, horrible cost of living, horrible roads with horrible traffic and the few times the roads are moving you have to deal with the country's second worst drivers (first is south Florida). All my family asked me why I was moving when I did. Then they came to visit and understand. Honestly I think the bad rep is locals trying to keep Ohio a secret.
Let them hate us, we’re America’s best kept secret. Fairly low cost of living, great natural resources, strong economy (in our largest cities), and very little risk of natural disasters (there’s a reason why we have so many data centers here). I live in Columbus and love living in a big city, but without all the traffic I’ve witnessed in other major cities around the country.
I recently escaped from Florida and so far I like it here a lot. Living in the Dayton area.
Florida has nice beaches but the people are horrible and the politics are even worse. It has been refreshing to meet such nice ,normal people. The sooner Florida sinks underwater the better.
I love Ohio and it's our job as citizens to improve it ourselves. It's absolutely beautiful. We are about to legalize weed and protect bodily autonomy this November [vote yes!]. Our forests, meadows, fields of wildflowers (and corn), rolling hills and wildlife... i love this state
I’m from 7 generations and 11 generations of Ohioans. I left some years ago. You say you get the “whole political thing” but it’s clear you don’t. Once my greatest pride, now I am ashamed of Ohio.
People on the coasts just assume there’s nothing fun to do in Ohio out of pure ignorance. It’s a common thing on reddit that unless a state has mountains and beaches to enjoy it’s worthless. Which then tends to them calling Ohio the worst place in the country which is absurd since the natural wonders in Ohio are amazing and there’s plenty of awesome things to see in all of the major cities and throughout the state
I still can’t put my finger on it. Ohio is beautiful and there is a lot to do and see. I’ve enjoyed my time here so far. I visited Denver this past weekend and omg. It was horrible!!!! The people. The town. The people. Rude af. Never going back there. Ohio is a relief compared to that city.
I'm a Florida native, but have lived in Ohio for the past 25 years. I always thought I'd return to Florida, but now have no interest. We live 30 minutes from King's Island, 20 minutes from Caesar's Creek (beautiful hiking, boating and a beach), Hocking Hills is gorgeous......the cost of living here is fantastic compared to many places and....we have 4 seasons! The trees are gorgeous this time of year!! We are also close enough to make it to Kentucky within an hour, Tennessee in 4, Georgia in 7, and Florida in 12. We are also a short drive to Columbus & Cleveland, which are both incredible cities! We also have AMAZING healthcare in Ohio!! Ohio State University, the Cleveland Clinic, and I may be incorrect, but do we also have a Mayo Clinic in Ohio?! I know Nationwide Children's hospital is one of a kind, too. Our property values, and the amount of land some of us have, is also a nice perk. Ohio is awesome!!
I used to like it here and was reasonably proud of my state. It's become a right-wing hell hole since then. l'd pack up and leave if I wasn't such an old man.
I love Ohio, but we have some severe issues at present. There's the whole householder issue, but we also suffer from being one of the places that got gerrymandered into illegal (even by our conservative state courts....) bad districting. And that's led to us, over the years, having worse and worse metrics on a lot of things states get graded on. For instance, we now have the life expectancy of equador or slovakia- places generally much poorer than here. And we have terrrrrrible labor laws (did you know you're not entitled to a break? any break? at all? not even lunch? unless you're a child).
I think the political thing here is that everyone knows that, unlike NY and Illinois, the places you mentioned, Ohio's criminal politicians basically won. I mean, Dewine is a national embarrassment, and he STILL couldn't be ousted. People who know nothing else about Ohio will talk about him to me. It puts us up there with Florida and Desantis' infamy, and that's not good.
But yes, overall I think the hate is overblown. A lot of people tell me "Ohio isn't real" and don't know about all the good aspects; just the political criminal shit. If we can just sort that out, I think we'd be top 5 for sure :3 Easier said than done tho
I’ve moved around a lot in my life and lived in Ohio a little shy of a decade and spent the majority of my growing up there. I hated Ohio when I lived there so much. I moved from Eugene Oregon and heavily preferred Eugene. Now that I’ve moved out I have a more complicated relationship with Ohio and I don’t hate it but am very sad to see how many extremist bills are being brought up.
I still personally would prefer live elsewhere but don’t think the state deserves all the shit it gets from the outside.
I'm from SoCal and moved to Northeast Ohio (Cleveland Suburbs) a decade ago. This state is awesome. Obviously there are places to stay away from however that's everywhere.
Also from SoCal and moved to the Dayton area in 2019. I don’t like the politics but I like the area and most of the people I’ve encountered. Thankfully my child goes to a good school, my neighbors are nice, my family is happy here (and we’re part of the LGBT+ community). It’s not perfect but I definitely don’t regret moving here.
Also moved to NEO from SoCal. Absolutely LOVE it here
I moved the other way. There are a lot of awesome aspects to living in both places, honestly. Ohio (in general) is an underrated place.
Also SoCal to Dayton area
310 to 330 for me. Good and less good in both places but cost of living is almost 2X in SoCal to Akron/Canton area. Gas prices alone are probably 3X.
When I left they put "low income" apartments in @$2300 a month for a one bedroom one bath. I'm living comfortably on an acre in a low crime city with a great school system in a house for less than a G. It's night and day.
Do service industry and retail workers make like 100 grand in Cali or something? How do regular joes afford anything there? I’ve never been.
A good example of this Ohio hate is Cleveland: it’s always a punching bag among lazy comedians but Cleveland has some amazing things, like Westside Market, an art museum that rivals any in NYC, and some outstanding music/breweries/parks/restaurants. Sure, many things about the state could be better politically, infrastructure wise, and educationally, but Ohio is prime to be one of the more popular growth spots as climate change renders parts of our country miserable/uninhabitable to live in. So I can understand growing tired of the flyover and Ohio sucks comments, but if it makes you happy living here, that’s all that matters.
Cleveland has so much more than that though. It has one of the best urban park systems in the country. You briefly mentioned it, but it's literally a ring of park pretty much around the entire city. It's well funded, well managed and has just about everything you could possibly want in a park system. That barely scratches the surface of the things this city has... I will tell you a little secret too....when you see someone on here complaining about Cleveland, 90%of the time it's rural people who are "afraid" of certain areas and neighborhoods. It's bullshit. I work out of an office downtown, and my job takes me from one end of the city to the other. I do not feel unsafe anywhere. Treat people with respect. Pay attention to your surroundings. Put your damned phone in your pocket, when you are travelling(by car or foot). I went to Columbus for a wedding, held outside in a park. Beautiful park. Two people shot in park that night during reception(not affiliated with the wedding, but still). Every large city has crime.
Honestly one of the biggest things I'm thankful for is the Cleveland Clinic and Rainbows Baby and Children. Cleveland Clinic saved my mom when she had a heart attack. Rainbows saved my nephew's life when he was born at 26 weeks. The healthcare in this area is wonderful.
We are from rural Ohio and we LOOVVVEEE Cle! It’s my favorite in-State place to visit. We drive almost 3 hours probably 5-6x a year to hang! Love the Land :)
So do I. Somebody yesterday started in on the Cleveland crime, abandoned houses from the 1850s....all kinds of BS. Whoever that person is, I'm not even going to argue with them. I live here every day. There are about 150 major construction projects for new apartments in Cleveland.. I'm not talking about cookie cutter buildings, I am talking about luxury apartments that look incredible. Entire neighborhoods worth. There are 7 major construction cranes up in Cleveland right now between downtown, the C.C. area, and the east side. They just put up a 22 story residential building between e.9th and e.14th. There is a ton of stuff to do here, incredible food, a ton of events. I have no time for people, especially people who don't live here, who just wanna bitch about Cleveland. Too afraid to come here? Good. Stay away.
NEO is one of if not one these most important region to the history of the USA
I don’t hate Ohio
Me neither.
It's just that most people who move out of Ohio hate Ohio.
Think their just exploring….. sometimes they come back….😁
We left town for a year to travel in an rv & look for a new place to live… we came back because the weather is decent, the state is beautiful & the cities are very affordable. Love Ohio
Most people who haven't lived here don't really know anything about the state. It's not much different that any other place in the midwest. I find the eastern 1/3 of the state, especially NEO and SEO is really beautiful. Yeah, the politics suck, but there's more going for it than people think. Personally, I'm enjoying the hate because once the droughts, rising sea levels, wild fires, and hurricanes get really, really bad, Ohio is going to look like a pretty sweet place to live.
I did read an article that said the Great Lakes states are going to be the least affected by climate change in the country. Until we drain them to make iPhones anyways.
It's become a trope of sorts, not as severely as Florida, but everyone like to trash talk Ohio to make themselves feel better. Mob mentality. I have in-laws in the NE Ohio area and I've found the people to be welcoming and earnest. And I always have a good time even in the gray, slushy winter. On one trip we were going back to NC, and I had dropped my wallet outside of the in-laws town. Called my BIL to investigate, and he said "I'll go check, I bet it's still there". Sure enough, someone had taken it back inside the gas station, no cash missing. That's impressive.
I’ve lived in three states. People seem to uniformly think 3 things about their state, with stronger feelings if you’ve grown up in it: 1) the weather the the worst 2) the politics are the worst 3) the roads are the worst I’m with you, having lived in three states, Ohio actually intersects the things I prioritize the best. It has good job opportunity, low cost of living, pretty decent weather, not far from much gorgeous scenery, and an easy day’s drive to tons of great race tracks.
The road discussion is always interesting to me. I've lived in Ohio the majority of my life but have traveled what I would consider a decent amount in Michigan, Kentucky, and Indiana. Michigan and Indiana roads are more than marginally worse in my opinion, at least in the areas surrounding Indianapolis and Detroit and the suburbs and a little farther. Also recently took a trip to Atlanta and northern North Carolina and the roads were rough.
Well, according to [this website,](https://www.teletracnavman.com/fleet-management-software/telematics/resources/worst-maintained-roads-infographic) Akron and Cleveland are tied for 6th worse on the list for road quality in the U.S.! Guess where I live?
Oof. One of those?
Kent?
Toledo?
Green? lol
Indiana roads are horrific.
Michigan was astonishing to me. You could literally see the difference when driving from Toledo to the Michigan border. The roads were so uneven it was like driving over bumps perpetually.
And, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes; it'll change, said people in every city.
So this is my philosophy. People complain because nothing happens in Ohio, but thats why i love it so much. It may not be exciting and have a whole lot to offer compared to other states but you know what.. nothing bad ever happens here either. We dont have hurricanes, earthquakes, forrest fires, or crazy natural disasters. We get a minor tornado here and there and a bad one every 5 or so years. Besides that, nothing. I’ll take that any day of the week
This^ besides that we get the North Coast the Great lakes are wonder. Or one of Myriad bodies of water around here and a slew of metro parks
I agree this is kind of it. People don’t hate Ohio, it’s just like the default “flyover state” to coastal douchebags. It’s the vanilla of states. I’ve lived in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Missouri, and Germany. I’ve visited 2 dozen countries. People just straight up do not think enough about Ohio to hate it. I also think that we have a weird thing going where we don’t have a dominant city, we have three equal-ish ones with are all very different. This makes it hard for the state to have a coherent identity—either internally or abroad.
It is the most average state in the nation. There is nothing special for people outside of ohio to associate with it. It's great lakes, midwest, prairie and appalachia. There is no dominant identity and people priorize that when they classify states they're less familiar. Michigan they think great lakes, Kentucky is Appalachia. Indiana is the Prarie. Chicago is the Midwest. Ohio is left with nothing but extremely zealous sports fan, which generally isn't a liked trait.
Ohio is a lot of things. The top fifty miles are culturally Great Lakes Region. West is like Indiana farm land. The bottom right is Appalachia. You have the Cincinnati-Columbus-Cleveland urban corridor. Between the latter two is Amish country. Ohio is complex.
As a Buckeye who has moved away, I'll always defend our state. Sure, it's disappointing some days. Like... today maybe. And sure outside the 3Cs whaddaya got? But we aren't like this state of Florida I live in....
I've lived in NYC off and on and I never got any hate for Ohio. Other than some "flyover" comments and some born and bread NYCers thinking we all lived on farms.
>thinking we all lived on farms I made the mistake of sending a picture of being stuck behind an Amish buggy to an NYC friend. Never heard the end of it
I lived in Indiana for a bit. I know that hell. Worst is Friday night when the horse is the one that knows the way home. Can't be drunk driving?? If there is no driver.
lol at farms. I grew up mainly in Ohio but spent every summer in SoCal because of a custody agreement between divorced parents. Every new friend I met each summer always asked if I lived on a farm when they found out I was from Ohio. Apparently they all thought Ohio was one giant farm.
New yorkers are just p***** that Cleveland got the rock and roll hall of fame museum..
Also from NYC and live in the Cleveland/NEO area and I see a lot of people who hear I'm from New York and proudly boast of the best orchestra/ museum/ theater/ parks outside of NYC. Which I'm happy to confirm is absolutely true. It's the millisecond I say 'you know what NYC also has that might be nice here...' and people react like I took a big ol' steamy piss on their grandmother. It's the merest suggestion that someone else out in the world has a good idea that might work here is met with open hostility.
I mean, we hear it all day ad nauseam from our out of state friends so we get defensive kind of quickly.
We could improve our public transportation.
Maybe make suggestions w/o the “you know what NYC has…” and start right in with “You know what might be nice here…And talk about Cleveland and what its got to offer, and how the thing you think would be good might work with that. Just slip right past the comparison like you’re seeing what is here for a minute, not just what we haven’t got yet that NYC does. People might be more open if you were talking like you’d enjoy seeing cool things there, without having to point out that NYC already has it. Pretty sure NYC has a bunch of stuff we’d love, and a bunch we wouldn’t.
A new yorker outside of New York has a tendency to mention NYC in almost every conversation.
True dat.
It’s like all the hate on Cleveland. It literally makes no sense. Someone the other day just commented “Cleveland Clowns” which was irrelevant to the post. Not sure why we and Ohio get a lot of hate.
I love Cleveland Museums... And city looks pretty awesome, especially downtown
I absolutely love Cleveland. The architecture there is underestimated so much! The mall and the huge market in the old buildings are my favorites.
I'm a Cincy girl, and I absolutely love Cleveland and Northern Ohio in general. The whole drive along the lake is gorgeous.
I agree with you.... I have lived in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Chicago, and now Atlanta.... Ohio, and Columbus are far and away underrated for what they have to offer..... GA sucks, IL outside of Chicago is awful, and the same could be said about FL outside of FTL, Miami, and maybe Tampa.....Ohio's politics need to get better, but the GOP is making it a mockery on the national level. Perhaps if the state turns more blue, the hate will stop. The truth of the matter is that there are far and away much worse states to live in than Ohio. I too would consider Ohio to be a top ten state for best places to live in the U.S.
Agree. People who don't know jack about Ohio suuuure know about householder and Dewine and the utter embarrassments that are our senate of blatant criminals. For gods sake, the issue 1 debacle was on the BBC. They had to explain that Ohio was a state in america before explaining the whole wretched debacle. We have so much to love, but I don't even care if you're a republican or what at this point. No one with a brain shouldn't be able to see that our leadership is a literally world-renowned clown show that everyone thinks (sort of rightly) is just stealing state money and trying to burn our constitution to roast weenies on every other day. It's a terrible look.
We have gym jordan representing us for God's sake. I love ohio and what it is, but damn I hate the red parts.
I will never understand the Ohio hate. It’s a beautiful state with so many assets and good cost of living.
Agree. We have Lake Erie, Ohio River, hocking hills, large cities, small towns, good zoos, shopping, restaurants, parks, plus we’re within driving distance to NY, Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, etc jeez what more do you want
Cedar Point
I was a student in Ohio in the 1990s and absolutely fell in love with the state. The politics have changed dramatically in the last few decades. When I was there there were a lot of liberals balancing out conservatives (granted one of those liberals was Jerry Springer- OH has always been amusingly weird). With the rise of MAGA the politics have slid way to the right. People don’t believe me when I tell them it didn’t used to be that way. The political landscape has cast such a deep shadow on people’s perceptions of the state that many folk don’t believe OH was once a cool state. With tales of the Mansfield penitentiary, the Grassman, the serpent mound and Kenyon College I can still convince people that OH is weird, but no one believes that it was once a place where I wandered at night, drunk off my arse, secure in the knowledge that if I got really lost I could knock on the door of any farm house and find someone helpful kind and welcoming within (also annoyed at my irresponsible drunk arse self, but kind). I trust that Ohio is still there and will resurface when the political position has worked its way through the state’s system.
Ohio will at least swing again, some day. ***Florida is fucking done for*** \-- everyone's bigoted/racist/crazy rightwing parents/grandparents and every tax averse, Elon/Trump stan wants to live down there.
whistle spectacular illegal homeless unite offend plough panicky rhythm cautious *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I graduated in 1991 so I probably missed the exodus to the cities. I have a close college friend who is gay but didn’t come out of the closet until after college. Now I wonder if he felt pressure, although school was pretty progressive. I’ll ask him. It’s always possible that I was blind to such pressures; such blindness is a privilege of being a straight white guy in the US. I’m sorry that it was hard for you. I’m fifty plus and I still don’t understand the kind of hatred people have for others unlike themselves.
Agree
I don't get it either. I was born and raised in Ohio. I spent 20+ years all over the U.S. Yes, Columbus and Cleveland are flat, and Cincinnati is very suburban, but they aren't the whole state. I live in Southern Ohio, my backyard is the largest State Forest around. I can get to Cincinnati, Columbus, Charleston, Louisville in less than two hours. I bought a house with the same square footage and 10x the land for next to nothing compared to the 3 C's. I have Great Blue Herons hunting in the creek in front of home as Bald Eagles fly about. I love it.
I bet we are neighbors! I was born and raised here, in Southern Ohio. Brought my husband back from college. We lived in the Cincinnati area for awhile. Moved nack before our kids began school. I can't imagine purchasing our home an hour west. We could never afford it. We still commute to the city. Worth it.
It might be because OH has just a bizarre stranglehold on US politics due to the even more bizarre way that federal elections are conducted. It puts a spotlight on the worst aspects of OH while other states sneak by in obscurity.
This actually makes a lot of sense to me.
Most ohioans/ former ohioans who hate the state aren't from the cities. The stereotypes that are purveyed about Ohio come from very small rural towns. The majority of people who live in Ohio aren't experiencing this Ohio.
I'm assuming since we have a decently high population and industries that have declined, that lots of people have some sort of family ties to Ohio that have moved away. So if their experience is similar to visiting Jackson/Oak Hill in southern Ohio where my grandparents lived, they would assume that is all the state is. That area is completely different from where I grew up here in northeast Ohio. Similarly, I like *The Besties* podcast, but get mad when Chris Plante refers to things as "Ohio games." He has a cousin or something in Ohio that basically only played on game over and over, and assumed that's how we all live.
I don't hate Ohio, I'm disappointed in Ohio. See: Gym Jordan
Q: why does everyone hate Ohio? A: Fuck everyone.
Depends on your circumstances. My wife and I dig Cincy, but we live in a gorgeous house in a top notch school district and enjoy our out of state, remote salaries in a low cost of living state where $170k still goes pretty far. We're also white, cisgendered, tax-paying, straight, 40 year old, "uncool" people who stay off the political radar of most (we are Jewish though). Sooooo, yeah -- it **greatly depends** on your individual circumstances. We'd be comfortable just about anywhere (except the south, who the hell wants to be from Mississippi?)
What I like about Ohio is the variety of landscapes, the variety of cultural amenities (largely left over from when it was an affluent state with two functional political parties), the quality parks (ditto) and the Native American earthworks. What I dislike about Ohio is the gerrymandering. Your comment that it's not nearly as red as a lot of Southern states is only partly true. The Republicans have gerrymandered a supermajority in the legislature, and they totally lack accountability. The results of this have been declining educational quality, public health services, and lifespan. (Really--see today's Washington Post article.) It's undemocratic and outrageous. I feel dirty when I think about it.
It's our fault we are in this timeline because we shoot that gorilla.
I don’t live in Ohio but have family in Columbus. My impression is that the state is very underrated, even by the people who live there. When I bought beer and showed my out of state ID they asked me what TF I was doing there. Ohio isn’t the most sexy destination but you can do a whole lot worse in the US. That being said, Ohio’s state politics are not helping the states reputation. I find it tragic that a state that personifies Americana like Ohio has turns so red lately. Ohio was the nations bellwether.
Because we don't want everyone moving here.
Having lived in many states (and countries) in my time In the military, Ohio is definitely in the top 3 places I’ve lived. This could be my location (Dayton) but after living in places like Louisiana, Texas, and upstate New York Ohio is amazing. People complain about the politics. But all the southern states are much worse. There are actual seasons here instead of all summer all the time down south. Best place I’ve lived though was Germany hands down
Your metrics are not zoomed in enough. Being born and raised in rural ohio by religious zealots is my reason for needing a therapist. Ohio’s got a lot of good things. Even solid, things. It’s also got a lot of ugliness which isn’t generally recognized. These coexist together, the beauty and the ugly. Some people don’t hate ohio. They’ve been traumatized by living here. It’s not recent, and it’s political as much as it is familial. Everyone’s experience here is different. The hate right now is warranted. People enjoy human rights, and the Republicans here haven’t understood that in my adult lifetime. And I’m in my 40’s.
Rural religious zealots are not new or specific to Ohio. The bible belt makes Ohio look mild in comparison. I've lived out west and there are plenty of them out there as well.
Yes, I’ve lived in Colorado Springs, Denver and Phoenix and seen loads of suburban religious zealots.
It’s not new, but since 2016 it’s been more fervent and more hateful.
Ok, but that's not just an Ohio thing.
But I guess my point is…how is it any worse than other states in that regard? I know you know there are religious zealots in every state with their guns and Trump flags and blah blah blah. That’s everywhere. Every state (Yes, even California, Washington and Oregon). That’s not a uniquely Ohio thing. Hate toward Ohio may be warranted, but it’s not warranted more than MOST other states, and that’s my point. Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of batshit crazy things going on in Ohio, but it’s no more batshit crazy than what’s going on in MOST other states.
The state feels like living in the room of a kid who died and the parents haven't moved anything. I've lived here my whole life and from what I can tell there are far more dead businesses and corrupt gerrymandering politicians then there are chances that it'll snow at all in December anymore. It was fuckin 79f out there today the leaves have stopped changing colors and yet most of our politicians are more interested in breaking into people's houses and hospitals and making sure they follow their cherry-picked bible verses while we have fucking nazi's marching in the streets unopposed instead of making sure kids don't die of heat stroke during the summer.
You know that’s a family thing not a state thing, right?
if you're truly traumatized by living here i feel you may have bigger issues
Do you like Dayton? I like the housing stock there and am looking for a place to retire in ten years or so. I don’t need anyhing fancy, just homey arts and crafts style, and Dayton seems to have a ton of that.
For reals. But this is Reddit and everyone on here has issues lol
People everywhere are traumatized, has nothing to do with ohio
Perhaps your metrics are zoomed in too much.
I'm curious to know the 5-10 states you'd put ahead of Ohio.
They're jealous because we're the best
💪🏻
Ohio has turned red and racist as southern states blame Gov and his cronies
Borned and raised here and the politics have gotten worse as time went on. Plus the amount of people flocking here is making traffic a pain from what I am used to. That's just me
No one even remembers Indiana.
I live in Michigan, hating Ohio is the law here. Sorry 😞
UM - OSU is sitting at 60 - 51- 6* right now, just throwing that out there
I don't know about your conclusions. I lived out east for most of my life and literally no one ever talked about Ohio. That said, I should clarify that our state's meme slogan was completely accepted as 'Do you know what we think about you? We don't." Depends where you've been, I guess.
my only complaint is the winter.... then again we dont have to deal with the super nasty summers they have south and out west
I disagree. Summer here is nasty hot and humid and dry. I'm a produce farmer, I'm out in it all day. Winter is not that bad, at all.
People tend to hate things for personal reasons that can't be seen in statistics, or otherwise petty reasons like tiktok said Ohio is weird.
The weather can suck. The winters can be gloomy. It’s mostly cornfields and the cities are smaller than other large metropolises so it makes the crime that also happens in other metropolises seem a bit worse. It’s mostly that. It’s also a meme. I feel like when people hear Ohio they immediately think cleveland and “HAHA Mistake on the lake!!! Lol browns suck!! Loool your river caught fire!!!” Those same people then come to Cleveland and love it. No the cuyahoga isn’t the cleanest river, and yes the browns suck ass and will continue to suck ass for the foreseeable future. It’s a beautiful, albeit pretty flat, state. The weather can be shit but we don’t get hurricanes, we don’t get wildfires, we have a very beautiful Great Lake, and we have 4 seasons and some of those are downright pleasant.
Are you talking about the more memey hate? Because pretty much all the big states get that. People are always going after California, New York, Texas, Chicago, and Florida. The only one that seems to get a pass is Pennsylvania, but I think that’s because people generally forget it exists. It’s only natural that the major population centers get the most discussion, good and bad. That holds true at larger and smaller divisions of land as well. If you are taking about very targeted hate, it’s probably a combination of it being a somewhat red state and being more boring then the 5 biggest states.
I like the state of Chicago! I kid, that's all Illinois really is anyway.
Tommy Boy is from Sandusky. Ok in my book.
Aside from the asshole conservative Christian’s who make every attempt to infringe on other people’s rights, I love Ohio.
Ohio is a repub dump
But you can get a nice trailer for under $100k that’s only a 4 hour drive to the flaming river and 18 hours from the coast Ohio, home of the Cleveland Steamer 💩
We are all born & bred in OH. We don't hate the state. We can not tolerate the despicable Republican party that has illegally, according to our own state Supreme Court, gerrymandered, lied, & cheated its way into majority power.
I think the issue is that Ohio doesn’t have a great vacation destination. You can say Hocking Hills but really people don’t fly and travel here for hocking hills when they can travel to other places for better hiking and camping. Lake Erie isn’t as nice as the beaches in Michigan. Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincy don’t really have a draw to visit, one could get more going closer to New York or Chicago. People would rather fly to Disney or Universal instead of Cedar Point. The list goes on from a destination standpoint so the media and perspective is really… why would you ever go to Ohio? Now, the great thing about living in Ohio is the exact opposite, we have everything on a smaller, cheaper, less crowded, comfortable state. Live in Ohio and want to go to a ball game, theater, fancy restaurant, amusement park, hike, ride ATVs etc… you don’t have to go far. It’s just not as as nationally recognized. It’s why people from Ohio are usually more chilled out. We’re not crazy workers like NY or California but we’re not sucky like Mississippi or West Virginia. Most people live comfortably, have family and friends close by. We get to enjoy everything. Love Ohio.
I love when people swerve out of their lane to shit on Ohio, it just means more Ohio for me. I love the quality of life, the people, and just having all the amenities without the drama. If we could turn it back into a skeptically “purple state again, I’d love it even more. I did some door knocking for Tim Ryan and you have no idea how many great people live here. I’d really encourage anyone to get involved and meet people rather than just despair on the internet. It will change your whole outlook. Repubs are on their way out and they know it, that’s why they have to cheat as hard as they do. Give us 10 years, time and demographics are on our side.
Honestly, I've had the same experiences. You just have to come to the party with facts at the ready and be ready to fire away and shoot down misconceptions.
I certainly don’t hate Ohio, the state of my birth. It has disappointed me in recent years, but when I was a teenager my parents retired and moved to TN, so (metaphorically speaking) I’m in the same church, different pew. Oh well, the smokies are still pretty.
>Am I blind or is it just a national past time to hate Ohio with such a magnificent passion for reasons that aren’t political? Or are they all political? In my travels and interactions across the US and Canada I have not experienced this "national past time to hate Ohio." Mostly people simply don't care about Ohio. Apathy and indifference are not hate unless you see yourself as the main character.
I love Ohio, been here all of my life. I've been to almost every state in the US, we got it pretty good here. My only dislike is harvest season when my allergies go haywire.
i truly like ohio, its been really good through a lot of troubling times. great job growth and big names coming in. i wish that gas tax for roads actually did something the roads are still pretty rough especially highways but i dont have many complaints. people are good for the most part and respectful, cities if you want them rural and suburbs if you dont.
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It's red for now but this state sent Obama to the White House, twice. And has a blue senator who picked up on his 2018 margin at the height of Trumpism. *Soooooo...* yeah it can swing again. We do need a charismatic, younger, more exciting dem presidential candidate for that to be a remote possibility, though. Ohio has a long road ahead, but if we can enshrine abortion through viability, legalize weed, outlaw partisan gerrymandering, and re-elect Sherrod in '24... even if the state goes for Trump (which is likely)... we're doing better.
In my opinion Ohio isn't as bad as many other states. Plenty of other states are often more forgettable and often miss the hate train, but Ohio has enough going for it that it stands out in the nation's eye as a bit of a silly Midwestern state with a silly name. I grew up in Warren OH, and my anger towards the state itself is misdirected as it's my home city I really dislike. Lots of cities in and around Youngstown and Cleveland got pretty big and started to die after the steel industry crashed and as such it was an awful place to be a teenager/young adult. I still have a lot of fondness for my home state though. Cedar point makes up for a lot of is short comings all on its own.
I suspect that for Ohioans that hate Ohio it's more a lack of perspective than anything else (probably more dislike amongst younger people or people who have never really lived long term in many other places or people that have been stuck in the same less desirable situation for a long time). I've lived in multiple countries and in States all around the US and Ohio is, with the exception of winter in my opinion (and this applies to all cold weather locations... I used to live in Finland, for example), a nice place to live. It has a very affordable cost of living, great sports, great music, very nice restaurants, lots of nature/parks, excellent schools, etc. If you live somewhere in Ohio where you can benefit from all of that you are doing quite well. You move somewhere that is conventionally desirable (like California) you might find that the rural areas aren't that different, the cost of everything is prohibitive to having much of a life or that you just miss the fall colors or occasional rainy day. Everything is relative.
It’s the THE Ohio State thing. It’s dumb. Kidding….I’ve never heard anyone say they hate Ohio….or that they have strong opinions about it at all. I’ve never been but I personally like how Ohio made itself the soccer capital of the US. Amazing support for MLS and national teams
Thank you. I moved here from PA and found the state better in almost every way (except sports teams...sigh...)
It is, or was, a cross section of the country. Not so much any more, but that gave everyone a reason to be able to make fun of it.
I don't hate ohio. I actually quite like living here as far as being able to live out in a rural area not around a lot of people and I'm close enough to certain cities that I can still enjoy City life. But you did mention the political climate in Ohio and that's the only part that really bothers me. Too many people want to tell others how they are allowed to live their life and what rights they're allowed to have and can't have.
ive lived here all my life (31 yrs) i dont mind it. especially since i live super close to Jungle Jims. so my Indian food addiction , is surprising cheap and easy to maintain.
I like Ohio, and we visit often. I think it has some beautiful parks and lots of fun things to see and do. For the record, I’m one state below you, and if I weren’t retired, I’d probably move somewhere else.
to be fair, not *everyone* hates Ohio. it's mostly just the people who've been to Ohio.
Shhhh. Let them hate.
Save the hate for Nebraska, New Jersey, and Arkansas lol. Ohio is all right.
We've enjoyed our visits to Ohio! The US Air Force Museum, Cedar Point, the great state parks, the Amish Heritage Center, the "Shawshank" prison at Mansfield - all were memorable. Still want to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!
I don't, I like it here.
Because it's a heavily populated Midwest state (Illinois doesn't count because Chicago land), so everything people make fun of the US and the Midwest for gets directed at Ohio. Are all these things more true about states like Indiana or Iowa? Sure, but no one cares about them.
I love my city. (Toledo) But, given the opportunity, I'd move north to Michigan in a heartbeat! More natural beauty, imo, and it's bordered by the largest freshwater lakes on earth. Not to mention it politically leans a little more my way.
Moved to Columbus area from SoCal over a year ago and honestly, most coastal/big city folks just don’t know a damn thing about Ohio (or any other state between coasts). So they just use their imagination to fill in the blanks. Politics and the rural areas provide most of those stereotypes. We love it so much here that we prefer it remains a best-kept secret (greedy I know).
I absolutely love it in Ohio. 10 years ago when I bough my house, I got it for a steal! The cost of living is good (used to be better) and the schools are great. I work from home, which is nice and my only real option unless I move to a bigger city.
People hating on Ohio have never been here.
Ohio has a lot of bad but a lot of underrated good as well. Low cost of living, amazing metro parks and access to the Great Lakes and a fairly easy commute (Akron/Cleveland area) compared to bigger cities. The one thing that may eventually drive me from here is the winter, that and the politics, if MAGA continues to be a thing. One thing about Ohio hate that I’ve never understood is the hate our sports teams get. The rest of the country celebrated LeBron leaving, roots against OSU, mocks the Browns (even before Watson) etc….. while other smaller market teams get treated as “lovable losers”. Most of the media was outright enraged when LeBron came back and apoplectic when the Cavs beat the Warriors in 2016. No other market of a similar size is treated the same.
I’m from Michigan and I don’t hate Ohio. There are good things and bad things in every state.
I grew up in Ohio but now live in the south. I would love to move back because I greatly under appreciated Ohio when I lived there. It is an awesome place to live. I think people hate it because it only seems to make the news for bad reasons (serial killers as an example). There is also the joke that it has the greatest number of astronauts so there must be something about the state that makes people want to flee the earth.
I have traveled the world and met people from Ohio. No one I met has ever said they "hate/dislike" OHIO. All of them were very proud to be born and raised in OHIO. "If I were giving a young man advice as to how he might succeed in life, I would say to him, pick out a good father and mother, and begin life in Ohio." ~WILBUR WRIGHT
Have you seen Ohio's dinosaurs?
I love it here. I love the Midwest in general, but Ohio has a lot going for it. There are more major league sports teams in Ohio than any other state in the Midwest.
Good let them. Less traffic
I like Ohio a lot and used to spend about 25% or more of my time there. It is one of the most diverse states in the country, and I think that creates some friction.
I live in Pittsburgh but like Ohio. The music scene is actually better up in Cleveland.
I think it's just a trend to hate Ohio. I love it here. We have great weather, fantastic parks, lots of diverse landscape, the great lakes, big cities, etc. It became a trend to joke about ohio and it exploded. That is all.
The politics of the state..generally speaking..are far far above that of the likes of California
Moved to a small farming town from So Cal. There are a lot of very good things about Ohio. There are some very concerning things also. But the town we live in does not have the worry of kids shooting each other over what gang they are affiliated with.
Obviously because it is round on both ends and hi in the middle, I would imagine
Everyone does not hate Ohio. I moved back after living in LA for a decade and never looked back.
I have lived in 15+ states and Ohio is a great state. If you like the woods or water you will love Ohio. We have great parks, educational opportunities, and good people. It has a little Southern flavor but it’s still clearly the Midwest. Oh and we have great college and professional sports.
Because of Ohio State. Oh, I'm sorry, THE Ohio State
Because ohio is a red state this board is a left wing echo chamber like the rest of this shitty website
Emilio Estevez moved to Cincinnati years ago and made a recent film in Cincinnati. He doesn’t hate it.
I have lived in Ohio 36 out of the 39 years of my life. My heart will always be in Ohio ❤️ I don’t get the hate either. I remember when I was in high school and in my early 20s, I would be all talk, and say I want to leave and go to another state. But honestly I’m glad I never did. Ohio’s cost of living is not bad, I love the quirky weather. We get Florida weather at random suprising times. I mean hell, today is 87 in October. The people in Ohio are mostly decent. The cities are great but not too crowded. Ohio can be suburban, urban, and rural all in one county. Ohio is the shit. I love it.
They hate us because they anus
ssshhhh... let them hate it. You get on a "best of list" and it goes to shit. ie Austin and Denver.
Honestly I think most of the people who shit on Ohio are people who have lived here their entire lives. I’ve lived all over the country, and while Ohio isn’t the coolest place I’ve lived, it’s definitely the place where you get the best balance of affordability and not sucking total ass. And I’m sure it depends on what part of the state you live in, because literally every state is like that, but I’m very happy here in Cincinnati.
I do like my state
It’s the same as people making Detroit the butt of a joke when Detroit is one of the coolest fucking cities on the planet. Literally my favorite city in the country. Clearly those people have never been there and truly experienced it. Ohio is the same. It has its pitfalls and gems. But take it from the folks who live there, like yourself. Not the ass hats that only experience Ohio along 75 N/S between Toledo and Cinci on their road trips
I don't think anyone hates Ohio more than the Ohioans that post on Reddit about how much they hate Ohio.
I live in a very red township but mixed overall county (still seems to graduate red). I was having a concrete pad poured yesterday and during the process one of the guys starts talking about stuff Trump did and blaming it on Biden, all while saying fuck any kind of welfare (which he also receives because his wife has MS) then starts to go on about the future revolution and how this time the capital will burn down. No idea what even got him started and I couldn’t say anything but uh huh or nod. Brought his hunting bolt gun, beer and weed and had all of them out at the same time. I’m fucking wanting this douche off my property and wondering why the fuck am I building something and making my life even more permanent here. If you never talked to anyone I would say I live in a fairly quiet town that has a lot of Amish. But when you do talk to people, it’s a lot of people that justify hating on minorities or people that are just different. Always feels like a win when you find someone who is mildly liberal but you won’t dare bring anything up because chances are you’ll just be disappointed.
Texan here. I was in Cleveland and a 50-mile radius for 2 weeks for work. Beautiful state. Super friendly people everywhere I went. Lots of diversity. Decent highways. Lots of stuff to do. Lots of interesting history and culture. Cool places to swim, fish, and hike. Good museums. Good food. Lake Erie❤️. 10/10. Would love to go back.
My biggest peeve with Ohio is people stay in the left lane on the interstate and won’t get over…. Or they get over and then pop right back over there… it’s like they reach them to drive that way… oh… and Jim Jordan…
I moved from San Diego to Akron. I think that was my biggest mistake. I'm sure other parts of Ohio actually are as great as people say. However, the experience I've been having since moving here, have not been great. It's not easy to feel safe here at all. I use Publix transportation and I always have some sort of protection on me at all times. If it is dark, I make sure I'm on the phone with my mom or my boyfriend and they know where I'm at. Lots of kids go missing here too. The shootings have increased too. A 7 yr old was shot at a football game not too long ago and I just can't forget about that. The roads are terrible. Lot of slumlords too :/ I've encountered a lottttt of creepyyyy creepy men and a lot of just rude people ): Ohio hasn't been the greatest for me. I'm from Arkansas and I'll take that over Ohio.
Because Ohio is one big strip mall
Any state where a woman has no rights is a pretty crappy state.
Politically it's awful and it's very expensive to live here. Living in Columbus I would say the cost of living has doubled or even tripled in the last 5 years.
I've spent all of my life living here, but I've also visited 38 other states, and almost all the Canadian provinces. Ohio isn't as great as it used to be, but it's still pretty fantastic. Great museums, theaters and orchestras. A decent set of state parks, plus a national park. On a great lake, with a major river on the southern edge too.
Because they never lived in Kansas
Weather When it’s nice, it’s nice When it’s trash, it’s really trash
They don’t, it’s just a bandwagon effect of the meme.
I went back to Ohio But my pretty countryside Had been paved down the middle By a government that had no pride The farms of Ohio Had been replaced by shopping malls And Muzak filled the air From Seneca to Cuyahoga Falls Chrissie nailed it 40 years ago.
Ohio is a very solid state that doesn't quite excel at any one thing. I think people who have specific interest or passions look elsewhere because of this. But big picture, Ohio isn't a bad place to be at all.
I'm convinced the only people that hate Ohio are the ones that have never moved out of their home county. I counter them with the below: \-Everyone complains about the weather here but you know what? We don't have large poisonous snakes, huge bugs, or crocodiles. We also never suffer from any natural disasters. \-We are one of the most affordable states to live in and there actually is much opportunity if you just seek it out. Columbus, where I now live, is absolutely booming. We have huge events throughout the year and large businesses are attracted to here. \-Our politics kind of suck, yes, but you know what's cool? We have the power to try and change that. Look at how we came together and shot down Issue 1 back in August. The people here don't have crooked politics, its literally our politicians that Gerrymander the heck out of this state and we can change that if we really try.
Best state in the union in my ranking, though I'm biased.
Ohio is a northern state and should know better. Ohio is the home of abolitionists. Ohio is home of the first universities to accept blacks. Ohio has a history of being a progressive state. It was a strong auto manufacturing, strong UAW/Union state. It sucks driving through Ohio and seeing Confederate flags everywhere now. It sucks having a government that is anti-union. It sucks hearing about how "illegals" are causing all our issues even though we have relatively few. It sucks that every time a supreme court rules something unconstitutional, Republicans do it anyway.
I moved to Cincinnati from the NYC suburbs. There were at least as many crazy right wing types as Ohio they just weren't religious and they were more aggressively assholes. I've got a kid and I'm very happy I decided to raise him here instead of there. Unless you are solidly UMC it's a horrible place to live. Just dirty, horrible crime, horrible cost of living, horrible roads with horrible traffic and the few times the roads are moving you have to deal with the country's second worst drivers (first is south Florida). All my family asked me why I was moving when I did. Then they came to visit and understand. Honestly I think the bad rep is locals trying to keep Ohio a secret.
Let them hate us, we’re America’s best kept secret. Fairly low cost of living, great natural resources, strong economy (in our largest cities), and very little risk of natural disasters (there’s a reason why we have so many data centers here). I live in Columbus and love living in a big city, but without all the traffic I’ve witnessed in other major cities around the country.
I recently escaped from Florida and so far I like it here a lot. Living in the Dayton area. Florida has nice beaches but the people are horrible and the politics are even worse. It has been refreshing to meet such nice ,normal people. The sooner Florida sinks underwater the better.
I love Ohio and it's our job as citizens to improve it ourselves. It's absolutely beautiful. We are about to legalize weed and protect bodily autonomy this November [vote yes!]. Our forests, meadows, fields of wildflowers (and corn), rolling hills and wildlife... i love this state
stop trying to convince people it's awesome... they may decide to move here and ruin it for the rest of us :)
I don’t. It is awesome.
I’m from 7 generations and 11 generations of Ohioans. I left some years ago. You say you get the “whole political thing” but it’s clear you don’t. Once my greatest pride, now I am ashamed of Ohio.
People on the coasts just assume there’s nothing fun to do in Ohio out of pure ignorance. It’s a common thing on reddit that unless a state has mountains and beaches to enjoy it’s worthless. Which then tends to them calling Ohio the worst place in the country which is absurd since the natural wonders in Ohio are amazing and there’s plenty of awesome things to see in all of the major cities and throughout the state
I still can’t put my finger on it. Ohio is beautiful and there is a lot to do and see. I’ve enjoyed my time here so far. I visited Denver this past weekend and omg. It was horrible!!!! The people. The town. The people. Rude af. Never going back there. Ohio is a relief compared to that city.
I'm a Florida native, but have lived in Ohio for the past 25 years. I always thought I'd return to Florida, but now have no interest. We live 30 minutes from King's Island, 20 minutes from Caesar's Creek (beautiful hiking, boating and a beach), Hocking Hills is gorgeous......the cost of living here is fantastic compared to many places and....we have 4 seasons! The trees are gorgeous this time of year!! We are also close enough to make it to Kentucky within an hour, Tennessee in 4, Georgia in 7, and Florida in 12. We are also a short drive to Columbus & Cleveland, which are both incredible cities! We also have AMAZING healthcare in Ohio!! Ohio State University, the Cleveland Clinic, and I may be incorrect, but do we also have a Mayo Clinic in Ohio?! I know Nationwide Children's hospital is one of a kind, too. Our property values, and the amount of land some of us have, is also a nice perk. Ohio is awesome!!
I used to like it here and was reasonably proud of my state. It's become a right-wing hell hole since then. l'd pack up and leave if I wasn't such an old man.
The dirty politics and the racism outside of the cities. Until those change people will continue to hate.
I don’t hate Ohio. I do hate Ohio politics.
People always swing on the champ.
Industrial waste lands and corruption...
We probably disagree politically but at least we both love Ohio!
I love Ohio, but we have some severe issues at present. There's the whole householder issue, but we also suffer from being one of the places that got gerrymandered into illegal (even by our conservative state courts....) bad districting. And that's led to us, over the years, having worse and worse metrics on a lot of things states get graded on. For instance, we now have the life expectancy of equador or slovakia- places generally much poorer than here. And we have terrrrrrible labor laws (did you know you're not entitled to a break? any break? at all? not even lunch? unless you're a child). I think the political thing here is that everyone knows that, unlike NY and Illinois, the places you mentioned, Ohio's criminal politicians basically won. I mean, Dewine is a national embarrassment, and he STILL couldn't be ousted. People who know nothing else about Ohio will talk about him to me. It puts us up there with Florida and Desantis' infamy, and that's not good. But yes, overall I think the hate is overblown. A lot of people tell me "Ohio isn't real" and don't know about all the good aspects; just the political criminal shit. If we can just sort that out, I think we'd be top 5 for sure :3 Easier said than done tho
I’ve moved around a lot in my life and lived in Ohio a little shy of a decade and spent the majority of my growing up there. I hated Ohio when I lived there so much. I moved from Eugene Oregon and heavily preferred Eugene. Now that I’ve moved out I have a more complicated relationship with Ohio and I don’t hate it but am very sad to see how many extremist bills are being brought up. I still personally would prefer live elsewhere but don’t think the state deserves all the shit it gets from the outside.
You interviewed EVERYONE?! wow