I would not be too surprised if the final decision was Columbus. There's no shortage of land, there's reasonable access to tech talent, a reasonably solid major research university, prices are comparatively low, and the city also has a positive reputation in a way that neither Cleveland or Cincinnati have. Further, the current governor and legislature of Ohio have really been going to bat in recent years to try to turn Columbus into a tech hub to generally revitalize Ohio.
I've heard great things about Columbus, OH. Never been there but sounds like a great midwest city with an affordable cost of living and nice college town (The Ohio State University).
Two come to mind for me: Columbus, OH and Champaign, IL.
Champaign seems pretty close to what you're looking for, but it's definitely too flat. That's why I'm leaving.
Columbus has Ohio State right there, and is as booming as you're going to find in Ohio. It's a beautiful city for the size and there's a sizable tech industry there. It's a place I wouldn't hesitate to live, but I have yet to do my time in the bay area and look forward to trying that for a few years.
I agree, Cleveland is a strange choice - for more than a lot of reasons. Personally I'm rooting for any of these cities: Chicago, Austin, Madison, Portland, Seattle or Minneapolis. Austin might be the ideal choice, if only for the big weather factor.
I feel like Columbus is going to be a strong contender based on Amazon's plans to use CVG as their hub for Amazon Air and wanting to have some proximity to that.
Columbus definitely seems like an underdog here but it could be one of the best options on this list. Great talent pool coming out of Ohio State, young people are already moving here, the local economy is doing great, and real estate is still very cheap compared to the national average and many other cities on this list.
It seems like the lack of nonstop flights to Seattle is the only real downside to it. But that's something I would think could almost certainly be fixed before the new campus was even finished.
Columbus is a more fun city if you are young, but Cleveland's advantage is that its healthcare is much better than either and so are its cultural institutions. Cleveland has elite museums, a well-known orchestra and a several playhouses. And if you are into professional sports, it's obviously you're best choice (except if you like professional football).
I don't know if I'd say that Cincinnati offers much over either one.
Columbus, OH is pretty great. The Dublin Entrepreneurial Center has cheap office space and access to the Metro Data Center on the same floor. There are a couple nice co-working spots too like 400 West Rich.
We have a burgeoning food scene that gets better every year. Cost of living is pretty cheap, we have an NHL team (not to mention NCAA powerhouse OSU), new apartments are going up seemingly everywhere, and Amazon's building a data center here.
This is actually a brilliant location for them. One of those places that has much more going for it than people not from the region would realize.
International airport, large rail depot, extremely low cost of living and a city/region that has more good restaurants and activities than might be expected. Ohio State University is in the city and is a huge school that is rapidly growing in academic standing. Road transit in the area is also very good allowing access to any part of the city from any other part in rapid fashion. Good schools, relatively low crime, etc. Probably the only drawback, from a lifestyle point of view, would be the winter and that's not even that bad, compared to other winter regions.
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