There's a TON of litter around the city. I swear it gets worse and worse every year. I literally saw a woman throw several fast food bags out of her car window on Vine St. in the middle of downtown.
ITS NOT THAT HARD TO BE A DECENT PERSON, STOP USING OUR CITY AS A TRASH CAN!
I was taking a walk the other day and saw this guy on a motorcycle at a red light toss trash on the sidewalk. He hurled it, too. It required effort. I don't understand why it couldn't have gone in his pocket or something.
But yeah, the litter is infuriating. I don't understand that mindset.
Cincinnati drivers are downright pleasant compared to Columbus drivers. Omg they cannot drive up there. I developed road rage for the decade I loved in that city
I’ve lived all over the country, 4 of the places were major US cities. Cincinnati has the best drivers out of all the places I’ve lived- by a landslide.
Agreed. Driving down North Bend is like driving on a war torn, bomb shelled, mine infested, gapping piece of cement earth that they’ve attempted to patch 84 times with 1,479 different types of concrete/asphalt/cement/gravel/tire shreds… you name it. Hot fucking mess.
The fact that it's SO car-centric. This city has botched every opportunity to install reliable mass-transit options. (RIP [MetroMoves](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetroMoves).)
I'm happy to see the streetcar finally getting the ridership it deserves and delighted that the line will now eventually get an expansion, but until we get a light rail option we'll always be holding ourselves back IMO.
I'm a regular Metro rider, and it's *not* perfect, but it's not terrible, although it really depends on your location. I happen to be on a major artery, so outside of occasional delays I rarely encounter serious issues.
Weekends and holidays are challenging, especially if you're not near a mainline. The sub- and exurbs do provide Park & Rides which I've used and know folks who used for many years. If you commute for a day job downtown you'll probably be in good shape. Worth it too, since parking downtown is **obscene**. Anything off hours or after 6, forget it.
Fare is proportionate imo. 2$ gets you a ride and a transfer good for 2 hours. 4$ buys a day pass, and 5$ extends that day pass to the TANK and South Bank Shuttle (NkY transit). 80$ for a month, pays for itself.
(#pro #tip: *buy your day pass for the TANK in KY, and save a buck* ☝️)
Sadly, I am *not* a fan of the Connector Street Car. I think the project was poorly planned, sloppily laid out, rushed, and very much in the way. It had great potential, but was slapdashed together, and only services a fraction of what was initially proposed. I get irritated every time I hear that ridiculous bell. I could go on, and I'd really like to, but I won't.
Aside from Metro, I live in a very pedestrian friendly neighborhood. Most things I need are a short walk- including a grocery store- but, it's too far to carry groceries back (unless it's only a few items). Fortunately, I've never paid more than ~10$ (including tip) to get back home.
Which means, yes, I do have to use Lyft/Uber to get around sometimes. I will walk almost anywhere, so for me to actually call a ride has to be a true necessity. In that way, I'm a bit of an outlier. Walking is my exercise, and riding the bus has become a great way to disconnect from my life and read a book, or play a crossword on my phone. It's *me* time.
Can you live in Cincinnati without a car? Yes. I haven't driven (by choice) in a decade. But I am not the norm, and you need to accept a certain level of inconvenience and patience, as well as coordinate specific circumstances for yourself to successfully do so. *You will need access to a car at some point*, so don't abandon your vehicle, or be prepared to set aside money for rideshare.
This concludes my treatise on Cincinnati Public Transit and additional items.
oh- and download the EZ FARE Transit App: it gives real time information on departures/arrivals, route planning, and pass purchases.
Metro is great if you want to go from an inner neighborhood to downtown and you don't need to be there in less than an hour. To actually move from neighborhood to neighborhood it is still pretty trash but the remote hubs are helping.
Curious to know why you think the streetcar is sloppily laid out and poorly planned? It’s a pretty simple route, passes a lot of major attractions, and has generated a ridiculous amount of development along the entire length of the track. If a previous mayor had let the project go through as intended we might have the second part of the line connecting university heights further connecting the two most populous areas of Cincinnati. I think the ever increasing number of people using the streetcar shows that it’s working.
Not trying to start a Reddit argument, I’m asking as someone who has also car-less and appreciates alternative methods of getting around.
I seem to recall that the streetcar was supposed to be a faster alternative to get people up around UC and back to downtown. That was my impression. It only goes around downtown, which for most people makes it useless (like me). I'd rather just walk those blocks, unless I'm not physically able to.
It’s more efficient than running the same amount of buses. Metros have about 60-70 including standing room, streetcar has 150 I think. The theory as I understand it is that a streetcar will be close to the cost of an equal amount of buses over time and cause a fraction of the pollution. I don’t know if that is the case for Cincinnatis streetcar. Kansas City has a similar system, I wonder if they have seen similar results to ours.
One thing I disagree with is that I like the streetcar and use it often, though I definitely recognize it’s… less than ideal that it only covers a walkable distance. I also don’t think the problem was poor planning, but rather republicans at both the state and city level purposefully trying to kill and neuter the project.
I live in Mainstrasse which is basically a fifteen minute neighborhood and I’m also car free. At first it wasn’t by choice. My car broke down and I didn’t have enough money at the time to buy something reliable, so I got an electric scooter.
I usually ride my bike to get around, but if I’m going somewhere and don’t want to show up sweaty, I can ride my scooter at ~20-30 MPH with no effort.
I also regularly use public transit. As a resident of Covington, my biggest gripe is that to get anywhere that’s not downtown I need at least one transfer from TANK to Metro, and sometimes I’ll have to transfer again to a different metro bus. If TANK and Metro could partner and smoosh themselves together into one organization, they’d be able to provide better service to people on both sides of the metro.
As for the inconvenience, it’s definitely there. But, there’s also the opposite side of the coin. Biking takes longer than driving. I’ve always struggled with my weight. But, now that I bike instead of drive everywhere, I’m at a healthy weight despite going to the gym twice a week instead of every other day like I used to. When I take the bus, it may turn a 10 minute drive into a 30-40 minute trip. BUT, I get to read or play Fire Emblem on my phone instead of having to pay attention to the road and get angry at all the dumbass drivers
It's not just mass transit that is the problem, the sidewalk situation is completely bonkers and wildly inconsistent between municipalities, even within the actual Cincinnati city limits. Hamilton County clearly doesn't require developers to include sidewalks or bike lanes when placing new residential developments. And forget about it for anything that's grandfathered. I won't even get started on the near complete lack of bike paths.
You know we tried to build a subway but the Great Depression put it down. There are still over 2 miles of underground where the subway was supposed to go that’s left abandoned
I live and work downtown and literally do not drive my car - but yes if you live and/or work outside of the downtown area it's very car-centric like most Midwest cities outside of Chicago.
As a lifelong Ohio River boater I will share the secret now. The river is fantastic. It is easily accessible, calm, light traffic, and yes, it is safe to swim in. This year already has been top tier for the river, with little rain it has been at pool for quite some time. It’s clear, cool, and beautiful. River hate is a meme in Cincinnati because of how it was long ago.
There are a few options within an hour. Easy fork to the east, brookville to the west and Caesar’s creek isn’t too far north. Btw we have an extensive and useable system of smaller rivers all over.
https://preview.redd.it/v26exi6xp5ad1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4c05d2c28f30fe666374b59b4c67dc00c8a0a83
Not as bad as I thought!
Now, do they test the sand for needles per cubic cm?
The Ohio River was the most polluted body of water in the US for several years in a row. 🫠
Definitely with you here! A nice clean body of water would be perfect.
Flying out of CVG has limited direct options and those we have are expensive. The only direct flights to Europe are London and Paris. After living in a major city with a huge airport this has been the hardest adjustment. Planning cheap air travel isn’t easy.
Whenever we're looking at air travel, we search CVG, but then also check Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Lexington and Louisville. Sometimes it's cheaper to drive 50-100 miles or so than to fly out of CVG.
I come from a very diverse city (Miami) so take what I say with a grain of salt but overall wishing Cincy had more diverse food spots & also options open past 9pm.
Indian is really the only international cuisine we’re doing ok in. There are some great restaurants but they’re rare and far too many burger and fry joints
I come from a small town with almost zero diversity, culinary or otherwise, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I feel like more diverse food spots are starting to crop up. I just wish they'd start to crop up faster.
Unfortunately, you're right about places being open past nine. Bars are, obviously, and a few pizza places, but I work evenings and I want more options than bars and pizza if I decide to go out after work.
I get downvoted every time I post this but West Chester/Mason/Sharonville has lots of diverse restaurants. Thai, Indian, Greek, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Uzbecki to name a few.
Moved here from Virginia 5 years ago. I miss saltwater, the Bay, and fishing. Ive subbed those things with wandering creeks with a fly rod, the great Ohio ocean (river), and still fishing. Good seafood is a hard one for me though. I haven’t found a reliable spot yet for great seafood that isn’t insanely expensive. But hey, the burger places are legit (shout out to Bards Burgers and Milkman). Oh and when people ask you what school you went to, they weirdly mean High-school not college. Very odd question imo. College seems much more relevant. I dont care what high school anyone went to.
I found it was they couldn’t leave, most people I met have family that have been here 3+ generations and they’re pretty tied up. I keep hearing about those that want to leave but those family ties in the city are strong. Been here 3yr from Virginia and barely know anybody even after living in 4 different parts of the city
If you haven’t fished Lake Erie yet, I suggest a good weekend trip up north. There are a couple fishing lakes within our 275 loop. A few in Lawrenceburg, brookville lake, (Indiana side) lake Gloria and snows lake in Colerain, etc are my main fishing holes.
Not seafood, but if you’re looking to buy fresh fish. Heist fish market at Findlay market gets fresh fish deliveries from Lake Erie every day they’re open.
When my hubs was introduced to old bay in DC last fall we had to order it from Amazon after 😆. Agree about the seafood quality. We moved back to Cincy as our hometown after 9 years in Miami and definitely miss ocean seafood 😔
I absolutely understand the high school reference. My husband is from Cincinnati and we live in So. Cal. When he meets someone from there the first question is about what high school did you attend. He is a graduate from SC and he will say he is an Aiken Falcon first. I just shake my head 😂
This is so relative to where you're coming from I think. Coming here from somewhere smaller or less cool, it's going to be the traffic and cost of living that sucks while the diversity, culture, events, food, etc is awesome. Coming from a big city, it's just the opposite- the cost and traffic are amazing and you might miss your relative abundance of diversity, culture, events food, etc.
Same with the weather, coming from Texas I'm blown away by how perfect summer feels to me and winter isn't too cold, but humid 90+ summer days are definitely more intense for some, while I'm definitely the first person wearing their puffy jacket come fall.
A more Cincy-specific drawback is definitely how insular a lot of social circles are because unlike coastal cities or draw cities like Nashville/Austin/Chicago, it's definitely a culture of locals. There's a lot of littering here, and chances are you'll live in a very old house/apartment, which is usually beautiful but has old house problems like crappy insulation.
And if you want to get really niche with it, I love going to estate sales but they're weirdly hidden/gatekept here. But all in all, I've spent time in Austin, Dallas, Tucson, Albuquerque, Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, LA, Chicago, Tulsa, Cleveland, Columbia, NYC, Bay Area, and a bunch of other cities, and Cincinnati is my personal sweet spot, the closest I've gotten to an American urban paradise.
More than 40% of children in the Cincinnati area live in poverty. That seems like a downside. Might not be specific to Cincinnati, but seems like an indication that maybe things aren’t working out so well.
part of the issue is much of the city, which is rather small compared to many other cities, is where much of the poverty in the area resides. If you include all of Hamilton county the number drops to 23.6% and if you include the tri state area it drops to 17.7%. National average is 19.5%.
So yeah, the city has a lot of poverty but so do all inner city areas, and well, the city is rather small meaning the majority of it is inner city. There is a lot to unwrap there and it's not all "well Cincinnati has more poverty than other areas." A lot of it comes from simply how to split people up.
I am not making excuses for poverty but I feel a lot of it is a nationwide issue and places like Cincinnati get the short end of the statistics.
yes but it's higher for kids:
[https://www.wcpo.com/news/our-community/child-poverty-rates-in-cincinnati-hamilton-county-still-higher-than-the-u-s-as-a-whole](https://www.wcpo.com/news/our-community/child-poverty-rates-in-cincinnati-hamilton-county-still-higher-than-the-u-s-as-a-whole)
from the same site just to confirm the wcpo rate: [https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/ohio/cincinnati/](https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/ohio/cincinnati/)
Rate Under 18 is 43.2%
Rate Under 5 is 44%
Side note, this site is really insightful. Would love to know more about it.
Cincinnati is a very easy place to live compared to a lot of places, big and small.
It is a real city, with nieghborhoods, loads of parks, interesting places to explore.
You have the top level things like a very good airport, professional and collegiate athletics, plenty of arts orgs, funkier aspects, numerous music venues. If you want to do it, there is probably a variation here.
Then the lower level things like finding a cool bar, a decent meal, a place that becomes your go-to place.
My nieghbors are friendly without being too nosy and we look after each other.
It is a small city with big city amenities.
It also has the problems that come with that big city vibe.
There is crime. It can seem overwhelming, but I very very rarely feel unsafe.
There is some traffic, but not nearly to the level that people claim.
It is a friendly city, but can feel lonely at times to a transplant. But I think that is true of anywhere.
I think, since you asked about the downsides, that Cincinnati's downsides are the same downsides that any urban area has. Some poverty and it's associated problems, some crime/violence, some traffic, some noise, some rude/impatient people. All the things you would expect in a city.
But I think it's upsides far outweighs the downsides, and it is really easy to live here.
This is the most reasonable answer. I've lived in 7 states and another country and this is essentially my take on the city as well. I've lived here since 2006. It's the longest I've lived anywhere because it really is easy to live here.
I mean this is an America issue, not a Cincinnati-specific issue. We have it nowhere near as bad as most similarly sized cities in this country, we're at [number 75](https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-the-largest-home-price-growth-last-decade) on the list of average home price increase over the last decade.
Not only that, but of the 58 mid-sized cities with a lower price increase below us, 41 of those have a higher median home price. This is an America problem, not a Cincinnati problem, and we have it better than most of the country.
Agree, very bad. Also not unique to Cincinnati in any way, and again we actually have it pretty good- in 2024, there are 73 mid-sized cities with higher home price-household income ratio: [same site, different chart](https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-highest-home-price-to-income-ratios). This isn't why Cincinnati sucks, this is why free-market housing sucks and corporate-owned residential property investment should be highly regulated.
We have it better than most of the country, and of the midsized cities that are actually cool and nice to live in, there are maybe 10 that aren't a major downgrade in quality of life.
We have it reeeeaaalllllly good compared to almost anywhere else in the US at a similar size and quality of life
Yes. I would like nothing more than to move into a MUCH smaller home or apartment (my husband, dog, and I are currently in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home that's too big for us), but we aren't going to pay 3xs more for a lot less space. So, I guess we're stuck in our house for the foreseeable future.
Look in Northern Kentucky. The surrounding towns on the other side of the river, excluding Newport and fort Thomas, are actually way cheaper than within Cincy limits and you're only a 10 minute highway drive from the city
We have a 40% black population but you can’t tell by a lot of places you go to for a typical night out on the town. This place can be very weirdly segregated.
You can thank redlining and racially-biased development plans for that one. This is a good callout as it does always strike me how you can see the demographics change as you drive through the city.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West\_End,\_Cincinnati#:\~:text=Nearly%203%2C700%20buildings%20on%20450,city%20from%201950%20to%201970.
Urban Planning God, Robert Moses, specifically made bridges with not enough clearance for busses so blacks couldn't visit the beach in NYC. He drove a ton of national planning policy to the detriment of all minorities.
Cincinnati is the 5th most segregated city in the country and has maintained very high segregation since its founding, racial and socio-economic. As other commenters mentioned, policies like redlining have contributed to that, but even prior, OTR for example was a largely segregated community for Cincinnati's German population. The west end prior to demolition was 96% black, and nicely separated from everyone else by the canal (now Central Parkway).
I once went dancing and wound up in a black bar, which was so fucking fun. I’m the whitest girl on the planet, but had a black father figure so no big deal.
It was New Year’s Eve and I was flying solo because I haven’t lived in Cincy, full time, since I was a child.
I was dancing with some black girls — one asked me “you my boo?” I said “hell yeah I’m your boo.”
She went in to kiss me. I said “oh hey! I’m not gay!”
“But you said you were my boo!”
We all smoked a blunt later and kept dancing. It was an amazing night, but there was not a single other white person in that bar.
The city is so weirdly segregated. Still. My elementary / middle / hs didn’t have one single black kid and that’s absolutely sickening. It was 100% white.
It’s REALLY hard to rent a 1 bedroom apartment for under $800, unless you move 30-40 minutes from the city. Don’t even think about finding an apartment with an in unit washer and dryer for under $1100 😭
I do love Cincinnati so much tho so that’s all I got. The crackheads even leave you alone for the most part too so 😂
People (myself included at times I’m not perfect) cannot drive for shit. I feel like every single time I drive on 75 or 71 I have to avoid someone hitting me and it feels hella defensive like I’m fighting for my life on these highways lol
I've lived in 4-5 metro areas across the US and cincinnati has the single worst set of drivers I have ever dealt with. it's not even close. it's not the aggression of NYC or chicago; it is the sheer stupidity of the people who drive here that makes it so dangerous.
Nobody has mentioned this but for me the biggest downside was the nature of the economy there, specifically that there is very little tech or biotech in the area and that the major employers skew disproportionately toward companies that have been around for over a century. This isn't much of an issue if you have a good job either in one of those companies or in some area like medicine or law or accounting that is sort of geographically universal. My wife worked for P&G and looking for a job in that area was a very tough experience, and ultimately the reason we moved away. I also wasn't super impressed with the youth sports scene that I was exposed to, although in fairness our oldest was only 6 at the time we left so we really didn't get to dive into it much.
- extremely car dependent/ not walkable
- summers are disgusting
- because it’s in a river valley, it has a lot of allergens
- it’s in Ohio and although Cincinnati itself is rather progressive, we still have some crazies and anti-evolution signs on the highways and stuff
- increasing COL
- even though it snows every single winter, people freak out and don’t know how to drive
- constant construction on the interstates
City council is useless at best and corrupt at worst. Local music scene has too much tall poppy syndrome and infighting to ever produce big names or lift our city up. Sometimes the weather is bipolar. Highway construction for the past 40 years (mostly I-75). Not good at advertising events. Our sports teams are experts at heartbreak. I think that’s probably it though.
I have lived here all my life but have a very large number of professional connections across the country (and around the world). In my view, the only real downside, if you call it that, is that we get several cold weeks in winter. Even that, though, is less today than 10 years ago. Not only this city but the whole region is a very nice place to live and very cheap compared to most other places. 3 pro sports teams, 2 major college teams, world class zoo and arts programs. tons of history, tons of outdoor activities, hundreds of great day trips, low cost of living. A major research hospital (UC) + the #1 children’s hospital in the world. Public transport is terrible but you don’t need it unless you can’t afford a car. Cincy is ranked as the 5th most philanthropic city in the country. Tons of music venues and more coming. A major amusement park. Just a lot of amenities against housing prices that are still super low.
So much litter, people not bagging their dogs’ poop, drivers are AWFUL, kind of general air of hostility sometimes - but that last one’s true anywhere in the Midwest, I guess.
Ohioans are some of the most littering people I've ever met. I was working CRC Hyde Park a couple of summers ago, at the summer camp. Trash blew on the ground and I told a kid to pick it up. His response was 'it's not mine'. I said I don't care, please pick it up. He picked it up and I said you know what that's called? Being a good citizen. Maybe I made an impression, maybe not.
I guarantee you did not make a good impression lol. Maybe if you led by example and picked it up yourself, he’d see it as something grown ups do, but now it’s just something grown ups tell him to do, but don’t do themselves. Nice.
We’re too polite to admit it or solve it, but there’s deep generational down-low racism carried by some Cincinnatians. It manifests in housing & jobs in particular. It’s up to the younger generations to break the legacy.
If you live downtown, you may struggle with the lack of grocery and various shopping available. My friend moved here from a large city in Belgium and was completely astonished by how much the inner city felt like it wasn’t made for people to actually live there, just work there.
Downtown and OTR don’t feel very safe to me past like 10pm(certain parts feel unsafe at all times of the day). I live in Clifton and there are a lot of sketchy people there too. Granted I come from a really safe part of California and I’ve only been in Cincy for 2 years so take my words with a grain of salt.
Grew up in Cincy and moved out west, just returned. Biggest difference between out west bad areas and here is typically crime does not impact those outside social circles. Basically what I'm saying is the crimes here are between two people that know each other compared to random petty crime or theft out west. Granted the areas here look WAY more sketchy, but really aren't. Even if it looks bad chances are no one will bother you past trying to talk to you. This could be partially due to the prevalence of firearms in the area.
The only place I wouldn't go alone near downtown is E Liberty and Vine past like 11pm. Lower west price hill as well potentially.
No you’re right!! I grew up here and I never feel safe downtown past like 10pm. Same with Clifton. There’s always some sort of violence going on especially in the summer
It's very cliquey. I have noticed people are ridiculously obsessed with what school you went to and "if you're not from this state, then go away" kind of mentality. My in-laws are like this and I feel like a black sheep.
It can be very hard to integrate into the community here. However, the bright side is that there are more and more like me so it's becoming less lonely to not be from here.
Moved here from Texas about a year ago and can confirm that it's very cliquey. Far and away everyone's been friendly with me, but definitely has the vibe of "pretty much everyone here is from here," which makes it harder to find your people as an outsider ingratiating yourself into lifelong social circles
See, I hear that a lot and have never experienced it. I’m from out of state and live in a neighborhood that is supposedly very insular and aside from a fireman calling my house by its previous owners’ name while speaking with me in my house, no one has even batted an eye.
When I first moved in the early 90's, GQ wrote an article about moving here. I still remember the one statement to the effect....by high school everyone already has all the friends they need. Back then, and maybe still today from your comment SweetTeaBags, it's still tough to get to know and be friends with "local people."
Cincinnati sucks haha. I’ve lived here for a year. I’m gonna be moving to San Francisco and bite the bullet of cost of living to get away from the most suspicious, rude, midwestern, living in high school folk I’ve ever met. This is coming from a chick who grew up on the south side of Youngstown. Y’all are for the birds
As a frequent traveler but a long time Cincinnati resident I'll list some of the cons:
* Going east to west (or vice versa) in the metro area sucks. There's no easy/fast way to do it
* The summers get pretty gross (humidity) but depending on where you're moving from this may not be an issue (it's not US SE bad or anything)
* Winters have become very mild (that can be a downside if you want lots of regular snow.)
* Housing/rent have skyrocketed over the past 5 or so years
* Lacks a fun geographical distinction (no oceans/mountains/large lakes, etc)
* State government seems to only care about Columbus and OSU
I agree except for the geography statement. I think the hills popping up on all sides of the city and the river carving through is somewhat unique and very beautiful. I had a friend from Miami in town and she kept saying she couldn’t believe how beautiful Cincinnati was and that she found it incredibly charming
Not just for Ohio. Cooler natural setting than charlotte, Louisville, Indy, Columbus, St. Louis, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and many other cities.
I love Cincinnati, the more I travel the more I realize it’s one of the only cities I’d ever live in again.
But the winter weather broke me. I couldn’t stand the six months of grey. I’m in the high desert now and, even though we get lots of snow in the winter, we also get sun every day. It’s been a game changer for me.
I know this is a touchy one, but for me, the religion--especially Catholicism--everywhere is obnoxious. Closely related, the number of Trumpers. I'm as white, straight, and middle-aged as it gets and these two aspects of life in Cincinnati make me the most uncomfortable.
Thank you. It seems overreaching at times.
I’m not religious, nor do I fly my politics on the back of a truck. I miss when people could befriend each other without bringing in their politics and religion.
I respect that as I used to not be Catholic (converted decades ago). However I am the opposite....Cincinnati is a rare island where we are visible. I lived ten years in the bible belt and the experience as a former Baptist was eye opening. Then I traveled to China regularly and saw how underground Catholics need to be.
I hope we treat you with respect!
I am not religious but as I have learned more about other branches of christianity in the US I am kind of happy to be in a primarily Catholic town.
Catholics actually somewhat mind their own business and they have pretty buildings.
I think Cincinnati is mostly a great city with so much to offer, I grew up in Butler County and went to school at UC. I know people will disagree with me here but I moved because of the state’s politics. I encountered more openly racist, anti medicine, traditional family values people there than I have any other liberal city/state I’ve lived in. In the previous three cities I’ve lived/worked in, people were more open about their political affiliation because most people are liberal. They can say they’re frustrated about Roe V Wade being overturned because they know most of their peers agree. I’ve lost touch with all of my college friends because they’ve turned more alt right/fake news and wouldn’t get vaccinated during Covid. From personal experience I didn’t connect to the people (including my family) so this is a very personal anecdote, but reflects why my husband and I won’t move back even though the CoL is much more reasonable than where we currently live.
Oh and the humidity and mosquitoes are out of control in the summer lol
Lacks diversity (it’s pretty much black and white), punches below its weight for culinary scene, unsafe neighbourhoods sprinkled throughout, small downtown.
I think that it has more potential than people can even reasonably rationalize. So much developed before the automobile that the way of life before the car should have been the way forever. Look at Paris for example. There’s no I71 right up against the Seine.
I would say our weather sucks, spring and fall last like a week each. Then 5 months of cold miserable winter and 5 months of humid miserable summer.
And the air quality/allergens. Something about the river valley trapping it all.
EDIT: Will everyone shut up with their "ackchyually North Dakota and Minnesota have colder winters than we do" Yeah no duh, I personally don't like winter. And roughly like 50% of Americans live in places that don't experience winter weather at all. 40 million people live in California and get better weather than us year round. The OP asked for things that could be seen as downsides.
Totally with you on the summer front. Just disgustingly hot and muggy day in and day out but you are way off base with the winter. Coming from Cleveland and being in the heart of the snow belt up there Cincinnati winters are a breeze. Temps are much warmer and there is a fraction of the snow. We may get one "real" snow a season down here. Yes it's depressing and grey for most of winter but that happens in any city in a northern state.
You apparently missed last fall when we had multiple months of nice weather. October - December isn't anywhere close to cold and miserable. Jan and Feb definitely are though.
Having lived in Minneapolis and Syracuse for a couple years, this is exactly how I’d describe it there. I don’t agree so much here except the humid summer comment. The winters here are extremely easy.
Gotta disagree on this one... to each their own but I think we have some of the best weather in the midwest. Unfortunately, most of the USA doesn't have great year-round weather so you always gotta pick and choose. Within a 4-6 hour drive, I'd pick our weather over most any other city. Nashville may be the only one that beats us cause winter is a bit warmer and they get more sun (but even hotter summers).
Eh, we've barely had a winter here for at least 5 years. Maybe an unusually cold week here or there and a couple decent snowfalls, but it's the gloom more than anything.
There is a widespread attitude and belief that Cincinnati is on the cusp of greatness. The reality is that thinking is delusional and that the city will never become what its residents think it will become. This is depressing for some.
This optimism is nearly always shot down at the ballot box when anything bold or worthwhile is put forward (ex. public transit).
There is also a sense of victimhood because of this dynamic. You’ll hear time and time again, people saying “When will we finally get this [insert trendy chain business]?” But the entrepreneurial spirit to open a business or to bring in a franchise is pretty limited. A lot of Cincinnatians don’t understand that they can contribute to the city what they’d like to see. Rather, they’re waiting for the powers that be to hand it to them.
Cincinnati is a really cool city for its size. I grew up here, spent time in a cosmopolitan big city, and later came back intentionally. I’d much rather live in Cincinnati than St Louis, Columbus, Louisville, Milwaukee, or Pittsburgh. But, the city’s attitude may annoy you.
There is like a mass excitement over the “one big thing” happening in the city that weekend/season. It results in people talking about it like no other city has ever done it before.
I remember when we finally got some food halls, just overhearing folks saying “wow! What an original concept” and using the same exact soundbyte on repeat made me want to cut my ears off after seeing food halls in several other cities.
It is a somewhat provincial city that yearns to be a big city. With that comes some awesome amenities, things to do, and an edginess, at a fraction of the cost with the benefits of a small city.
Aside from that, if you’re not a big sports fan, you’ll notice that the city revolves entirely around sports except for a few peripheral pockets. Even the city center is being sieged by sports stadiums.
People who live here typically aren’t well travelled. I was eating at food halls in Denver like 7 years before the first one opened here. It’s consistently at least 5 years behind other metro areas.
I get the impression that a lot of people who love it are from here, or from nearby smaller cities. Your view of the drawbacks will, of course, depend on you and your experiences. I'm from the east coast and feel that Cincinnati is just ok. A lot of drawbacks, but a lot of good stuff as well.
You asked about drawbacks, so here are my most salient (but there are others, including many mentioned by others here).
1. So segregated. It's obvious, and the people who don't notice are the people I mentioned above who likely haven't lived anywhere better integrated.
2. Related, very little foreign cultural influence--it's hard to find great ethnic restaurants, supermarkets, etc. There are a few options, but it's not as easy to find as I was used to.
3. Grey, grey winters. I got somewhat used to it, but it was jarring for my first few years.
4. Small town feel/insular feel. A lot of people don't leave and settle down around the corner from their parents in the neighborhood that they grew up in. This means culture is slower to change here--I haven't looked for sources to cite, but I feel like we're behind similarly sized cities on the coasts. There is sort of a monoculture--don't get me wrong, there are many other vibes/scenes here, but the prevalent vibe is very religious, beer, sports. And it means that, despite people being very friendly here, it can be hard to break into social groups because they're often rooted in childhood.
5. Along with the weird dominant culture, we're really low on some benefits of being in a smaller area with close-in rural areas, like good orchards/pick your own X (besides apples and pumpkins--plenty of options for that) and farms where you can buy an organic half cow or whatever. They're out there, but options are much more limited and harder to find than I expected.
6. Transportation here is pretty car-dependent. You could figure it out without a car if you choose to live in the right place, but it's generally really hard to get around without a car.
7. The downtown is way less vibrant than it should be. But I'm not sure that this is a cinti thing; I believe a lot of cities are struggling with this.
8. Ohio itself/the republican undercurrent. Obviously, this is only a drawback for some; it may be a benefit to you. But Ohio is trying really hard to join the likes of, say, WV and MS in being a terrible state for a lot of people, due obviously to a large number of Ohio residents, and of course many of those people reside in the Cincinnati area. Cincinnati itself is, like most US cities, democratic; however, we're only a few years out from having had almost entirely republican suburbs and exurbs, and that shit is palpable. Locally, it appears to be changing for the better (from my perspective), but state-wide it does not.
Edited to change a few spots that came off differently from how I intended them on re-reading
Public transit is basically non-existent unless you’re trying to just move around downtown. You muuussstttt have a car anywhere else.
On trash days there are garbage cans everywhere, left lying in the sidewalk or on lawns, parts of the city don’t have alleys.
The airport - small, in Kentucky, some direct flights out of here but not as many as you’d expect
It’s still cheap to live here….ish.
I never realized how annoying the trash can thing was until I had a baby and needed to navigate a stroller along the sidewalk. Guess I’ll just walk my baby in the street. Same for people in wheelchairs too.
Subjective but the things I don’t like about cincy are:
-climate: summers are too hot/muggy, winters are gray and dreary
-car dependency
-lack of outdoors activities/nature
-every social interaction revolves around drinking
-political climate of Ohio
There are a ton of pros and I would pick Cincy over similar cities like Indy, Columbus, Louisville. I’d consider Pittsburgh or Cleveland though
The number one thing I feel is lacking is the parks system. I grew up in the greater Cleveland area and moved to Cincinnati about 5 years ago. Yes, Cincinnati has parks, but they’re nowhere near the volume and quality that Cleveland Metroparks has. I’m not finding long trails, dedicated bike/pedestrian paths, and just places to explore. It seems Cincinnati parks are very manicured and urban, and lacking that true nature feel. Maybe I was just spoiled in Cleveland. If anyone has suggestions I’d love to hear them!
Oh man, actually the parks are one of the things I miss about Cincinnati. Here in MA the only real public parks out in the burbs are the ones at the local elementary schools which are obviously limited. That one out on Clough pike in Anderson with the water things would blow people's minds here.
>maybe I was spoiled
Unfortunately, yeah, I think the metro parks are uniquely outstanding. I assume they get what they need because of the national park right there.
Loveland has some nice trails though.
The highest crime city I have lived in/been a victim of. High amounts of poverty and very little public assistance or community care for the issue. Racism, homophobia, general lack of interest of other cultures other than Germanic ones. Trumpers everywhere. Generally, if you’re from the west coast and move out here you’ll find that this entire state is about 20 years behind what we’re used too. It’s actually really sad and don’t get me started on the education system out here, absolute trash. But hey it’s affordable (somewhat as the pay is out here is terrible as well).
I've spent significant time in a ton of American cities, and Cincinnati traffic is far and away the least terrible I've experienced.
I sympathize with anyone complaining about it if this is the worst you've seen, but compared to any other metropolitan area with 2 million-plus, we have it so so easy.
Ya I gotta be honest, the traffic in Cincinnati almost doesn't count as traffic. I have found over the years that people in cities with the worst traffic complain about it the least because they are acclimated, and the opposite is true of places like Cincinnati. Houston is my textbook example of this. People there \*bitch\* about the traffic when it adds 20-30 minutes to a 40 mile commute at rush hour. That's minor league stuff.
I lived in Cincinnati for 9 years, came from the Seattle area. I travel the county for work so I have driven in most large and mid size cities. Besides cut in hill during peak commute times I would rank Cincinnati very low in terms of traffic congestion. Maybe because many of you have not experienced real traffic, you have nothing to compare it to. But just know the traffic in the metro Cincinnati area is pretty darn good. In terms of poor drivers, it seems like excessive speed is the problem here. Rarely do I see highway / state police patrolling 75/71 for speeders. Red light cameras would also be helpful.
The climate is god awful about 8 months of the year. Hot, sweaty, mosquito ridden summers, three months of mud, and maybe two 4-6 week stretches of beautiful weather. No sun from November to May. At least climate change has murdered the winter months here, which used to also be miserable but lately have been just depressing.
I've lived in Chicago before and I think one distinct downside is no rail transit line. It was nice to be able to walk a couple blocks, get on the train, not worry about traffic or parking and be in downtown in a few minutes.
I grew up here. Lived in Tampa for 7 years, and just moved back for family & cost of living.
CVG (the airport) sucks, not enough destinations, expensive routes, and poorly configured TSA. The bridges/highways make traffic way worse than it should be for a metro area this size. The sports teams have been awful for decades (Bengals super bowl run is looking more and more like a fluke than a franchise revival). The cost of living is growing faster than many comparable cities because it was cheaper here for so long. Cincinnati also doesn't have a very unique/defining culture - I know some might debate that, but to me it's a very common Midwest culture that you can find in Louisville, St Louis, Kansas City, etc. With some notable exceptions, the food scene here leaves a lot to be desired. The music events scene in Cincy is dead as well, with many major events & artists choosing to go to Columbus or Louisville instead.
I think Cincinnati is a pretty good place to live, but I also think people get very weirdly territorial and almost stockholm syndrome-y about it.
It was really, really nice to be able to go see a ballgame at that nice ballpark for a reasonable price though. I miss that a lot. As a matter of fact I needed a new hat the other day and ordered a Reds hat, even though I was a very casual fan and not from there. While we were there I sort of adopted the Reds after we'd been to enough games and I'd taken my kids enough times and had a nice comfy sweatshirt I paid a fortune for one night when it was way colder than expected at the park. Although I never had to worry much about learning the players names or checking the standings that often because there wasn't much risk of them making the playoffs. It was a low-pressure fan experience, but nice in hindsight.
My issue is the lack of diversity. Asian, Hispanic population vs Caucasian and African Americans has been improving at a snails pace. I grew up there, lived 32 years in Cincinnati and always felt an underlining tension between the Caucasian and African American communities.
That's funny most people I come across dislike it here.
Personally, I think the food is quite mediocre only a handful of places are worth a visit, pair that with everything closing early leaves you with extremely limited options after 9PM. The roads suck. And lots of crime, mainly shootings when the weather warms up.
For context, they just took down a guy who stabbed his girlfriend who fled to OTR next to a busy/touristy area RIGHT before the opening night for a show at the music hall...Yeah not a good look. And too many people downplay that type of violence here. Last thing I want to think about is getting caught in the cross fire while I'm out walking my dog, having a drink or eating dinner. This is not normal nor should it be downplayed because this does not happen in big cities primarily where's there's lot of a foot traffic or public places. If it does its quite rare. All that shit is concentered away from public/touristy places, nobody is trying to heat the block up.
Personally for me the downside was the constant sound of sirens around. It maybe for the many hospitals (upside) in the city but sometimes it’s for OD cases which the firefighters go to. So if you are not used to the sound, it’s pretty loud especially at night and if you plan to live near a busy street. I couldn’t sleep well for a few night after moving in!
Litter and smell if we are being real mean.
It’s a disgusting downtown area.
Again I love the city but the first thing transplants point out is the smell during the summer.
Something is very wrong with our sewage system.
Drivers are horrible here. Not endangering your life horrible, just in their own little world oblivious to people around them.
My car has been in the body shop 4 times in the last 2 years.., none my fault haha.
There's a TON of litter around the city. I swear it gets worse and worse every year. I literally saw a woman throw several fast food bags out of her car window on Vine St. in the middle of downtown. ITS NOT THAT HARD TO BE A DECENT PERSON, STOP USING OUR CITY AS A TRASH CAN!
If I had it my way litterers get a 40 hours community service picking up litter.
I was taking a walk the other day and saw this guy on a motorcycle at a red light toss trash on the sidewalk. He hurled it, too. It required effort. I don't understand why it couldn't have gone in his pocket or something. But yeah, the litter is infuriating. I don't understand that mindset.
Don't trash the nati
Don’t trash the ‘Nati
I agree... do we not have a jail/community service program for cleanup?
I’ve lived a lot of places, but the trash on the roads is unbelievable! Especially since we don’t have homeless camps all over, like some cities.
Thank you.... How hard is it clean up your mess, keep it in your car, whatever, this drives me crazy
I hate the roads in cincy
The drivers are worse than the roads
Cincinnati drivers are downright pleasant compared to Columbus drivers. Omg they cannot drive up there. I developed road rage for the decade I loved in that city
I’ve lived all over the country, 4 of the places were major US cities. Cincinnati has the best drivers out of all the places I’ve lived- by a landslide.
Agreed. Driving down North Bend is like driving on a war torn, bomb shelled, mine infested, gapping piece of cement earth that they’ve attempted to patch 84 times with 1,479 different types of concrete/asphalt/cement/gravel/tire shreds… you name it. Hot fucking mess.
I mean they aren't the best but have you ever been to other Midwestern cities? Ours are pretty darn good compared to theirs. Just saying.
And driving is almost required. Very limited public transit options.
The fact that it's SO car-centric. This city has botched every opportunity to install reliable mass-transit options. (RIP [MetroMoves](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetroMoves).) I'm happy to see the streetcar finally getting the ridership it deserves and delighted that the line will now eventually get an expansion, but until we get a light rail option we'll always be holding ourselves back IMO.
I'm a regular Metro rider, and it's *not* perfect, but it's not terrible, although it really depends on your location. I happen to be on a major artery, so outside of occasional delays I rarely encounter serious issues. Weekends and holidays are challenging, especially if you're not near a mainline. The sub- and exurbs do provide Park & Rides which I've used and know folks who used for many years. If you commute for a day job downtown you'll probably be in good shape. Worth it too, since parking downtown is **obscene**. Anything off hours or after 6, forget it. Fare is proportionate imo. 2$ gets you a ride and a transfer good for 2 hours. 4$ buys a day pass, and 5$ extends that day pass to the TANK and South Bank Shuttle (NkY transit). 80$ for a month, pays for itself. (#pro #tip: *buy your day pass for the TANK in KY, and save a buck* ☝️) Sadly, I am *not* a fan of the Connector Street Car. I think the project was poorly planned, sloppily laid out, rushed, and very much in the way. It had great potential, but was slapdashed together, and only services a fraction of what was initially proposed. I get irritated every time I hear that ridiculous bell. I could go on, and I'd really like to, but I won't. Aside from Metro, I live in a very pedestrian friendly neighborhood. Most things I need are a short walk- including a grocery store- but, it's too far to carry groceries back (unless it's only a few items). Fortunately, I've never paid more than ~10$ (including tip) to get back home. Which means, yes, I do have to use Lyft/Uber to get around sometimes. I will walk almost anywhere, so for me to actually call a ride has to be a true necessity. In that way, I'm a bit of an outlier. Walking is my exercise, and riding the bus has become a great way to disconnect from my life and read a book, or play a crossword on my phone. It's *me* time. Can you live in Cincinnati without a car? Yes. I haven't driven (by choice) in a decade. But I am not the norm, and you need to accept a certain level of inconvenience and patience, as well as coordinate specific circumstances for yourself to successfully do so. *You will need access to a car at some point*, so don't abandon your vehicle, or be prepared to set aside money for rideshare. This concludes my treatise on Cincinnati Public Transit and additional items. oh- and download the EZ FARE Transit App: it gives real time information on departures/arrivals, route planning, and pass purchases.
Yeah this is pretty right. I’m not a regular metro rider but on the occasion I do, it’s pretty reliable. And the streetcar leaves a lot to be desired.
Metro is great if you want to go from an inner neighborhood to downtown and you don't need to be there in less than an hour. To actually move from neighborhood to neighborhood it is still pretty trash but the remote hubs are helping.
Excellent post. I echo your cooments. I don't drive and live in Deer Park and have good bus options. This area is suburban, but it is working for me.
hey neighbor! love the DP!!
Curious to know why you think the streetcar is sloppily laid out and poorly planned? It’s a pretty simple route, passes a lot of major attractions, and has generated a ridiculous amount of development along the entire length of the track. If a previous mayor had let the project go through as intended we might have the second part of the line connecting university heights further connecting the two most populous areas of Cincinnati. I think the ever increasing number of people using the streetcar shows that it’s working. Not trying to start a Reddit argument, I’m asking as someone who has also car-less and appreciates alternative methods of getting around.
The previous mayor explicitly campaigned against the streetcar so it’s kinda crazy any of it got done.
I seem to recall that the streetcar was supposed to be a faster alternative to get people up around UC and back to downtown. That was my impression. It only goes around downtown, which for most people makes it useless (like me). I'd rather just walk those blocks, unless I'm not physically able to.
For those of who can’t walk easily, it’s a godsend.
I still can't figure out what the streetcar can do that an ordinary bus couldn't have done.
Being on a fixed route. The theory is that makes it easier to navigate, and businesses and residents are more willing to invest nearby.
It’s more efficient than running the same amount of buses. Metros have about 60-70 including standing room, streetcar has 150 I think. The theory as I understand it is that a streetcar will be close to the cost of an equal amount of buses over time and cause a fraction of the pollution. I don’t know if that is the case for Cincinnatis streetcar. Kansas City has a similar system, I wonder if they have seen similar results to ours.
One thing I disagree with is that I like the streetcar and use it often, though I definitely recognize it’s… less than ideal that it only covers a walkable distance. I also don’t think the problem was poor planning, but rather republicans at both the state and city level purposefully trying to kill and neuter the project. I live in Mainstrasse which is basically a fifteen minute neighborhood and I’m also car free. At first it wasn’t by choice. My car broke down and I didn’t have enough money at the time to buy something reliable, so I got an electric scooter. I usually ride my bike to get around, but if I’m going somewhere and don’t want to show up sweaty, I can ride my scooter at ~20-30 MPH with no effort. I also regularly use public transit. As a resident of Covington, my biggest gripe is that to get anywhere that’s not downtown I need at least one transfer from TANK to Metro, and sometimes I’ll have to transfer again to a different metro bus. If TANK and Metro could partner and smoosh themselves together into one organization, they’d be able to provide better service to people on both sides of the metro. As for the inconvenience, it’s definitely there. But, there’s also the opposite side of the coin. Biking takes longer than driving. I’ve always struggled with my weight. But, now that I bike instead of drive everywhere, I’m at a healthy weight despite going to the gym twice a week instead of every other day like I used to. When I take the bus, it may turn a 10 minute drive into a 30-40 minute trip. BUT, I get to read or play Fire Emblem on my phone instead of having to pay attention to the road and get angry at all the dumbass drivers
Agreed. It feels like everything is 30 minutes away no matter what direction I’m going 😅
Try living in columbus. Everything doesn’t *feel* 30 minutes away, it actually is.
This is not a problem unique to Cincinnati.
It's not just mass transit that is the problem, the sidewalk situation is completely bonkers and wildly inconsistent between municipalities, even within the actual Cincinnati city limits. Hamilton County clearly doesn't require developers to include sidewalks or bike lanes when placing new residential developments. And forget about it for anything that's grandfathered. I won't even get started on the near complete lack of bike paths.
You know we tried to build a subway but the Great Depression put it down. There are still over 2 miles of underground where the subway was supposed to go that’s left abandoned
Too small for modern subway cars. Now it houses a giant water main and communication cables and such.
Wasn’t the Great Depression. If that was a factor it was a minor one. We opened Union Terminal in the middle of the depression.
I live and work downtown and literally do not drive my car - but yes if you live and/or work outside of the downtown area it's very car-centric like most Midwest cities outside of Chicago.
Our bridges feel like a death trap.
Ah yes, the Brent Spence Crucible
It's a great place but also has everything that goes with an Urban area. Mental health issues, homelessness, drug addicts and associated violence.
Wish there was a really large body of water (that isn’t a river)
As a lifelong Ohio River boater I will share the secret now. The river is fantastic. It is easily accessible, calm, light traffic, and yes, it is safe to swim in. This year already has been top tier for the river, with little rain it has been at pool for quite some time. It’s clear, cool, and beautiful. River hate is a meme in Cincinnati because of how it was long ago.
shhhhh delete this
Yeah you just need to keep an eye on the E. coli numbers due to the amount of combined sewer outfalls along the river.
There are a few options within an hour. Easy fork to the east, brookville to the west and Caesar’s creek isn’t too far north. Btw we have an extensive and useable system of smaller rivers all over.
East fork is fucking disgusting, but Caesars creek is nice!
East fork lake is tested regularly and the results are available here: https://publicapps.odh.ohio.gov/beachguardpublic/beaches/191/samplings
https://preview.redd.it/v26exi6xp5ad1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4c05d2c28f30fe666374b59b4c67dc00c8a0a83 Not as bad as I thought! Now, do they test the sand for needles per cubic cm?
The Ohio River was the most polluted body of water in the US for several years in a row. 🫠 Definitely with you here! A nice clean body of water would be perfect.
caught on fire 13 times!!
Me too! As a water lover, that's the only thing that bothers me.
Agreed. Just went back home to CT and didn’t realize how little water was in Cincinnati until I made the comparison
There is Landen Lake but we don't share...lol
Flying out of CVG has limited direct options and those we have are expensive. The only direct flights to Europe are London and Paris. After living in a major city with a huge airport this has been the hardest adjustment. Planning cheap air travel isn’t easy.
Whenever we're looking at air travel, we search CVG, but then also check Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Lexington and Louisville. Sometimes it's cheaper to drive 50-100 miles or so than to fly out of CVG.
I come from a very diverse city (Miami) so take what I say with a grain of salt but overall wishing Cincy had more diverse food spots & also options open past 9pm.
Indian is really the only international cuisine we’re doing ok in. There are some great restaurants but they’re rare and far too many burger and fry joints
I come from a small town with almost zero diversity, culinary or otherwise, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but I feel like more diverse food spots are starting to crop up. I just wish they'd start to crop up faster. Unfortunately, you're right about places being open past nine. Bars are, obviously, and a few pizza places, but I work evenings and I want more options than bars and pizza if I decide to go out after work.
I get downvoted every time I post this but West Chester/Mason/Sharonville has lots of diverse restaurants. Thai, Indian, Greek, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Uzbecki to name a few.
thank you for sharing! I have found a dominican and peruvian restaurant out there so I believe ya. will def have to check out those other spots.
Moved here from Virginia 5 years ago. I miss saltwater, the Bay, and fishing. Ive subbed those things with wandering creeks with a fly rod, the great Ohio ocean (river), and still fishing. Good seafood is a hard one for me though. I haven’t found a reliable spot yet for great seafood that isn’t insanely expensive. But hey, the burger places are legit (shout out to Bards Burgers and Milkman). Oh and when people ask you what school you went to, they weirdly mean High-school not college. Very odd question imo. College seems much more relevant. I dont care what high school anyone went to.
I’m originally from Maryland… i would kill for a lick of some decent seafood out here!
the high school bit seems to be because nobody from here ever leaves.
There actually is something to be said about a city no one wants to leave.
that’s true, i’m still trying to figure out why exactly that is though
I found it was they couldn’t leave, most people I met have family that have been here 3+ generations and they’re pretty tied up. I keep hearing about those that want to leave but those family ties in the city are strong. Been here 3yr from Virginia and barely know anybody even after living in 4 different parts of the city
If you haven’t fished Lake Erie yet, I suggest a good weekend trip up north. There are a couple fishing lakes within our 275 loop. A few in Lawrenceburg, brookville lake, (Indiana side) lake Gloria and snows lake in Colerain, etc are my main fishing holes. Not seafood, but if you’re looking to buy fresh fish. Heist fish market at Findlay market gets fresh fish deliveries from Lake Erie every day they’re open.
When my hubs was introduced to old bay in DC last fall we had to order it from Amazon after 😆. Agree about the seafood quality. We moved back to Cincy as our hometown after 9 years in Miami and definitely miss ocean seafood 😔
I absolutely understand the high school reference. My husband is from Cincinnati and we live in So. Cal. When he meets someone from there the first question is about what high school did you attend. He is a graduate from SC and he will say he is an Aiken Falcon first. I just shake my head 😂
This is so relative to where you're coming from I think. Coming here from somewhere smaller or less cool, it's going to be the traffic and cost of living that sucks while the diversity, culture, events, food, etc is awesome. Coming from a big city, it's just the opposite- the cost and traffic are amazing and you might miss your relative abundance of diversity, culture, events food, etc. Same with the weather, coming from Texas I'm blown away by how perfect summer feels to me and winter isn't too cold, but humid 90+ summer days are definitely more intense for some, while I'm definitely the first person wearing their puffy jacket come fall. A more Cincy-specific drawback is definitely how insular a lot of social circles are because unlike coastal cities or draw cities like Nashville/Austin/Chicago, it's definitely a culture of locals. There's a lot of littering here, and chances are you'll live in a very old house/apartment, which is usually beautiful but has old house problems like crappy insulation. And if you want to get really niche with it, I love going to estate sales but they're weirdly hidden/gatekept here. But all in all, I've spent time in Austin, Dallas, Tucson, Albuquerque, Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, LA, Chicago, Tulsa, Cleveland, Columbia, NYC, Bay Area, and a bunch of other cities, and Cincinnati is my personal sweet spot, the closest I've gotten to an American urban paradise.
More than 40% of children in the Cincinnati area live in poverty. That seems like a downside. Might not be specific to Cincinnati, but seems like an indication that maybe things aren’t working out so well.
part of the issue is much of the city, which is rather small compared to many other cities, is where much of the poverty in the area resides. If you include all of Hamilton county the number drops to 23.6% and if you include the tri state area it drops to 17.7%. National average is 19.5%. So yeah, the city has a lot of poverty but so do all inner city areas, and well, the city is rather small meaning the majority of it is inner city. There is a lot to unwrap there and it's not all "well Cincinnati has more poverty than other areas." A lot of it comes from simply how to split people up. I am not making excuses for poverty but I feel a lot of it is a nationwide issue and places like Cincinnati get the short end of the statistics.
Where are you getting that number? ["The poverty rate in Cincinnati, Ohio is 24.7%."](https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/ohio/cincinnati/)
yes but it's higher for kids: [https://www.wcpo.com/news/our-community/child-poverty-rates-in-cincinnati-hamilton-county-still-higher-than-the-u-s-as-a-whole](https://www.wcpo.com/news/our-community/child-poverty-rates-in-cincinnati-hamilton-county-still-higher-than-the-u-s-as-a-whole)
Of course it’s higher for kids. Most of them don’t have jobs. /s
Lazy children...
from the same site just to confirm the wcpo rate: [https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/ohio/cincinnati/](https://www.welfareinfo.org/poverty-rate/ohio/cincinnati/) Rate Under 18 is 43.2% Rate Under 5 is 44% Side note, this site is really insightful. Would love to know more about it.
Cincinnati is a very easy place to live compared to a lot of places, big and small. It is a real city, with nieghborhoods, loads of parks, interesting places to explore. You have the top level things like a very good airport, professional and collegiate athletics, plenty of arts orgs, funkier aspects, numerous music venues. If you want to do it, there is probably a variation here. Then the lower level things like finding a cool bar, a decent meal, a place that becomes your go-to place. My nieghbors are friendly without being too nosy and we look after each other. It is a small city with big city amenities. It also has the problems that come with that big city vibe. There is crime. It can seem overwhelming, but I very very rarely feel unsafe. There is some traffic, but not nearly to the level that people claim. It is a friendly city, but can feel lonely at times to a transplant. But I think that is true of anywhere. I think, since you asked about the downsides, that Cincinnati's downsides are the same downsides that any urban area has. Some poverty and it's associated problems, some crime/violence, some traffic, some noise, some rude/impatient people. All the things you would expect in a city. But I think it's upsides far outweighs the downsides, and it is really easy to live here.
This is the most reasonable answer. I've lived in 7 states and another country and this is essentially my take on the city as well. I've lived here since 2006. It's the longest I've lived anywhere because it really is easy to live here.
This is what I tell people when they ask... "Cincinnati, Where the living is easy..."
Housing has become increasingly more unaffordable.
I mean this is an America issue, not a Cincinnati-specific issue. We have it nowhere near as bad as most similarly sized cities in this country, we're at [number 75](https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-the-largest-home-price-growth-last-decade) on the list of average home price increase over the last decade. Not only that, but of the 58 mid-sized cities with a lower price increase below us, 41 of those have a higher median home price. This is an America problem, not a Cincinnati problem, and we have it better than most of the country.
That chart says the median house cost is $236,560 with a median household income of $48,130. That’s bad.
Agree, very bad. Also not unique to Cincinnati in any way, and again we actually have it pretty good- in 2024, there are 73 mid-sized cities with higher home price-household income ratio: [same site, different chart](https://constructioncoverage.com/research/cities-with-highest-home-price-to-income-ratios). This isn't why Cincinnati sucks, this is why free-market housing sucks and corporate-owned residential property investment should be highly regulated. We have it better than most of the country, and of the midsized cities that are actually cool and nice to live in, there are maybe 10 that aren't a major downgrade in quality of life. We have it reeeeaaalllllly good compared to almost anywhere else in the US at a similar size and quality of life
Yes. I would like nothing more than to move into a MUCH smaller home or apartment (my husband, dog, and I are currently in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom home that's too big for us), but we aren't going to pay 3xs more for a lot less space. So, I guess we're stuck in our house for the foreseeable future.
Look in Northern Kentucky. The surrounding towns on the other side of the river, excluding Newport and fort Thomas, are actually way cheaper than within Cincy limits and you're only a 10 minute highway drive from the city
We have a 40% black population but you can’t tell by a lot of places you go to for a typical night out on the town. This place can be very weirdly segregated.
It's whiplash everytime I go to mainstrasse after downtown/OTR.
You can thank redlining and racially-biased development plans for that one. This is a good callout as it does always strike me how you can see the demographics change as you drive through the city. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redlining) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West\_End,\_Cincinnati#:\~:text=Nearly%203%2C700%20buildings%20on%20450,city%20from%201950%20to%201970.
It's wild how many interstate highways were deliberately designed to tear down black neighborhoods and segregate them from the rest of the city.
Urban Planning God, Robert Moses, specifically made bridges with not enough clearance for busses so blacks couldn't visit the beach in NYC. He drove a ton of national planning policy to the detriment of all minorities.
Literal structural racism. Robert Moses was a plague.
Cincinnati is the 5th most segregated city in the country and has maintained very high segregation since its founding, racial and socio-economic. As other commenters mentioned, policies like redlining have contributed to that, but even prior, OTR for example was a largely segregated community for Cincinnati's German population. The west end prior to demolition was 96% black, and nicely separated from everyone else by the canal (now Central Parkway).
This was by design not THAT many years ago sadpy
I once went dancing and wound up in a black bar, which was so fucking fun. I’m the whitest girl on the planet, but had a black father figure so no big deal. It was New Year’s Eve and I was flying solo because I haven’t lived in Cincy, full time, since I was a child. I was dancing with some black girls — one asked me “you my boo?” I said “hell yeah I’m your boo.” She went in to kiss me. I said “oh hey! I’m not gay!” “But you said you were my boo!” We all smoked a blunt later and kept dancing. It was an amazing night, but there was not a single other white person in that bar. The city is so weirdly segregated. Still. My elementary / middle / hs didn’t have one single black kid and that’s absolutely sickening. It was 100% white.
It’s REALLY hard to rent a 1 bedroom apartment for under $800, unless you move 30-40 minutes from the city. Don’t even think about finding an apartment with an in unit washer and dryer for under $1100 😭 I do love Cincinnati so much tho so that’s all I got. The crackheads even leave you alone for the most part too so 😂
People (myself included at times I’m not perfect) cannot drive for shit. I feel like every single time I drive on 75 or 71 I have to avoid someone hitting me and it feels hella defensive like I’m fighting for my life on these highways lol
I've lived in 4-5 metro areas across the US and cincinnati has the single worst set of drivers I have ever dealt with. it's not even close. it's not the aggression of NYC or chicago; it is the sheer stupidity of the people who drive here that makes it so dangerous.
Nobody has mentioned this but for me the biggest downside was the nature of the economy there, specifically that there is very little tech or biotech in the area and that the major employers skew disproportionately toward companies that have been around for over a century. This isn't much of an issue if you have a good job either in one of those companies or in some area like medicine or law or accounting that is sort of geographically universal. My wife worked for P&G and looking for a job in that area was a very tough experience, and ultimately the reason we moved away. I also wasn't super impressed with the youth sports scene that I was exposed to, although in fairness our oldest was only 6 at the time we left so we really didn't get to dive into it much.
The area is car dependant. Cincinnati is a "big" place. YMMV
- extremely car dependent/ not walkable - summers are disgusting - because it’s in a river valley, it has a lot of allergens - it’s in Ohio and although Cincinnati itself is rather progressive, we still have some crazies and anti-evolution signs on the highways and stuff - increasing COL - even though it snows every single winter, people freak out and don’t know how to drive - constant construction on the interstates
City council is useless at best and corrupt at worst. Local music scene has too much tall poppy syndrome and infighting to ever produce big names or lift our city up. Sometimes the weather is bipolar. Highway construction for the past 40 years (mostly I-75). Not good at advertising events. Our sports teams are experts at heartbreak. I think that’s probably it though.
I have lived here all my life but have a very large number of professional connections across the country (and around the world). In my view, the only real downside, if you call it that, is that we get several cold weeks in winter. Even that, though, is less today than 10 years ago. Not only this city but the whole region is a very nice place to live and very cheap compared to most other places. 3 pro sports teams, 2 major college teams, world class zoo and arts programs. tons of history, tons of outdoor activities, hundreds of great day trips, low cost of living. A major research hospital (UC) + the #1 children’s hospital in the world. Public transport is terrible but you don’t need it unless you can’t afford a car. Cincy is ranked as the 5th most philanthropic city in the country. Tons of music venues and more coming. A major amusement park. Just a lot of amenities against housing prices that are still super low.
I agree, your housing prices are great!!! Cincy and greater metro area.
So much litter, people not bagging their dogs’ poop, drivers are AWFUL, kind of general air of hostility sometimes - but that last one’s true anywhere in the Midwest, I guess.
Litter. The Nati is trashed.
The littering may be one of my biggest complaints. There’s just a ton of trash everywhere especially along certain roads.
Ohioans are some of the most littering people I've ever met. I was working CRC Hyde Park a couple of summers ago, at the summer camp. Trash blew on the ground and I told a kid to pick it up. His response was 'it's not mine'. I said I don't care, please pick it up. He picked it up and I said you know what that's called? Being a good citizen. Maybe I made an impression, maybe not.
I guarantee you did not make a good impression lol. Maybe if you led by example and picked it up yourself, he’d see it as something grown ups do, but now it’s just something grown ups tell him to do, but don’t do themselves. Nice.
So noble of you.
You made a kid pick up trash he had nothing to do with?? That is some disgusting behavior! Should be repercussions for that
We’re too polite to admit it or solve it, but there’s deep generational down-low racism carried by some Cincinnatians. It manifests in housing & jobs in particular. It’s up to the younger generations to break the legacy.
Can you name a major city that doesn't suffer from this?
OP didn't ask for problems exclusive to Cincinnati.
What are some specific examples of this behavior?
Chili guts
If you live downtown, you may struggle with the lack of grocery and various shopping available. My friend moved here from a large city in Belgium and was completely astonished by how much the inner city felt like it wasn’t made for people to actually live there, just work there.
Downtown and OTR don’t feel very safe to me past like 10pm(certain parts feel unsafe at all times of the day). I live in Clifton and there are a lot of sketchy people there too. Granted I come from a really safe part of California and I’ve only been in Cincy for 2 years so take my words with a grain of salt.
Grew up in Cincy and moved out west, just returned. Biggest difference between out west bad areas and here is typically crime does not impact those outside social circles. Basically what I'm saying is the crimes here are between two people that know each other compared to random petty crime or theft out west. Granted the areas here look WAY more sketchy, but really aren't. Even if it looks bad chances are no one will bother you past trying to talk to you. This could be partially due to the prevalence of firearms in the area. The only place I wouldn't go alone near downtown is E Liberty and Vine past like 11pm. Lower west price hill as well potentially.
No you’re right!! I grew up here and I never feel safe downtown past like 10pm. Same with Clifton. There’s always some sort of violence going on especially in the summer
The real question is whether places like Louisville, Columbus, etc are much different in that respect
No city is going to be different in that regard. They all have areas that feel sketchy, particularly at night.
Exactly
Louisville is 1000 times worse. Trust me you do not want to live in Louisville.
It's very cliquey. I have noticed people are ridiculously obsessed with what school you went to and "if you're not from this state, then go away" kind of mentality. My in-laws are like this and I feel like a black sheep. It can be very hard to integrate into the community here. However, the bright side is that there are more and more like me so it's becoming less lonely to not be from here.
Moved here from Texas about a year ago and can confirm that it's very cliquey. Far and away everyone's been friendly with me, but definitely has the vibe of "pretty much everyone here is from here," which makes it harder to find your people as an outsider ingratiating yourself into lifelong social circles
Agreed. I’m a transplant who mostly has transplant friends.
See, I hear that a lot and have never experienced it. I’m from out of state and live in a neighborhood that is supposedly very insular and aside from a fireman calling my house by its previous owners’ name while speaking with me in my house, no one has even batted an eye.
When I first moved in the early 90's, GQ wrote an article about moving here. I still remember the one statement to the effect....by high school everyone already has all the friends they need. Back then, and maybe still today from your comment SweetTeaBags, it's still tough to get to know and be friends with "local people."
Cincinnati sucks haha. I’ve lived here for a year. I’m gonna be moving to San Francisco and bite the bullet of cost of living to get away from the most suspicious, rude, midwestern, living in high school folk I’ve ever met. This is coming from a chick who grew up on the south side of Youngstown. Y’all are for the birds
As a frequent traveler but a long time Cincinnati resident I'll list some of the cons: * Going east to west (or vice versa) in the metro area sucks. There's no easy/fast way to do it * The summers get pretty gross (humidity) but depending on where you're moving from this may not be an issue (it's not US SE bad or anything) * Winters have become very mild (that can be a downside if you want lots of regular snow.) * Housing/rent have skyrocketed over the past 5 or so years * Lacks a fun geographical distinction (no oceans/mountains/large lakes, etc) * State government seems to only care about Columbus and OSU
I agree except for the geography statement. I think the hills popping up on all sides of the city and the river carving through is somewhat unique and very beautiful. I had a friend from Miami in town and she kept saying she couldn’t believe how beautiful Cincinnati was and that she found it incredibly charming
Yeah. Its obviously no Jackson WY or Puget Sound. But for Ohio Cincy has solid geography.
Not just for Ohio. Cooler natural setting than charlotte, Louisville, Indy, Columbus, St. Louis, Atlanta, Orlando, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and many other cities.
it’s in Ohio
I love Cincinnati, the more I travel the more I realize it’s one of the only cities I’d ever live in again. But the winter weather broke me. I couldn’t stand the six months of grey. I’m in the high desert now and, even though we get lots of snow in the winter, we also get sun every day. It’s been a game changer for me.
How un-alive our downtown is.
the entire westside
Hands down the lack of any meaningful public transit. It’s embarrassing for a city this size.
I know this is a touchy one, but for me, the religion--especially Catholicism--everywhere is obnoxious. Closely related, the number of Trumpers. I'm as white, straight, and middle-aged as it gets and these two aspects of life in Cincinnati make me the most uncomfortable.
Thank you. It seems overreaching at times. I’m not religious, nor do I fly my politics on the back of a truck. I miss when people could befriend each other without bringing in their politics and religion.
I respect that as I used to not be Catholic (converted decades ago). However I am the opposite....Cincinnati is a rare island where we are visible. I lived ten years in the bible belt and the experience as a former Baptist was eye opening. Then I traveled to China regularly and saw how underground Catholics need to be. I hope we treat you with respect!
I am not religious but as I have learned more about other branches of christianity in the US I am kind of happy to be in a primarily Catholic town. Catholics actually somewhat mind their own business and they have pretty buildings.
It gets really hot and humid in the summer here. Just feels so gross outside sometimes.
First thought:No great wings. Lots of ok to good wings, but nothing great.
Aging bridges, and worse, oddly aggressive, horrible drivers.
The homeless population sucks. Cops don’t do much when it comes to crime. Potholes
I think Cincinnati is mostly a great city with so much to offer, I grew up in Butler County and went to school at UC. I know people will disagree with me here but I moved because of the state’s politics. I encountered more openly racist, anti medicine, traditional family values people there than I have any other liberal city/state I’ve lived in. In the previous three cities I’ve lived/worked in, people were more open about their political affiliation because most people are liberal. They can say they’re frustrated about Roe V Wade being overturned because they know most of their peers agree. I’ve lost touch with all of my college friends because they’ve turned more alt right/fake news and wouldn’t get vaccinated during Covid. From personal experience I didn’t connect to the people (including my family) so this is a very personal anecdote, but reflects why my husband and I won’t move back even though the CoL is much more reasonable than where we currently live. Oh and the humidity and mosquitoes are out of control in the summer lol
Lacks diversity (it’s pretty much black and white), punches below its weight for culinary scene, unsafe neighbourhoods sprinkled throughout, small downtown.
I think that it has more potential than people can even reasonably rationalize. So much developed before the automobile that the way of life before the car should have been the way forever. Look at Paris for example. There’s no I71 right up against the Seine.
I would say our weather sucks, spring and fall last like a week each. Then 5 months of cold miserable winter and 5 months of humid miserable summer. And the air quality/allergens. Something about the river valley trapping it all. EDIT: Will everyone shut up with their "ackchyually North Dakota and Minnesota have colder winters than we do" Yeah no duh, I personally don't like winter. And roughly like 50% of Americans live in places that don't experience winter weather at all. 40 million people live in California and get better weather than us year round. The OP asked for things that could be seen as downsides.
Totally with you on the summer front. Just disgustingly hot and muggy day in and day out but you are way off base with the winter. Coming from Cleveland and being in the heart of the snow belt up there Cincinnati winters are a breeze. Temps are much warmer and there is a fraction of the snow. We may get one "real" snow a season down here. Yes it's depressing and grey for most of winter but that happens in any city in a northern state.
You apparently missed last fall when we had multiple months of nice weather. October - December isn't anywhere close to cold and miserable. Jan and Feb definitely are though.
Winters are pretty easy here. We get 1-2 moderate snowfalls most winters and temperatures are usually above 20 degrees. That’s not bad for winter.
It’s the gray, gloomy skies that made me move away.
Perma-gray for two months is dreary.
Having lived in Minneapolis and Syracuse for a couple years, this is exactly how I’d describe it there. I don’t agree so much here except the humid summer comment. The winters here are extremely easy.
Gotta disagree on this one... to each their own but I think we have some of the best weather in the midwest. Unfortunately, most of the USA doesn't have great year-round weather so you always gotta pick and choose. Within a 4-6 hour drive, I'd pick our weather over most any other city. Nashville may be the only one that beats us cause winter is a bit warmer and they get more sun (but even hotter summers).
Winter is cold and miserable? It is not. Other than this past winter with the cold 2 week span, it’s hardly cold. Low 40s is hardly bad
Eh, we've barely had a winter here for at least 5 years. Maybe an unusually cold week here or there and a couple decent snowfalls, but it's the gloom more than anything.
There is a widespread attitude and belief that Cincinnati is on the cusp of greatness. The reality is that thinking is delusional and that the city will never become what its residents think it will become. This is depressing for some. This optimism is nearly always shot down at the ballot box when anything bold or worthwhile is put forward (ex. public transit). There is also a sense of victimhood because of this dynamic. You’ll hear time and time again, people saying “When will we finally get this [insert trendy chain business]?” But the entrepreneurial spirit to open a business or to bring in a franchise is pretty limited. A lot of Cincinnatians don’t understand that they can contribute to the city what they’d like to see. Rather, they’re waiting for the powers that be to hand it to them. Cincinnati is a really cool city for its size. I grew up here, spent time in a cosmopolitan big city, and later came back intentionally. I’d much rather live in Cincinnati than St Louis, Columbus, Louisville, Milwaukee, or Pittsburgh. But, the city’s attitude may annoy you. There is like a mass excitement over the “one big thing” happening in the city that weekend/season. It results in people talking about it like no other city has ever done it before. I remember when we finally got some food halls, just overhearing folks saying “wow! What an original concept” and using the same exact soundbyte on repeat made me want to cut my ears off after seeing food halls in several other cities. It is a somewhat provincial city that yearns to be a big city. With that comes some awesome amenities, things to do, and an edginess, at a fraction of the cost with the benefits of a small city. Aside from that, if you’re not a big sports fan, you’ll notice that the city revolves entirely around sports except for a few peripheral pockets. Even the city center is being sieged by sports stadiums.
People who live here typically aren’t well travelled. I was eating at food halls in Denver like 7 years before the first one opened here. It’s consistently at least 5 years behind other metro areas.
Honestly, the thing I miss most from a big city is affordable direct flights. Makes sense why people travel less, here, but man oh man does it hurt.
Mark Twain said that when the end of world comes, I want to be in Cincinnati. It is always ten years behind the times.
"We are glad you loved Cincinnati, now remember, don't tell anyone!" 🤡 fucking kills me every time I read or hear someone say that.
The crime rate is 2x the national average.
I get the impression that a lot of people who love it are from here, or from nearby smaller cities. Your view of the drawbacks will, of course, depend on you and your experiences. I'm from the east coast and feel that Cincinnati is just ok. A lot of drawbacks, but a lot of good stuff as well. You asked about drawbacks, so here are my most salient (but there are others, including many mentioned by others here). 1. So segregated. It's obvious, and the people who don't notice are the people I mentioned above who likely haven't lived anywhere better integrated. 2. Related, very little foreign cultural influence--it's hard to find great ethnic restaurants, supermarkets, etc. There are a few options, but it's not as easy to find as I was used to. 3. Grey, grey winters. I got somewhat used to it, but it was jarring for my first few years. 4. Small town feel/insular feel. A lot of people don't leave and settle down around the corner from their parents in the neighborhood that they grew up in. This means culture is slower to change here--I haven't looked for sources to cite, but I feel like we're behind similarly sized cities on the coasts. There is sort of a monoculture--don't get me wrong, there are many other vibes/scenes here, but the prevalent vibe is very religious, beer, sports. And it means that, despite people being very friendly here, it can be hard to break into social groups because they're often rooted in childhood. 5. Along with the weird dominant culture, we're really low on some benefits of being in a smaller area with close-in rural areas, like good orchards/pick your own X (besides apples and pumpkins--plenty of options for that) and farms where you can buy an organic half cow or whatever. They're out there, but options are much more limited and harder to find than I expected. 6. Transportation here is pretty car-dependent. You could figure it out without a car if you choose to live in the right place, but it's generally really hard to get around without a car. 7. The downtown is way less vibrant than it should be. But I'm not sure that this is a cinti thing; I believe a lot of cities are struggling with this. 8. Ohio itself/the republican undercurrent. Obviously, this is only a drawback for some; it may be a benefit to you. But Ohio is trying really hard to join the likes of, say, WV and MS in being a terrible state for a lot of people, due obviously to a large number of Ohio residents, and of course many of those people reside in the Cincinnati area. Cincinnati itself is, like most US cities, democratic; however, we're only a few years out from having had almost entirely republican suburbs and exurbs, and that shit is palpable. Locally, it appears to be changing for the better (from my perspective), but state-wide it does not. Edited to change a few spots that came off differently from how I intended them on re-reading
Public transit is basically non-existent unless you’re trying to just move around downtown. You muuussstttt have a car anywhere else. On trash days there are garbage cans everywhere, left lying in the sidewalk or on lawns, parts of the city don’t have alleys. The airport - small, in Kentucky, some direct flights out of here but not as many as you’d expect It’s still cheap to live here….ish.
I was just walking up Montgomery dodging the trash cans thinking “this is dumb” lol. But the way the street was laid out, there is no other option.
I never realized how annoying the trash can thing was until I had a baby and needed to navigate a stroller along the sidewalk. Guess I’ll just walk my baby in the street. Same for people in wheelchairs too.
I chuckle to myself anytime I hear or see anyone boasting about cincy’s “walkability”. Like, yeah, unless it’s trash day
Provincialism
Subjective but the things I don’t like about cincy are: -climate: summers are too hot/muggy, winters are gray and dreary -car dependency -lack of outdoors activities/nature -every social interaction revolves around drinking -political climate of Ohio There are a ton of pros and I would pick Cincy over similar cities like Indy, Columbus, Louisville. I’d consider Pittsburgh or Cleveland though
The number one thing I feel is lacking is the parks system. I grew up in the greater Cleveland area and moved to Cincinnati about 5 years ago. Yes, Cincinnati has parks, but they’re nowhere near the volume and quality that Cleveland Metroparks has. I’m not finding long trails, dedicated bike/pedestrian paths, and just places to explore. It seems Cincinnati parks are very manicured and urban, and lacking that true nature feel. Maybe I was just spoiled in Cleveland. If anyone has suggestions I’d love to hear them!
Oh man, actually the parks are one of the things I miss about Cincinnati. Here in MA the only real public parks out in the burbs are the ones at the local elementary schools which are obviously limited. That one out on Clough pike in Anderson with the water things would blow people's minds here.
>maybe I was spoiled Unfortunately, yeah, I think the metro parks are uniquely outstanding. I assume they get what they need because of the national park right there. Loveland has some nice trails though.
The highest crime city I have lived in/been a victim of. High amounts of poverty and very little public assistance or community care for the issue. Racism, homophobia, general lack of interest of other cultures other than Germanic ones. Trumpers everywhere. Generally, if you’re from the west coast and move out here you’ll find that this entire state is about 20 years behind what we’re used too. It’s actually really sad and don’t get me started on the education system out here, absolute trash. But hey it’s affordable (somewhat as the pay is out here is terrible as well).
Traffic kinda sucks. Not like Chicago sucks, but it sucks.
I've spent significant time in a ton of American cities, and Cincinnati traffic is far and away the least terrible I've experienced. I sympathize with anyone complaining about it if this is the worst you've seen, but compared to any other metropolitan area with 2 million-plus, we have it so so easy.
Ya I gotta be honest, the traffic in Cincinnati almost doesn't count as traffic. I have found over the years that people in cities with the worst traffic complain about it the least because they are acclimated, and the opposite is true of places like Cincinnati. Houston is my textbook example of this. People there \*bitch\* about the traffic when it adds 20-30 minutes to a 40 mile commute at rush hour. That's minor league stuff.
I lived in Cincinnati for 9 years, came from the Seattle area. I travel the county for work so I have driven in most large and mid size cities. Besides cut in hill during peak commute times I would rank Cincinnati very low in terms of traffic congestion. Maybe because many of you have not experienced real traffic, you have nothing to compare it to. But just know the traffic in the metro Cincinnati area is pretty darn good. In terms of poor drivers, it seems like excessive speed is the problem here. Rarely do I see highway / state police patrolling 75/71 for speeders. Red light cameras would also be helpful.
We get highway slowdowns for no reason, it’s stupid.
People will do anything but zipper merge
Oh I love this answer, most people think it’s cutting in line, but this makes traffic flow more efficiently.
The climate is god awful about 8 months of the year. Hot, sweaty, mosquito ridden summers, three months of mud, and maybe two 4-6 week stretches of beautiful weather. No sun from November to May. At least climate change has murdered the winter months here, which used to also be miserable but lately have been just depressing.
I've lived in Chicago before and I think one distinct downside is no rail transit line. It was nice to be able to walk a couple blocks, get on the train, not worry about traffic or parking and be in downtown in a few minutes.
JD Vance is an Ohio senator
I grew up here. Lived in Tampa for 7 years, and just moved back for family & cost of living. CVG (the airport) sucks, not enough destinations, expensive routes, and poorly configured TSA. The bridges/highways make traffic way worse than it should be for a metro area this size. The sports teams have been awful for decades (Bengals super bowl run is looking more and more like a fluke than a franchise revival). The cost of living is growing faster than many comparable cities because it was cheaper here for so long. Cincinnati also doesn't have a very unique/defining culture - I know some might debate that, but to me it's a very common Midwest culture that you can find in Louisville, St Louis, Kansas City, etc. With some notable exceptions, the food scene here leaves a lot to be desired. The music events scene in Cincy is dead as well, with many major events & artists choosing to go to Columbus or Louisville instead. I think Cincinnati is a pretty good place to live, but I also think people get very weirdly territorial and almost stockholm syndrome-y about it.
The Reds suck and have sucked for 30 years.
It was really, really nice to be able to go see a ballgame at that nice ballpark for a reasonable price though. I miss that a lot. As a matter of fact I needed a new hat the other day and ordered a Reds hat, even though I was a very casual fan and not from there. While we were there I sort of adopted the Reds after we'd been to enough games and I'd taken my kids enough times and had a nice comfy sweatshirt I paid a fortune for one night when it was way colder than expected at the park. Although I never had to worry much about learning the players names or checking the standings that often because there wasn't much risk of them making the playoffs. It was a low-pressure fan experience, but nice in hindsight.
My issue is the lack of diversity. Asian, Hispanic population vs Caucasian and African Americans has been improving at a snails pace. I grew up there, lived 32 years in Cincinnati and always felt an underlining tension between the Caucasian and African American communities.
So you’re saying your problem with the city is explicitly the skin color of the inhabitants? And you don’t think that’s a little odd?
That's funny most people I come across dislike it here. Personally, I think the food is quite mediocre only a handful of places are worth a visit, pair that with everything closing early leaves you with extremely limited options after 9PM. The roads suck. And lots of crime, mainly shootings when the weather warms up. For context, they just took down a guy who stabbed his girlfriend who fled to OTR next to a busy/touristy area RIGHT before the opening night for a show at the music hall...Yeah not a good look. And too many people downplay that type of violence here. Last thing I want to think about is getting caught in the cross fire while I'm out walking my dog, having a drink or eating dinner. This is not normal nor should it be downplayed because this does not happen in big cities primarily where's there's lot of a foot traffic or public places. If it does its quite rare. All that shit is concentered away from public/touristy places, nobody is trying to heat the block up.
Personally for me the downside was the constant sound of sirens around. It maybe for the many hospitals (upside) in the city but sometimes it’s for OD cases which the firefighters go to. So if you are not used to the sound, it’s pretty loud especially at night and if you plan to live near a busy street. I couldn’t sleep well for a few night after moving in!
Who are you talking to everyone in ohio hates ohio?
Litter and smell if we are being real mean. It’s a disgusting downtown area. Again I love the city but the first thing transplants point out is the smell during the summer. Something is very wrong with our sewage system.
People driving is by far the worst experience
Drivers are horrible here. Not endangering your life horrible, just in their own little world oblivious to people around them. My car has been in the body shop 4 times in the last 2 years.., none my fault haha.