thedishonestdon wrote:short north/vic village is EXPENSIVE to live in. plus, it's getting yuppified by the minute. they're opening a three dog bakery down there. yeah, a bakery for fucking DOGS. the short north is no longer the hip entertainment district it once was, especially since little brother's (aka the new stache's) closed its doors a year ago.
There's still a lot worth doing in the Short North. Honestly, I always thought Little Brother's was overrated. Skully's is still there, and there are plenty of good bars. Zen Cha is great if you like tea. The monthly Gallery Hop is worth checking out. And there's a Jeni's ice cream there now too.
i'd recommend living in clintonville - i lived there for the first 3+ years that i lived in the columbus area. rent's cheap, low crime, the atmosphere is nice, and there's lots of unique restaurants, thrift stores, etc. plus, it's not very far from campus.
or you could live in north campus, aka "washington beach."
Washington Beach? That's a new one to me. A friend of mine used to call it "SoHu" (SOuth of HUdson). But I agree, as this has been my hood for going on seven years now.
Basically, stay north of Lane Ave. and west of Summit and you should be fine.
Tree wrote:Get up early, grab some breakfast at Jack & Benny's on High St., or if you want something a little lighter, go to La Chatelaine.
Jack & Benny's is my go-to breakfast joint. I also like First Watch, which is a chain, but it's a small chain, and they whip up a mean Belgian waffle. Denny's left town some years ago, but we've got Awffle Houses all over the goddamn place. No IHOPs either.
Head to the North Market and get some ice cream at Jeni's. Be sure to include a scoop of the Queen City Cayenne. Roam around the market for awhile.
http://jenisicecreams.com/index.htmlDinnertime: Eh, I don't know. You can't throw a rock in any direction without hitting an Indian restaurant. (do not throw rocks at the Indian restaurants!)
I recommend Sher-E-Punjab, up in the Kenny Centre strip mall, one of the area's best kept secrets as it is also home to a great Thai restaurant (Thai Taste), a Patel Brothers Indian grocery, and five Japanese businesses all owned by the same owners--two restaurants, a grocery, the wonderful
Crescent Bakery, and a bookstore.
the dishonestdon wrote:public transit in columbus isn't terrible, but it leaves a lot to be desired. buses stop running between midnight-5am. there's cab service and it's not too pricey, but not having 24/7 mass transit is kind of a bummer in a town this big. 70% of everything worth doing in columbus is within a half-mile of high street, so not having a car isn't an absolute killer.
The buses are fine if you don't have to get to the suburbs in under two hours, or don't have to be anywhere after midnight, yes. The #2 running up and down High St. used to have a late-night drunk bus on weekends, but no longer. After visiting several cities with world-class transit systems like Portland, our bush-league bus system frustrates me. I absolutely need a car to get to my job on the West Side, so if I have car problems I'm out of luck; and there is no direct bus route from downtown to the airport like in most real cities, so if you need to fly somewhere you'll either need to bum a ride or pay to park your car there--not bad if you're away for a weekend, but you're talking real coin if you're away for a week or more.
But yes, most of what you would really want or need is close-in to the central part of the city, and if you're lucky enough to not have to take a job in the suburbs, you can get by with no car.
Other recommendations:
Diner food: The Blue Danube
Breakfast: I reiterate, Jack & Benny's
Pizza: Adriatico's, or Hound Dog's which is mediocre but it's open 24 hours if you ever want pizza at 4am
Burgers: It's no Kuma's, but the Thurman Cafe makes them as big as the plate.
Record store: Used Kids has their used shit organized by price, so it's easy to shop for bargains and very easy to walk out with a big stack of CDs for under $50
Video store: North Campus Video, open 24 hours and next door to the Blue Danube
Books:
The Book Loft
Rock: Skully's, Bernie's, Cafe Bourbon Street, Ruby Tuesday (not to be confused with the chain restaurant), the Ravari Room (directly adjacent to Hound Dog's Pizza), Andyman's Treehouse; the Newport Music Hall and the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion (I did not make that name up) have bigger concerts.
Sports: The NHL's Blue Jackets, and minor league baseball's Clippers who will be playing in the brand new Huntington Park starting in the '09 season.
Everything else is Buckeyes Buckeyes Buckeyes, which gets
REALLY old if you are not a fan. Avoid Lane Avenue and High St. on football Saturdays at all costs, especially during Michigan Week (you will learn what that is soon enough)*. Some nights there are riots. Be prepared to catch shit from co-workers, fellow students, and random strangers simply for being from another Big 10 town, regardless of how much you do or don't give a shit about college football.
*EDIT: I just saw where you said your parents are U of M alumni, so you probably already know about this, even though in Ann Arbor the rivalry's not half the big deal it is here. The Wolverines are held in only slightly higher regard than Al-Qaeda around these parts.