[colug-432] Looking for info on Columbus

[Chris Snyder]

Hiya,

My name is Chris, I'm currently located on the outskirts of D.C. and am 
looking to move to Columbus or the surrounding area in the next few 
months due to family reasons. I'm a linux SysAdmin by trade, over 15 
years in the industry with some dabbling in Solaris and other  OS's.  
I'm also a tools developer primarily focusing on Perl. I was hoping you 
folks might be able to pass on some general info on the city and 
surrounding areas and maybe some job leads. (Already found the 
colug-jobs ML, btw.) I doo know there's a nice tech industry in 
Columbus, so I'm hoping that somebody can use yet another linux grunt on 
their front lines.

I had a long history (11+ years) with AOL and had the fortune of 
visiting the CompuServe campus a few times (I remember there was an 
awesome BBQ joint out behind it. Hopefully it's still there).  So I've 
seen some of the area, but only very little.  I grew up in Louisville, 
KY, and from what I've seen in person and from what I've read the 
lifestyle in Columbus appears very similar to that of Louisville and 
Cincinnati.  Other than I've read up the city in Wikipedia. But I'm 
hoping that you might be able to share some more 'geek-centric' type 
data my way.

So here's what info I don't have at the moment:

- Does anybody have any clue what the difference in salary ranges might 
be for Columbus vs the D.C. area?  From what fuzzy data I've been able 
to gather so far, it looks like I should be able to expect about a 30% 
less in general cost of living and salary maybe $10K-20K less than what 
I'm pulling now. I'm hoping asking for $80K-$95K wouldn't be too out of 
line for a 15 yr vet of the command line?

- Is it possible to ask what a ball-park price for a 4-bedroom house 
might go for in the suburbs?  $300K-$400K? More? Less? (Yeah, I know, 
there's A LOT of variables that effect this.)

- What's the scoop on local ISPs and DSL, FIOS, etc.?

- What are the 'good' vs 'bad' areas of Columbus to live?  Does any 
place in particular warrant special attention one way vs the other or is 
it all one big happy community? Are there any areas overly susceptible 
to tornadoes, flooding, asteroid hits, flying monkeys, etc.? (Of course 
there will always specific needs based upon commute and assorted 
amenities but I don't have all my requirements for those are just yet.)

- What are the current local hot-button political issues right now? 
(I've found that sometimes these are good indicators for what possible 
issues might be lying down the road in a few years and could influence 
where or where not to buy a house.)

- Any other recommended sources for learning more about Columbus in 
general or it's tech industry?

- Anything else you feel I should really know about the area?

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,
Chris.