[colug-432] Looking for info on Columbus

[Steve VanSlyck]

The salaries will be lower but the cost of living much lower. That's my 
understanding. Your $1.00 will have more horsepower.

----- Original Message -----
From: Chris Snyder <pub at 3wa.org>
To: Central OH Linux User Group - 432xx <colug-432 at colug.net>
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2011 11:32:45 -0500
Subject: [colug-432] Looking for info on Columbus

> 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.
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