How working in OTR cured my cynicism about Cincinnati

I’ll admit it. Before I spent any time here, I was overly cynical about Cincinnati. We’ve all heard it. (The title actually says it all.) Something along the lines of, “I never thought I’d end up back here,” or, “I never knew how great Cincinnati actually is.” These phrases were part of nearly every conversation I had this summer.
 
But let me back up and provide some context. I was born in Cleveland and call Northeast Ohio home. With three younger brothers, a dad as a pilot and a mom who cooks the widest variety of food you can imagine, I grew up with a thirst for adventure. We were always taking spontaneous trips growing up, and I’ve continued the habit throughout college. After my friends scattered to South Carolina, California, Texas, Colorado and everywhere in between, my desire to live the travel dream grew.
 
When I was a sophomore at Miami University, I spent four months in Luxembourg and traveled throughout Europe. I was finally living my travel dream. Visiting 15 countries in four months was a whirlwind. But if there’s one takeaway from that adventure, it’s the importance of home. It’s also my tendency to forget how much we all need home.
 
Home is often a forgotten term when young people like me are searching for future cities of employment. With incredible opportunities left and right, I think I can speak for most of us in that we want the most exciting places with the most potential for personal growth. Yes, we understand these cities will be our places of residency, but home is something different. At first glance, cities like San Francisco, New York and Washington DC can seem like the dream.  
 
I’m 21 and I have a lot of dreams. I want to live the trendy downtown life of a Gen Y professional while working an amazing job and being a regular at a couple local spots. I want to make an impact in a community and have plenty of opportunity for international travel. I want fulfilling work and deep lifetime friendships. These are part of my dream that I thought could only be worked out in a vibrant and massively influential city on either of the coasts.
 
But Cincinnati can also be the dream. Sound far-fetched? I thought so. But with my combined time of living here in January and working here this whole summer, I realized Cincy natives weren’t just propaganda enthusiasts—they’re actually authentic.
 
The reason I’m here is because of the Altman Summer Scholar program through Miami’s Entrepreneurship Department. I worked as a content intern at Roadtrippers, the fastest growing and only comprehensive road trip planning site and app. Not only was I working alongside a fun and dynamic team, I was also working in Cincinnati’s most exciting neighborhood: OTR.
 
The Roadtrippers headquarters is a perfect example of old buildings making a glorious comeback. The 20,000-square-foot building served as a brewery that was shut down during prohibition. It has an incredible rooftop view plus two stories of underground tunnels, and Artworks recently finished a tribute mural to the Brewery District on the exterior. With the vision of great entrepreneurs like James Fisher, Roadtrippers CEO, buildings like these are coming to life all across the city.
 
As part of the program, I participated in a weekly class that met at various startups through Cincinnati. Seeing the creative spaces at Lisnr and hearing stories of persistence from Andy Holzhauser at the Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, to name a few, continued to grow the Cincinnati love I didn’t know I had.
 
With one more year of school, I still have pretty limited work experience. One of my favorite parts of this summer and Cincinnati in general is the accessibility to anyone and their willingness to help out. I discovered this especially within the startup ecosystem that keeps thriving in the city. Setting up base at Coffee Emporium, I met with many different influencers throughout the summer. What better way to understand the context and happenings of a place than to hear it directly from the change-makers?
 
Back to the concept of home. People are what make a place a home. Some of my favorite little places nearby the office—like Boba Cha, Iris Bookcafe or Neon’s—are driven by the passionate business owners who love being part of a community. From the small artistic details like Brian Stuparyk’s letterpress postcards of Cincinnati, to the large-scale cultural aspects like the upcoming streetcar or LumenoCity, the Queen City may just surprise you.
 
But don’t just take it from me: Explore the city for yourself. Maybe even use Roadtrippers to find your new favorite places you haven’t heard of yet. I made it easy for you by making this bucket list. Enjoy!

Erica Griffith is a senior at Miami University studying Journalism and Interactive Media. She is the editor-in-chief of Miami's quarterly magazine and takes frequent spontaneous adventures across the country. She also loves hearing great stories, so feel free to find her on LinkedIn or Twitter!