Casey Coston fell in love with Cincinnati under unlikely circumstances.
“We came down during Valentine’s Day weekend,” Coston recalls. And then, Mother Nature tongue in cheek, “there was an ice storm.”
“Perhaps it’s not as warm as we might like at times,” he laughs. But compared to his former home, Detroit, “spring comes sooner and summer lasts longer.”
That weekend Cincinnati won the hearts of Coston, a corporate restructuring lawyer with Squire, Sanders and Dempsey; his wife, Tari Frank, a real estate agent with Comey and Shepherd; and their two sons.
“We looked at a ton of homes, and we were very impressed with the city,” Coston says.
Alongside good housing prospects, “we were looking for a city that appealed to our sensibilities, that has a good strong arts component, and was urban, yet somewhat manageable,” he adds.
Livability, urbanity, culture, convenience: Cincinnati fit the bill.
Cincinnati aficionados consistently cite a core set of traits that drew them: big city attractions, small city feel; attractive, affordable homes; distinct neighborhoods, good schools, warm, authentic people; and perhaps most importantly, healthy work/life balance.
“I was happy to make [the] move,” Frank says. Before relocating, “neither one of us had any ties to Cincinnati,” she adds. But “we’ve been really pleasantly surprised. We love it.”
Coston and Frank are part of a wave of new transplants first discovering Cincinnati at a time when the city is rediscovering itself.
Alongside their domestic neighbors, many of these new locals hail from abroad.
A substantial international community has emerged thanks to global corporations with local ties, such as Procter & Gamble.
Frank, who grew up in Memphis, subsequently did stints around the globe – from Texas, to the Caribbean, to Paris and beyond. She says her international experience puts émigré to-be at ease.
When working with the undecided, after sharing her own global perspective, Frank says, “I tell them how wonderful Cincinnati is [and] they definitely think twice.”
But the majority of Cincinnati’s influx of new residents comes from other States.
Two years ago Bob Prokop and Laura Twichell moved to Cincinnati from Bergen County, New Jersey, a 20 minute drive from Manhattan.
For Prokop and Twichell, Cincinnati’s abundance of spacious, attainable homes with a sense of history was one of several deciding factors for them.
“It was far too expensive to own a home in Jersey,” Prokop says.
Considering their reasons for leaving the Garden State, Prokop reels off some demoralizing East Coast cost of living figures: a friend who pays $18,000 a year in property taxes, Twichell’s sister handing over $9,000.
Faced with the prospect of such oppressive property taxes, Cincinnati gave Prokop and Twichell a breath of fresh air.
“I remember one Saturday,” Prokop recalls. “It was like the perfect day, with blue skies. The birds were chirping. And we couldn’t believe you could get a home for that price, inside the neighborhood.”
Prokop, a website developer for Pearson Education, and Twichell, a school counselor at Two Rivers Junior High School in Covington, now live in Westwood.
“Our own little piece of this history – a Tudor Revival style home built in 1938 – was a huge factor in our decision to move here,” Prokop says. “It is full of charm and built like a tank.”
Like Prokop and Twichell, newcomers are consistently pleased with the aesthetic caliber of Cincinnati’s homes.
“One of the things we really like about Cincinnati is the architecture,” Frank says.
Coston adds that Cincinnati has been gracefully spared the “devastation and urban prairie that you might see in other Midwestern cities,” which he amusingly calls “post-apocalyptic.”
But engaged citizens do not live by the comforts of home alone. When they venture out, it’s nice to have places to go.
Cincinnati has them in abundance: museums, professional sports, a thriving music scene, festivals, great dining.
“Things like theater…ballet…are pretty impressive,” for a city the size of Cincinnati, Coston says.
Frank adds that “it’s a very well rounded city.” As a compliment to the pleasant residential neighborhoods, “in the city limits there’s a lot more of an edge,” she says.
Although many cities offer culture and entertainment, they’re often a gridlocked ride away.
“When you want to go to a football game [in New York] it’s a full day event,” Prokop says.
By contrast, Cincinnati’s compact size and quick transportation links are a major selling point for the road weary.
“We didn’t want to be in a suburban type sprawl situation,” Coston says. Embracing his short drive to work, he adds “I’m going to start commuting by scooter,” an option that would be unthinkable in a more congested city.
Nice homes, culture and convenience aside, landing a great job and access to quality schools are often the kickers for those relocating to Cincy.
In New Jersey “come three o’clock, the school’s pretty much a ghost town,” Twichell says. “But the teachers here work very hard.”
Coston, whose oldest son attends Walnut Hills High School, adds that “the schools have been fantastic for our kids.”
These human factors hint at the intangible secret of Cincinnati’s success: the warmth of its people and its sense of work/life balance so often lacking in frantic mega-cities.
In keeping with the conventional wisdom that people tend to choose with their hearts then justify with their minds, transplants to Cincinnati consistently agree that these “soft” qualities are the X factors that ultimately woo them.
“There’s a civility level here…people seemed nicer,” Coston says. “When we just first got here in the middle of the night our neighbors were out greeting us at the car.”
Frank adds, “within the first two weeks I had neighbors inviting me over for coffee…and block parties.”
When Prokop and Twichell moved to Cincinnati they didn’t know anyone. Yet, when they arrived, a band of friendly neighbors immediately welcomed them.
“We can’t ask for better neighbors,” Twichell says.
This sense of community sets Cincinnati apart from many of its larger peers.
Too often the benefits that come with city living – cosmopolitan flare, entertainment venues, access to good education, an abundance of work options – come at a high price.
By contrast, if a common thread runs through these stories it is that Cincinnati is a thoroughly livable city with a great work/life balance.
Coston sums up the equation: “we wanted a city with some east coast urbanity, with some Midwest comfort.”
Indeed, the best of both worlds.
Photography by Scott Beseler
Casey Coston and Teri Frank
Casey and Teri enjoying a wine tasting at Findlay Market
Bob Prokop and Laura Twichell, provided by the Prokop and Twichell
Prokop and Twichell's home, provided by the Prokop and Twichell
Prokop and Twichell breakfast nook, provided by the Prokop and Twichell
Casey Coston adjustment
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