Image courtesy of StateScoop.  

When the city “Columbus” pops up in conversation, it often gets associated with the nearby colleges.  But there’s more to this city than campuses and dormitories-- a whole lot more-- that recently lead Numbeo.com to rank Columbus as 5th in the world-- yes, THE WORLD-- for quality of life!  

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Numbeo’s Findings

Numbeo’s findings are based on several categories that affect quality of life, such as commute time, healthcare, economy, pollution, purchasing power, and more.  Columbus’s two low scores were commute time and pollution levels-- scores that one would typically WANT to be low!  Such as with it’s only “very low” score, which is the ratio of property prices to income.  From these low scores alone, Columbus ranks as one of the cleanest cities that’s also navigable, healthy, and has affordable housing.  

Columbus’s first “moderate” score was for cost of living, which indicates that it’s fairly average-- generally affordable for most people-- and takes into account that folks can afford to feed, clothe, and house themselves while still having some money to eat out and have fun occasionally.  (And what an array of fun things there are to do-- more on that later!)  It’s other moderate score was for safety-- but being a big city, with an estimated 2 million folks, it’s surprising that the score isn’t higher!  

Columbus highest scores were for climate, health and purchasing power.  The weather in Ohio is temperate, with the worst months falling in January and February-- the deepest parts of winter.  The high health score is no big surprise with the abundance of medical professionals and top-rated hospitals in Columbus.  

What this means is that the people who live in Columbus are well taken-care-of by city services and hospitals, and the weather is mild enough that it’s possible to play outdoors (with proper clothing) and commute to work safely most of the year.  Anyone who is sick has access to the right treatments from the best doctors.  

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“Hidden” Effects of High Quality of Life

There are some things that stem from having a higher quality of life that may not be visible right away when you look at the data and information.  Sure, quality healthcare and lower cost of living means people are healthier and have more money to invest in education, homes, and even vacations-- but it also means that people have more money and more investment in becoming a caring community. It’s an effect that isn’t isolated to Columbus, either.  

Take Rick Hahn, owner of Nancy’s Home Cooking in Clintonville-- a Columbus suburb.  He has a “pay-it-forward” program, which succeeds entirely based upon a community’s investment in taking care of each other.  Customers here pay $5 to allow a stranger in need to get a good meal, and a caring note.  It may not seem like much, but the fact that this program succeeds as well as it does means that not only do people care about the welfare and quality of life of people they’ve never met-- it means that they have the ability to act on that caring and back it up monetarily.  This isn’t a surge of compassion-- it’s a regular thing.  Neighbors taking care of neighbors, even when they’re strangers.  

Another not-so-visible effect stems from low cost of living and housing versus income: people have the time and money to engage in culture and fun.  One resident said: “Just about anything you want to do, you can do here…without having to travel to go do it.”  So not only are the opportunities available, they’re affordable-- reachable for folks who in other cities, may need to put that money towards rent, medicine, or food on the table.  It also means that the economy is vibrant enough to support a variety of businesses and services-- from the standard restaurants, bars, and salons to museums, fitness clubs, and theatre.  With more people that have the money to spend on “luxury” (read: not necessary) items the larger the customer base a business can serve.  Even small businesses do well here!

How to Stay on Top

And paying attention to the small businesses and ensuring that all neighborhoods benefit from a good quality of life is how Columbus can stay on top-- maybe even be #1 one day.  

For example, Al Edmunson owns a small barbershop in the King-Lincoln District.  His shoppe-- A Cut Above the Rest-- has been his income for nearly 30 years.  Business has been very good, and the city has begun to invest in revitalizing the King-Lincoln District with several initiatives.  Key players in King-Lincoln’s revitalization were all community organizations, such as the Long Street Business Association, Bronzeville Neighborhood Association (locals called the area “King-Lincoln Bronzeville” for years), and the Near East Side.  To Edmunson, staying at the top means investing further in areas like his.

He’s not wrong to say that, either. If the city only pays attention to the areas that are doing well, the areas that need help staying or getting on their feet suffer.  Quality of life goes down in all terms, but most visibly in terms of economy and safety.  And while community organizations play an integral role and revitalization, they can’t succeed if the City is in their way.  Both have to work together.  

It’s also important to recognize not only the existence of community organizations, but their involvement as well.  Community organizations are members of the area that have come together to invest their time and energy into creating and sustaining neighborhoods and residents.  One of the key factors in quality of life is communal involvement-- do people take care of themselves and each other?  Cities with few community organizations need to look at Columbus and ask themselves why their residents don’t have the same kind of investment in each other, and what they can do to help create it.  

Columbus, Ohio has reached a point in its history where it has become not just an example to look up to, but an example other cities need to emulate.  We’re so proud of you, Columbus!  This time, you were #5… next time, we know you can aim higher!