Moving to Ohio

From national Halls of Fame to your average electric bill in Ohio, what to expect when moving to the Buckeye state

If you are making the move to Ohio, you’re not alone. Tens of thousands relocated to the Buckeye State in 2020, making Ohio fourth in the nation for migration growth in one study.

There are several reasons people make the move. Work is a big factor. While the state’s job growth holds steady, Ohio still tops the national average and employment opportunities abound. Major industries include healthcare, manufacturing, and financial services, and the state ranks No. 5 on the Top 10 list of states with the most Fortune 500 companies.

Considered one of the most affordable states, Ohio’s cost of living is another big draw. Housing prices are nearly 63 percent lower in Columbus, Ohio, compared to Boston for example, and someone making $75,000 in Boston would need to pull in about $45,500 to live similarly in Columbus. When it comes to energy, the monthly bill for the average residential home’s energy usage is less than half of the country. This is due in part because Ohioans can shop, compare residential electricity rates, and choose their energy supplier.

Choose your own electric company in Ohio

Ohio is an Energy Choice state, which means residents have the freedom to compare electric and natural gas providers and choose the energy supplier and plan that best fits their individual situation, whether that’s choosing a fixed-rate plan to make their monthly electric bill more predictable, or choosing an energy supplier that offers environmentally friendly clean, green energy.

Energy reaches Ohio homes through the interconnected work of three providers

Wherever you live in Ohio, you can choose your supplier, sometimes called your Competitive Retail Electric Service, or CRES, supplier. CRES suppliers are certified by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) and offer alternative competitive prices, renewable energy options, and other services or incentives. Energy Harbor, for example, is a CRES supplier. Energy Harbor is also a reliable energy generation company, with two nuclear power plants located in Ohio that supplies 90% of Ohio's carbon-free energy.

Electric utility companies in Ohio include Columbus Southern Power, American Electric Power, AEP Ohio, and Ohio Power.

Comparing and selecting an energy provider is simple. And Ohio residents who make the switch still receive the same bill from their local utility company, making the transition even easier. After setting up an account with your public utility, shop plans from suppliers so you can be sure you have the plan that’s right for you when you move into your new home.

The Buckeye state’s big three

Ohio’s location in relation to the rest of the United States is also a draw. The state famously boasts that more than half of the U.S. population could hop in a car and drive to Ohio in less than a day. That makes living in Ohio perfect for wanderlust travelers to finally plant roots. After all, living halfway between New York City and Chicago, and a day’s drive from Washington D.C., Boston, Philadelphia and more, is a boon for those who live their lives somewhere between seeing the world and settling down.

Nearly 3 percent of the state’s 11 and half million people call one of Ohio’s three major cities, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, home. The metropolitan trio form a line down one of Ohio’s major highways, Rt. 71, from Cleveland’s perch on the shores of Lake Erie, through Columbus’s location in the heart of it all, down through Cincinnati, lying on the bank of the Ohio River. Each city has its own distinct cultural charm.

Cleveland: The Heart of Rock and Roll

Founded in 1796 along Lake Erie’s southern shore on the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland remains a blue-collar, manufacturing city even as its healthcare community, including the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals, and MetroHealth, continues to introduce breakthrough medical innovations to the world.

Cultural institutions include the Cleveland Museum of Art, Playhouse Square, and the world-renowned Cleveland Orchestra. The city was famously selected as the host city for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, based in part on legendary deejay Alan Freed, who coined the phrase “rock and roll.”

Columbus: The Biggest Small Town in America

Columbus is Ohio’s most populous city and state capital. The city is probably best known for The Ohio State University--the “public ivy” helps make education one of Columbus’s major industries. Fashion design is another. More fashion designers call Columbus home than any other city in the U.S., except New York and Los Angeles.

Even though the capitol is becoming more metropolitan by the day, it retains its friendly Midwest nature. That friendliness is how the city earned its reputation as the Biggest Small Town in America.

Cincinnati: The Queen City

Visitors to Cincinnati may hear locals refer to the southwest Ohio city as the Queen of the West or, more likely, the Queen City. It’s not a reference to English royalty but rather to its early, exponential growth. Cincinnati citizens were the first to call it the Queen City, and the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped popularize the term by calling out Cincinnati as the Queen of the West in his poem, Catawba Wine.

Proctor & Gamble is headquartered in Cincinnati, part of Cincinnati’s diversified economic base, which includes manufacturing, financial services, education and more.

Uniquely Ohio

Ask Ohio residents what they enjoy most about the state and they’ll likely tell you they enjoy the experience of all four seasons – sometimes within the same week. Or they will go on about experiencing both the hustle and bustle of the big city and the calm of country life all within a one-hour drive. Still, there are a few things Ohioans would selfishly rather keep to themselves. Here are four:

The Roller Coast:

While most of the country flocks to Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Ohioans are spoiled with two of the largest amusement parks in the country: Kings Island near Cincinnati and Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Cedar Point features 18 world-class roller coasters, only one less than Six Flags Magic Mountain, which owns the record for the most roller coasters in an amusement park. Kings Island isn’t far off, with 14.

Making the move to Ohio – or to a new part of Ohio – is simple, if you prepare ahead of time. Do so by setting up your utilities before the moving van reaches the front door. Choose your providers and suppliers, from internet to gas and electricity, and rest assured that you’ll be comfortable in your new home on day one.

Plenty of Professional Sports:

Ohio sports fans have plenty of professional sports teams to root for. Baseball fans can root for both the newly renamed Cleveland Guardians and Cincinnati Reds, since those teams play in different leagues, but football fans must choose between in-state NFL rivals the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. Professional soccer and hockey are played in Columbus by the Crew and Blue Jackets, respectively. And Cleveland Cavalier fans still hope LeBron James will make a final appearance with the team before retirement.

Halls of Fame:

Located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, the Airforce Museum, as it is known to locals, is the oldest and largest military aviation museum in the world. In many ways, it is the older sibling to a slew of noteworthy halls of fame in the Buckeye State, including The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the National Barber Hall of Fame, and the Polka Hall of Fame.

The Towpath Trail:

Located in the heart of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, an emerald jewel with an average monthly visitation rate of 183,000, the 87-mile Towpath Trail is a mecca for hikers, bikers, runners and walkers. It follows much of the original Ohio & Erie Canal towpath. The canal connected Lake Erie with the Ohio River, helping connect Ohio to the eastern U.S. and opening up the west to explorers and settlers.