I've seen lots of stuff about Ohio. Can you give more info, like hi and low temps in different seasons, types and variety of produce that grows well, job opportunities. Anything else you can think of that would help someone make a decision about looking into the area more. Please be specific about the area of Ohio since things can change so quickly. Thanks, Amber

-- Amber (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 15, 2000

Answers

Hi Amber,

For starters, there is... .

http://www.state.oh.us/ and www.ohiocareers.com .

For agriculture there is www.state.oh.us/agr

(:raig

-- Craig Miller (CMiller@ssd.com), November 15, 2000.

While people will say its midwest, its more a mideast state. Corn, wheat, soybeans are major ag crops throughout the state. Gardens supports a wide variety of crops. ts a growing zone 4/5 depending on where you are in the state. The state is have agraculture. There is manufacturing, trucking and retail throught the state. Major highways I-70 (east/west) I71(north/south) run across the state with many feeder roads and city bypasses. There is a large amount of service oriented jobs in central (Columbus) and south (Cincinati). More industral to the north (Cleveland). East ohio is a recovering industral area (borders PA steel country). West is Ag with some military support (Dayton).

Cost of living, taxes are mid range. Water is available at a reasonable cost in most areas, Land is reasonable as long as your avoid cities.

If you have specific questions about North Central Ohio where I live drop me note.

-- (gws@redbird.net), November 15, 2000.

Amber, I live in NE Ohio. We get up to about 80 in the summers and teens in the winter. Sometimes higher/lower if it is an unusual year. Where we live we get lake-effect weather. Lake Erie sends us lots of clouds. We get lake-effect snowstorms often in the winter. If you check with maps, you will see that the Great Lakes area is the second most cloudy area of the US, second to Seattle. We have lots of Amish neighbors here; they are neat and quiet. Corn, alfalfa, wheat, soybeans, oats and other crops grow well here. We are rural, about 30 miles east of Cleveland, so don't get into the big city too much. We have lots of small towns to shop in though. There are areas here where you can get an acre of land for $700, and then some for $8000. Depends on how close to the city. Northeast central, near Pa, is the cheapest land. Be glad to answer any questions you have. Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), November 15, 2000.

Amber, we live in SE Ohio, 7 miles from the Ohio River, 40 miles outside of Wheeling, WV. It is very hilly here, much like WV, but the land is cheaper, around 500-1500 an acre, with a house and barn, usually. Very broad range of types of real estate are available, from fixer-uppers that are livable, to ready to move in and do nothing houses. We have no zoning outside of the small cities, so you are free to do or live in whatever you want, available private water systems are most everywhere, as during droughts, the ground water tends to disappear, unless you have a very deep well. We get "city" water for 24.00 a month for about 6000 gallons, we also have 3 wells, and 4 developed springs on the property.

The temperatures in the summer are in the 80's, sometimes it's humid, but there is always a breeze that helps keep it bearable. There are NO mosquitoes! But we do have ticks, I feed the dogs and horses garlic to keep them away. Spring usually starts in late February, or early March, the last frost is the end of March, most of the time. I still have roses, geraniums, and snapdragons blooming, although a hard frost killed the garden the first week of October. We sometimes don't have a killing frost till almost Thanksgiving.

The people here are very friendly, and willing to help, most folks wave to you as you pass them on the roads, or from their front porches. You will have to be willing to drive at least a half hour to find work, but it is there, there is a lot of industry by the Ohio River.

If you want more specific information on the area, go to two realtors websites: www.swisslands.com or unitedcountry.com , they have quite a bit of background information, and some really nice pictures of some places for sale.

Glad to be of help, Annie in SE OH.

-- Annie Miller (annie@1st.net), November 15, 2000.

Annie-must be nice to have no mosquitoes down there near the Ohio River! I live up in NW Ohio, between Toledo and Lima, and out here, we had mosquitoes I swear you could saddle and ride this year! They are usually kinda bad every year, but with all the rain we had, they were just terrible! But Amber, up here, an acre goes for around $3000, taxes are average, we get no lake effect snows, and not a lot of the townships are zoned, which is good!

-- Joe (Threearrs@AOL.com), November 15, 2000.

I'm from NE Ohio also, however I'm about 30 miles west of Cleveland.There are a lot of jobs here.We also have some really nice rural communities just south and southwest of me.Land prices vary as in many farms are sold off to builders who are unfortunately turning us into another Cleveland suburb.There are still some great deals however if you're willing to commute longer to the city if need be. Crops here seem to be potatoes,corn,soy beans,apples,berries and grapes.(GREAT wineries just northwest of here.)Alpaca ranches sprouting up in every direction.I've also noticed an increasing number of horse farms of late. This really isn't a bad location. We live in the city and are looking at neighboring townships as possible places to build.Lots of opportunities here I think.

-- Raya Amick (Raya2448@ivillage.com), November 15, 2000.

Thanks for all the answers. It gives us one more place to look at before making a final decision. Lots of good and practical information. Thanks, Amber

-- Amber (mikeandamberq@hotmail.com), November 17, 2000.

Anne...I live in SE Ohio about 30 miles west of wheeling WV in a small town,population 4600..Where they hold the Pumpkin festival..Thanks for letting everyone know what a nice area we live in..No big city hassels or no big taffic situations..

-- Bob (se ohio) (snuffy@1st.net), October 27, 2001.