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Columbus City Guide
Columbus is the capital city of Ohio in the United States that is a fast growing urban metropolis with currently more than 700,000 residents. Originally inhabited by Native Americans, the city was renamed after famed explorer Christopher Columbus in the late 1700s, when the first white settlers came to the area.

Drawing most of its income from various industries such as heavy equipment, metals textiles, and consumer goods, Columbus is also gifted with an amazingly rich cultural tradition and vibrant urban lifestyle.


 

Residential Places in Columbus

A situation is currently being played out in Columbus that is similar to what is happening in many other parts of the country. There are a large number of residential real estate properties available on the market, and interest rates are lower now than they have been in years. Sellers are also very eager to sell nowadays in order to avoid losing any more money on their properties.

This situation is not going to last forever, and prices are almost certain to go back up when the number of available properties decrease and the market stabilizes. The bottom line is that whether you are looking to buy a property for your own use, to make a profit by selling it off a few years down the line, or looking to rent it out, now is a great time to buy property in Columbus.

In the present real estate climate of Columbus, finding a home that is valued at $150,000, yet is being sold at $15,000 and even $20,000 below that price, is not at all that unusual. The fact that the value of any property you purchase will only increase as time goes on should serve as further incentive. In Columbus, house appreciation rates have been pegged at as high as 4% per year, which for a $200,000 home translates to about $8,000 in profit every year.

Downtown Columbus is a particularly fertile picking ground, with prices ranging from the low $200,000s to about $600,000 for condo units in the 5th street, Chestnut, Hickory, and Main Street areas.

Hospitals and Universities of Columbus

Being a large urban center, Columbus has a wide array of options to choose from in terms of medical care. Virtually all of the larger hospitals in the city are ultra modern health care establishments that offer a wide variety of services. Among the best hospitals in Columbus are: The Ohio State University Medical Center, the various branches of Mount Carmel, Ohio Health Doctors Hospital, and the Ohio branch of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

Columbus is a city with a considerable number of universities and colleges as well, but foremost among all of these has to be the Ohio State University, which was founded in 1870. It is widely considered to be the best public university in the state, and has consistently ranked among the best universities in the country.

The city is also known for the Columbus College of Art & Design, which is one of the oldest art schools in the country, having been established in 1879.

Some of the other noteworthy colleges and universities in the city are: Ohio Dominican University, Franklin University, Capital University, and the Columbus State Community College.

Commercial Places in Columbus

Columbus is a town that has a proud culinary history, and this is evident in the amazingly wide range of restaurants that you can find all over the city. From fine dining establishments to sandwich shops to pizza joints…they’re all here, offering great service and excellent food at affordable prices.

The Graystone Wine Cellar offers so much more than just wine, but what they do serve are some of the best wines that you will find in the world. With a sumptuous buffet lunch and the lowest priced fine wines in the entire state, Graystone is truly one of the best that Columbus has to offer.

El Vaquero Mexican Restaurant is, as you may have guessed, a restaurant that serves Mexican cuisine, but what sets it apart is the great food at almost unbelievably low prices. Not a fancy or a modern Mexican food place by any means, El Vaquero is where to go if you want good Mexican food and you want a lot of it.

Service Establishments of Columbus

In Columbus, the Department of Public Utilities is responsible for virtually all the basic utilities needs of the city residents, from electricity and water supply to wastewater management. Residents do have the option to go with AEP or American Electric Power for their electricity supply needs instead of Columbus Power, although electricity services supplied by the city are slightly lower than AEP’s service.

Certain parts of the city do not fall under the coverage area of Columbus Power however, so you may want to check for availability in your area beforehand by visiting the website of the Department of Public Utilities at http://utilities.columbus.gov/Electricity/ServiceArea.htm, where they have a map detailing the service coverage area.

There are two electricity payment centers in the area: the City Treasurer's Office at City Hall at 90 W. Broad Street, and the Columbus Utilities Complex at 910 Dublin Road. You can also call Customer Service at (614) 645-7360 from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and at (614) 645-7627 for after-hours emergency service.

For water and sewerage services, customer assistance is available at 645-8270 from Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. You can pay your water bills at the same offices where you pay for electrical bills.

Embassies in Columbus

For British expatriates who are seeking consular assistance in Columbus, you have two options: you can either direct your inquiries to the office of the British Honorary Consul right in the city, or you can contact the British Embassy in Washington D.C.

The office of the British Honorary Consul can be reached at 1268 W 112th St., Cleveland, OH 44102, and you can call them at (1)(216) 228 2515. You can also email them at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

The British Embassy can be reached at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008, and you can call them at (1)(202) 588 6500 embassy, (1)(202) 588 7800 consular, and at (1)(202) 588 7830 British Council. You can also fax them at (1)(202) 588 7870 chancery, (1)(202) 588 7866 management, (1)(202) 588 7901 UKTI, and at (1)(202) 588 7850 consular.
 
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