Every street corner in nostalgia holds a memory, a whisper of home that no other city can replace.
Some cities introduce themselves loudly – with glittering skylines, social life, or reputations too big to ignore. Columbus, Ohio is just that kind of city. From the busy streetlife, the very tall buildings, and historical landmarks, it arrives in my mind quietly like an echo of a childhood laugh or the warm scent or feeling of something familiar drifting through an open window. You don’t fall in love with Columbus all at once, you grow into it, and once you do, the city never leaves you.
Growing up between Michigan and Ohio created a natural tug of war, the classic Ohio vs. Michigan rivalry, a family feud that made loving Ohio feel almost rebellious. But when the football jokes fade, what remains is something deeper: the truth that a city can shape you, even from a distance, building my personality and explorations.
Columbus shaped me long before I understood the meaning of nostalgia. My father’s stories repeat through the neighborhoods he grew up in. My grandmother’s voice echoes through memories tied to a warm-home feeling I can still picture. Along with my twin sister, Mariah, I always feel something shift in our chests every time we return – a soft familiarity, like the city remembers us even when we’re gone.
But Columbus is more than just my family’s origin story, it’s a city built intentionally and founded in 1812, designed to bring people together at the center of Ohio. Today, it’s one of the fastest growing and most diverse cities in the Midwest. Yet people overlook it, dismiss it, or reduce it to rivalry jokes. That is why I want readers to give Ohio a chance.
When I asked teachers, family, and staff for their thoughts on Columbus, Ohio, and also why they love it, their answers revealed something powerful.
Mrs. Bonham, a Spanish Teacher at BHS who also has NEVER lived in Columbus, but in fact is from Cleveland says, “I’m from Cleveland originally, and have a lot of friends who live and work in the Columbus area, or who went to the college there. It is a really welcoming city, with great concert venues and cute restaurants. The people in Columbus are really what make it special; they’ve built a really great community down there.”
David Davis, a BHS parent added, “I love Columbus because it represents a melting pot of different races, ethnic backgrounds, and social status. Columbus is home of The Ohio State University, which has a strong history and heritage of success. Columbus is also a “white collar” city, in that it provides a home to several Fortune 500 companies and even a few Fortune 100 companies. Columbus is the city of opportunity for ALL people as it does not discriminate.”
Columbus is full of history, art, culture, entertainment, food, and community traditions. Places like German Village, Columbus Museum of Art, COSI (Center of Science and Industry), Scioto Mile, Nationwide Arena, Scene-75, Roosters Resturant…WAFFLE HOUSE, the Columbus Zoo, Polaris and Easton Mall, the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, and plenty more, hold decades of stories. Festivals and local restaurants, OSU game days, and small family-owned spots give the city its heartbeat. Research shows Columbus is a center for innovation, food, culture, diversity, and opportunity – not the “empty Midwest” stereotype people imagine.
But the facts are only half the story, the other half is belonging. Home isn’t just where you live, it’s where you feel known. Where a city becomes a memory map, and when the past and present touch shoulders and smile. Columbus is that for me. If readers take anything from this article, I want it to be this: give overlooked places a chance, give Ohio a chance, let yourself see a city through the eyes of those who love it, because sometimes the most ordinary places hold the most extraordinary pieces of who we are.
