Posted: 4/1/2026 11:05:20 PM EDT
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We live in NY and it's as bad or worse than you can imagine. My Family and I are considering Ohio but have little experience or knowledge about the State. I do have a Cousin in Lancaster that moved up there from Florida as that's where his Wife is from, looks interesting as where we live now is Dairy Farming with a fair mixture of Amish and Mennonites. We've lived most of our lives in a one Traffic Light Village and the nearest City 15 miles away with a population of 35K How is the economy there? Taxes? Heath care? Crime? Schools? No way we'll move to or near the big Cities, we're too simple and rural to survive that for very long. |
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If it’s legal under federal law you can own it in Ohio. That includes any type of firearms, any size magazine, any type of NFA. All NFA are allowed in Ohio as long as they are registered with ATF. Ohio also has preemption of gun laws so cities can’t have those laws either. Some big cities keep trying to pass their own gun laws but they have been shot down in state supreme court multiple times. State preemption applies to all firearms and accessories. Ohio has constitutional carry and will honor out of state CHL by non residents. Residents can still get an Ohio CHL but it’s not required under Ohio law. Ohio concealed carry is for handguns only. You could theoretically open carry a rifle in a city but you’ll probably get arrested for disturbing the peace. The worse thing about Ohio is the weather sucks nine months out of the year. |
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Originally Posted By spmx7777: The worse thing about Ohio is the weather sucks nine months out of the year. Not that bad but it does change a lot. 80s and 40s within 3 days of each other. I doubt NY is any better. OP, watch where you pick as taxes vary widley. Lancaster is growing, SW of there is Hocking Hills so land for rental cabins is high. Farther south and you're in the sticks. My dirt bike club operates in Vinton Co which is near the latter. Only gun law I really don't like is no loaded long arm in vehicle but you can do a braced AR pistol. I live in mid W to SW, west of Dayton (Montgomery co.) but in Preble co. The difference is taxes, home price, amount of LEO is huge just by crossing county line. |
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Originally Posted By AR_Dale: Not that bad but it does change a lot. 80s and 40s within 3 days of each other. I doubt NY is any better. Many months of cloudiness is what gets me about the weather here, not the temperature so much. Warm air from the Gulf of America mixes with cold air from Canada and cover Ohio in clouds. If you have seasonal affective disorder, you'll really feel it here. Weather can vary a lot within the state too. Close to Lake Erie gets hammered with lake effect snow. Buffalo, NY is like that. There are cheap rural places to live but they often come with baggage like being close to a penitentiary, close to an old nuclear gaseous diffusion plant, brownfields, or just far away from "civilization" with little work. |
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How is the economy there? Ranges wildly from area to area. Rural areas are somewhat crushed, urban areas are doing better. Taxes? Income tax sucks. Property tax can really suck again depending on area. Sales tax is 6.5-8% depending on the county. Heath care? In the greater Cleveland are you have Cleveland Clinic, arguably the top, at least in the top three, hospital systems in the country, but they do know how to bill Crime? Stay out of the ghettos and you won't have any issues Schools? Again, varies greatly. It usually is directly proportional to property taxes, but not always. Pay higher taxes, you live in a more affluent community and the schools are better. |
If you don't have a plan, you can't change it.
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Originally Posted By spmx7777: You could theoretically open carry a rifle in a city but you’ll probably get arrested for disturbing the peace. The worse thing about Ohio is the weather sucks nine months out of the year. The AG put a stop to the disturbing the peace/inducing panic after Toledo got it's peepee slapped. Not saying it isn't asking for LEO interaction, but there isn't much they can do to a law abiding citizen open carrying any firearm. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/Newsletters/Law-Enforcement-Bulletin/June-2015/Search-and-Seizure-Open-Carry-Northrup-v-City-of I don't think it's as much the weather as the allergies being the worst part of living here. It's hard to explain, but you'll understand if you spend time here. |
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Originally Posted By crazyelece: The AG put a stop to the disturbing the peace/inducing panic after Toledo got it's peepee slapped. Not saying it isn't asking for LEO interaction, but there isn't much they can do to a law abiding citizen open carrying any firearm. https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/Newsletters/Law-Enforcement-Bulletin/June-2015/Search-and-Seizure-Open-Carry-Northrup-v-City-of I don't think it's as much the weather as the allergies being the worst part of living here. It's hard to explain, but you'll understand if you spend time here. Good to hear about the disturbing the peace nonsense. Yeah, my dad always concealed carry a handkerchief for his runny nose caused by allergies. He lived in a suburb of Cleveland almost his entire life. |
| By the way, there is a ballot initiative to amend the state constitution to eliminate all forms of property tax on all real property. The politicians and government employees are in a panic over the strong possibility it will pass. Homeowners are fed up with unvoted property tax hikes. Little thought is given to slashing state government spending, instead they threaten to raise sales and income taxes on everyone. Well, except any favored businesses, like data center developers/owners, can get sales tax exemptions for anything related to their favored project. Farmland gets taxed at a much lower rate, so buy a farm. |
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Originally Posted By fp1201: We live in NY and it's as bad or worse than you can imagine. My Family and I are considering Ohio but have little experience or knowledge about the State. I do have a Cousin in Lancaster that moved up there from Florida as that's where his Wife is from, looks interesting as where we live now is Dairy Farming with a fair mixture of Amish and Mennonites. We've lived most of our lives in a one Traffic Light Village and the nearest City 15 miles away with a population of 35K How is the economy there? Taxes? Heath care? Crime? Schools? No way we'll move to or near the big Cities, we're too simple and rural to survive that for very long. Economy? Decent, lots of data center and tech moving into the Midwest. Taxes? 7% sales, 2.75% income Healthcare? Avg. most cities and universities have some top rated hospitals. Crime? Avoid the big cities. No where near as bad as like Chicago or LA but Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Toledo and Dayton have areas that are known shitholes. Schools? I don’t trust the statistics. The top rated school get points for DEI and diversity. I would look for the opposite. Honestly the state is great if you avoid the urban areas. Plenty of places you can find a sub 50k person town with decent school, safe neighborhoods, and affordable housing. Laws are very pro gun, we now have constitutional carry, no mag limits or AWB bs. Only thing I can think of is tannerite is illegal in Ohio. Well legal to buy, sell, and own. Illegal to shoot / detonate. I personally love Ohio weather. Sure it’s hot and humid during the summer. And winter is cold and balls. But my favorite seasons are spring and fall. And I think that’s key, we actually have seasons. You get some snow but not Buffalo NY levels of snow. You get heat but not Alabama heat. You get a bright green spring with 60 at night and 75 during the day. You get beautiful colors out in nature during the fall. It’s lovely. |
"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery". - Thomas Jefferson
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Originally Posted By Spartikis: Honestly the state is great if you avoid the urban areas. Plenty of places you can find a sub 50k person town with decent school, safe neighborhoods, and affordable housing. This is what I was going to type, I feel it is a very accurate statement and love living here. The only gun law in Ohio I have a problem with is that you cannot carry a gun while attending church. Our CCW law requires permission from the church to do so. I used to attend where they allowed it, but a change in pastors lead to revoking permission (for everyone). I haven't found a church within an hour of me that allows it, so we don't go. Honestly, a very minor issue compared to NY's gun laws. Keep us updated if you decide to move here. We can get you plugged into a local range. |
"The ARFCOM Survival Forum -- 90% LESS tinfoil than any other survival forum on the net." -- TriggerHappy83
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Brother--c'mon down to Ohio and breathe free! East of Cleveland--villages of Burton, Middlefield, Mesopotamia, there are lots of Amish here. Holmes, Knox, Wayne, and Ashland Counties have a good mix of Amish and simple life folks. STAY FAR AWAY from big Ohio cities with their hoods 'n ghettos--you'll be fine. Get out of NY as fast as you can--that governor/witch in Albany and the cuckoo-bird mayor in NYC will finish off a once-great state. Be frugal, live simple--you will thrive here. Plenty of decent folks, good med care, lots of clean water and grub, fairly reasonable utility and taxes. 2nd A alive and well here! Plenty of Gun shows, retailers, ammo dealers to chose from. Lots of gun rangers too to practice. Hey! Think Camp Perry! I've been doing it here for 80 years. Oh--forgot to mention--good tip for "newcomers." Eyeball you a place online, then take that location and "plug it into" a website called "City Data." It tells ALL! Example; you think about relocating to Middlefield, Ohio, bu don't know much about it. BAM! City Data Website: "Middlefield, OH" Peace and blessings! Have a great Easter.  
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Former NYer here… I left Rochester about 20yrs ago and relocated to Columbus. Here is what I will tell you… It was one of the top 5 best things I did in life. It’s up there with things like marriage, kids, career. Life is so much better. I do miss the great NY food and the Finger Lakes though. |
What is a democrat? Someone who wants everything you have, except for your job.
Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could see their corporate sponsors.
Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could see their corporate sponsors.
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Thank you all for the responses, we really do have a wonderful Country and so much to choose from, but it's difficult having been "imprisoned" in the Peoples Republic of New Yorkistan for the last three decades were we've seen it go from "that's an inconvenience" to full on "WTF!" I used to travel to Knob Creek in KY twice a year which took us through several Big Cities, and we wouldn't even stop for Gas. Anti-Gun Laws are a big thing for me, just recently the State Police arrested an elderly gentleman for selling his shotgun in a Garage Sale...multiple felonies for selling a stupid shotgun...wasn't me, but this was the final straw. |
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I give Ohio a B- as a state. Is it the best place to live? I don’t think so. Is it bad? Hell no. Things I don’t like? Outside of the SE portion of the state, there is very little public land. As a result, finding a place to shoot, particularly if you like long range stuff like I do, is difficult. Ohio is pretty in its own way, but it’s never gonna be Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, etc if you are an outdoor junkie like me. Urban sprawl is everywhere. If you are within 45 minutes of one of our major cities, expect the scourge of suburban hell and it’s associated Karen’s to mingle into your area within a few decades. If you don’t like humidity, good luck in the summer. Now on to the good stuff… Ohio is a GOP state and seems to be getting more conservative not less. Gun laws are good and more importantly getting better every election cycle. They are light years better than 20 years ago. I really can’t name one gun law I would change off the top of my head, other than the church thing already mentioned. There are about 1000 small towns that are the closest thing to Mayberry we have left in this country. Unfortunately, the prettiest part of the state with the most outdoor opportunity (SE Ohio) is also really poor and has associated rural poor problems. (Meth, drugs, etc.) It’s relatively affordable. There are no state laws about minimum acreage or distance from a domicile to have your own range. If you are outside of city limits and have an effective backstop, you are pretty much GTG there. Deer hunting is really good, IF you can find a land owner that will give you permission. Public land is doable, but it’s usually a zoo. I do plan on leaving here in 10 years when I retire, but that said it’s not bad. It’s a 1000x better than NY, that’s for sure! |
The posts made on this forum are purely my private opinion and don’t represent any employer or entity I am professionally associated with.
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Originally Posted By ZW17: Former NYer here… I left Rochester about 20yrs ago and relocated to Columbus. Here is what I will tell you… It was one of the top 5 best things I did in life. It’s up there with things like marriage, kids, career. Life is so much better. I do miss the great NY food and the Finger Lakes though. This. Same. but I left shit Buffalo 30 years ago. Can't beat NYS outdoors and the food, but everything else in OH is better. Taxes of all kind are far less. Good luck with your decision, OP. |
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FWIW, Firearms Policy Coalition scores Ohio at only 81.82% https://fpcfreedomindex.org/state/ohio/ What they don't like doesn't matter much to me. Sorry. Not sorry. |
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Originally Posted By spmx7777: FWIW, Firearms Policy Coalition scores Ohio at only 81.82% https://fpcfreedomindex.org/state/ohio/ What they don't like doesn't matter much to me. Sorry. Not sorry. I saw that, I was a little surprised. Ohio isn’t perfect, but pure gun law wise there isn’t a lot not to like. Then again FPC has a bit of a Doomer streak to them. ETA they have us ranked the same as Florida but FRTs are banned in Florida but not here. Our gun laws are way better than Florida. What a dumb list. 
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The posts made on this forum are purely my private opinion and don’t represent any employer or entity I am professionally associated with.
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Originally Posted By BuckeyeRifleman: Deer hunting is really good, IF you can find a land owner that will give you permission. Public land is doable, but it’s usually a zoo. I can speak from experience.... It's much harder to find private land to hunt on in NY. Also, I give Ohio an A- for quality of life. Much like an inmate coming out of 20yrs in the pen, moving to Ohio afforded me more freedom than I had ever experienced. It's all about perspective on where you have been. I could suddenly walk out of a store with a pistol. I could buy ammo without an ID. I could buy fireworks. I didn't have to pay for a smog test on my car and get ripped off by the mechanic, I didn't have to pay for a yearly vehicle inspection, I could night hunt coyotes, jobs were everywhere.... This list goes on and on of all the freedom Ohio offered. NY was very restrictive on just about every facet of your life. Like soul crushing restrictive. ETA: One funny thing that has always stood out to me in terms of Ohio freedom.... In Ohio you can allow your child under the age of 21 to drink in the presence of a parent. You can have a beer with your son on the front porch (or bar) if you decide he's old enough to handle it. If you tried that in NY, you'd be arrested and charged with child abuse (if they were young enough) or providing alcohol to a minor, and they would absolutely prosecute you for it. I have never done this as my kids are young, but I see no issue with having a beer with your kid if say he was 18 and about to head off to boot camp or a similar situation. Illegal as fuck in NY. |
What is a democrat? Someone who wants everything you have, except for your job.
Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could see their corporate sponsors.
Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could see their corporate sponsors.
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Originally Posted By ZW17: ETA: One funny thing that has always stood out to me in terms of Ohio freedom.... In Ohio you can allow your child under the age of 21 to drink in the presence of a parent. You can have a beer with your son on the front porch (or bar) if you decide he's old enough to handle it. If you tried that in NY, you'd be arrested and charged with child abuse (if they were young enough) or providing alcohol to a minor, and they would absolutely prosecute you for it. I have never done this as my kids are young, but I see no issue with having a beer with your kid if say he was 18 and about to head off to boot camp or a similar situation. Illegal as fuck in NY. State alcohol laws are as weird as gun laws. I live near IN line and use to live there. OH, kids can sit at a bar. IN, have to be 21 to enter a bar even if they sell food. Restaurant is ok but not bar area. Legal age to sell beer is all over the place. Sealed beer at store vs open beer at restaurant is completely different rules. That's just OH, not even sure about IN. Then there is hard liquor. OH has "state stores" where as IN has similar but that is where you buy all alcohol as gas stations don't sell cold beer although that is (has) changing. Sunday laws also are weird. OH use to sell watered down beer on Sunday and IN had none but that has changed. Still is different license in OH to sell on Sunday vs other days. |
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Originally Posted By AR_Dale: State alcohol laws are as weird as gun laws. I live near IN line and use to live there. OH, kids can sit at a bar. IN, have to be 21 to enter a bar even if they sell food. Restaurant is ok but not bar area. Legal age to sell beer is all over the place. Sealed beer at store vs open beer at restaurant is completely different rules. That's just OH, not even sure about IN. Then there is hard liquor. OH has "state stores" where as IN has similar but that is where you buy all alcohol as gas stations don't sell cold beer although that is (has) changing. Sunday laws also are weird. OH use to sell watered down beer on Sunday and IN had none but that has changed. Still is different license in OH to sell on Sunday vs other days. These laws go back to old religious based restrictions, which is why they can seem a bit unusual today. There’s a township near us that’s completely dry... no beer or liquor sold, even in the local gas stations. There’s also a horse farm that hosts a big BBQ every summer, and they actually have to apply for a special exemption from the township each year just to serve beer. Personally, I don’t mind it. The people who live in that township have the power to vote those laws out if they want to, but they’ve chosen not to. It’s probably one of the purest forms of local representation you can get, decision-making all the way down at the township level. That’s one major difference between places like New York and Ohio. In New York, policies are often driven by NYC and Albany, even though NYC is completely different from upstate... almost like two separate worlds. Yet the same rules apply statewide. |
What is a democrat? Someone who wants everything you have, except for your job.
Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could see their corporate sponsors.
Politicians should wear uniforms like NASCAR drivers so we could see their corporate sponsors.
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FWIW, and some claim this 'two sides of the same coin' thing, but we (R) have a super majority in both State houses and the Gov. office. Rural still pretty much rules here, for now. The weather, as stated, can jump around a bit. The central part of the State is pretty much on the southern edge of the Jet Stream, until it isn't. You get the picture. eta, as mentioned, gun laws are relatively good and seem to only get better, bit by bit. |
"Peace is that brief glorious moment in tiime when everyone stands around, and wise men are reloading." -Somebody that's been there.