Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Yellow Springs, Ohio

In our quest to find the "ideal" place to live, I think I may have found it. Jeff mentioned in passing that there was an area that was about the same distance as we currently are from the AFB. He said it was called Yellow Springs. A light went off in my head because I religiously listen to WYSO, which is our local NPR station. This is not just any run of the mill NPR station, it is the coolest one I have yet to encounter. I could go on and on about it, but you can check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Not only does Yellow Spring host the best NPR station ever, but it has wonderful qualities such as:
-It is home of Antioch University
-It is very diverse and rich in culture even though it has less than 4,000 residents
-It was the last stop on the Underground Railroad
-It promotes small business and does not have a Wal-Mart!
-Dave Chappelle lives there.
-It reminds me of Vermont in so many ways (I went to college in Vermont)
-It is safe.
-It would be a wonderful place for our children to be raised.
-They have contra dancing.
-Is host to the Glen Helen Ecology Institute
-There are endless nature trails and places to camp.
-As my husband so wonderfully put it, "It is a small town because it decided to be one, not because it is one."

I will keep you posted on my new found Ohio Mecca. Will Yellow Springs be my next stop?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live and why?

14 comments:

Kim said...

I hope Yellow Springs is everything you're dreaming it might be. I could be pretty content with a house somewhere on the southern coast of Maine.

Saquel25 said...

Several wonderful towns and villages in England come to mind but I've pretty much given up on that and have decided to be happy where I am. Not the most exciting place in the world but it's become home. I'm not sure there's any truth to this, but I once read that Charles Manson once said if he was ever released then he would live in Yellow Springs!

jafabrit said...

If you are interested check in with the arts council blog that highlights what is going on around yellow spring.
ysarts.blogspot.com

It is a wonderfully quirky village ( I am a transplanted brit), in fact quirky enough to allow us to cover a tree in a sweater called the knit knot tree :)
www.jafagirlart.com

you can get fresh baked bread at the emporium daily, there is the farmers market, the little art theatre, lots of social/cultural activites, street fair twice a year, art on the lawn, and art stroll twice a year, plus we have an art gallery in the local loo. Check out the Chamber of Commerce.http://www.yellowspringsohio.org/index.html

marita said...

It sounds like a good place for you (and for me to come visit!). I'm still trying to figure out where I want to live when I grow up. Thankfully I still have plenty of time to do that!

Lilola said...

Yellow Springs is charming, but it is about to get a LOT smaller. Antioch College is closing. The original announcement said they hoped to reopen, but the last news story said they were trying to sell the property.

Lynell said...

I was looking at some Mormon bloggers and you caught my eye. We have a lot in common, exept at our house it is always the last waffle. Ü

You are a great writer and your family is beautiful. Good luck in finding that perfect place!

jafabrit said...

I don't think the village is going to get as small as some believe with Antioch closing. The community is not as dependent on the college population wise. So no it is not going to get a LOT smaller. Antioch University is still going to operate it's university here. http://www.mcgregor.edu/

There are also two beautiful state parks, glen helen on the edge of the village, and john byrant park nearby. The parks, the village and the lifestyle continues to attract visitors and new residents, irregardless of the sad demise of antioch college.

Mamapierce said...

I miss Oklahoma...but I think home tends to be where you are the happiest - and I have everything I want here in OH - except my extended family. :o)

Are you feeling better yet?

-R said...

Man, other than the NPR station, I'm down with that. I listen to NPR but always get mad listening to their bias.

I'd like to live in a place with annual arts shows and such.

MoMmY k:-) said...

when are you guys planning on moving??

jennifer said...

The have a great pizza place there called Ha Ha Pizza! And I love all the restored homes, it is very charming.
Myself, I am a city girl and must be within 10 minutes of a shopping mall! I would love to be able to live in Maryland again, but it is so expensive I don't think it will ever happen. Plus, my family is all moving here to Ohio, so this is home now! We will eventually be moving more towards the south of Dayton, however.

Megan said...

Brian would like to move to Canada some day,he thinks that there would be more people like us there.
I personally would LOVE to live in Yellow Springs...great radio station, great food and cape cod style homes; it couldn't get any better than that!

Freth Stifter said...

At one point we lived in Venice Beach, CA ... would love to live there ... but can't afford the housing anymore ...

Unknown said...

yellow springs is a beautiful town. i went to antioch college last year and now i'm back this year to attend the non-stop liberal arts institute. (nonstopinstitute.org)

the only thing i disagree with in your post is that you champion yellow springs as the home of antioch university... but it was antioch college, founded in 1852 by horace mann, that grew up with the town of yellow springs, and as its campus sits deserted and the historic buildings get moldy people sit idly by, unsure of the real story, dismissing antioch college as a thing of the past...

forget antioch university. antioch college created antioch university in the 1970s, and now antioch university has systematically destroyed antioch college through mismanagement and greed and the corporate model of education.

coretta scott king, stephen jay gould, eleanor holmes norton, rod serling... they were graduates of antioch college. they had co-ops and real world experiences, they had a true radical liberal arts education. they didn't any online courses.

yellow springs is a beautiful place. every day i meet new, friendly vibrant people...