Surprise, It's Columbus

Another trip to Columbus, another blog post about it:

Columbus isn't all that different from other secondary cities in the U.S. It has several large corporations, one major league sports franchise, a sprawling metro area, a state house, some wealthy neighborhoods with good schools, some poor neighborhoods and bad schools, and a general sense it's overlooked. As my mother recently said, unless you know someone from there or have business there, you probably wouldn't go. She and I fall into the former category.

The Times recently captured city leaders' anxiety about Columbus' lackluster national position (though the article didn't generalize Columbus' situation, making it a strange story for the paper's National section -- a piece simply on what's happening in Ohio's capital). Columbus has "no image in the national marketplace," lamented Paul Astleford, the director of Experience Columbus, which promotes tourism and conventions. There are no iconic draws and nothing that immediately pops into one's mind when Columbus is mentioned. Apparently the city is on its Nth round of branding, after slogans such as "Discover Columbus" and "Surprise, It's Columbus" didn't resonate as hoped. Actually, "Surprise, It's Columbus" is too hilarious and now a running joke among a few friends. You'll next see that slogan somehow incorporated into my wedding.

Indianapolis, a city I've never visited but is probably in the same boat as Columbus, has apparently "raised its profile by describing itself as the amateur athletic capital of America," the Times writes, which is a model that interests Columbus' leaders. My memo to Columbus' leaders: "Say, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' to that route. Really, all the building blocks for attracting people and businesses are right here."

To wit: Columbus has one of the country's most-respected public universities, a few great downtown neighborhoods and an overall commitment to interesting downtown redevelopment, nice parks, easily navigable roads and airport, a low cost of housing and living, and seemingly nice people. (The Times story mentioned nearly all of these.) These combine to create a very good place to live. The tourism is ancillary. In fact, maybe what's best about Columbus is the city's charms can't be captured by branding and that the city reveals itself to be an overlooked pleasure the more time one spends there.

Actually, damn straight: "Surprise, It's Columbus."