Investing in Ohio- What city would you choose to buy and hold?

[Tony Blessings]

I would like to diversify my portfolio by investing in some town in Ohio. For those investing in Ohio, what area would you invest in and why? I will be choosing between Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland and Dayton. I currently own 18 rental units in Milwaukee, WI.

[Tyler Weaver]

For a strategy of buy and hold for the long term, I would choose either Cincinnati or Columbus.  They have the two biggest steady population gains in Ohio over the past decade. Both cities have diversified economics with more than one major employer/industry at the center.  

With my current knowledge, I would avoid Toledo. There is population loss there.  I know they are working on getting employment up.  That would be something to study before making a move there.

If looking at Dayton, I would focus on areas to the south. A lot of the employers have moved from the CBD to areas a bit south of Dayton. I believe as a way to pull from the Cincinnati employee pool. Also there is a lot of demand in the areas to the south of Dayton from couples where one works in Dayton the other in Cincinnati.