I grew up in the great Buckeye state. And by Buckeye I’m personally referring to the yummy mixture of chocolate and peanut butter. I could care less about football or the Ohio State Buckeyes, nor do I have a particular fondness for the tree.
What I didn’t realize until I moved here, is that for some reason that I have yet to understand, alot of people really HATE Ohio.
The first I heard of this was The Riverdogs’ Go Back to Ohio night , where, residents of Charleston vote on which visitors they would like to send back, and not only did Ohio win easily, but was apparently also the winner for the 3rd straight year. The idea was the best dressed Ohioian won a one way bus ticket back to Ohio.
Uh….what?
There’s even an I Hate Ohio Facebook page.
Granted, every state has one. The difference is, though, that the other random states I tried (Idaho, South Carolina and Texas) have a few hundred likes a best. The Ohio page has over 4,000.
(Yes, I laughed.)
Apparently a poll was also taken of 127 million people in October 2010 that deemed Ohio the worst state ever. I’d supply the link but it was broken. Maybe one of the Ohioans rioted.
(I laughed at that, too.)
I even found this classy joke:
What’s round at both ends and high in the middle?
Hell on earth.
(I’ll be retelling THAT one)
Now granted I didn’t do any extensive research but from what I did do, I couldn’t find one legit reason to hate Ohio. Other than the fact that its boring. And cold. And depressing.
But it has Cedar Point and Amish country, so there’s that.
I have to admit though, I’m surprised at how many people I’ve met here who have moved from Ohio. What I don’t get is why its such an issue. But if we’re going to make fun of Ohio for no real good reason, let’s pick on some other states, shall we?
How about the fact that Missouri sounds alot like misery? I’d rather live in Ohio.
Or the fact that Idaho, if sounded out the right sounds like I – da (the) ho. Yup- Ohio.
Lets not forget Hawaii. Its in the middle of the ocean! And its tropical. And warm year round. And lots of beaches…..yeah that one doesn’t work. I’d definitely leave Ohio for that.
North and South Dakota? Middle of nowhere. I’ll take Ohio.
Oklahoma is tornado alley. Bring on Ohio.
I moved and stayed out because I hate snow. But other than that, Ohio isn’t so bad. Besides, what other state has cool enough letters to be able to do this:
Rock on, Ohio.
Journey To the Finish Line 
November 13, 2011 at 11:06 pm
So, I was reflecting on why I happened to choose Ohio for that random statement in my post. And I honestly think it’s because it’s short and fun to say. I spent part of my tender years in Louisiana, so if I really want to pan a state…
November 14, 2011 at 12:25 am
I hope that you didn’t take offense to my pointing out you using it. I didn’t mean it that way at all. You didnt say anything bad and the whole thing is just humorous. Plus it inspired something for me to write about 🙂 So thanks for that!
November 14, 2011 at 1:04 am
No offense taken! And anytime you want to make fun of Texas, go for it. Lord knows there are plenty of reasons!
November 14, 2011 at 1:12 am
I’ve also thought that Pennsylvania was the worst state ever. The sun never shines there, what’s worse than that?
November 14, 2011 at 8:06 am
Ohio is the same way, so we share something in common there. pa has some nice countryside.
November 14, 2011 at 5:24 pm
I’m with Jason … I’ve lived in PA, Ohio, and Florida … PA is definitely worse than Ohio. But I’m not going to lie … I miss Florida. 😉
November 14, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I just chuckle because down here if you say you’re from Ohio you’re likely to get some sort of comment. I dunno about pa but Ohio for sure. 🙂
November 15, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Hahaha What a funny thing to look into! Nice to know you have a sense of humor…but it was actually a valid question to ponder on.
November 15, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Ohio is definitely not the most exciting state on earth but I think it gets a bad rap sometimes. I’ll absolutely make fun of it too, though 🙂
November 15, 2011 at 5:10 pm
How funny! I have a love-hate relationship with Ohio, I must admit. I love those delicious buckeyes too, and I watched an episode of How the States Got Their Shape that actually painted Ohio in a very nice light, rich in culture and tradition. But being the college football fan I am, I have to hate Ohio State in favor of the Wisconsin Badgers and Michigan State. My family in Michigan all own that first shirt….obviously it’s in Michigan State’s colors 🙂
My guess on why people hate Ohio? Blame Cleveland. But that’s me…LOL…
November 15, 2011 at 7:36 pm
Yeah I think Cleveland is alot of the reason! And, even being from Ohio, I would still wear that first shirt simply because I think its hysterical! 🙂
September 12, 2012 at 2:16 am
I just typed in google why do people hate LOL and this popped up, i live here in Columbus ohio and I think I have a good answer, First is that ohio is a Hollywood joke, look at movies, cartoons, shows, a ton of them make fun of ohio, family guy, how I met your mother, and so on. So that puts Ohio on the map, as well as the historical factors of Ohio, so open a textbook and poof, Ohio is in most of them, again this brings on the fact that people know Ohio and can talk about how much they don’t like Ohio, also take into account when your studying the states in school as well, Texas, New york, Ohio, California, Florida, and Washington are the easiest states to remember, but I think the biggest factor is the schools, so many people went to the Schools here thus when you ask someone “Hey Have you ever been to Ohio” they usually say Yeah, or no but i have family/friends in Ohio, and lets be honest in college most of us hate many things about where we live. So to end this little rant, we have many good things here, Cosi, (Science exhibit not the cafe), huge colleges, More shopping then you know what to do with, great jobs, cheap living, bars out the ass, our festivals (in Columbus) and tons and tons more…… and lets be honest …. Cinci, and clev suck ass LOL they are dirty and full of crime.. don’t go there come to Columbus for a visit or to live ;).
September 30, 2012 at 1:19 am
This is absolutely the worst written article I have ever read. Seeing “alot” drew me to the article thinking there could be no way, but there it is.
September 30, 2012 at 6:49 am
It’s a blog, not an article, asshole. Sorry to offend one who has apparently never made a grammar error. I guess you have nothing better to do than insult a women’s personal blog at 1am? Grow up.
November 1, 2012 at 12:11 am
Coshocton id the worst place in Ohio. Its like depression manifested in a physical form.
November 1, 2012 at 12:12 am
Is. Did not check grammar before posting
October 12, 2013 at 11:52 pm
That’s right. Tell his punk ass!
November 12, 2012 at 11:32 pm
I hate Ohio for a lot of reasons.
1. The speed limits are stuck in pre-Vietnam war era times.
2. If you break the painfully torturous speed limit, a state police officer is waiting every fifteen feet to pull you over.
3. Ohio State University.
4. The apparent bridge-overpass decorating contests that are going on down I-75.
5. If you don’t get pulled over for going the painfully slow speed limit, you’re still going to pay up on a (are you kidding me?) toll road. Who has toll roads? That’s insane! Pay to drive on a street? Seriously, you guys are so roughed up you don’t even know.
6. When Ohioans leave their state, they forget that they can drive a normal speed limit and slow down traffic in everyone else’s state.
7. It is filled with farms perpetuating yellow dent #2.
8. Cleveland.
9. You are thought to be the cause of nearly 50% of the misery of the United States every four years because of your swing-voting-characteristic.
That’s basically all I could think of off the top of my head. But don’t take it personally, it’s not your fault that Ohio is the way it is. 🙂
February 15, 2013 at 1:29 am
I love the Ohio Valley! Going again this summer and I can’t wait. The state is so lush and friendly. I live in Barfifornia. Talk about a sucky state! Ugh!
November 26, 2013 at 6:19 pm
ohio is not the worst state…. WEST VIRGINIA is terrible!
October 12, 2015 at 12:03 am
I live in California and I always forget Ohio is there. I’ve never been is there anything to see?
August 24, 2016 at 3:56 pm
Hate hate hate Ohio. Had to get out of there and relocated to Arizona. Best move I EVER made in my life!!!!
February 22, 2017 at 1:42 pm
I have to agree that Ohio is definitely up there under worst state ever category. I spent 20 plus years in the Navy and every time I came across someone overseas or in another state acting like an ass, guess what? They were another Buckeye. I was once hanging out with a good friend (also from Ohio) at a bar in Guam and a random girl decided to fight us for absolutely no reason other than she was a drunk POS. While she was being carted off by the cops she yelled “Fuck you I’m from Ohio bitches!” Died laughing. I just feel like we are the Florida of the North and to be fair to Florida, how many assholes from Ohio go down there to live?