Date Archives: December 2014

More and more families are seeing the value in small town living all across the Midwest, opting for a cohesive community over sprawling urban congestion.  If you find yourself chaffing under the stress of heavy traffic, urban crime, or skyrocketing costs of living, consider a move to one of Ohio's most enjoyable rural communities right in the heart of Logan County.

With a downtown that thrives with diverse businesses and restaurants, Bellefontaine offers a wholesome place to raise a family and connect with neighbors.  But that's not the best part.  What really draws people from all over the state to Logan County are the assortment of attractions and adventures available right in our own backyard.

Ohio Caverns

These beautiful caves are the largest of Ohio's hidden caverns and feature impressive stalactites and stalagmites for you to explore year round.

Mad River Mountain

A popular family destination all across the Appalachian region, Mad River Mountain features a variety of fun winter activities for the family, including 140+ acres of ski terrain, 24 trails, 12 lifts, 2 different terrain parks, 133 fan guns, and the Avalanche Tubing Park.

Indian Lake

For summertime fun, the 5,800 acre Indian Lake offers water activities you're sure to enjoy, including boating, swimming, fishing, and a host of fun water sports.  Surrounding areas allow for hiking, biking, and camping too.

Marmon Valley Farm

Our local Agri-tainment Farm Park, Marmon Valley Farm offers a unique farm-style family fun center complete with exquisite picnic grounds, large swings, hiking and horseback riding trails, hay tunnels, animal interaction for the kids, a Playbarn, and a host of educational exhibits for the whole family.

With so much to do year round, living in Bellefontaine and Logan County never gets old or boring.  Contact one of our agents to learn about the beautiful Bellefontaine homes and rentals currently on the market.

The families in the Logan County area really get into the Christmas spirit every year.  It's a great holiday, bringing communities and families together and creating a sense of wonder and cheer for our kids.  One of the best ways to celebrate our neighbors' appreciation for the holiday, and an old family past time, is to go cruising for Christmas lights which are displayed in lavish assortments all over the county.   Here are a few of our favorite spots to really get into the Christmas spirit with a dazzling display of lights and color.

Clifton Mill

In nearby Clifton, Ohio the Clifton Mill is famous for its 3.5 million lights displayed in beautiful arrangement every year.  Spread all over the mill, the gorge, the trees, bridges, and riverbanks are the many lights and decorations of a complete Christmas wonderland complete with a miniature village, Santa Museum, and a music show at the old covered bridge.  Nominated for USA TODAY's 10 Best Readers' Choice travel destinations, the Legendary Lights of Clifton Mill are a must-see every year. 

Columbus Zoo

Not only a great summer vacation destination for local families looking to experience the diverse display of exotic animals and educational exhibits, the Columbus Zoo also features an impressive lights display throughout the winter.  With carts serving hot cocoa and coffee along the way, take your family on a tour of the extravagant lights display located just north of Columbus, Ohio.

Marmon Valley Farm

Another amazing local tourist destination is the gorgeous countryside at Marmon Valley Farm where every year they put on the Country Christmas tours.   This festive celebration focuses on the spiritual side of the season with a nativity reenactment, live music, horse drawn caroling wagon, pony rides, and animals the kids can pet.  You can even pick out a fresh cut Christmas tree to take home with you!

We stick together as a community in the Logan County area but during the holidays our neighborhoods really shine.  After enjoying these local attractions, cruise the many neighborhood streets to see the lights and displays our residents put up after Thanksgiving every year in anticipation and celebration of the Christmas holiday season.

In Central Ohio, we've all grown up hearing about the "heartland of America" and it's obvious when you note the shape of our state and its placement over the left breast of the nation but being known as the heartland is more than that.  Ohioans take pride in our rural roots, being one of the first territories settled and made into a state after the birth of the nation, but we're also proud industrialists.  Our workforce, particularly here in the central valley of the state, has produced agriculture and manufacturing for nearly two hundred years… and we don't plan on stopping any time soon.

Economies rise and fall, and the Midwest has seen dramatic shifts in jobs and our way of life in the past.  But our work ethic and commitment to firm values hasn't changed.  We still drive the workforce in the region with leading companies in the manufacturing, IT, and global communications sectors maintaining a strong presence in the greater Columbus area.  We boast some of the best colleges and universities in the Midwest and everybody's a fan of the OSU Buckeyes. 

There's a lot of heart and soul in a community where everybody's great grandfathers lived and worked these fields and valleys.  It's a spirit that continues to bind us together as a community, even as residents come and go in large numbers.  There's a Midwestern bond that doesn't break easily and continues to make the central Ohio valley a true heartland of a strong nation.   

We at Choice Properties invite you to tour our neighborhoods here in Indian Lake, Bellefontaine, and Logan County for the perfect place to raise your family, escape from the cities, or vacation during the many festive seasons we celebrate year round.  There's nothing that can truly match the homegrown roots of a place where the people love it and the community stays connected.  Give us a call to schedule a tour and see what it means to really join a small, cohesive community in Central Ohio.

Many people ask us what truly defines the people of the central Ohio valley and the greater Logan County area.  While it's hard to boil our character down to a few simple virtues, most people don't have trouble picking it out as soon as they meet us.   Ohio has been an agricultural and manufacturing center for the whole nation for nearly 200 years and it has everything to do with the people that call this community home. 

There is a staunch pride and deep set of community values in the people living in and around Indian Lake, Bellefontaine, Lima, and the rest of our region.  We're a people who value an honest day's work for an honest day's pay and have used that no-nonsense ethic to drive agriculture, oil, coal, manufacturing, and technology throughout the turbulent times of the last century.  

This set of values is apparent in the way we come together during tough times and look out for one another's wellbeing.  When you live close to the Earth, you know how connected everything and everyone truly are.  We go to church together, work together, learn together, and celebrate life as a community.  Even those folks who only spend holidays and vacations with us understand that there's nothing that can replace the good old fashioned hospitality and community spirit of the people of the Ohio valleys. 

At Choice Properties, we don't just sell homes and condos in the Indian Lake area.  We connect people who are looking for true American family values and a sense of real community with the homes and neighborhoods that will look after them and take them in for decades to come.  There's just something about the heart of a strong town that can't be rivaled by big cities and coastal vacation towns.  It's heart and soul and it's everything we've built on this land. 

Come take a tour and see what community feels like. 

Welcome to the area!