On the one hand, I’m inclined to put this on par with that “Entertainment Weekly” article from 1993 or 94 which called Columbus “The Next Seattle.” Which, quite obviously, didn’t take.

On the other hand, I’ve seen the ads this article talks about and they are in no way trying to portray Columbus as “the next Brooklyn” or anything like it. Actually, it’s a straight-forward and truthful campaign (a) noting that Columbus is a way cheaper and in many important ways more livable city than larger coastal cities; and that (b) despite not being those large coastal cities, there are still a lot of cool things here including craft beer, a music scene and good food.

Ultimately, choosing between cities is about tradeoffs. These ads, rather than disingenuously claiming that we’re just as good as New York, Washington, San Francisco, merely provide people with a better idea of the nature of the tradeoffs involved. No, we’re not those cities and aren’t pretending we are. But we’re also not a giant cow pasture with some random chain restaurants and Bud Light-only bars dotting the landscape.

Seems fair to me. 

Forget Brooklyn. Could Columbus be the next hot millennial enclave?