We don’t want to toot our own horn too much, but Cincinnati is a pretty darn cool city. And while there are a ton of reasons you may move from the Queen City, whether you’re chasing big city dreams, you landed an amazing job offer or you fell in love with an out-of-towner, there are also a lot of good reasons to put roots down here, whether you’re a born and raised Cincinnatian or transplant.

From Cincinnati’s culinary delicacies (yes, we’re talking about the chili) to our die-hard love of our pro-sports teams and the incredible artistic communities, here are 11 good reasons to call Cincinnati home.

Each neighborhood has its own personality No one neighborhood in Cincinnati is just like the other. Start on one street and walk a few blocks to a new neighborhood and you’ll notice the changes. Over-the-Rhine is a hip spot for history lovers and revelers looking for a fun night out. Go to The Banks for the sports and party atmosphere, or Mt. Adams for the chill, low-key European vibes. Northside is indie to its core, with a love for all things creative and eclectic, and Camp Washington’s industrial exterior is actually brimming with art, and culture and is a little bit funky in the best way (see the Campy Washington mural above). In Northern Kentucky, Covington is a mix of its German and Southern Gothic heritage with plenty of great places to eat, drink and enjoy live music. On the West Side, don’t overlook Price Hill’s melting pot Incline District or the family-friendliness of Westwood’s business district. On the East Side, Hyde Park is upscale and trendy and Oakley is a yuppie paradise. But don’t take our word for it; get out and explore all the diversity and uniqueness for yourself. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
No. 10 Best Chili (Non-Chain): The Chili Hut 390 Loveland-Madeira Road, Loveland Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Our chili is great, but so is the rest of our dining scene Yes, we love our chili, our Graeter’s Ice Cream and our goetta. But apart from those Cincinnati delicacies, the Queen City also has a blossoming dining scene. This past year alone, Cincinnati has welcomed highly anticipated restaurants like Covington rooftop restaurant and bar Opal, Jose Salazar’s wine bar Safi, pasta-centric Wildweed, contemporary and high-end establishment Alara, New American restaurant Court Street Kitchen, Eastern European kitchen Sudova and American brasserie The Davidson. And those are just the new spaces. We can’t forget the popular dining strongholds like Sotto, Boca and The Precinct, just to name a few of the many. Photo: Lydia Schembre
“Your mom catches more balls than Ja’Marr Chase.” Photo: twitter.com/bengals
Get Smart at the Cincinnati Museum Center 1301 Western Ave., West End Union Terminal is home to several smaller museums within the Cincinnati Museum Center, including the Cincinnati History Museum and the Children’s Museum, both of which were named in the top 10 best museums of their kind by USA Today’s 10Best. Not only does the Cincinnati Museum Center host extraordinary traveling exhibits, like Dinosaurs of Antarctica or The Science Behind Pixar, its history museum allows visitors to step back in time to become immersed in Cincinnati’s history, from the earliest settlers to traditions only found here, like our chili. The museum has everything from costumed interpreters to a recreation of the bustling Public Landing as it was in the 1850s and a replica of the Queen of the West, a side-wheel steamboat. At the Children’s Museum, kids can dive into arts, culture and science. The museum has over 1,800 hours of programming each year and offers hands-on fun for kids of all ages with its eight themed play areas, including two designed for younger children. You can also catch a documentary in the museum’s state-of-the-art IMAX theater or hear the stories of courage and perseverance from survivors at the Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center. Photo: Devin Luginbill
No. 8: Ohio Book Store 726 Main St., Downtown If you’re like us, there’s nothing quite as intoxicating as the smell of old books — and there’s no better place to find them than downtown’s five-story Ohio Book Store. It’s easy to get lost among the racks of classic literature, cookbooks and secondhand fiction, but wherever you wander, be sure to take a look at the glass cabinet in the middle of the first floor. It’s full of rare and wonderful tomes. And if you have some vintage books of your own you’d like to learn more about, be sure to ask about their appraisal services. The Ohio Book Store can appraise rare books, documents and other literary ephemera. Photo: Hailey Bollinger Photo: Hailey Bollinger
Visit Everybody’s Treehouse and Walk the Trails of Mt. Airy Forest Free Everybody’s Treehouse is an otherworldly, elevated structure buried in trees and seemingly snatched out of a fantasy novel. The structure is also fully wheelchair-accessible. 1212 Trail Ridge Road, Westwood. Photo: Hailey Bollinger
The creativity in Cincinnati is unmatched Creativity and creative people are abundant in Cincinnati. We don’t know if it’s the pain-in-the-ass weather that often keeps people inside and looking for things to do and ways to express themselves or if there’s just something magical and inspiring about the Queen City, but if you’re looking for a place with a robust arts and culture scene that often punches above its weight, we got it. Whether it’s a musical at the Aronoff, a modern take on a Shakespeare play at the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, a show at the Cincinnati Ballet or a symphony at Music Hall, there is always a show or performance to see. There’s also numerous art galleries, like Wave Pool, the Pendleton Art Center, 21c and Weston; free public art, like downtown and Over-the-Rhine’s plethora of murals; and BLINK, the largest art and light festival in the country, returns this year as well. Cincinnati also has a strong local music scene, and lots of famous tours stop here (Taylor Swift, anyone?). Not to mention you can see quality live music any night of the week in a variety of genres. Photo: facebook.com/cincyshakes
Cincinnati has a robust craft brewing scene and something for every beer drinker If you’re a beer drinker, there’s likely a Cincinnati-made brew that you’ll love. Cincinnati is a beer town with a rich brewing heritage that has undergone a renaissance in the last decade. Numerous breweries have cropped up in that time, and heavy-hitters like Rhinegeist, MadTree, Braxton Brewing and Urban Artifact are leading the charge in crafting innovative brews. They also aren’t afraid to branch out into other beverages like ciders, hard seltzers and hard tea, and many other breweries across the city offer everything from stouts and hazy IPAs to fruited sours and mead. And did we mention there are tons of open-air spaces (a.k.a. DORAs) where you can walk around and enjoy your drink? Photo: Emily Palm
Cincinnati’s history is everywhere you look Cincinnati is an old city by U.S. standards, having been founded just a few years after the end of the Revolutionary War. And while of course the city has grown and changed, you can tell Cincinnati values its history. For example, visit Over-the-Rhine to see the largest and most intact historic district in the United States. The neighborhood is home to several 19th-century landmarks like Washington Park, Music Hall and Findlay Market, as well as the Brewing Heritage Trail where you can learn more about how beer helped build our city. You can even take a tour with American Legacy Tours to venture beneath OTR’s streets into the former beer tunnels. You can also take a walk around downtown and take notes of the historical markers celebrating Cincinnati’s history — from the spot on Fifth Street where Abraham Lincoln spoke to crowds just a year before he was elected president to the site of the first public place of worship and the statues honoring the founding of the Black Brigade, the first Black unit with a military purpose in the Civil War. Photo: Cameron Knight
Every Cincinnatian is born with the knowledge of how to do the chicken dance. Photo: Provided by Oktoberfest

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...