Kathy Soranno, was a life-long Minnesotan, and owned her own graphic design/brand identity business in Minneapolis for eight years. She was already on the lookout for new opportunities across the country when a recruiter in New York shared an opportunity at LPK, an international brand design agency located in Cincinnati. Only problem for Soranno was she had big dreams about working in a design capital like New York.
"I had grown up in Minneapolis...When I thought about what my next move was it was definitely to go to a big city. A city that was known for design was important to me," she says.
She had another opportunity to consider in New York, but the position in Cincinnati offered Soranno the chance to grow and be challenged. She flew to Cincinnati in April 2009 to discuss the job and after initial conversations by phone, returned in June to get the lay of the land to aide in her decision.
"I went on my own. I was going to rent a car but it fell through. I had one specific cab take me everywhere."
And what did she find on her trip?
"I went to the Contemporary Arts Center first, and that was very impressive. I knew Zaha Hadid had done it and it was one of the first things I did and it was very impressive," she recalls.
Soranno, who now lives in Newport, also loved the region's definable neighborhoods ("There are very distinct towns within the city, very distinct neighborhoods which was unique from Minneapolis"), and when it came to real estate affordability she was also pleasantly surprised.
"The standard of living is spectacular. When I looked at a lot of the housing options I had, the living accommodations for the price were unbelievable."
And coming from Minneapolis, parks and proximity to water played heavily into her decision to relocate.
"One of the things important to me was the parks system so I got to see two of the parks, Eden and Devou Park, which were beautiful," she says.
Ultimately, she chose the opportunity to work at LPK as a creative director (and now gets to visit Ault Park every weekend), but it wasn't just the topographical assets of the city that ultimately sold her.
"I was blown away at the quality of the people while I was interviewing. I think the people who work at LPK are the quality people that would work and live in any urban city. I think their quality and passion and desire to infuse design into all parts of their life - somehow I thought it was a New York principle or San Francisco principle, but I've found that it's not like I had to go to New York to find it."
Liz Mathews' new job in Cincinnati is to make good food look even better.
Born and bred in Los Angeles, she was also drawn to Cincinnati to work with LPK. The design agency created the role of Culinary Creative Director for Mathews last year when she made the move from LA, where she was the photography editor for Conde Nast's Bon Appétit magazine for nearly a decade. Not only was she getting out of publishing - something she had built an entire career on - she was moving to the Midwest - a place she knew relatively nothing about.
"I was facing head-on the idea of relocating from some place I've lived all my life, that's very different," she recalls.
After leaving publishing, Mathews started as an independent contractor for LPK in June 2009. She welcomed the transition from traditional publishing to packaging and advertising for LPK's laundry list of food giants like Kroger, Procter & Gamble, and Kraft. She moved here permanently in August, partly because she felt the need to be based in Cincinnati because "the clients are here and the work is here" but soon found a welcome design community and the big city culture she craved.
And she should know better. Mathews spent a lot of time flying coast to coast from LA to Bon Appetit's publishing base in New York. But she was pleasantly surprised to find similar cultural amenities smack dab in the Midwest.
"I was pleased to find Cincinnati had their own system of museums and galleries, the theatre and music scenes all feeling sophisticated and lively. It has everything that a lot of huge cities offer in terms of a lively cultural scene and work scene in a much smaller, more hand-able package."
She and her husband now live in a rented farmhouse in Eastgate - her LA home was in the Hollywood Hills - so she welcomes a "more rustic, bucolic experience" with the ability to still be 20 minutes from downtown.
"You can get places a lot easier here. Driving is no problem," she says. "In LA you have to plan for weeks if you want to take a left."
Even though she's chosen a more rural existence, she enjoys stepping outside LPK's downtown offices into Piatt Park or taking her dogs to Sawyer Point. She points to Cincinnati's natural beauty and riverfront alignment as pluses, and even compliments the oft-maligned stadia on the river.
"It's a best kept secret that you're sitting in a ballpark in Cincinnati. People might think San Francisco has the best and most beautiful ballpark on the water but I think Cincinnati can compete," she says.
Stella Bridges does not like cold weather. But she is warming up to it in Cincinnati.
A Senior Consultant in Deloitte & Touche LLP's advisory group, Bridges is originally from Kenya. A visit with her sister in Northern Kentucky in 2000 prompted her to enroll at NKU. She quickly realized that 'we're not in Kenya anymore' during her first winter.
"My first impression was 'what am I doing here?' Why would anyone want to live in such cold weather!"
She had considered that aspect while contemplating her initial move to the United States, including the possibility of Washington DC, Detroit MI, Atlanta GA, and Dallas TX. But the chance to be near her siblings brought her to the region.
During that time she's lived in Norwood, Colerain, Anderson and now Amelia. Here almost nine years, she's seen the area both as a student and a young professional and says even the weather that concerned her so much isn't much of an issue now.
"Cincinnati is an amazing place to live. Beginning with the low cost of living that makes it very affordable, the moderate traffic, and the weather - no extreme winters or summers - in comparison to the extreme Texas heat or the Michigan cold, Cincinnati weather is great."
While she cites Fountain Square and the Aronoff as two of her favorite places to visit, it's the area's culture of giving that leaves the best impression.
"What has kept me here for ten years is the sense of community: Most people in Cincinnati are involved in the community through volunteering," she says.
And she still has made the most of one of Cincinnati's most harsh winters on record this year.
"I have been introduced to tubing at Perfect North, making winter somewhat enjoyable," she says.
Austin Padgett is on his second time around in Cincinnati.
The Florida native was originally drawn to a music history program at the
College Conservatory of Music in 2004. His wife, Anna, also from the south and an equally talented musician, was concurrently pursuing her Masters in Music in San Francisco. He chose CCM amongst a short list of top institutions including the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Chicago.
"CCM was one of the few music schools that combines academic and performance prowess, a place where the "mind" and "heart" of music are not placed in separate boxes," he explains.
Shortly after graduating though, Padgett had a mid-career crisis, and decided that perhaps teaching music wasn't his vocation. He applied to law school, gaining admittance to Franklin Pierce Law Center in New Hampshire. Attracted to Franklin because of its strong intellectual property program, the thought of moving back to Cincinnati hadn't really occurred to him until an interview with
Frost Brown Todd, a regionally based law firm with a strong advertising and media law practice group, got him excited.
When Padgett flew in for the interview, he found that things in Cincinnati had changed in two short years, particularly in downtown where he and Anna had lived while he attended CCM.
"When I left in 2006 it didn't really feel like downtown was going anywhere, but when I saw the new storefronts surrounding the Square, and actual nightlife I was sold," he says.
During his second year of law school, he and Anna compiled a short list of places to live that included Boston, San Francisco, and Cincinnati. The interview with FBT was his only Cincinnati interview. He was impressed with the firm's diversity of clients, including large Fortune 500's and small mom and pop businesses and excited about the opportunity to combine his love for music and the law into a copyright/trademark practice. Immediately after interviewing, he was also reminded of all the reasons he loved Cincinnati and found himself hoping for an offer.
"I knew that I loved the library, loved the Symphony (where Anna works now), and loved the Reds. And I knew I could learn to love the Bengals," he said.
Padgett got the offer and the couple moved back to downtown in 2009, where they currently live with their dog. Since returning as a professional, Padgett notes one other aspect that make Cincinnati attractive to them.
"It's a city where you can get plugged in relatively easy," he says.
To wit, Austin is 'loaned out' by his firm four days a week in a program with the
Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber that works on
Agenda 360. He spends his time volunteering with
Blue Chip Ventures working on consumer marketing issues.
In addition, Padgett and his wife have been giving free music and voice lessons, with the broader aim of putting together a collective of musically trained artists to provide low dough or free lessons to those who might not get a chance. Padgett got the bug by volunteering to play bass and sing for a choir in Ross, Ohio.
"It's a lot like the town I grew up in where art isn't the main priority, and this is my chance to give back," he says.
Photography by Scott Beseler
Cathy Serano (provided by LPK)
Liz Mathews (provided by LPK)
Stella Bridges
Austin Padgett