Neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio?

I used to live there and have many friends still in Columbus. Clintonville is an affordable area—though I don't know the quality of the schools. There has been a lot of development along High St., so Clintonville has undergone a transformation the last few years. Upper Arlington and Grandview and Dublin have excellent school districts, but housing is less affordable. I am happy to put you in touch with my friend Ian who has served on city council in Columbus if you have questions.  

Hi. I grew up in Columbus and although it's changed I can speak to some of the neighborhoods. 

Bexley is a very nice community with excellent schools. It's centrally located, close to downtown and the airport.  New Albany also had excellent schools. Very upscale. 

Clintonville is a neighborhood with a lot of character, very walkable, probably as close to the Bay Area as you might get but it's Columbus schools and then you need to consider private.  

IMO, up and coming communities such as Powell are too far away.  Older communities such as worthington and upper Arlington have excellent schools as well.  Upper Arlington is close to OSU. 

Good luck.  It's not the Bay Area but it is a nice area to grow up. And it's cheap.  

Not sure if my reply went through. Check out Clintonville. 

Upper Arlington, Grandview, and Dublin have great schools. The Columbus Zoo is a lot of fun as well. I used to live there. Loved going to Delaware (just north of Columbus). 

-Bill

From my brother in law who lives there:

Many parts of Clintonville would absolutely fit the bill in terms of progressive, walkable, kid-friendly, diverse, and is very close to OSU campus.
Many residents of Clintonville have ties to OSU; staff, faculty, grad students, etc..
Clintonville covers a very largearea and as such the homes differ as does the "walkable-ness". I believe south Clintonville is preferred.

German Village would also be worthy of strong consideration.
It is also (highly) walkable, kid-friendly, and diverse.
A beautiful historic (european style) neighborhood it is located at the south end of downtown and is 10 mins from OSU campus.
More affluent and as such, higher median home prices.
I lived in German Village prior to moving to NYC and I feel like someone who's lived in Oakland would find this neighborhood most amenable.

Near downtown, Victorian Village (and Harrison West)  are absolutely worth mentioning as they are also historic, beautiful, walkable, kid friendly, diverse neighborhoods that are also 5 mins or less from OSU.
Like German Village, higher median home prices.
Skews a little younger here and the east border of Victorian Village is "The Short North" (south of OSU campus/north of downtown) which is essentially where all the downtown night life happens: restaurants, bars, etc. But a vibrant area and an eminently walkable community.

Suburbs?
Upper Arlington is beautiful, and located just a few minutes from OSU as well.
Large area, much of it very affluent.
The walkable areas are there and although It's not quite marked by the kind of diversity that you'd find in the aforementioned neighborhoods, Arlington will have the best schools.

That should get things started.

And while the above is my take, I have included this link from 2009 Columbus Monthly magazine, listing and describing Best Neighborhoods.
The home prices are probably grossly outdated (as 2009 was right after market crash) but it should provide a guide for exploration.

http://www.columbusmonthly.com/content/stories/2009/10/best-neighborhoo…

Best of luck!