Pandemic spurs moves to Ohio
Dayton artist, Angelo Pierre works on a painting in the living room of his apartment in Dayton. JIM NOELKER/STAFF
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Dayton artist, Angelo Pierre works on a painting in the living room of his apartment in Dayton. JIM NOELKER/STAFF
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Research on moves
Pew Research Center surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021 asked whether people had moved due to the pandemic and why. The list of possible reasons ranged from the ability to work remotely to being near family.
In 2020, according to the survey, millions of Americans relocated because of the outbreak, moving out of college dorms, communities they perceived as unsafe or housing they could no longer afford.
“A small share moved permanently or temporarily due to the virus,” said D’Vera Cohn, senior writer/editor for the center. “It worked out to about 5% of American adults who said they moved for reasons related to the outbreak.”
In June 2020, the biggest reason people gave for moving was COVID, Cohn says. They felt the risk was greater where they were living than where they decided to relocate.
In the June survey, she noted, more people said they had moved for family reasons. “Among those who moved, 20% said they moved to be near family,” she says. ”By November when we asked, the number went down to 17%, and the number who said financial reasons went up by a larger amount. In June, 18% said they’d moved for financial reasons; by November that number was up to 33%, and that included people who lost their jobs.”
One big takeaway, Cohn says, is that as the pandemic went on, financial issues became a bigger factor in why people decided to move.
From Manhattan to Kettering
John Capobianco (left) and Mike Rogers left Manhattan and bought a house in Dayton during the pandemic. “The quality of life and the conveniences have surprised every single friend and family member who has visited from New York,” says Capobianco. Submitted photo
John Capobianco (left) and Mike Rogers left Manhattan and bought a house in Dayton during the pandemic. “The quality of life and the conveniences have surprised every single friend and family member who has visited from New York,” says Capobianco. Submitted photo
One night during the pandemic, Mike Rogers, born and raised in Ohio, turned to his spouse over dinner in their 30th floor Manhattan apartment and said: “I’m looking at real estate in Dayton. This isn’t fun anymore, let’s leave.”
As the national director of development for a nonprofit tech company, Democracy Works, Rogers could work remotely.
For his husband, John Capobianco, that meant leaving a good job at the Illustration Museum where he’d worked for a decade and saying goodbye to coworkers, friends and family.
“I realized, sometimes the universe steps in and changes things for you, and you just have to accept it,” Rogers said.
When COVID took hold in March of 2020, the couple watched Manhattan empty, as thousands left their small dwellings for larger living spaces.
“Being quarantined was not something anyone wanted to do in under 1,000 square feet, with no outdoor space,” Capobianco said. “Going outdoors in Manhattan looked completely different. The largest city in the country was a ghost town.”
The two had visited Dayton a few times each year for events and holidays. “Each and every time it grew on me,” said Capobianco, who is now director of Webster Street’s Top of the Market Catering & Events, The Bar & Bistro and Gourmet Deli. ”There is a strong sense of pride and community here in Dayton.”
He was especially impressed with the revitalization of downtown Dayton, its industrial history and the way people relate to one another. “People, strangers, said ‘hello’ and asked how your day was,” he noted. “Coming from a place where your guard is up and you never stop to talk to a stranger, it took me a period of time to drop my shoulders and exhale.”
The couple purchased a house online and didn’t see it in person until they drove up the driveway in Kettering on the day of the closing. The cost of living, Capobianco says, is a fraction in comparison to New York City.
“The quality of life and the conveniences have surprised every single friend and family member who has visited from New York,” Capobianco said now. “My daughter came to live with us while studying for the bar exam and commented to us and all her friends throughout the Northeast how amazing the Oregon District, The Neon movie theater, the restaurants and small businesses are, and thinks they have the same feel as the Lower East Side of Manhattan. She says the DPAA (Dayton Performing Arts Alliance) offers everything that Lincoln Center in NYC has to offer — philharmonic, ballet and live theater. She may be a future full-time resident and practicing attorney in Dayton, Ohio!”
Leigh Sempeles and her husband, Mark Ording were living in Arlington, Virginia when the pandemic hit. Although they had planned to move back to Dayton when they retired, the virus accelerated the move. One of their favorite local spots is Carillon Historical Park. “My mother used this type of cash register growing up in Hamilton at her father’s business, the Ohio Ice Cream Company, ” she says. CONTRIBUTED
Leigh Sempeles and her husband, Mark Ording were living in Arlington, Virginia when the pandemic hit. Although they had planned to move back to Dayton when they retired, the virus accelerated the move. One of their favorite local spots is Carillon Historical Park. “My mother used this type of cash register growing up in Hamilton at her father’s business, the Ohio Ice Cream Company, ” she says. CONTRIBUTED
For some, the pandemic accelerated a move
Leigh Sempeles and her husband, Mark Ording, both grew up in this area but were living in Arlington, Virginia, near Washington, D.C., when the pandemic hit. Because of the higher cost of living on the East Coast and other factors such as congested traffic on the Beltway, the couple had always planned to move back to Dayton when they reached retirement age.
Living 500 miles away during the pandemic made it difficult for her and her husband to travel back and be with and help family and friends
“The pandemic affected our decision by accelerating the relocation plan to move back home,” said Sempeles, a former executive director of St. Vincent de Paul.
They are now enjoying Miami Valley amenities — from exploring historic neighborhoods to walking through parks and attending cultural festivals. One of their favorite spots is Carillon Historical Park.
“My mother used this type of cash register growing up in Hamilton at her father’s business, the Ohio Ice Cream Company,” she said, pointing to one of the historic cash registers in the park’s collection. Now Sempeles is keeping busy as the newest fellow for the Dayton Foundation’s Del Mar Encore Fellows Initiative.
Actor Charity Farrell planned to move back to Dayton temporarily to wait out the pandemic but has decided to stay. She starred as Sally Bowles in the Dare to Defy production of “Cabaret.” CONTRIBUTED
Actor Charity Farrell planned to move back to Dayton temporarily to wait out the pandemic but has decided to stay. She starred as Sally Bowles in the Dare to Defy production of “Cabaret.” CONTRIBUTED
Friendly folks
For actor Charity Farrell, 31, the move to Dayton was all about the people.
She’d grown up in the Five Oaks district of Dayton, and had always been active in community theater. She moved to New York at the age of 21, then to Los Angeles in 2019.
“When the pandemic hit, I waited it out for a bit, but then got the vibe it was going nowhere,” she recalls. “So I decided to come home to be closer to my family, my grandmother and my sister.”
Her original plan was to buy a home in Belmont as an investment, wait out the pandemic and then rent out her house. But before she knew it, she had settled in.
“Dayton feels like home,” said Farrell, who received raves as Sally Bowles in the Dare to Defy production of “Cabaret” and will direct the group’s production of “Company” this month.
“Truly, it’s the people. There’s a sort of competitive nature in larger cities that’s not conducive to long friendships or relationships. In order to survive, you have to be so focused on yourself,” she said. “The connection you get in larger cities is transactional; people tend to connect more for what you can do for me. It’s all about still serving a purpose, rather than just being together and appreciating people for who they are.”
Farrell, who will continue to audition and perform in other cities, has a whole new circle of friends. “They welcomed me with open arms,” she said.
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