Grove City.

Grove City has something most Central Ohio suburbs do not: a real, historic, walkable downtown. The Town Center at Broadway and Park holds restaurants, a brewery, and most of the city's event calendar, and it gives Grove City a stronger sense of place than a lot of higher-priced suburbs. The median runs around $390K, below Dublin or Powell, and the Census puts homeownership above 70 percent. The buyer here often wants character and walkability without the west-side premium, and is willing to trade name recognition to get it.

The park system punches above the price point. Gardens at Gantz Farm wraps an 1840s farmhouse in public herb gardens the city has tended for decades, and Scioto Grove Metro Park covers 620 acres along the Scioto River with seven miles of trails and a suspension bridge over Grant Run. The Grove City Farmers Market has run Saturday mornings at Town Center for more than 35 years, and Arts in the Alley fills the core every September. The Beulah Park redevelopment, on the old racetrack site, is shifting values block by block and changing the five-year outlook.

The commute is one of Grove City's quiet advantages. Downtown Columbus is only about nine miles north, a short trip compared with the northern and western suburbs, with Mount Carmel anchoring local jobs. South-Western City Schools serve the area. Grove City suits a buyer who values a true town center and a quick downtown commute over a marquee district name.