"Don't call it a hidden gem," one resident of Columbus, Ohio, warned us when she found out we were poking around town for this story. She shouldn't have worried - not because the city lacks rare and precious qualities, but because, for one thing, "hidden gem" is a travel writing cliche nobody should use (see also: "bucket list" and "breathtaking view"). And for another, it's the height of coastal snobbery to describe a state capital with numerous corporate headquarters, the country's third-largest university, and a bigger population than Seattle's as "hidden." 

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