The better schools are in the suburbs like Upper Arlington, Dublin, Worthington, and Gahanna, but your downtown commute might be 30-45 minutes either way, sometimes more. For a shorter commute, Grandview and Clintonville are decent, and Franklinton area is up and coming. Two places to do open water swimming are Alum Creek State Park and Delaware Lake State Park, there are several multisport festivals at either and Ohio 70.3 starts at Delaware State Park. The area is mostly flat but there are some good hills to the east and a short drive can get you into some nice hilly terrain. Our roads are mostly good for biking, especially once you get out of town.

Coming from Dallas, what do you consider to be a short commute? I've lived and raced in Columbus for nearly 30 years and what you and I consider to be a long commute may differ.

Best place to swim: OSU indoor pools (if you can get access), Dublin, Westerville rec centers. OWS: Alum Creek SP beach
Bike: If you don't want to ride on multi-use trails, probably rides based out of New Albany or Canal Winchester including several popular group rides.
Run: If you like dirt trails, Highbanks Metro Park. Multi-use trails: Olentangy River trail, Alum Creek trail. Road: High Street

Good friend moved from the Houston area to Dublin a few years ago with high school kids. They've been pretty happy with it. Commutes about 30 mins if I recall correctly to downtown.

I live in Cleveland but race in Columbus a lot. Alum Creek Park has a ton of USAT sanctioned races each year from like 3 or 4 different RDs some more than once a year and Iron 70.3 right there also. It's about 15 miles north off 71. Beautiful houses and scenic, quiet area with several races you literally 5 minutes from your front door.