multiracial family looking for a suburb (Cincinnati, Fairfield: middle-class, rental, daycare)

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by progmac

within the city, many people of means who work at the nearby university or hospitals live in the clifton gaslights area. $350k will buy a decent house there, but is well below the price of the nicest houses in the neighborhood.

^Also a very good recommendation.

[kjbrill]

I just love how so many people on this forum feel compelled to promote living in the City itself. It seems to me they have to justify their own decision. For some people the suburbs are just a better choice, especially when it comes to younger kids and schools. I moved from a closer in suburb, Madeira, out to Mason 35 years ago. Never looked back and never will. My four kids finished up their education here in Mason, one the whole route, and if I would solicit their testimony would say it was a great upbringing. Why do so many of you want to continue to bash us?

I keep reading about how great of a buy the City neighborhoods are, $XXX dollars for a house worth $YYY dollars. Excuse me, if it was worth $YYY dollars that is what is would have sold for in the first place. If you want to buy some rundown, decrepit, and otherwise undesirable place to live in so you can gentrify it so be it. But why are you so intent on making others join you? I will take purchasing a nice, very livable, home in the suburbs any day over this.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I just love how so many people on this forum feel compelled to promote living in the City itself. It seems to me they have to justify their own decision. For some people the suburbs are just a better choice...

This kind of comment is neither fair nor helpful. I could just as easily say "I just love how so many people on this forum feel compelled to promote living in the far-outer-ring suburbs like Mason. It seems to me they have to justify their own decision. For some people, the City itself is just a better choice."

I fully intend to continue to try to make newcomers aware of appropriate, liveable neighborhoods close to their places of employment, because I consider it a darn shame when people with young families devote hours every day plus a lot of financial resources to a long commute. When they could have a perfectly nice lifestyle and home without it.

We all see things from differing perspectives, and I don't attack yours. Please don't attack mine.

In this instance, I sent the OP a personal message about a neighborhood which meets most of their criteria and would require about a third to a quarter of the commute time as from Mason.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by wilson1010

^Also a very good recommendation.

And Clifton has the German Language magnet school. And the Waldorf School in Mt. Airy isn't more than about 15-20 minutes away.

[progmac]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I keep reading about how great of a buy the City neighborhoods are, $XXX dollars for a house worth $YYY dollars. Excuse me, if it was worth $YYY dollars that is what is would have sold for in the first place. If you want to buy some rundown, decrepit, and otherwise undesirable place to live in so you can gentrify it so be it. But why are you so intent on making others join you? I will take purchasing a nice, very livable, home in the suburbs any day over this.

All of the city neighborhoods mentioned in this thread are well-established enclaves, often of old money where real estate prices have been north of $150-200 / ft for a long time. Not recently gentrified neighborhoods.

It seemed the original poster was looking for something older and less suburban, since he mentioned Wyoming but suspected Mason as too far out. I was just trying to be helpful. Mason is very nice and is one of many places the OP should check out.

[UriahHeep]

As someone who works at UC, I will second progmac's recommendation regarding gaslight Clifton. It's a diverse area, close to the hospitals and very walkable.

On the questions of schools, I will plead ignorance and leave it to more those more knowledgeable.

[leaving philly]

Thanks everyone. We do know about the Cincy neighborhoods and understand that we will find more diversity there, but after living in the city of Philadelphia and paying taxes to support poor public services and schools (and dealing with crime encroaching into our area) we are ready for suburbia even if it means more commuting and less diversity. We also have a beautiful older home here and certainly appreciate how nice they can be, but we are ready for something newer and I think we're more likely to find that in the suburbs. We also want a bit more space...not a McMansion with a huge yard but enough space to breathe...maybe this is just a reflection also of our need to detox from being crammed next to people out here on the East Coast.

If anyone has any insight on Wyoming I'd be very curious to hear it. I know the homes are older there but it seems like it's a closer option than the east-side suburbs with a lot going for it.

Thanks again for all the input.

[Sarah Perry]

I love Wyoming. My husband and I both do work in that area from time to time and have occasion to talk to a lot of residents. They love it, too. You may find quite a bit of the housing stock is above the price range you mentioned. There's not much new (or even newish) construction. It shouldn't be a terrible commute by any means. The people I know who live there are perfectly happy with the city government. The school system is top-notch.

[shyspider]

I'd like to make a suggestion, if the OP is open to it...and if they think it might help a little bit: Go to Bing.com and access their maps feature. It allows you to look down upon any area of the city, and also gives you a bird's-eye view, which means you can view any neighborhood from the vantage point of...well, a bird. That maybe will help give you a general overview of what the actual neighborhoods look like, and could aid in your decision by helping to determine if it looks like a nice place you'd want to be in.

Having said that, guys, let's please not turn this into another city vs. suburb thing. Seriously, it's getting old. Let's just focus on the criteria given by the OP and fairly give them suggestions about areas that will fill their needs. Truth be told, that could be within the city, or out in the outer-ring suburbs. I happen to think Montgomery would be an excellent choice, and Wyoming is a nice area that has a different feel all its own. You might even like Glendale, since it has a New England type ambiance. But I'm not sure about the school system in Glendale.

Nevertheless, I will, as usual , offer up West Chester as a suggestion. Aside from many newer subdivisions, some of which are filled with McMansions while others aren't, there are also many "non-subdivision" type areas in West Chester which have some really nice homes. Individual roads such as Tylersville, Hamilton Mason, Dimmick, Barrett, etc... all have nice homes that aren't part of a subdivision. Nevertheless, there is a really great subdivision called Eagleridge which is less than 5 minutes from the Union Centre Blvd. exit. They are, for the most part, close enough to being in your price range, and though some of them are large, yes, they really aren't cookie-cutter too much. Granted, you will be right on the edge of a 30-40 minute commute to Children's Hospital, but you'd also be about 15 minutes from Bethesda North. So if you're willing to add more time to your commute, as you said, then it's a fantastic neighborhood full of newer upscale homes that are NOT considered "McMansions". They are quality-built homes, and literally across the street from Lakota High School. The Lakota district is one of the highest rated districts in the state....Excellent with Distinction. And even though there have been problems getting the tax levies to pass in the past few years, the education your kids would get there would still be top-notch.

As for diversity, you really don't need to worry about that. Granted, West Chester isn't known for being the melting pot of Cincinnati, but rest assured there are many diverse families in the area - including bi-racial. No one would even think twice about that here, so there is not need to give it a second thought. There seems to be a lot of community pride in West Chester. Even though it's known as a conservative area, you really don't get that vibe when you're there. Everyone seems friendly and open. There are some decent parks and trails in the area, including quite a number of paved biking/walking trails that span the area. Give West Chester a look...it couldn't hurt.

Something else I thought about is that there is a branch of Children's Hospital in Liberty Township, which is just north of West Chester. I'm not sure if perhaps that is the Children's Hospital you're referring to, but it could conceivably be a location you (or is it your spouse?) could transfer to which would make the commute for each that much easier.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by shyspider

I'd like to make a suggestion, if the OP is open to it...and if they think it might help a little bit: Go to Bing.com and access their maps feature. It allows you to look down upon any area of the city, and also gives you a bird's-eye view, which means you can view any neighborhood from the vantage point of...well, a bird.

Google also has their street view feature, which I find just amazing, really a lot like just walking down the street. Too bad everything in this area looks so dead and brown right now.