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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.
Yeah, that's a good suggestion, too. I often play around with Google Street View just for the fun of it. Yesterday I was using it to look at the area surrounding Alpine, Arizona...and fell in love with what I was seeing! I thought to myself "Hmmm, yes - I'd want to live there." And then there have been times when I've been looking down on an area using the aerial view, and thought it looked neat. But upon switching to Street View, I discovered it looked boring. So it comes in handy when trying to get a feel for different places.
You and I seem to be fighting a losing battle, since we are simply outnumbered. I believe West Chester is a great place to live. I feel Liberty Township is also. Obviously I absolutely recommend Mason for families. Does this mean I am against those who desire to live in the various city neighborhoods, of course not, but it is just not me.
What I object to is, whenever someone posts they would like to know more about the selections in the suburbs, they are immediately lambasted as to why the inner city neighborhoods are a better decision. If the decision was that d*mn good Cincinnati would not be losing population. Oh I know I will hear about how Cincinnati is slowly gaining population when the new census data is released - what maybe a whopping 2%. As I have said before statistics lie and liars use statistics.
This city versus suburb bashing is going on for too long. If someone says they desire a close-in short commute to downtown, then all of you who are knowledgable on the subject kick in. But if someone states they are looking for the proper suburbian environment for their family then butt out.
This may shock some folks here, but what I'm about to say regarding Wyoming is less than positive.
Yes, I grew up there, and yes, it's a considerably more economically and ethnically diverse town than is popularly perceived. But despite its having been <50% WASP for a long time, the blue-blood snobbery there is cherished and kept alive. The schools are college-prep to the core, which I'm sure is why they're top-ranked year after year, and woe betide anyone who isn't "college material" intellectually or spiritually. If you're not aiming for admission to top universities, you're shunted onto the vo-tech track and guaranteed social outcast status.
But that doesn't concern me as much as how the same "ghetto" mentality among the AA kids is still as prevalent as it was back in my growing-up days. Real and perceived slights from the middle-class-and-higher White majority, not to mention cultural distinctions (buttoned-down Episcopalian/Presbyterian vs Jewish vs AME/Southern Baptist, swim club vs municipal pool, etc) have kept the behavioral norms along the lines of "class clown" and underachiever. There are still few Black faces in the AP classes and a preponderance in the vo-tech track. Wyoming has always had a "Jim Crow" section which has housed people of color, within which a class structure has always existed, so the kids on the lower rung of the economic ladder have their better-off neighbors' attitudes to contend with as well. (A small degree of "integration" has been in effect for about a quarter-century, wherein a single AA household has comfortably assimilated into an otherwise completely pale-complected neighborhood. But this is still the exception to the rule.)
Speaking of small degrees of "integration," when an AA, management-level, P & G'er lost his life in the crash of a commuter plane which shouldn't've been flying due to weather conditions, his widow and the other victims' survivors collected a pretty penny from the airline. She decided to quit paying private-school tuitions for their kids and move out of one of Cincinnati's few genuinely diverse as well as upscale areas (Paddock Hills.) My careerlong P & G'er dad, raised in the segregated South but remarkably open-minded nonetheless, didn't raise an eyebrow when this family moved onto his block. The deceased had been a well-regarded colleague. It was also a non-event throughout the neighborhood, since these folks easily passed the economic smell test. But I never so much as caught a glimpse of any of them. After less than a year, the mom had had it: "None of the Black kids in Wyoming seem to know how to behave." It was back to the city, and to private schools, for them.
In a few other threads (OK, quite a few) I've touted Wyoming's multifaceted diversity and how it positively affected my world view and my comfort in moving across social boundaries. But this was a product of my being held at arm's length by many peers for being too much of a nerd, lol. Kids' radar is finely tuned at an early age. The Appalachian, Black, and less-affluent White children in my classes had already learned where they stood in local society by the time our educational careers began. So they had no problem befriending their scrawny buck-toothed comrade, and I kept my "cross-cultural" associations alive all the way through graduation. (Then, of course, beyond that into college and adulthood.) I fit right in by being a class clown and underachiever in my own right. Word to the wise, from all indications nothing's changed in Wyoming's 18-and-under society.
The experience for the offspring could well be more positive (at least with more tangible options) in Montgomery, Mason, or let's not forget West Chester. None of these communities have the longevity of Wyoming, since they evolved from small towns to suburbs only during the mid-20th century and later. Forest Park was once the "promised land" for aspiring AA families and open-minded White folks, but IMHO its time has gone.
Thanks all for the suggestions and feedback. We are actually moving into a short-term rental in Montgomery next month so we'll have some time to feel things out before we buy. Unfortunately, my position at Children's is not one that can be moved out to the newer location so I will definitely be commuting on a daily basis during high-traffic hours.
One area that our realtor keeps bringing up and that I keep passing over is Anderson Twp. Any thoughts here?
Thanks all for the suggestions and feedback. We are actually moving into a short-term rental in Montgomery next month so we'll have some time to feel things out before we buy. Unfortunately, my position at Children's is not one that can be moved out to the newer location so I will definitely be commuting on a daily basis during high-traffic hours.
One area that our realtor keeps bringing up and that I keep passing over is Anderson Twp. Any thoughts here?
Anderson township is a big place. If you are close to the 5 mile Rd. Connector to 275, then both Bethesda North and Childrens can be accessed. There will be a little traffic at your commuting times, but it would not be ridiculous. But, the further you get from the 5 mile connector the worse Anderson will be.
I'd say no to Anderson. You have plenty of other good choices and you won't find any diversity there so there is not real predicate for Anderson.
Thanks all for the suggestions and feedback. We are actually moving into a short-term rental in Montgomery next month so we'll have some time to feel things out before we buy. Unfortunately, my position at Children's is not one that can be moved out to the newer location so I will definitely be commuting on a daily basis during high-traffic hours.
One area that our realtor keeps bringing up and that I keep passing over is Anderson Twp. Any thoughts here?
Yes, take a close look during your rental experience within Montgomery and Blue Ash. Venture a little further in to Madeira and a little further out to Symmes Township. I believe you will find what you are looking for in one of these areas.
It's great you're renting for a while. Don't rule out any area of the city. Houses in the price range you're looking at are substantially above the median for this area, which I suspect is substantially less than the median for where you came from. You're going to want to like where you buy, because those price houses can take a while to sell if you want to get rid of one.
It's great you're renting for a while. Don't rule out any area of the city. Houses in the price range you're looking at are substantially above the median for this area, which I suspect is substantially less than the median for where you came from. You're going to want to like where you buy, because those price houses can take a while to sell if you want to get rid of one.
Great advice Sarah. Just because you buy it cheap compared from where you came from does not mean you can sell it quickly at the same price. Consider the local market, how long you feel you may be here, and other factors as to how much you want to plank down for property here.
For perhaps the second or third (well, maybe fourth) time in the Cincinnati forum, I agree with wilson1010. Anderson Twp is standard-issue suburbia, not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that. It's stamped from the same cookie cutter as other post-WWII communities in Greater Cincinnati and all over the U S of A. What this means in 2010 is that Anderson has 1950's and '60s subdivisions which segue into '70s and '80s subdivisions and so on; a mall which died when a bigger one opened and now houses a hodgepodge of businesses among the vacant storefronts, and no longer bears the "mall" name; public schools with the carrying capacity for educating Baby Boomers, scaled back when the population of children declined but now straining at the seams again, which various subjective and college-prep-biased ranking systems rate from 3.5 to 5 on a scale of 5; traffic arteries that stay choked during daylight hours and slow to a crawl at peak times; in other words, "the usual." Demographically it also fits the seeming norm for this decade just past, for similar areas, in that while it's still "overwhelmingly" populated by White Christians there has been a considerable influx of Asian households. Surely there are also a few AA or multiculti families quietly assimilated into the community fabric, exactly as there are in pockets of Wyoming beyond its "traditional 'colored' area."
Much the same holds true for Montgomery in every sense, but I'll grant that one of its original 1950's developments (Storybook Acres off Pfeiffer Rd) has aged very gracefully. What were saplings 55 years ago are now towering trees that provide all the dendral amenities; of course, that also includes heaps o' leaves during autumn. The trees and the abundant bird life drawn to them help a generic collection of ranch houses and split-levels seem less generic. But the key to Montgomery's stability while so many other inner-ring suburbs slide downhill is the two "S" words - schools and shopping. The Sycamore district perenially jostles with Wyoming for #1 rankings (joined by Walnut Hills High School.) Ursuline Academy (girls) and Archbishop Moeller (boys) are the Wellesley and Yale of parochial secondary schools in Cincinnati. Now there's even an Orthodox Jewish high school in town. And shopaholics get that died-and-gone-to-heaven feeling in Montgomery. Immediately to the south is the Kenwood mall sprawl which recently welcomed the first Nordstrom in the region. Various and sundry strip malls and "store collections" (i.e. Harper's Pointe) line Montgomery Rd for miles. To the north sit still more new and newish "lifestyle centers" (a mall, or rose, by any other name...)
It's the same song, third and fourth verses, for Mason and West Chester, with Fairfield making the fifth. Out of the five I'd venture that Mason's populace is the most "monochromatic" and West Chester's the least, though all are 80% Caucasian or higher. And of the five, only Montgomery is endeavoring to put the brakes - so to speak - on the toxic American car-centered culture by revamping its 19th-century town center to be pedestrian-friendly. (One of the store collections, lifestyle centers, or whatever, in West Chester is named The Streets of West Chester; that's just plain...wrong...LOL.)
I think the OP "done good" by trying Montgomery on for size. Seems it'll be a good fit!
(BTW - shameless promotion - at least one of the folks on board for the next City-Data.com meet-up is from Montgomery. Stop by and let the social networking begin.)
Thanks. We are excited to try Montgomery on for size; we'll be living within walking distance of the town center as well as Swaim Park and chose the location because of its walkability. Plus, my husband has no commute and our kids will be in daycare at Bethesda North initially, so it just made sense to start out there.
I appreciate all the input from everyone!
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And then there have been times when I've been looking down on an area using the aerial view, and thought it looked neat. But upon switching to Street View, I discovered it looked boring. 
So it comes in handy when trying to get a feel for different places.
It's "once in a blue moon"
Anderson Twp is standard-issue suburbia, not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that. It's stamped from the same cookie cutter as other post-WWII communities in Greater Cincinnati and all over the U S of A. What this means in 2010 is that Anderson has 1950's and '60s subdivisions which segue into '70s and '80s subdivisions and so on; a mall which died when a bigger one opened and now houses a hodgepodge of businesses among the vacant storefronts, and no longer bears the "mall" name; public schools with the carrying capacity for educating Baby Boomers, scaled back when the population of children declined but now straining at the seams again, which various subjective and college-prep-biased ranking systems rate from 3.5 to 5 on a scale of 5; traffic arteries that stay choked during daylight hours and slow to a crawl at peak times; in other words, "the usual." Demographically it also fits the seeming norm for this decade just past, for similar areas, in that while it's still "overwhelmingly" populated by White Christians there has been a considerable influx of Asian households. Surely there are also a few AA or multiculti families quietly assimilated into the community fabric, exactly as there are in pockets of Wyoming beyond its "traditional 'colored' area." 
The trees and the abundant bird life drawn to them help a generic collection of ranch houses and split-levels seem less generic. But the key to Montgomery's stability while so many other inner-ring suburbs slide downhill is the two "S" words - schools and shopping. The Sycamore district perenially jostles with Wyoming for #1 rankings (joined by Walnut Hills High School.) Ursuline Academy (girls) and Archbishop Moeller (boys) are the Wellesley and Yale of parochial secondary schools in Cincinnati. Now there's even an Orthodox Jewish high school in town. And shopaholics get that died-and-gone-to-heaven feeling in Montgomery. Immediately to the south is the Kenwood mall sprawl which recently welcomed the first Nordstrom in the region. Various and sundry strip malls and "store collections" (i.e. Harper's Pointe) line Montgomery Rd for miles. To the north sit still more new and newish "lifestyle centers" (a mall, or rose, by any other name...) 
