Accepted a job in Florc. Ky. need advice on moving with kids (Cincinnati: real estate, school districts)

[knottynurse]

The hubs accepted a job in Florence and we have 2 boys in 1st and 5th grades. We live in a small township with about 7k people and are looking to relocate to a town of simular size( no larger than 12k ish) within 45 min or so of Florence. We are rural/nature loving type of people and would like some land w/the house. I want to do some research with the help of the forum before we contact a real estate agent. Also any help with the relocation and the kids. I have never moved and my family is very close it will be difficult and want to make this go as smooth as I can.
I heard the schools in KY aren't that goos and both of my kids are honor roll students but I don't want to go on one opinion on this........AAGH!

[kjbrill]

If working in Florence and liking more country living, Go South! Another idea is Go West into Indiana, though you will end up with a longer commute. If you come off with this my kids are honor role students you may be defeated before you start. If you are in a town of 7K, just how big is the school? And just how many are your kids competing against? Don't know where you are coming from, but give the schools here a decent chance.

[knottynurse]

The school system is small but is -=excellent with distinction in the state of Ohio. I'm not coming off with anything about my children and the honor roll.....Sorry I asked~!

[abr7rmj]

Have you selected a place yet? You may want to consider Lebanon, Ohio. It's north of Cincinnati and your commute to Florence would be through the city, but well within 45 minutes.

Although Lebanon is significantly larger than the 7,000 you're used to, it definitely has a small-town feel and certainly has plenty of rural areas surrounding it - particularly to the northeast. And the school system is quite strong.

[Ohiogirl81]

Funny. I know plenty of kids in Kentucky who make the honor roll.

[kjbrill]

Forget Lebanon, that is East Jesus compared to Florence and you will spend all your time and money commuting. Look south into the area around Union or west past the airport toward Indiana.

Be aware that in KY schools are organized more on a county wide basis than in Ohio. So a central body may decide how resources are divided up between schools across the entire county. Give the KY schools a chance. If you are talking the counties which make up NKY south of Cincinnati, this has been a rapidly developing area. I believe you will find the people who have been moving into these areas are just as interested in a solid education for their children as those north of the river, at least once you get past the City itself. It is parental concern, involvement, and participation in their kids education which is probably the strongest influence on a good school system. To dismiss NKY is a mistake. You cannot have all of those very nice developments going up without people interested in and demanding output from their schools.

Look around for an area in NKY which meets your other needs. Weigh the selections in conjunction with what you want/demand out of the schools. Visit the schools and ask to speak to the counselors to confirm your wants.

[nthomas1999]

Boone County has been great to me, and love living in Hebron. There are allot of great places to live in Northern Kentucky but think that the Burlington/Hebron area is probably going to be the best as the taxes are cheap and thye have great libraries and parks in that part of Boone!

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

Forget Lebanon, that is East Jesus compared to Florence and you will spend all your time and money commuting. Look south into the area around Union or west past the airport toward Indiana.

Be aware that in KY schools are organized more on a county wide basis than in Ohio. So a central body may decide how resources are divided up between schools across the entire county. Give the KY schools a chance. If you are talking the counties which make up NKY south of Cincinnati, this has been a rapidly developing area. I believe you will find the people who have been moving into these areas are just as interested in a solid education for their children as those north of the river, at least once you get past the City itself. It is parental concern, involvement, and participation in their kids education which is probably the strongest influence on a good school system. To dismiss NKY is a mistake. You cannot have all of those very nice developments going up without people interested in and demanding output from their schools.

Look around for an area in NKY which meets your other needs. Weigh the selections in conjunction with what you want/demand out of the schools. Visit the schools and ask to speak to the counselors to confirm your wants.

How nice that my suggestion was tossed out in the first two words of this response.

"East Jesus" notwithstanding, Lebanon is well within your desired 45-minute commute time. If you truly value great schools, you may, however, want to disregard the aforementioned advice and look into some of the north-of-Cincinnati towns.

Message board squabbles aside, there is a definite reason why Kentucky has earned this unfortunate distinction:

http://static.texastribune.org/media...x1000_q100.jpg

It's never a good thing to be lumped with the likes of Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas in any education category.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by abr7rmj

How nice that my suggestion was tossed out in the first two words of this response.

"East Jesus" notwithstanding, Lebanon is well within your desired 45-minute commute time. If you truly value great schools, you may, however, want to disregard the aforementioned advice and look into some of the north-of-Cincinnati towns.

Message board squabbles aside, there is a definite reason why Kentucky has earned this unfortunate distinction:

http://static.texastribune.org/media...x1000_q100.jpg

It's never a good thing to be lumped with the likes of Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas in any education category.

A couple things in your post don't make sense to me. I don't understand why anyone would commute to and from the northern suburbs when there are excellent school districts like Beechwood and Ft. Thomas available in northern Kentucky. And I don't understand why anyone would think statewide statistics would have much bearing on the topic of choosing an individual school system, especially in one of the counties of the Cincinnati metro area.

Just a point of clarification on something kjbrill wrote: Kentucky's school systems are indeed MOSTLY organized on a county-wide basis, but there are 120 county districts serving a statewide population density of 109 residents per square mile of land area, as compared with 282 residents in Ohio. And that's not counting the independent districts like the two I mentioned above.

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

A couple things in your post don't make sense to me. I don't understand why anyone would commute to and from the northern suburbs when there are excellent school districts like Beechwood and Ft. Thomas available in northern Kentucky. And I don't understand why anyone would think statewide statistics would have much bearing on the topic of choosing an individual school system, especially in one of the counties of the Cincinnati metro area.

Just a point of clarification on something kjbrill wrote: Kentucky's school systems are indeed MOSTLY organized on a county-wide basis, but there are 120 county districts serving a statewide population density of 109 residents per square mile of land area, as compared with 282 residents in Ohio. And that's not counting the independent districts like the two I mentioned above.

Two reasons: Because the OP has allowed for a generous commuting time to/from Florence to assure relocation to the area that best suits them. And the OP is currently living in Ohio and may, perhaps, wish to stay in the state.

And I'm leery of dismissing Lebanon as simply part of the "northern suburbs." Lebanon has a definite historic downtown area not seen in many generic suburbs and, while it does have some big box retailers and chain restaurants beginning to pop up on its fringes (particularly in South Lebanon), it has managed to retain its identity and seems miles away from the clutter and chaos of places like the Mason-Montgomery Road area and West Chester.

Perhaps the ideal location for the OP would be Waynesville, but that would be just outside of the 45-minute commute window. Waynesville is a small town with a fine small school system, is dripping with historic character, is void of any and all big box blight, is surrounded by rural areas in every direction, and its proximity to the wooded land and outdoor recreation at Caesar's Creek is unmatched. But, again, it's a bit far for daily commute to Florence.