where to buy a house in cincinnati?

[sandasene]

Elementary schools - I think for the houses I posted, the school would be Colerain Elementary which was rated Excellent
http://www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcar...ILD/006882.pdf

[baixl]

Originally Posted by Jen35

baixl - As a person who just only looked in the best school districts close to Cincinnati when moving last fall, here's my advice....I'm going to go by school district (I put the top 6 districts by the State of Ohio's grading last year, in no particular order).

Sycamore School district - Montgomery, Blue Ash, Symes Twp. I would think you could find something in one of these towns. You may have to compromise on your age of your house, but there are some newer builds tucked in.

Wyoming Schools - Where I live and love it. Not for everyone since it's surrounded by some less desirable areas. Mostly older homes, but there are a few tucked in that are newer. Your commute with no traffic to downtown would be around 10-15 minutes. Schools are top priority here and people know that's what keeps the town afloat. Much more diversity than the other districts in the top 6.

Madiera Schools - Small district with lots of houses from the 50-60s. Would be a great commute for you. I personally don't know a ton about the area since we ruled it out for the tiny school district size.

Mariemont Schools - Includes Terrace Park in it's district. Beautiful small town feel. Older houses as well, but may be able to find one that was built more recently tucked in somewhere.

Indian Hill - I think you already know about this area. Great schools. Lots of affluence.

Mason Schools - Too far out commute wise for you...

Don't know if that helps at all. Any of the above you are going to get hit with higher taxes as that's what keeps schools funded around here. You will also find that you have great services along with those taxes. Roads plowed immediately, leaves collected every couple days from the curb, etc...You get what you pay for in Ohio tax-wise. If you want good schools, you get high taxes. If you look out further in the suburbs (which I know you don't want to, but just for understanding Ohio's schools), you will see the problems that go on with people not wanting to fund their schools (Little Miami schools, West Chester schools). People moved their for low taxes, and then the schools couldn't keep up with the growth. The people are tired of the constant tax hikes since the schools need to keep growing to accomodate the growth. Becomes a real issue in Ohio with the growth outwards. That being said, you will be fine in any of the above districts I mentioned because they have setup a community that supports schools and will fund them.

Thank you so much for your input.

I finally realized that problem. It seems like that I can not avoid paying high taxes. Somehow I really like Madeira.

[flash3780]

Lots of great advice, but I noticed that nobody suggested the Clifton Gaslight district (just north of Ludlow Ave). You'll save a ton of time and money that you would have spent commuting to work, and Clifton Gaslight is a very desirable neighborhood. Since you mentioned you'd be willing to consider older houses, maybe this should be on your list.

It's close to the Cincinnati Zoo and within walking distance of Burnett Woods, a park with a fishing pond. They have an active neighborhood association, and a great neighborhood feel. Many homes are within walking distance to some great restaurants and shops.

The only downside is that you'll be in the Cincinnati Public School district. Although there are a few good schools in CPS (Walnut Hills HS, School for the Creative and Performing Arts, etc), you'll probably want to budget for private school tuition in case the neighborhood school isn't up to snuff. I'm not sure if it would be of interest, but Clifton has a brand new public German language elementary school, which teaches children to be bilingual.

There are a lot of fantastic Cincinnati city neighborhoods that will allow you to live closer to the arts, parks, and activites that the city offers. You might want to consider them. After all, who wants to spend an extra hour each day driving to and from work just so that they can live in suburbia?

[newhome4you]

Have you considered Milford? The schools are rated excellent!!