What areas should I look at? (Cincinnati, Loveland: rent, house, buy)

[ohioaninsc]

Originally Posted by Sarah Perry

Northside has a grocery, but I wouldn't want to shop there. You're going to have to drive to a grocery most places you could settle in Cincinnati, the Ludlow Ave. area of Clifton being a notable exception.

Northside does have a nice (and growing) collection of restaurants along its main drag, Hamilton Avenue. Someone else will need to address the bar scene question. And yes, rents should be affordable. It's one of the very old suburbs, with lots of the standard, turn of the 20th Century rowhouses on very small lots. More and more of them are being rehabbed. Finding a yard wouldn't be impossible, but may take some looking.

If you find a way to narrow your search to specific streets or addresses, feel free to ask here or to message me privately, I may be able to give you a bit more information.

I will be staying at an Extended Stay Hotel for a few weeks so after work and on weekends I can drive around and explore some so I may ask for some more info in a few days...thank you for your help.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by ohioaninsc

I will be staying at an Extended Stay Hotel for a few weeks so after work and on weekends I can drive around and explore some so I may ask for some more info in a few days...thank you for your help.

That's great, because I for one find it kind of difficult to adequately describe a neighborhood like Northside. There are a lot of adjectives people can and do apply to it, from quirky and edgy to scary and slummy. But even spending an hour or two there is worth a thousand words--you should pretty quickly get a general idea what you think about it.

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by ohioaninsc

Thanks for the info...I'm not into the nipple clips and leather...in fact, there is no reason to tell them at work I'm gay unless they have a Christmas Party or something and I have a boyfriend by then lol...If I don't know someone, I usually don't tell them I'm gay, and I'm not the flamer that many people associate as gay guys...but I'd like to be in an area where I know I can make some gay friends, and potentially find a partner, and I want a sense of a community which I don't care where you are, you don't get in the suburbs (maybe inner ring suburbs, but not newer ones with cookie cutter developments, gated communities, and have to drive to do anything...and I think the African American and Latino communities as a whole are less gay friendly...I don't understand it b/c we go through a lot of the same discrimination that they used to go through (for instance interracial marriage bans)...unfortunately, as a gay man, I could be fired by an employer in over half the states in the country still...and if I found a partner, I could only be married in a select few states, and the rights I my gain by that in that state won't pass on if we had to move somewhere else...so to me it makes no sense for other minority communities to discriminate against us....Sorry for my soap box, but from what you said, that's no different than a lot of other areas in terms of it being less accepting in African American communities (that makes it even harder for Black gays and lesbians of course).

The best walkable neighborhood in Cincinnati is Hyde Park. It has tons of gay persons, gay couples with children, retired people, families and a lot of singles. There is an array of safe apartments from the $600/mo range all the way to many thousands. For my part, I would think that a low end budget of $1000/mo would put you in reasonable accommodations in HP. Certainly safe and walkable if not luxurious. Money and the absence of good public schools are the only reason a person would not choose Hyde Park over all other neighborhoods.

When you are here, go to HP Square at 9:00 on Friday night and see the utterly diverse and friendly crowd in and out of bars, sidewalk restaurants, window shopping and just hanging out. Stop by Northside at that time and you are well advised not to get out of your car unless you are making a dash for a nearby bar. You might find a gay partner in Northside, there is an enclave of sorts - mostly the tattoo and extreme piercings branch of the GLBT family tree, but you are just as likely to be victimized by the black drug thug crowd that rules the roost there.

[progmac]

goygoy's original post pretty much covered it. despite living in the boston area, he makes multiple annual visits to cincinnati and always ends up checking out the city more than most of us who live here, stuck in our ruts.

definitely check out hyde park, northside, clifton, etc. wilson's post give you a good idea of the attitude in hyde park, so that is something to consider. hyde parkers literally made a fairly ubiquitous tee-shirt that outrightly mocked an adjacent neighborhood.

i think the CUF area south of the university might be the most reminiscent of ohio city. I don't remember ohio city that well, but what i do remember is that it is a little edgy / rough around the edges.

[ohioaninsc]

Originally Posted by progmac

goygoy's original post pretty much covered it. despite living in the boston area, he makes multiple annual visits to cincinnati and always ends up checking out the city more than most of us who live here, stuck in our ruts.

definitely check out hyde park, northside, clifton, etc. wilson's post give you a good idea of the attitude in hyde park, so that is something to consider. hyde parkers literally made a fairly ubiquitous tee-shirt that outrightly mocked an adjacent neighborhood.

i think the CUF area south of the university might be the most reminiscent of ohio city. I don't remember ohio city that well, but what i do remember is that it is a little edgy / rough around the edges.

Thank you...Ohio City is a bit rough around the edges but the center of it around The Westside Market is quite nice now....it was just rated as one of the best bar hopping areas in the country (I don't quite agree, but it's very good still).

[Wilson513]

Originally Posted by progmac

hyde parkers literally made a fairly ubiquitous tee-shirt that outrightly mocked an adjacent neighborhood.

Never saw it, never heard of it. Sounds like Progmat did though. Wonder why?

[Ohiogirl81]

Originally Posted by Wilson513

Never saw it, never heard of it. Sounds like Progmat did though. Wonder why?

If you watch House Hunters you've seen it. I wonder what entitled little brat came up with that one?

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

If you watch House Hunters you've seen it. I wonder what entitled little brat came up with that one?

Okay, I give. What DOES IT SAY????

[Chemistry_Guy]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

If you watch House Hunters you've seen it. I wonder what entitled little brat came up with that one?

Haha I haven't seen the show but I heard about it. A guy wore a shirt that said "Oakley is not Hyde Park". I went to H.S. with him and I used to run against his twin brother.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by Chemistry_Guy

Haha I haven't seen the show but I heard about it. A guy wore a shirt that said "Oakley is not Hyde Park". I went to H.S. with him and I used to run against his twin brother.

Wow. That's pretty mild. I was expecting something a bit more...well, wait a minute. This is ridiculously, over-the-top, but insincerely polite Cincinnati. That makes perfect sense.