Relocating to Cincinnati from Chicago - Help! (Kent, Mason: transplants, apartments)

[HWilliams77]

My family and I are relocating with my company, Fifth Third Bank, from the Chicago suburbs to Cincinnati. I am trying to determine some good places to go. Here is some specifics on our situation:

We are a young, African-American family (my husband and I in our mid twenties and a 5 year old daughter).

Schools are very important (for our daughter). We would prefer somewhere with a full day kindergarten. If it's half day we need to know sources for child care that aren't too costly.

We plan to rent for the first year, before deciding to buy.

We would like for my commute to work (which is Downtown at Fountain Square) to be about 20 minutes or so.

Having said all that...if anyone has any comments/suggestions/ideas about good neighborhoods for us, good schools, etc. please share!

Some things I've heard are the East side may work better for us than West. Up north is ok but can get far commute wise. NKY may be a good bet (but I'm not sure about schools there). Forest Hills SD is one of the best but has half day kindergarten. CPS are terrible except for Fairview and Kilgour. So, that's the basics of what I know....but I still need more help! Thanks.

[UncleRando]

I'm not sure about kindergarten situations, but you may want to check out the Wyoming School District area. It is north of downtown, but is not that far at all up I-75. It is one of the best school districts, in the region, to my knowledge and should offer some pretty decent housing options for you to choose from.

Just out of curiosity...why is it that you say, "Some things I've heard are the East side may work better for us than West." What were the reasons behind these comments/recommendations that you got?

[jlrosen]

the single best place you could possibly pick is mariemont, especially if you want to rent before you buy. you couldn't even go to a place like evendale because they have any rental properties. mariemont is out east about 15 to twenty minutes. you can drive or take the express bus (28x) which has one stop between mariemont square and fountain square. i think a bus pass would be 60 a month, but no parking, and at 3 dollar gas that is a deal

[jlrosen]

Originally Posted by UncleRando

I'm not sure about kindergarten situations, but you may want to check out the Wyoming School District area. It is north of downtown, but is not that far at all up I-75. It is one of the best school districts, in the region, to my knowledge and should offer some pretty decent housing options for you to choose from.

wyoming would be a good fit, the schools are about 12% black, while mariemont is much less, I don't know how important a factor that is.

[kingjordana]

You might take a look at Blue Ash, or Montgomery in the Sycamore School District. Other top districts where you could find a place to rent that are near the city are Marrimont, Wyoming, Madeira, or Anderson Township/Turpin Hills. Each of these are only fifteen to twenty minutes from the Central Business District and are great quality communities.

To the North there is an area called Mason, which also has awarded schools. It’s a newer community with great schools and new families. In Mason there are some great rental opportunities from families, as well as a neighborhood called Water’s Edge which a black developer built…I used to live there, and many black families moved there so there is a good strong black community in the development.

[HWilliams77]

Originally Posted by UncleRando

I'm not sure about kindergarten situations, but you may want to check out the Wyoming School District area. It is north of downtown, but is not that far at all up I-75. It is one of the best school districts, in the region, to my knowledge and should offer some pretty decent housing options for you to choose from.

Just out of curiosity...why is it that you say, "Some things I've heard are the East side may work better for us than West." What were the reasons behind these comments/recommendations that you got?

According to some people I've talked with...the West side is more Cincy long timers and generations of families that have been living there all their lives. "Outsiders" are not as welcome as on the East Side. I hear the East Side is where a lot of transplants end up. Is that true??

[HWilliams77]

So, Wyoming, Mariemont, and Blue Ash as all getting great reviews from everyone I see. Does anyone know of any good apt complexes in these neighborhoods?

What about Price Hill in a complex called Queen's Tower?

Are there any decent places Downtown?

How about Northern Kentucky?

Thanks all for your help!

[chartbury]

Hello,

From what I've heard you want to avoid Price Hill because of the crime and isn't that Cincinnati Public Schools -- there are better options.

As you have a child, you have to explore the school districts first or all your lives could be made miserable.

There are some great schools in the Cincy area, just make an appointment to visit and see where you feel comfortable and where full-day kindergarten and after-school care opportunities are offered.

Try Sycamore Schools ( Blue Ash, Montgomery, parts of Symmes Township are in the district) or Wyoming. They are two of the best schools in the state.

Good luck!

[wastina]

You've been well advised above. You may want to note, however, that Wyoming has an income tax to help pay for the schools. Have a look at Glendale, also, a great village with a community feel. While Princeton has gotten some mixed ratings, Glendale's is a community school, recently renovated with a great student-teacher ratio. Am not sure about kindergarden now, but there did use to be one. There are apartments for rent on Route 4, in great walking distance to a fantastic park. Glendale's web site is The Village of Glendale, Ohio.

Welcome to Cincinnati!

[ReturningToCincy]

You could try Hyde Park or Mt. Lookout, too, possibly parts of Oakley - the neighborhoods that send their kids to Kilgour Elementary. It's extremely popular, with parents moving to those neighborhoods to get in there. Those areas are going to be a lot more diverse than Mariemont, for instance.

Also, there's a brand new neighborhood Montessori elementary school in Pleasant Ridge, another diverse, safe, pretty place to live. All of these are easily within a 20-minute commute by car or bus.

In terms of apartments, I'd consider checking Craigslist. The usual precautions apply (check up on the landlord, ask around, visit at various times of the day, etc), but there are GREAT deals to be had on apartments and especially houses right now as people are having trouble selling in the current market. Lots of those people are now trying to rent or lease to buy.

At any rate, this site is a great place to start: CincinnatiHome - The City's Home Address Just go to any neighborhood in the drop-down list and you can get info about demographics, crime, stuff to do in the neighbhorhood, on and on. It includes info on many suburban neighborhoods as well as all the city neighborhoods, too. It's really a fantastic place to get familiar with the city. Good luck to you, whatever you decide!