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I know this question is asked a zillion times, and reading through posts raises more questions than answers for me, so I thought I would throw it out there to all you kind forum participants. We are relocating to Cincy area from north shore Chicago, and plan on renting a house. I will be working in West Chester, and am looking for a short commute between home, a middle school (I have a 10 yr old), and work.
Top priorities are: quality education (differentiation, foreign language, the arts), short commute, club sports (soccer, tennis).
What community would you recommend?
Thank you!
Last edited by Spiral_Galaxy; 04-07-2013 at 07:10 PM..
Reason: Incomplete
The OP also raises more questions than answers.
I think it can be safely assumed that a suburban environment is sought - but what kind? You have the farming hamlets overtaken by sprawl development (Mason, West Chester, Loveland) on the one hand and older "villages" (Montgomery, Wyoming, Mariemont) on the other. The former call for an entirely car-dependent lifestyle while the latter offer some walkability to shopping, recreation, schools, etc. Montgomery et al contain established neighborhoods with substantial older homes along with those comprised of 1950's - 1970's ranch houses, split levels, and Colonials. The more exurban enclaves specialize in over-sized brick "McMansion" clusters or "Dreesvilles" (pockets of smaller houses from the Drees development company or its counterparts, usually also built of brick - that's not "brick" colored - and set off by drably painted wood.)
The value of online forums such as this, or part of it, is that you can find out what realtors won't tell you about places. Anybody with functioning senses can determine whether a given dwelling meets or beats their criteria, ditto for a city neighborhood or suburban locale. But there are other factors which play a part. The most "touchy" one is demographics. Reform Jewish families will find many of like persuasion in Wyoming along with a temple. Other subgroups within the religion are concentrated in Amberley Village (Cincinnati schools, its Achilles heel) and the Sycamore school district towns of Blue Ash and Montgomery. A small but energetic community of Satmar Lubavitchers can be found in the otherwise mostly no-longer-Jewish village of Golf Manor and the adjacent Roselawn neighborhood of Cincinnati. Catholic households abound in the Sycamore and Loveland districts with their easy access to parochial schools at all grade levels (including the selective, sex-segregated Ursuline Academy and Archbishop Moeller high schools.) WASPs are far from absent in the Sycamore district communities but are more prevalent in Wyoming, Mariemont, and Terrace Park as well as the sprawl suburbs. Due in part to its being the Gateway to the South, Cincinnati has a fair amount of mega-church "plantings" which have largely taken hold north of 275 in the rootlessly-populated areas. Even the locally notorious Crossroads "church" which took over a vacated Home Depot in the city has expanded its operations into Mason. So if your thoughts on Sunday morning drift toward "Christian Right Lite" the Lakota and Mason school districts are the place to be.
Save for a few notable exceptions inside the city limits, in some cases with population proportions holding steady and in others not, racial segregation remains the norm in Greater Cincinnati. In the sprawl sector West Chester has the best track record - such as it is - for attracting and retaining AA professionals. The majority if not preponderance of Asian immigrants is concentrated in the Sycamore and Mason districts. Hispanic settlement in Cincinnati is still very recent in the scheme of things, with most from this group the first generation "off the boat" and paying its dues for the next generation to get ahead. So with the exception of Fairfield chances are slim that you'll live among, or your kids attend classes along with, anybody bearing a z-ending surname.
The broadest range of household incomes can probably be found in Wyoming, though all of the communities mentioned are overwhelmingly upper-middle-class. Politically speaking the newer and more distant from downtown the community is, the more "red" its voters are.
Now then, to the schools! My vote would be cast in favor of Lakota if perks such as a wide range of language classes and extracurriculars is of great importance. The burgeoning student population and fairly consistent tax levy support guarantee, by extension, that the scope of offerings is greater. The Wyoming, Terrace Park, and Madeira districts can toot their horns loudly about stratospheric college-placement percentages and landing atop the educational-rankings heap. But there are too few bodies in the buildings to even think about Mandarin classes or a Latin jazz band.
"Incidentally," along with community vibe and house type, what price range are we talking here?
Beckett Ridge in West Chester would probably be most ideal for you.
Most employers are located directly south of Beckett Ridge, and Lakota Ridge Middle School is excellent and right in the community.
I tend to agree with your suggestion of Beckett Ridge. While the ridge itself is purely residential, as you drop down off the ridge in about any direction you encounter the necessities of life shopping wise. Lakota Schools are excellent and large enough to offer a varied curriculum. Has to be a short commute to about any employer in West Chester. A safe environment for that 10 year old. If the rather pastoral atmosphere of the ridge does not turn you on, I would look at the various subdivisions along Tylersville Rd from State Route 747 to I-75. They are all Lakota Schools and will offer a reasonable commute time to work in West Chester.
West Chester is the largest township in the state of Ohio, and at 60,000 population is about 20% the size of the City of Cincinnati. I would give it every opportunity to locate housing to provide the short commute you referenced.
Mason is of course right next door and offers excellent schools. But if I could find housing in West Chester itself with even a shorter commute I would chose it.
Wyoming is often referenced on this forum. It is almost a defacto reference whenever someone says good schools, safe neighborhood, community feel, etc. It is of course a separate city with a reasonable commute time to downtown Cincinnati. I will not knock living in Wyoming, it is a fine place. But some things need to be recognized. It is a relatively small place with a population around 8,500. The population is very stable, but the only avenue for growth would be large multi-unit complexes which is exactly what they do not want. In just about any direction, when you cross the boundary of Wyoming the complexion of the surroundings change. And when I say complexion I am not specifically talking about the skin tone, but the complexion of the economic fibre of the area. To me Wyoming is like living on an island surrounded by red tide.
If I were coming to this area with a job downtown, I would do everything possible to locate in Wyoming, if for nothing else then the schools. The Wyoming Schools make CPS look like they have never discovered education.
But the fact is you will be working in West Chester. West Chester and Liberty Twps have the Lakota School District, one of the best around. Right next door is Mason City Schools, another excellent district. Even if you are unsure about the long-term aspects of the job, get a house in a locality which has a history of school support which translates to housing value.
I would recommend great scrutiny while looking into Lakota schools (West Chester) prior to deciding to move into them. They do very well on test scores, but I have lots of friends that regret living in the district due to the financial strain they are under (many failed operational levies). The big item they complain about is the lack of specials the kids now have and the hours of school with no busing. For my friends with elementary school kids, they only get 1 special per week and it runs for 6 weeks straight. So, they get gym, 1 time a week for 6 weeks and no other special, and then it switches to another one, such as art. I can't speak for Mason schools, but I'm sure they have many more specials per week than that as my friends in Mason are very happy. I can speak for Wyoming as my son is a 1st grader and he has 6 different specials per week (2 times per week gym, 2 times per week music, 1 time per week art and 1 time per week library). Next year they are starting Spanish as well as a special as well for elementary. I do not know what goes on in middle school, but wanted to alert you to what I hear parents complaining about with Lakota in the elementary level. I also hear complaints with Lakota with their school length. I believe they shortened their day to the minimum, and eliminated most of the busing, so I know of one mom that has told me it's impossible for her to work as she spends an hour at drop-off and an hour at pick-up due to the long lines (she has kids in 3 different schools in Lakota). Also, since their day is shorter, her kids get out early, making it harder for a 9-5 job. She was breaking down her day, and she only had 2 hours in a row when she wasn't dropping off or picking up kids.
Also thought you may want to take a look at Kings School District as well. Commute would be a bit longer, but lots of people rave about it. Comparable to Mason, but much smaller. Had a friend actually tell me yesterday she wished she had moved to Kings over Mason due to how hard it is for kids to make sports teams in Mason. Her son is a baseball player, and said there's no way he would make the team since there are so many kids in their high school. She said football is a no cut sport, but the team will have 135 players, so good luck getting your kid into a game. Just something she wishes she had thought of prior to moving to that district. They love the academics, though.
Soccer:
1. Lakota
*very small dropoff
2. Mason
*large dropoff
3. Wyoming (but then again your kid is much more likely to play)
Also, living in Wyoming I would believe would give you more central access to a greater variety of clubs. Cincinnati has a wide range of clubs, some are regional powers in the MidWest and Upper South (lots of tournaments are in Louisville, Nashville, and Memphis) others are more neighborhood outfits. Playing on a really good club can mitigate playing for a mediocre high school in terms of college recruiting.
Tennis (not as sure on this one)
1. Mason
2. Lakota or wyoming. Not sure which of these two is better.
I concur that Kings Schools is a viable consideration. It is a smaller district which is in its favor far as competition for sports teams, etc. The commute to West Chester is also manageable as you can connect to Tylersville Rd just south of Kings Island and take it all the way across Mason to 747 and then south into the business portion of West Chester. But recognize that Kings stretches from South Lebanon to the Landen portion of Warren Co. down to Fields Ertel. People are sometimes surprised as to how much territory Kings School District encompasses. I am not sure how much buildable land exists within the district, but pay attention. It is the buildable land which is bringing several suburban school districts to their knees, the most notable being Little Miami.
I have of course noted the growth of Lakota over the past couple of decades when I lived in Mason and saw the same thing here.
The gungho growth years were all schools, schools, schools. This was of course during the same period of time when the housing industry was Up, Up, Up. Buy that house, it will be worth more next year than you bought it for. And people in some districts such as Lakota and Mason responded and voted for school levy after school levy. After all, it was for the kids and how could you deny the kids? The district was growing, they needed everything, new buildings, more teachers, more everything.
Lakota of course got to the size they split into two high schools. While there are two high schools they are still operated by the same district. They also appear to have gone for the de-centralized school concept, when it comes to the elementary, intermediate, and middle school concept. To my knowledge they sprayed them across the district. This works fine until you decide you cannot afford busing, then the parents bear an unbearable burden.
But I am not willing to throw in the towel for the Lakota District. They are a product of the suburban growth, and they will sustain for the same reason. Lakota and Mason will still be providing quality education while CPS is trying to figure it out.
I understand why the voters in the Lakota District, Mason District, etc. have bascially declared whoa there is a limit. We are not going beyound this, if it impacts your budget deal with it.
The Wyoming Schools make CPS look like they have never discovered education.
Why don't you give up on this incendiary nonsense? Not only did OP not ask about CPS, a CPS school is neck-and-neck with Wyoming's only high school for national rankings:
That's a hell of a lot better than can be said for Mason or West Chester, which don't appear on the list at all. Perhaps Mason could learn a few things from CPS.
Why don't you give up on this incendiary nonsense? Not only did OP not ask about CPS, a CPS school is neck-and-neck with Wyoming's only high school for national rankings:
That's a hell of a lot better than can be said for Mason or West Chester, which don't appear on the list at all. Perhaps Mason could learn a few things from CPS.
You hit the nail on the head, 'A' CPS HS is ranked high. Please contrast that with the Average of ALL the CPS High Schools. I don't believe I need to go beyond that. Even then, little ole Wyoming is ranked higher than the best CPS has to offer.
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