Can someone tell me about Carthage? (Cincinnati, Hamilton: for sale, hair salon, foreclosure)

[angel2animals]

Changed my mind about the place in Northside, found some problems with it on further inspection. I am curious about Carthage. It is less than 10 miles from my new job in Blue Ash. Love to hear some comments. Tell me about the neighborhood and what is around (shopping, etc?)

[CincyExpert]

I lived there for a few years when i was young so here's what I can tell you about it. The houses are relatively cheap, like 50-100k. It's home to the Su Casa church, the only Spanish church in Cincinnati (I believe), so therefore there is a relatively large Hispanic population around the area. However many white and black people live in the neighborhood too. Carthage is also home to the Hamilton County fair. Shopping-wise, your best bet would be Tri-County Mall 15 minutes to the North, Rookwood Commons 10 minutes to the South, or Kenwood Mall 10 minutes to the east. The area is definately on the decline, but I don't believe serious crime is too bad in Carthage. It's definately not a place I'd feel safe walking around at night though.

For close to the same amount of money, you could live in a nicer but less diverse neighborhood in Deer Park or Reading which are both closer to Blue Ash.

So to sum it up, Carthage is not a bad place but there are definately better options.

[jlrosen]

there is less crime in carthage than hyde park, oakley, and mount washington according to the cincinnati police website

[LancasterNative]

Carthage is the place Rome decided was "delenda est"...

Ohh...oops, wrong Carthage

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by angel2animals

Changed my mind about the place in Northside, found some problems with it on further inspection. I am curious about Carthage. It is less than 10 miles from my new job in Blue Ash. Love to hear some comments. Tell me about the neighborhood and what is around (shopping, etc?)

Nice place really. Mixed neighborhood with a lot of Koreans and Hispanics there and also in Hartwell next door. Good access to Cross County and I-75, and you can always zip up Vine Street if the traffic is bad on the I-75. Has a bus line too.

[Cincinnatian]

In Carthage, that is :-) Nice,small,and friendly. Racially Diverse. Mostly families with children or Elderly retirees. There's a multitude of Churches for a small village :-) There's a large Park on North Bend with I believe two or three Baseball fields,basketball courts, a Pool, and New Children's playsets.It's always full of people.There's a smaller park a few streets from that for the smaller children...It's fairly new as well. Potterhill Homes are AWESOME. It was a new suburb just built a few years back.Adorable Pleasantville modeled Homes, but they range in price from about 150,000 for smaller homes to 240,00 Dollars. An Older home here ranges from about 50,000( if you're lucky enough to find a foreclosure or want a very small home) to 150,000 for a lovely larger home. There is a Spanish private school and church here, and A Public Elementary school which has been deemed Effective by the State :-) The area is NOT on a Decline.With the Housing Economy the way it is these days, the area is actually doing pretty well.Cincinnati Housing Partners Fix up and Perfect Homes that may have been forclosed on as to revitalize them and then they match them up with buyers at reduced interest rates to keep the Economy going and to give deserving Homeowners nice homes where they have help with financing as to be sure their monthly mortgage payment won't balloon, adding to the housing Economy crisis. Cincinnati Housing Partners office is here,actually. If you're looking for a lovely home, It may be a Great Idea to Go through them:-)


Cincinnati Housing Partners is a
Non-Profit With Very Direct Goals.

CHP builds and rehabs homes in local communities to sell to individuals or families.

CHP also provides a variety of resources to reduce the costs of ownership and to increase buyers' capacity to manage their finances.


Contact Information:

Bonnie Blankenship, Cincinnati Housing Partners, Inc., 7001 Vine Street, Suite 2 Cincinnati, Ohio 45216, Phone: 1-513-662-9729
email: missionadvancement@fuse.net

[Hartwell Girl]

Carthage has a CPS public Paideia school which is closing at the end of this year. The area has seen a big involvement from the community lately but has always had a long support for the Carthage Civic League (the local council). The Hispanic community is definately growing in Carthage. And the area is safe, patroled by Dist 4. and shares the same neighborhood police officer as Hartwell.

[goyguy]

Carthage is a mess all along Vine St: vacant businesses everywhere, burnt-out house with a tarp thrown over it, huge Masonic Hall up for sale. When I was in Cincy last month and drove through there yet another store was giving up. (Maybe the capital-letter-strewing poster picked up some bargain furniture before they locked the doors for the last time.) A former bank's now a "salon" with graffiti-looking signs painted all over the windows. The de-evolution of the car-dealer strip continues. At mid-afternoon on a sunny Saturday, there was scarcely a soul on the sidewalks. The few pedestrians only added to the OTR vibe given off by the empty and fleeing stores, and by the raggedy houses which were once well kept. It's a once-solid neighborhood gone sketchy in a major way. How much this has to do with Este Ave's being extended right past the doorstep of Winton Terrace to the West Seymour Ave doorstep to Carthage is open to discussion. Those among the dwellers of the projects who are "non-law-abiding" definitely have easier access to that area to wreak whatever mischief they're into, that much is for certain. BTW I'm not posting these words just from a single quick ride down Vine; I'd noticed a lot of deterioration along North Bend and Seymour and Fairpark both that time and in recent years. Of course "deterioration" is open to interpretation. In my book it extends to a wood-frame house that has had its porch columns replaced with cheap fake-wrought-iron supports, its outer walls plastered with aluminum siding, its yard littered with weeds and toys. This is not Wyoming snobbery talking, folks, it's something anybody would observe in the same way when comparing notes to 10, 20, and 30 years ago. Nothing says people at any economic level can't take pride in where they live and maintain it well. Carthage has never been affluent. But its residential streets were a hell of a lot nicer not that long ago. As with every rule, though, there are exceptions. The upper reaches of Fairpark, and its intersecting streets (Escalon, Nansen, etc), look to be hanging on pretty well. They're still cooled by the breezes from all their mature trees, and whether the people living there happen to be German-American home-owning retirees or Hispanic two-job-working newcomer tenants the properties are still in decent order. It could still be 1965 around there but for the diversity, which unlike a great many Cincinnatians I see as a positive aspect.

I think Hartwell's business district stands an excellent chance of rebounding and have said so. And there are lots of times when I'm the first - sometimes the only - "regular" in this forum to jump to the defense of wrongly maligned Cincy communities like Roselawn, Westwood, etc. But when over a mile of a main street appears like a ghost town, the smattering of people about - whether White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, or whatever - is all dressing and behaving "ghetto," and a significant majority of the housing looks like sh*t, I can't overlook it. Carthage from all the evidence is headed for the fate of its counterpart of ancient legend. No way would I suggest it as a place to move to, at least not without careful scrutiny.

[Cincinnatian]

There are some vacant storefronts on vine, but there are some small busienesses doing well. Not to mention a very new retirement home that was planned and carried out by The Cincinnati Housing Partners.There's a barber shop, a Hair salon that has been there a LOOONG time,a few( not sure how many) small convenient stores that are family owned,A couple of offices, one for a Law Firm,One for Cincinnati Housing Partners, and two more I don't know what they are used for. There is a Chiropractor,A fifth-Third Bank,a Brand new Cincinnati Credit Union (also due to the Hard work of Cincinnati Housing Partners). There is A lovely little pottery shop, A Hardware store,UDF, of course, Speedway,Valley Auto Shop,An art Shop,A refurbished appliance shop,A family owned Diner called the Village Kettle and Cretons( restraunt). To make a point....Vine in Carthage has an abundant of small family owned busienesses to take pride in.The reason there aren't an abundance of Large busienesses is Vine here is not large enough, with not too much parking, and it is not a very large or "hip" village.There's not hip Clubs or a hopping social scene. The Houses are looking BETTER,though. Due to CINCINNATI HOUSING PARTNERS.They have rehabbed 40 homes from top to bottom.New roofs,appliances,updating,landscaping,New front doors. Everything.They don't miss a beat.I bought a home they had done at Nineteen years old.I am NEVER leaving.It was affordable for my new husband and I and it was in PERFECT condition. Plus,It will be paid off by the time I am Thirty Five. They haven't stopped,either.They are working on three houses as of now that I have noticed from walking around the neighborhood."GOY GUY" says that the streets such as Escalon and Nansen look nicer (the area where my house is,actually.) The houses are a little more updated and spaced apart, but that may be because the houses on these streets are only about fifty years old or so.The Original Carthage Dates back to what? The late 1800's or something. Plus, the border of Carthage got a Huge Facelift with The potterhill Homes. Only about four years old or so,now. Selling from 150,000 to 240,000. Their Porches and homes look rather nice to me and there is quite a few of them. :-) And please don't say someone acts, Ghetto. It's just rude.

[Hartwell Girl]

Carthage DOES have a lot of work to do on its business district and residential streets, just like MANY of the northern neighborhoods the City of Cincinnati chooses to continue to ignore. Vine Street in Carthage (and Hartwell) is landlocked and property owners hold onto empty store fronts because people won't pay the outragous prices they are asking for their land. There is no parking, at least Carthage does have some sections of Vine street where you can park on Vine Street but side lots are scarce. The entire stretch of Vine in Carthage and Hartwell would benfit from from re-zoning (kick the auto places to hte curb) and some strict building & code enforcement from the City of Cincinnati. Carthage & Hartwell was always lumped together over the years but has become more divided recently due to the antics of the City in my opinion. Taking their school, their pool, threatening to close their rec center (god help anyone who tries to take a center from Carthage seniors, I wouldnt dare upset that group), the Fair threatening to close and move...its insane! I would not deter people from living there or say that it is unsafe but I think Goyguy touched some facts. Community involvement is what is making things happen in Carthage and I for one applaud it. It takes a village and I love Carthages motto, "Deeply rooted, Planning to stay" Carthage residents are loyal and dedicated to their neighborhood and they welcome new residents with open arms (and a gift basket ;-) There is a Carthage web page which can tell you more about the neighborhood Home