College Hill, Cheviot, Westwood, Madisonville, Oakley? (Cincinnati, Mason: apartments, how much, new house)

[paintballer1708]

Im so tired of people being so negative about Cincinnati. Half of them dont even live here or visited here and have nothing but negatives to say about it. I am an urban planner and i work for the city. The city is not near as bad in crime as other spots in the nation, esp coming from New Jersey, the state where you can go from a nice neighborhood to just a few miles down the road to some of the most dangerous areas in the nation. It is too high taxed in NJ as well.

Cincinnati offers a lot. We have one of the fastest growing job markets in the nation right now. We have a growing metro population, and the city is growing too with all the development. If you like city living check out some of the new condos going in around the Columbia Parkway. If you need any info on development i can help you out greatly. We have been voted one of the most livable areas in the nation. And what is it with partying? Cincinnati offers a lot of clubs, and The Banks project will soon be starting with new housing, restaurants, and entertainment along Cincinnati's amazing riverfront. We are currently in the process of building highrise condos in the downtown area as well. Cincinnati's skyline looks amazing at night, and even during the day.

If you go to Chicago for the partying which there is nothing wrong with that, but it seems like once you have something greater you want to get even better. Many of the people i know in Chicago leave to go to New York because it offers more. People head from Lexington to Cincinnati because it offers more. People leave Dallas and head for Houston because it offers more. Whether it be partying or job markets. Cincinnati is a great area. We do have a growing hispanic and asian population, but its not affecting too many areas in a bad way. Check out Mariemont, Norwood, and Cheviot Hills. These are great areas just a few minutes from Cincinnati. Once you get here and see all the new development going on, the great way people live here, and how friendly everyone is, you will find out that most on here have no idea about what they are taking about. Cincinnati's population growth speaks for itself. This is an attractive area to live in.

[AIRIKA8OH]

I have lived in Cincinnati most of my life, and have moved around to several different areas, I think overall it is a great place to live. It is a bigger city, but can have a smaller-town feel. It is a city with many great neighborhoods that offer great shopping, eating, and parks, often within walking distance of residential areas. It is not insultated from big-city problems though, so you have to chose where you will live carefully.

I would not recommend Madisonville at all. It tends to be one of the higher crime areas in the city, and I do not believe that the quality of life there is a good reflection on the city as a whole. Nicer areas near Madisonville would include Mariemont (I live there now) and Fairfax. Even Norwood has some very nice neighborhoods. A little further away, but also very nice areas, are Anderson Township or Mt Washington. Homes are very nice, and very reasonably priced, and you can get a home with more land. All of these towns have their own school districts as well- not Cincinnati Public schools- so you don't have to worry about overcrowded city schools.

Other nice, afforable areas in Cincinnati include Blue Ash, Montgomery, Sharonville, Mason, Loveland, West Chester, and Fairfield. Unfortunately I am not very familiar with Cincinnati's West-side... That is one "downfall" of Cincinnati culture- East-siders and West-siders tend to stick to their own side of town... and each thinks their side is better...

Another part of the city that many people forget is Northern Kentucky- many of Northern Kentucky's suburbs are just as robust as any of Cincinnati's Ohio-side towns. Nice areas include Ft. Thomas, Ft. Mitchell, Florence, Erlanger and Edgewood.

I hope you do continue to consider Cincinnati- Come for a visit- see all that there is downtown, across the river in N. KY, and in the surrounding suburbs- There is more here than there may seem to an outsider. Like many larger size cities, Cincinnati has its own unique culture and flavor that distiguishes the city and makes it more interesting. It doesn't take long once you join one of Cincinnati's great neighborhoods to feel right at home.

[jersey_too_expensive]

Paintballer-

Thank you for the positive thoughts. I have not been back to this forum in awhile because I grow weary of all the negative vibes. We have already purchase a lovely property in a very nice section of Westwood (yes, there are plenty of those left!) -- and we plan on making the best of it. The neighbors seem very nice (and friendlier than some we have known here in NJ for many years. I have spoken with the local police dept for the district and reviewed the crime reports -- and, while some areas a few streets away are a little shady, overall everything seems fine. The office I spoke with was pleasant (we talked over the phone -- if you try to do that here where I live in NJ they will pretty much tell you to stop wasting their time).

We are a quiet, hard-working couple who do not party and do not wish to live among the snobbery of areas here in NJ like Ridgewood (Bergen County). We looked at many areas of the country before deciding on Cinti -- it seemed to offer a similar climate, plenty of opportunities for employment, some great entertainment -- all wrapped around a decent, small-sized rather clean-looking city with a great history -- and hopefully a great future, too.

One thing was certain: we could not remain in NJ if we ever wanted to own a decent home -- the purchase cost and taxes are astronomical. The home we purchased in Westwood would cost close to $600k here and the taxes would be well in excess of $12k per year -- YES, that is correct -- well over ONE THOUSAND dollars a MONTH in property taxes. The NJ state motto should be changed to "New Jersey -- We Will Tax You Until You Move!"

I think most of the cynical opinions posted here are from long-term residents who have seen areas they love decline -- but lots of folks all over the country feel that way -- nothing stays the same and it hurts to see an area you grew up in change in any way. The problem I see with the west side is that there are too many rental properties -- which means the politicians approving the crazy zoning need to go -- and with absentee owners and lots of rental properties often comes crime (depending upon the socio-economic status of the residents). Crime in these cases generally = drugs. The locals need to get organized (and it seems like in many parts of Westwood they do just that) to clean this stuff up by pointing it out to the locals in charge. But people also need to realize that crime occurs everywhere -- even in precious Hyde Park or Princeton, NJ -- and the most prestigious neighborhoods are often bordered by some of the most dangerous.

All that being said, we are looking forward to our new life in Cincinnati and we plan on making the best of it once we are there -- and that includes getting involved in the community. It is a brave & bold step on our part -- and certainly not one we take lightly. Please wish us well on this next phase of our life.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

[jersey_too_expensive]

AIRIKA8OH-

Thank you also for your very thoughtful reply. We have visited Cinti a couple of times now -- and we agree with what you have written. The city has alot to offer -- and, if you pick a good neighborhood, you can make a nice life for yourself for many years to come. I have spoken to so many people who used to live -- or have moved back to -- Cincinnati; all of them have told me what a good place it is to live.

We understand the divide between east and west side -- and that is fine with us. I think the east side has simply appreciated more in value because it offers easier access to downtown. We are fine with Target and Perkins -- we currently live in an area of NJ where there is TOO much money -- people driving the latest BMWs walking around like they stepped out of some fashion magazine. The biggest problem the kids have is that mom & dad did not buy them the Lexus in the color they wanted. It has grown quite tiring. I spoke with a former boss at work today -- he lives in Montclair, NJ -- and for a house smaller than the one we bought in Westwood he pays $18k per year in property tax -- that is insane. My own mom was forced to move to Florida because she could no longer afford her taxes -- even though her house was paid off.

See my reply to Paintballer -- who also offered some thoughtful, genuine, and constructive comments: we are looking forward to our life in Cincinnati; I think if some of the more negative-opinioned folks actually had to spend some time elsewhere (like here in NJ where English often seems to be a minority language in most places), they might realize how good they have it in Cinti.

From all that we have seen, most of our neighbors, the people working in shops, strangers in neighborhoods we were home shopping in, patrons in the mall, people working at Perkins, and IHOP, our terrific Realtor, the current owner of the house, our new neighbors -- all of them have been intelligent, kind, positive people like you and Paintballer -- and those are big reasons why we decided to take the leap. Cincinnati has a long and proud history and we hope and even brighter future.

OK, my wife-to-be is going to kick my butt if I do not get to sleep soon... ;-)

Thanks again, and have a wonderful holiday season!

[paintballer1708]

jersey too expensive,

I wish you the best of luck in a new chapter in your's and your fiancee's life. Cincinnati hopefully brings a lot of success to your lives, and i hope everything works out for you. Once again, best of luck to you both.

[hedgefundpirate]

Cincy has way lower crime than most other big cities.All of the murders you can read about in the Cincinnati Enquirer (its online if you want to check it out) are always 96% of the time drug related.Cincinnati has a great deal to do such as festivals,sports,nightlife,etc.Cincy gets a bad rap because years ago we did not want ****ographers to move in and sell dirty movies to perverts and priests! Batavia,Anderson township,Amelia are all good places to live.Oakley is nice but Stay away from Madisonville there is quite a bit of drug activity there and they have had a few shootings.Stay out of over the rhine and Avondale,Walnut hills and you cant go wrong in moving to Cincinnati.

[paintballer1708]

One reason other people think Cincinnati has such a high crime rate is because Cincinnati does not annex other areas around the city. You look at cities like Phoenix, Charlotte, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis that all have about the same or worse crime rates than Cincy. The thing is they annex taking in some of the suburbs and more wealthy areas. Cincinnati is a safe city compared to a lot of the cities out there that annex. If cities like Atlanta and Phoenix didnt annex, their crime rates would be alarmingly high.

[Subway]

Originally Posted by paintballer1708

One reason other people think Cincinnati has such a high crime rate is because Cincinnati does not annex other areas around the city. You look at cities like Phoenix, Charlotte, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis that all have about the same or worse crime rates than Cincy. The thing is they annex taking in some of the suburbs and more wealthy areas. Cincinnati is a safe city compared to a lot of the cities out there that annex. If cities like Atlanta and Phoenix didnt annex, their crime rates would be alarmingly high.

Excellent point, Paintballer. Because of annexation is certain areas, it is much more accurate to use metropolitan area crime stats when comparing various cities. Despite all of the bad press the city of Cincinnati has been getting about its crime rate, the overall crime rate for the Cincinnati metropolitan area is below the national average. For example, the city of Cincinnati has a higher crime rate than the cities of Columbus and Indianapolis, but the crime rate for the entire Cincinnati metropolitan area is significantly lower than those of Columbus and Indianapolis. The only reason that Columbus' and Indianapolis' city crime rates are lower is that they have annexed suburban areas. Comparing the crime rate of a city such as Cincinnati that doesn't annex to the crime rate of city that does is like comparing apples to oranges. Whereas the population of the city of Cincinnati only comprises about 15% of the population of the Cincinnati metro area, the populations of the cities that annex comprise significantly higher percentages (some are near 50%) of the populations of their metro areas.

[paintballer1708]

^Exactly, and if you compared Cincy's suburb crime rates, they are very good compared to the national level. I dont have the statistics, but i remember reading in the Enquirer that Mason, Lebanon, and other suburbs have a very low crime rate for a metro are of about 2.1 million.

[jondeer78]

Generally speaking, those who complain that the "neighborhoods are going down" are those who are unwilling to accept change. I've lived in Westwood for 4 years and never had any issues or problems with crime. I'm proud to live here.

Why do neighborhoods diminish in value? Not because bad people move in, but because good people move out.