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So my wife and I have started a business in which we do setup, presentations, and consulting for anime and video game conventions. Lots of the conventions that hire us are quite a bit farther North and/or East from where we are now, and the haul from Texas is getting tiresome. We drew up a map of all the conventions we go to, pointed to a spot right in the middle, and lo and behold, it was Cincinnati.
As a bonus, the company I work for as a day job has a branch in Sharonville that I could easily transfer to. Score!
Are there any reasons NOT to move to Cincinnati? Is there anything I should know about Cincinnati that lots of people tend to hate? Dallas is pretty bland and boring, especially after being here for nine years, so any change of pace might be nice. How's the traffic? The weather? Gas and grocery prices? Electricity and utility bills?
What are the liquor laws in Cincinnati? What time do the bars close? Can you buy beer/wine/liquor in grocery stores? If not, what time do the liquor stores close?
I've had Skyline Chili once and it was really good. What other Cincinnatish things should we do when we're there?
Apartments.com has suggested a few affordable places in Fairfield, Lincoln Heights, Mt. Healthy Heights, and Northgate. On a scale of 1-10, how good are these neighborhoods? I mean, we're not expecting Indian Hill for as poor as we are (looking for about $600 a month in rent budget), but we do leave our apartment unattended for long periods while we're doing conventions in other states, and we'd like all our stuff to still be there when we get back. We don't have children and aren't planning on changing that status anytime soon, so school district is unimportant. Sharonville is kinda north-ish, and I'd like to avoid a 40-minute commute if possible.
Thanks for all your input. If we do end up going through with this, it'll be in September.
. Have you searched this forum for answers to your questions before posting a new inquiry?
. What specific topic have you not found answers to? Most of these topics seem focused on folks with kids, professional jobs, and way more money than we have. ^_^;;
. Where is you current location and environment?
Dallas, working class neighborhood. Not horrible, only've been two shootings in the five years I've lived at my current apartment.
. Are you looking for similar in Cincinnati or a change?
Of course we'd prefer a safe neighborhood, but we realize that our budget might limit that possibility. We currently live underneath a loud black woman who wakes us up every morning screaming at her children from her front door, so less of that would be nice.
. Where will your work location be?
If all works out, Sharonville.
. Maximum commute time desired?
If it gets to be more than, like, half an hour I will seriously start hating my life.
. What is you budget for housing?
About $600/mo. Apartment needs to have washer and dryer or hookups for such. Apart from that, we're fairly open.
. Neighborhood environment?
We tend to leave our neighbors alone and hope they leave us alone.
. Schools?
. Not applicable
. Community amenities?
Wife doesn't drive, so we need to be on a bus route. We'd like to be within walking distance of a grocery store.
. Specific wants/desires?
. Please identify any specific wants/desires not mentioned above. If nothing else, I'd like y'all to tell me one thing you like about Cincinnati and one thing you DON'T like about Cincinnati.
Apartments.com has suggested a few affordable places in Fairfield, Lincoln Heights, Mt. Healthy Heights, and Northgate...I'd like y'all to tell me one thing you like about Cincinnati and one thing you DON'T like about Cincinnati.
Fairfield = Maybe a 6-7 on a scale of 10 (ten being "best.") It's one of your typical sleepy farming communities that blew up - mainly during the 1960's and '70s - into a hodge-podge of generic subdivisions loosely tied together by a super-wide highway that sees more than a few fiery crashes and pedestrian casualties. It's totally car-dependent. (Easy access to I-275 is a positive selling point.) People come in from elsewhere mainly for the sprawling Jungle Jim's, a food shopping adventure in that there's aisle upon aisle of international foods which offer far more than ramen noodles and English "biscuits." A growing Hispanic population there and in neighboring Hamilton has also translated into some "authentic" restaurants as opposed to Taco Bell and Chi-Chi's. Crime is relatively low and mostly of the bored-suburban-kid variety. BUT there have also been several highly publicized incidents of late that are domestic in nature (young woman vanishes, body found in Indiana months later; estranged boyfriend invades woman's home & severely beats her and her brother; yet another boyfriend gone bad kills teenage daughter of lady who spurned him.) Although this sort of stuff can and does happen everywhere, it's a snapshot of what might await you in a low-cost Fairfield apartment more readily than in other suburban locations.
Lincoln Heights = Don't even think about it. Mention in the OP of a neighbor's racial group is a tip-off that the author is probably White. Lincoln Heights' composition of palefaces is exactly zero percent. Segregation is the reason for its being developed in the early 1900's. As in most AA communities (just as it is in the reverse scenario) you'd encounter welcoming and awesome neighbors as well as folks whose dirty looks - the "stink eye" - tell you exactly where you stand. But with mostly crappy housing stock, few amenities beyond a fast-food strip alongside I-75 and a microbrewery in the southwest corner, and not a little crime there are better areas of Cincinnati to have a "minority experience" in.
Mt Healthy Heights = A place by that name doesn't exist. By and large, Mt Healthy is an exhibit of what Fairfield evolved into a few decades later. We're talking a struggling "downtown" (including, incongruously, a Greek restaurant) and small, declining, older area surrounded by fading subdivisions out of the mid-20th century. There may be some decent apartment buildings and complexes to be found, but it's really not worth a second look. Mt Healthy - without points for the "different" name - comes in at about a 3-4 on the same 1-10 scale.
Northgate = More the name of its mall than of the neighborhood nearby, though I've heard it used to denote the immediate area sometimes. Here again we're talking about a past-prime area defined by a heavily trafficked and retail/fast-food choked artery. Northgate Mall is now 43 years old and on the downswing, its anchor department stores having bailed for new strip developments north of 275. Similarly, the abutting community (better known to old-timers as Bevis and usually referred to in the media under the "Colerain Township" umbrella) has seen better days. What was trendy and "desirable" in the '70s, when the apartments and "town homes" were brand spanking new, is now a patchwork of Section 8 and "still kind of OK" complexes. You could luck out there, but it'd take some doing. Bus service to/from the mall into the city would be a plus. Rating? About a weak 6.
My suggestion for inexpensive yet "decent" rental possibilities would be Reading and neighboring Deer Park. Both lie near expressways and can boast of having bus lines. Necessity shopping is a breeze within their borders. Sharonville is in close proximity to the north. Though ("this is America") there is a transient element to their populations, especially of course in the apartment department, each town has quite a few families that go back generations. Out of that has sprung a strong sense of pride and looking out for your neighbors. Snobs may view these places as "so blue-collar," but I see them as "salt of the earth." 8-9 on a scale of 10 for each.
One thing I like about Cincy? (You notice I don't call it home now!) The first thing that inevitably comes to mind is the food. LOL German pastries...locally produced ice cream...mmm MMM!
One dislike? Its "up South" social climate and general resistance to change.
Fairfield = Maybe a 6-7 on a scale of 10 (ten being "best.") It's one of your typical sleepy farming communities that blew up - mainly during the 1960's and '70s - into a hodge-podge of generic subdivisions loosely tied together by a super-wide highway that sees more than a few fiery crashes and pedestrian casualties. It's totally car-dependent. (Easy access to I-275 is a positive selling point.) People come in from elsewhere mainly for the sprawling Jungle Jim's, a food shopping adventure in that there's aisle upon aisle of international foods which offer far more than ramen noodles and English "biscuits." A growing Hispanic population there and in neighboring Hamilton has also translated into some "authentic" restaurants as opposed to Taco Bell and Chi-Chi's. Crime is relatively low and mostly of the bored-suburban-kid variety. BUT there have also been several highly publicized incidents of late that are domestic in nature (young woman vanishes, body found in Indiana months later; estranged boyfriend invades woman's home & severely beats her and her brother; yet another boyfriend gone bad kills teenage daughter of lady who spurned him.) Although this sort of stuff can and does happen everywhere, it's a snapshot of what might await you in a low-cost Fairfield apartment more readily than in other suburban locations.
Lincoln Heights = Don't even think about it. Mention in the OP of a neighbor's racial group is a tip-off that the author is probably White. Lincoln Heights' composition of palefaces is exactly zero percent. Segregation is the reason for its being developed in the early 1900's. As in most AA communities (just as it is in the reverse scenario) you'd encounter welcoming and awesome neighbors as well as folks whose dirty looks - the "stink eye" - tell you exactly where you stand. But with mostly crappy housing stock, few amenities beyond a fast-food strip alongside I-75 and a microbrewery in the southwest corner, and not a little crime there are better areas of Cincinnati to have a "minority experience" in.
Mt Healthy Heights = A place by that name doesn't exist. By and large, Mt Healthy is an exhibit of what Fairfield evolved into a few decades later. We're talking a struggling "downtown" (including, incongruously, a Greek restaurant) and small, declining, older area surrounded by fading subdivisions out of the mid-20th century. There may be some decent apartment buildings and complexes to be found, but it's really not worth a second look. Mt Healthy - without points for the "different" name - comes in at about a 3-4 on the same 1-10 scale.
Northgate = More the name of its mall than of the neighborhood nearby, though I've heard it used to denote the immediate area sometimes. Here again we're talking about a past-prime area defined by a heavily trafficked and retail/fast-food choked artery. Northgate Mall is now 43 years old and on the downswing, its anchor department stores having bailed for new strip developments north of 275. Similarly, the abutting community (better known to old-timers as Bevis and usually referred to in the media under the "Colerain Township" umbrella) has seen better days. What was trendy and "desirable" in the '70s, when the apartments and "town homes" were brand spanking new, is now a patchwork of Section 8 and "still kind of OK" complexes. You could luck out there, but it'd take some doing. Bus service to/from the mall into the city would be a plus. Rating? About a weak 6.
My suggestion for inexpensive yet "decent" rental possibilities would be Reading and neighboring Deer Park. Both lie near expressways and can boast of having bus lines. Necessity shopping is a breeze within their borders. Sharonville is in close proximity to the north. Though ("this is America") there is a transient element to their populations, especially of course in the apartment department, each town has quite a few families that go back generations. Out of that has sprung a strong sense of pride and looking out for your neighbors. Snobs may view these places as "so blue-collar," but I see them as "salt of the earth." 8-9 on a scale of 10 for each.
One thing I like about Cincy? (You notice I don't call it home now!) The first thing that inevitably comes to mind is the food. LOL German pastries...locally produced ice cream...mmm MMM!
One dislike? Its "up South" social climate and general resistance to change.
OP, I disagree with quite a bit of the commentary in this posting. Frex, there are parts of Mt. Healthy which would be affordable for you and a perfectly decent place to live, given what you described as your specific requirements and the parameters of your economic situation. This is coming from someone who spends time in Mt. Healthy several times a week and knows a LOT of people who live there (as opposed to someone who moved from Cincinnati years ago and apparently didn't know the area that well to begin with.) Some parts you should avoid like the plague, though. (And that Greek restaurant has been closed for, oh, about two years.)
Goyguy is on target, though, on Lincoln Heights and with the suggestions of Reading and Deer Park. I wouldn't say shopping is a breeze anywhere in Cincinnati without a car, but near Deer Park in the smaller Dillonvale neighborhood is what I consider one of the best neighborhood shopping centers anywhere in the area. Excellent grocery, bank, hardware, drug store, a restaurant, library branch, a couple clothing stores, etc.
Don't worry about the availability of liquor here. Plenty of places to buy it, plenty of hours to drink it. You probably realize you'd be facing a different situation with winter. But we usually only have a couple relatively heavy snowfalls a year.
Keep in touch as you consider the move further. If you want a place with relatively cheap housing and where you can have a decent quality of life on a budget, this is a good option.
Cinci is a pretty good choice. I really like what it offers, shopping, dining, attractions and very central meaning close to many day or weekend trips. Only negative to me is the weather here in winter. Mt healthy would be a good pick, its affordable in your range and fairly decent area to.
Here in Dallas, they do this thing where the advertised rent is, let's say, $600. But then when you go to actually PAY your rent, you're hit with a $150-ish surcharge for water, sewer, gas, and trash collection. So your $600/mo apartment is REALLY $750/mo. Add to that the "deregulated" electricity in Texas which has led to average $100-$150/mo electric bills.
Does Cincinnati have all these "hidden" fees in the rent? How much is electricity, generally, per month? If we don't have to factor in $250/mo for electric and utilities, that means we could look at nicer apartments in the $700/mo range.
Here in Dallas, they do this thing where the advertised rent is, let's say, $600. But then when you go to actually PAY your rent, you're hit with a $150-ish surcharge for water, sewer, gas, and trash collection. So your $600/mo apartment is REALLY $750/mo. Add to that the "deregulated" electricity in Texas which has led to average $100-$150/mo electric bills.
Does Cincinnati have all these "hidden" fees in the rent? How much is electricity, generally, per month? If we don't have to factor in $250/mo for electric and utilities, that means we could look at nicer apartments in the $700/mo range.
Cincinnati is a town full of rentals. The deal probably depends on the choice of the landlord.
And, to drag in a bit of the opening post here....
What I do not like about Cincinnati would go for any town built in the horse era. I grew up and lived for a long time in a town where the downtown streets were like highways. Cincinnati has downtown "streets" that I would call alleys, and what seems to be considered an alley I would call a sidewalk between the back sides of two big buildings.
What I DO like about Cincinnati is the people. The people are good.
And, there are non-Cincinnatish things you might comfortably do (like go across the river or upstate to the heritage area), just don't readily tell anyone.
That's not what I hear about a certain Warren County subdivision!
But that is Warren County and not Cincinnati, at least we could get Hustler magazine here in the 1970s. You should ask the long time Boston natives about the combat zone, the CCCV crowd would have loved it.
I'd second Mt. Healthy, add Greenhills, Woodlawn, Bond Hill, Hartwell, and Norwood to the search list.
$600/mo is a tight budget, but certainly not horrible.
Good luck!
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