Mason- or options to live for commute to Dayton? (Columbus: for sale, 2014)

[SWOH]

Originally Posted by notnamed

No. Dayton has the better flight prices. Often have people in Cincy drive up to Dayton for better flights. Rarely, if ever hear of people in Dayton flying out of CVG. I often gave a ride to coworkers in Cincy or from other offices a ride to/from the Dayton airport.

A lot of Daytonians fly out of Dayton if possible, but will go to Columbus or Cincy too. Cincy flight prices are falling though since the Delta hub there left, before the prices were outrageously high (like Cincinnati was the most expensive city in the US to fly out of around 2009-2010). Dayton flight prices have been rising recently, but the average will fall once Allegiant Air starts their flights.

[notnamed]

Yeah, our two main offices are in Cincinnati and D.C. so a lot of travel between those two. Most of the time it was much cheaper for our Cincy folks to fly out of Dayton and for our D.C. folks to fly into Dayton. Even when factoring in the cost of a rental car. In the last year or so it has evened out where the price difference isn't significant so Cincy folks don't need to head up to Dayton. But it's a really rare instance where it makes sense for someone in Dayton to come down to CVG. I did that once for a flight to Vegas as they had a non-stop option for $20 more.

Overall Dayton is one of my favorite airports in the nation. Security line always short. Small airport so you're not hustling to the terminal, but still has lots of destinations.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by kp8888

...I'm just not aware of things going on in Dayton. I'm afraid it would be an adjustment if Dayton doesn't have as much action going on?

Also, I assume the economy is better in Cincy than Dayton w/more Fortune 500 companies. I'm just thinking ahead down the road, if I ever need to switch companies there would be more job opportunities closer to the suburbs in Cincy...Also, for traveling if we ever want to fly...do people have to go to Cincy/NKY airport if they live in Dayton for decent flight prices?

A "short-form" response to this inquiry need only mention that Cincinnati is home to more F500 companies than any other city in the Midwest, other than Chicago, Detroit, or Minneapolis. And amongst these companies are three F100 corporations which wield enormous influence over the city and greatly contribute to its rich array of cultural amenities.

First, Kroger. It's the nation's largest, most aggressive traditional grocery chain and will most certainly move past Costco Wholesale in 2016 to become the world's second largest retailer after Wal-Mart. Second, Procter & Gamble. Although its infamous "2015 firesale" seriously destabilized it, at least for the moment P&G still is the world's largest consumer products company. Third, Macy's. Never forgetting that Amazon is revolutionizing retailing and changing the rules for every other retailer, Macy's remains one of America's most venerated bricks-and-mortar retailers still standing, along with its own strong plans for survival.

All three of these corporate giants maintain headquarters just blocks apart within the city's compact core, making Cincinnati the most powerful retail/branding hub in Ohio and providing the state its highest paying white-collar jobs.

Again, please consider this only a short-form answer to your question. A more involved response would include the increasing influence of GE's jet-engine division within greater Cincinnati and what this Connecticut-based company has planned here, starting in 2016 when it brings almost 2,000 high-paying jobs to the riverfront. And an even more involved response would entail a discussion of "CIN-DAY," the looming merger of the Cincinnati/Dayton metros into one MSA or CSA, probably only several years hence. All this and more, but not right now.

[Scott SW Ohio]

I wonder if you have thought about Lebanon? It is a bit closer to Dayton than Mason, and would have some of the features you are looking for - fairly walkable, a sense of community, quite a few festivals and good schools. We have been in Lebanon for eleven years, saw our daughter through school here, and like the area a lot. I work in downtown Cincinnati and frequently fly out of Dayton, so the location has been convenient for us. It might be worth a look for you. Mason has a strong economy with lots of jobs and more choice of retail and restaurants, so it really is worth considering too.

[maxmodder]

Originally Posted by kp8888

Hi,

My husband is interviewing for a job in Dayton. A little about us: We have a daughter entering kindergarten in August. We're wanting a walkable area, close to parks, lots of activities (we like going to festivals, events, etc), young families, mature trees, etc. I work from home, so commute isn't an issue for me. Sense of community is high on the list...like a neighborhood that's easy to meet neighbors, kids playing outside, etc. Originally we were looking in Cincy for the job search and really liked Hyde Park...but job search has taken us sorta far out to Dayton. My husband is in a pretty niche industry (landscape architect)...so not a ton of options to pick from in the area.

So any recommendations of good places to live 1/2 way b/w Cincy and Dayton? No more than a 30 min commute? We would be moving from Louisville KY. I've heard Mason has great schools...but curious if it's mainly big box stores and chains, or does it have a downtown to it, walkable? What's the community vibe like? ....also any cute towns close to Dayton w/easy drive to Cincy for weekends?

Thanks in advance!

There's Mason and then there's "other options".

MONEY's Best Places to Live: #7 Mason, OH

Best Places to Live 2015: Mason, Ohio

There are some great parks in Mason. One right off kings mills rd there is one that has a very nice lake with ducks that your daughter will love! I run those trails all the time. Right around the corner there is a soccer park that has a track as well as basketball and tennis courts and a camping area! Also there is Voice of America park and also Sharon woods, which will be less than a 10 min drive from Mason. Walk able Parks in and near Mason is not a problem. Then there are the festivals in Blue Ash that are just a quick 10 min commute the other way down side streets from Mason.

Mason has a nice little walk-able downtown area and legacy village mall which is basically a mini easton mall that they just spent 350 million on. If you want closer to dayton, you have places like Kettering and Beaver Creek, but they aren't exactly Mason now are they.

In Mason if I want to watch Roger Federer play tennis at the Western & Southern Open and then head to Kings Island and ride some roller coasters for a few hours followed by riding some water slides right after at "The Beach", and then cap it off with some drinks in down town Mason, I can do that and I never have to leave the city of Mason. What other suburb offers this?

We had a gentleman on here in his 70s that grew up in Mason and still lives here by the name of kjbrill but he spoke too highly of Mason and told it like it is without sugar coating it and some people caught feelings. Unfortunately he got banned for his truthfulness about Mason being a great place to live and his helpfulness towards others by answering their many questions about Cincinnati on here. He's the one that first told me about Mason when I was considering moving to the Cincy area.

[SWOH]

^To the above.... Mason's fine but it doesn't meet the OP's criteria. There is no place with $300k homes in the city that is walkable and has mature trees. It does not exist there, and that's fine, Mason is great for a lot of situations but not this one. Just because some magazine decided to rank towns doesn't make it a great fit for all people, and who knows how those rankings are calculated. Sorry but your point is inept.

Originally Posted by Scott SW Ohio

I wonder if you have thought about Lebanon? It is a bit closer to Dayton than Mason, and would have some of the features you are looking for - fairly walkable, a sense of community, quite a few festivals and good schools. We have been in Lebanon for eleven years, saw our daughter through school here, and like the area a lot. I work in downtown Cincinnati and frequently fly out of Dayton, so the location has been convenient for us. It might be worth a look for you. Mason has a strong economy with lots of jobs and more choice of retail and restaurants, so it really is worth considering too.

I'd agree. If Oakwood or Germantown aren't good fits, I'd make Lebanon consideration #3. Followed by Wyoming. Blue Ash/Montgomery (Sycamore schools) might have a spot or two as well, but overall they don't quite meet your criteria. Glendale would be great if you do private schools, but all of these places are maxing out the commute and rely on 75/275 through their busiest stretch in the region. Given what you want, ruling out Mason, West Chester, Springboro, Bellbrook, Middletown, Franklin, Carlisle, and West Carrollton would be a safe bet.

[flashes1]

I forgot to mention that the new Crooked Tree subdivision is across the street from Zumerstein Park---which has a couple baseball fields, couple soccer fields, jungle jim area, big pond, and approx. 1 mile walking trail. From the plot map----Phase 1 of the new development will have large trees----and I remember the old golf course was on rolling hills.

[kp8888]

Thanks everyone for the info. Walkability isn't a deal breaker, BUT it be a nice bonus since we miss that now. But if it's a dead downtown with nobody walking around, than it's not as important. I'd like to have the main town area lively.
...so it sounds like from the comments, if we decided to live closer to work in Dayton top places to look at would be: Oakwood, Germantown and Lebanon.
If I want to be in Cincy suburbs, we would have to give up the walkability, but still has a lot going on is: Mason-good schools.

What town is Crooked Tree subdivision in?

I've been reading a lot of different threads and notes are: Miamisburg (where the job is located)-blue collar/redneck, small town, Kettering- convenient, Centerville-cute downtown, don't know much more?, small, Oakwood-very nice, cute town, everyone walks to school. Germantown-good parks, but small strip, Springboro-cute village, upper class, not sure about schools-they have some politics with spending on schools?, Lebanon-walkable, how are schools? community events, but more locals there?, Wyoming-walkable, good schools, Blue Ash-soccer moms, upper class, suburbs

[rrtechno]

Springboro has very fine schools and is just down the road from Miamisburg. We live south of Springboro and can get to the Southeast corner of Miamisburg in about 10 minutes. The actual old downtown of Springboro is just small shops in mostly what appear to be old houses, but the town itself is filled with most shopping you would need. There are bike routes marked throughout the entire town and they have started to build "refresh" stops throughout the town where you can stop to rest, use the restroom, or get a drink of water. These also have charging stations for electronics and have emergency generators so if the power is off for an extended time, people can go there to charge their cellphones, etc. There are many walking trails in the parks if you are walking for just fresh air and exercise. Very easy access to 75 if you want towhead north or south.

If you want to spend a little time walking a nice small town's downtown where there are more shopping options, Lebanon is just a short drive away.

[flashes1]

Crooked Tree is in Mason. I linked to it in my first post in this thread.