Apartment recommendations near Norwood? (Cincinnati, Green: real estate, broker, apartments)

[nico7]

Hi All,

I will likely be moving from Connecticut to the Cincinnati area in about a month, to work in Norwood. I want to rent a clean, safe, single-bedroom apartment for $500-650/mo. My best information tells me to look in the Oakley area, but I'm wondering if anyone has any specific apartment buildings they would recommend.

Would I get more for my money across the river? Fort Thomas?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[yayoi]

You also might want to consider Hyde Park, Mt. Lookout, and Mariemont. You should be able to find safe apartments w/in you price range in those neighborhoods. I can't personally recommend a specific complex or apt. buidling though. I personally wouldn't recommend N. KY because of the commute. Ft. Thomas is at least 20-30 minutes away from Norwood in good traffic.

[northwoodsman]

yea yayoi is right norwood is not a good place.. florence isn't a bad place to live

[nico7]

Thank you for the recommendations. I have a question about a certain part of Covington:

Is the area around Greenup St. and Byrd St. (linked below) safe? Is there anything undesirable about it?

loc: 1402 Greenup St. at Byrd St. Covington KY US - Google Maps

[goyguy]

I don't see anything wrong with Norwood, except that they're having problems with the city's fiscal health since the cash cows for its tax base (General Motors and the US Playing Card Co) left town. There's an unfair stigma attached to it because of how its onetime German-American middle-class population was displaced on a large scale when thousands of Appalachians descended on the area for high-paying GM jobs. The city was the object of jokes on the radio and satirical newspaper columns due to that. It got so that the "I'm Proud of Norwood" bumper sticker was a hot seller some years ago. Today, things are at least somewhat looking up because the housing stock - though mostly from the early to mid-20th Century - remains in good shape. Also, some office complexes have moved in where the auto plant once loomed, and the Rookwood and Surrey Square shopping centers are pulling in lots of retail revenue. The son of friends got a great place on Floral Ave for $600/month when he started his career two years ago, and likes it there a lot.

Oakley is definitely a good area to consider, as would be Pleasant Ridge or St Bernard if you (like me) value not having to spend any more than a half-hour door to door for your commute. Hyde Park is a great neighborhood, so much so that the typical rents its apartments command are debatably justified by the living quarters.

As for Covington, Greenup St is still sketchy even towards its riverfront end. (The ubertrendy "Greenup Cafe" and "Chalk" restaurants are within spitting distance of a pawn shop and all-night gas station/convenience store.) There was recently a shooting at Greenup and - I think - 13th. It's definitely an area for "urban pioneers."

[nico7]

Great, thank you for that information. I will keep Norwood, Pleasant Ridge, and St Bernard in mind as I look. Oakley has looked promising, and you're definitely right about the Hyde Park rents.

[nico7]

Could someone describe Mt Adams and O'Bryonville? Are those areas safe?

[captaincatfish]

Originally Posted by nico7

Could someone describe Mt Adams and O'Bryonville? Are those areas safe?

I'll throw my hat in the ring here and give you a quick assessment of those two areas...I know my fellow forumites will correct me if I'm wrong LOL...You named probably 2 of the nicer areas in town---the views alone from Mt Adams are simply breathtaking, and there is abundance of nightlife on the Mount...if you're looking to rent there, it can get a little pricey (my words LOL), but it does you no harm to expand your search to include it. I'm not all that familiar with O'Bryonville, although I've heard there are several really nice antique shops and cafe's there...but again, I don't hear too much bad news coming from there, so you may want to give O'Bryonville a look too

[nico7]

Originally Posted by captaincatfish

the views alone from Mt Adams are simply breathtaking, and there is abundance of nightlife on the Mount...if you're looking to rent there, it can get a little pricey

Yeah, Mt Adams and Hyde Park both seem like places I would enjoy, but I can visit without paying to live there.

Originally Posted by captaincatfish

I'm not all that familiar with O'Bryonville, although I've heard there are several really nice antique shops and cafe's there...but again, I don't hear too much bad news coming from there, so you may want to give O'Bryonville a look too

Mostly what I will be doing in my apartment is sleeping. My personal preference is for a really boring neighborhood where nothing ever happens, within walking distance of some good restaurants, delis, and cafes.

I need to move in around April 25th, because I'm starting a new job the following Monday. It's going to be more hours than I've worked since I was in school. So I prefer to live in a somewhat peaceful neighborhood.

Thanks for your comments.

Anyone else on O'Bryonville?

Looks like it's right between Walnut Hills and Hyde Park, and flanked by a country club.

[goyguy]

O'Bryonville is a tiny patch of real estate along Madison Rd, where Torrance Ave comes in from Columbia Pkwy and Grandin Rd meanders into the estates of Hyde Park. The portion west of Madison Rd is historically (and still) predominantly AA and shabby-looking, but quiet. That section comprises most of the residential area, but there are some apartments in "brick box" buildings - or upstairs from stores - along Madison Rd. Along with some cool bars and shops, there are two "destination" businesses located there: Bob Roncker's Running Spot, and the Bonbonnerie/What's For Dinner building for yummy take-out (lots of vegetarian entrees on the menu) and awesome baked goods. Cincy's local "10,000 Villages" store - the Mennonite-run nationwide chain which sells trinkets and sculptures and tea sets and whatnot made by artisans in developing countries - is there. It's sort of like a mini-Clifton without the students and the high rents.

A quieter neighborhood in that vicinity is Mt Lookout, situated between Hyde Park and Columbia-Tusculum. It's home to Ault Park - one of the largest in the city - which has some awesome gardens as well as a vast lawn that seems like it was made for Frisbee and football tossing and is used for antique-car "rallies." Along with Hyde Park, the gaslight district of Clifton, Mt Adams, and perhaps North Avondale and East Walnut Hills, Mt Lookout is prized by upper-middle-class and wealthier urban dwellers for an address. "I live in Mt Lookout" is code for "I've arrived" or "My broker made some big scores for me last year." Paradoxically, perhaps, there are actually dozens of cheap apartments in the brick boxes and multi-family houses that flank Linwood Ave all the way from Mt Lookout Square up the hill to its other end in Hyde Park. Still more economical rentals can be found along Delta Ave and some of the side streets off of those main arteries, principally to the south of Linwood. By residing in Mt Lookout you could be on a block that turns out all the lights by 9 PM, yet be mere minutes away from Dancing Wasabi - a sushi bar that's as "hot" as the horseradish paste it was named for, which stays open until 4 in the morning on weekends. The essentials of life can be bought in nearby Oakley and Norwood, or at the Hyde Park Plaza, and non-essentials galore are purveyed in trendy Mt Lookout Square shops such as Confetti Cats. Good upscale eats can be had at "Nectar" and "Aqua" (put in quotation marks because they're two separate establishments), and the "Zipburger" at Zip's Cafe has been a famous indulgence for decades.

Given your criteria, I think you can home in - so to speak - on Hyde Park, Pleasant Ridge, Mt Lookout, and Oakley. Confine your search to those communities. There's no lack of "For Rent" signs on front lawns or in windows nowadays. If you'll be in town before the 18th (to allow yourself at least a week), take a drive through the area bordered by Edwards Rd, I-71 and Montgomery Rd, Ridge Ave, Madison Rd, Observatory and Erie Ave's, and Delta and Linwood Ave's. Make random forays down side streets off those main drags. Turn up less than twenty good possibilities and I'll be shocked.