Moving to Cincy, Best Family Neighbourhoods (Cincinnati, Kent: crime, mortgage, house)

[Frankenrogers]

My friend may be getting a job at the University of Cincinnati. He and his wife have two kids under 7. Any suggestions for family friendly neighbourhoods or suburbs?

The wife won't be working so somewhere to walk during the day and good schools (they have a gifted kid) would be something they are looking for.

I don't know mortgage rules in the US but I would imagine they would be able to get a place about $300-350k at least.

Thank you in advance!

EDIT:

And just curious, if you live on the KY side do a lot of people commute into the city?

[wrightflyer]

I live in Kentucky and probably am closer to downtown Cincinnati than 75% of the entire metro. Part of that is I live inside I-275 with easy access to local bridges. If you are going up to UC, I wouldn't venture outside Newport or Covington areas as the time to cross the I-471 and I-71/75 bridges can quickly add up. If UC is the ultimate work destination, I would say look at the following communities, especially if you are coming from outside the country.

No particular order...

Close to UC... Clifton: Clifton is a hodgepodge of students, graduate students and young professionals or professors that want to be close to the university. Long being a desirable area for alternative types (think granola crunchy alternative), it still attracts that crowd, mostly north of UC going north on Clifton Ave. and down Ludlow Street westbound. The area has some gorgeous old homes, but many surrounding neighborhoods outside the boundary, especially towards the hospitals in Avondale, can become less-than-safe pretty quickly.

The mostly transitioned neighborhood... Oakley: The more recently gentrified (read less expensive but still not cheap) cousin to Hyde Park / Mt. Lookout, Oakley offers plenty to walk around to with shops at Oakley Square being the main street of the neighborhood. Hyde Park Plaza and Rookwood Commons/Pavilion offer more standard suburban shopping in a more car oriented environment, but still easy to walk in and out of if close by.

Further North and in Transition but Worth Looking... City of Norwood OR Cincinnati neighborhood of Pleasant Ridge: The first is a suburb that is landlocked by the city of Cincinnati. Parts have gone under the knife but there are still sections that are more blue-collar or lower income where 350K for a house would not be likely. That doesn't mean they aren't there, just not on every street. Norwood borders I-71 and is close to Rookwood Commons/Pavilion. If I recall correctly, the best areas are roughly north of Williams and east of Montgomery. Norwood has its own schools but they are just so-so on performance. Be prepared to consider private schools (Catholic, Christian or something more expensive like Seven Hills or Cincinnati County Day). Pleasant Ridge is inside Cincinnati Public Schools, which affords a lottery system outside the zoned school. Pleasant Ridge has quite a bit of community pride, especially around its local elementary/middle school. Also, with any Cincinnati Schools zoned area, you have access to the best high-performance high school in the state of Ohio. Walnut Hills serves grades 7-12 if I recall correctly. It's a big school but its accolades are high and quite lengthy.

More bucolic setting with mid-1950's / 1960's ranches or tear downs... Amberly: The homes in Amberly are nice on large lots with lots of green space. Long a center for the Cincinnati Jewish community, the neighborhood puts you close to many highways and shopping. The downside is some homes are in need of updating and sidewalks are uncommon to non-existent in the community. But for location and a green setting, I cannot think of anything better. While a separate bedroom suburb, Amberly is served by Cincinnati Public Schools.

The Kentucky side of life... Newport: While Newport would certainly warrant a private school, likely catholic under the Archdiocese of Covington, the historic districts on the Mansion Hill area and south of there between E 6th and E 9th are amazing. The homes are old, but many have been completely renovated. You can walk to Newport on the Levee, and by extension of the local bridges, downtown Cincinnati and its riverfront park. You biggest downsides, as mentioned, is schools and finding a place in the historic districts. Plus the rules and regulations that come with owning in said historic district(s). Personally, of all the old historic districts in the Cincinnati metro, Newport's are my favorite.

[New Dawn]

On the Kentucky side: Fort Thomas

Based on the criteria that you sited, Fort Thomas makes sense. It has top notch schools, a great park, and a walkable suburban environment. It's about 12 mintues to Downtown Cincinnati and 15-20 minutes from UC. Commuting from NKY is best on I-471, which is where Fort Thomas is located.

On the Ohio side: Mariemont, Wyoming, Madeira, Kenwood/Sycamore, Indian Hill.

Some of these areas may be outside of the price point that you cited. However, they should be able to find something that they like. Most of the best schools and suburbs are located Northeast of Cincinnati, basically along I-71 and I-275. The commute to UC will be somewhat longer from the Ohio suburbs.

[Frankenrogers]

Thank you both, amazing replies!

[wrightflyer]

YES! I forgot Ft. Thomas. They have a few pocket business districts scattered around the town. Wonderful location and decent housing stock, though most will be older with a few newer infill developments.

Fort Thomas Schools are probably one of the top school districts in the region.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by Frankenrogers

Thank you both, amazing replies!

My wife finished her PHD at UC, we lived in Union & it's about 18 miles door to door. Took about 35 minutes.

Pro's to the Ky side are lower property taxes, schools are good, crime is almost non-existent in Boone County. At $350k you can get a very large, very nice, built within the last 20 years home.

Negatives are it's the middle of suburbia so if you want to eat at a higher end place you have to drive.



Gifted kid... Look into Covington Latin...

Covington Latin | Catholic High School | Cincinnati Catholic High School

For kids who graduate way too early to go to college, the arch dioceses has a program where the kids go to Thomas More college until they are 18.