Upstate NY to Mason?

[Mike Dunn]

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Other communites to consider would be Loveland and South Lebanon which border Mason.

[Curlygurl]

Mason is a suburb, has many subdivisions and shopping centers and does, indeed, have top-notch schools. If you are looking for the ultimate in convenience and choice of housing, Mason is a good choice.

But, if you are looking for a community feel, where people know each other's name and the community still has its own "downtown", this has largely disappeared from Mason.

A community that is nearby Mason and offers many of the same amenities (not the shopping malls, though) is Lebanon. It is its own city, has good schools and some restaurants and shopping. It is a historic community, but has new developments also. It is a very picturesque community. If you haven't already made your choice for Mason, you might check it out.

Someone mentioned South Lebanon, but, while this area has begun to see some growth away from the older town, I would avoid this area. It has historically been economically depressed and still struggles with this problem. I really like the Kings Mills/Grandin Rd. area that has been building up some and the Kings Local Schools is really good, if you stay away from south lebanon proper.

However, if you have already chosen Mason as your destination, you can feel confident that it is a safe area. While a little too cookie-cutter for some (me, included), it does offer great amenities. I often say that I wouldn't want to live there, but I love to go there for shopping. I just like a little more variety in my architecture, a more close-knit feel to my community, and a little more elbow room.

The traffic DOES get heavy during rush hour, especially on Fields-Ertel Rd. But it's the price of having everything close at hand.

Good Luck on your move

[Curlygurl]

Maineville is a quiet, very small town, but is has seen some growth recently. There is a pizza place, a couple small diners, a couple drugstores, a bank, police/fire, a couple fast food places a little outside town. It is in the Little Miami School District.

This would be my only reservation about moving to Maineville. Little Miami is not a bad school district by any means. I have worked within the district and can say that if you are going to move to this district, Maineville is the elementary school you want to be in.

All of the elementary schools in this district are older, but there are plans to modernize the district. There was a new high school constructed a couple of years ago, there is a new junior high being built as I type this, and I know that there are other plans to manage the issue of the older buildings.

The teachers in this district are as capable as anywhere else. They have computer labs, science labs, gifted classes, intervention classes, etc. However, they do not have some of the extras that Mason may be able to offer, such as a pool (perhaps), and access to some different extracurricular actvities. However, I do believe the district is oriented toward a college prep curriculum.

If you are interested in living in, or near, Maineville, you might want to keep in mind that parts of Maineville are actually part of the Loveland school district. It gets pretty rural out through there, so it is hard to tell where Maineville ends and Loveland begins.

Loveland is also a good school district. I have worked within that district also..

Maineville and Loveland are both very close to the amenities Mason has to offer, but are also communities in their own right.

School districts I would check out would be Kings Local Schools, Loveland Local Schools, Little Miami Local Schools, Mason City Schools, in no particular order. These districts all contain communities that are within 10-15 minutes driving of Mason shopping, but may be a little less "busy". It depends on what you're used to and what you're looking for.

As for the weather, look for inches of snow, not feet. Familiarize yourself with what to do for tornadoes and then stop worrying about it. Get ready for hot humid summers where your central air is your best friend. Being from a more northern state, you'll probably be amazed at how we freak out over 2-3 inches of snow around here.

[dramamama6685]

All of the above statements go far in describing the Mason, Lebanon, Maineville areas. I know that the gifted program for Little Miami (Loveland) is much better than Lebanon(where our daughter went). That being said , each town has a community theater and Loveland and Lebanon have a more small town feel than Mason. Good luck in your search.