Florence, KY or West Chester, OH? Advice please!

[Cincy-Rise]

Originally Posted by kyranay

I was raised on the West Side of Cincinnati, but we moved to N. Ky. when I was 15 (1993). Personally, I much prefer it in KY. The traffic is much better, there is easy access to all interstates, and the roads are just wider. You can easily find a 4 bedroom, 2 story home for 250K. You might want to try the Richwood/Union area, if you don't mind a 25 minute drive to Cincy. It's a nice area b/c it's out of the city and traffic, but within a 5-10 minute drive of shopping and restaurants. The schools are New Haven Elem, Grey Middle and Ryle HS (Boone County Schools). Boone County also has a nice library system and have recently built new libraries. That might be helpful if you plan to home school. Good luck with your search!!

Actually, NOKY will rival any city for the worst urban planning albeit Covington and Newport.

[kyranay]

I live in Norwood now and miss N. Ky terribly. I hate the crazy small streets and no parking. Can't wait to get married and head off to the burbs!!!

[cincylifer]

Originally Posted by tessieg

I will dig around into Oak Hills and see what I see.

Cincy Rise, I do get your point, about being the system. For me, the best district is not the whitest(in fact I am worried about the loss of diversity from our very multi-cultured environment), and certainly it's not the richest--we're a one income family and can't afford designer labels to fit in with the "cool crowds." I want a safe, well disciplined setting with dedicated teachers who can actually teach because the kids know how to behave and are expected to do so and a community that supports and prioritizes the schools. That seems simple but isn't easy to achieve--not if there's not enough funding or if the schools are stuffed to the gills.

Our house budget is $250,000 max, which eliminates many areas as we must have 4 bedrooms and are not interested in a home much older than 20 years. So given all that I have told you, where would you recommend we look? We wouldn't be happy in a really rural setting as we are leaving a huge city and are used to lots of readily available shopping, malls, children's play areas, etc. Should we start relooking at Northern KY?

Thanks again for the feedback.

Tessieg, if you want diversity, dont look at northern ky, I worked over there for 14 years. For 250k and diversity, you should look at Sycamore schools. Given the current market, you can find housing in the district in that range. you have to remember that sycamore schools pulls from montgomery, blue ash, symmes township and parts of sycamore township. I would suggest you use one of the realtor sites that you can search for homes by district. I know sibcycline.com allows you to do that, I am not sure if there are others.I have 3 kids in sycamore schools, and you cant go wrong with any of the elementary schools, there is only one intermediate, jr and highschool. Whoever said that Sycamore was larger than lakota was way off base. Sycamore is 70% white, and 30% other, with most of the other being asian/indian. I am Black, and I absolutely love the district. In fact we are being relocated soon, and I am very sad, because I cant seem to find a comparable district. Please feel free to PM if you have questions. I can tell you that Anderson/Forest Hills District has no diversity. Mason would be a good choice as well.

[bak57]

We've lived in WC for 24 years and watched it grow (maybe too much). Our daughter has thrived in Lakota schools, challenged in advanced classes and fine arts (band). We've been very pleased with the teachers, administrators and overall quality. The freshman school concept works well, getting the kids ready for high school. Good luck!