Florence, KY or West Chester, OH? Advice please! (Cincinnati, Kent: new home, construction)

[tessieg]

We will be moving to one of these two general areas in a few months and can't decide which one to go with. Work will be in Cincinnati, with off hour(non rush hour) commute so I've been told Florence would be about 15-20 min and West Chester 25-30 min.
We're looking primarily for a great school district and a place with lots to do with young kids( lots of parks, play areas, etc). We see both school systems seem good but it's hard to judge a school just on statistics and reports alone.
We see houses in both areas that are in our price range and meet our needs. Can someone give me the pros and cons of living in each place? Any feedback would be appreciated.

[unusualfire]

I wouldn't'live no where along I-75 with the widening that's about to start and last 10 years.

[Mike Dunn]

Tessieg,

Both are great communties. You may want to add Mason and Loveland to your Ohio searches. In Kentucky, you may want to add Burlington, Hebron and Union.

Good luck,

Mike

[censusdata]

West Chester is a nice area that was built pre 1970 w/ not a lot of shopping. Florence is a very new area with lots of shopping centers and vinyl sided houses

[aquila]

Originally Posted by censusdata

West Chester is a nice area that was built pre 1970 w/ not a lot of shopping. Florence is a very new area with lots of shopping centers and vinyl sided houses

You haven't been to West Chester lately, have you? Much of it was built pre-70s, but so was Florence. There is a lot of new construction that has taken place up here, and the shopping opportunities are greater up here than down in Florence. Not only do you have Streets of West Chester, but there is also the VOA shopping area as well as Bridgewater Falls. Plus, the whole Deerfield shopping district isn't that far, and we also have IKEA here in West Chester.

I can't speak for Florence schools, but Lakota is one of the best districts in the area. I'd say you have a LOT more family-oriented opportunities up in this direction than you do down in Florence.....lots of parks in the WC area, and Kings Island isn't that far.

Cons about living in West Chester are the traffic headaches and constant raping of land to build more and more commercial areas. It's also farther to downtown, which may or may not be an issue. But I think the pros outweight the cons. Florence is nice, but I'd pick WC any day.

And yes, I know people are going to disagree with me.

[Hartwell Girl]

I lived in West Chester now live in the City of Cincinnati. I agree with Aquila about the housing...I lived there when there was much more farm land which is now covered with new homes. It is a big area with a lot of different homes to choose from. I agree that the area has traffic issues. I still go to the area for hair appointments and freak out over the traffic. I remember when Tylersville was the only exit and the school district was much smaller (1 High School)

[Bigbluelandrover]

...sorry to hijack the thread....Hartwell, did you ever work at Kings Island?

[Cincy-Rise]

Out of these two??? lol ...

Go with West Chester.

[aquila]

Originally Posted by Cincy-Rise

Out of these two??? lol ...

Go with West Chester.

YAY!! I finally got Cincy-Rise to choose West Chester! Yippee!

Well, sorta.

It's a start, I guess.....

...sorta....

I think...?



Hey, Cincy-Rise....how are ya'?

[tessieg]

Now that I am reading more about West Chester, I am not sure about the schools. I know they have won many awards and distinctions but I am a bit thrown off by the system they have with a kindergarten/1st grade center, elementary, middle, freshman center, high school. I definitely don't like that!! Is that common up in that area? I will have to look into the other school systems nearby. Is it simply due to overcrowding?

The area of Blue Ash was recommended. Any input on that vs West Chester?

Thanks for all the help!!