Relocating from Florida to Ohio, West Pa Area, any suggestions? (Columbus: middle-class, for rent)

[ktcutlip]

My husband has gotten a promotion and we will be making a move from Florida to somewhere in Ohio, Western Pennsylvannia, or West VA. We can move anywhere, but realistically, it would be most convenient to live in Ohio. I've read some of the other posts about Cincinnati and now I am more confused than before. I am leaning toward Dublin/Columbus and he is leaning toward Cincinnati. We have never BEEN to either of these cities. We have two elementary school aged kids and a dog. I am looking for a city with good schools, nice families, nice housing, not out in the boonies, you know the american dream. Does anyone have any suggestions? We almost have too much freedom to choose where to live.....

[aquila]

Well, before we address your post, why don't you tell us the reasons you're leaning toward Dublin/Columbus and why your husband is leaning toward Cincinnati?

[ktcutlip]

I am interested in Columbus because of its central location and I have a friend of a friend in the Dublin area and my husband has talked to some work friends about Cincinnati. I think they all tell him it is a "cool" place to live. I care more about schools, kids, neighborhoods etc... Don't get me wrong, he does too, he just hears good things about Cincinnati. He is dead set against Pittsburgh or the surrounding areas for some unexplained reason. I don't particularly want to live in West Virginia. I like a little bigger cities. We live near Orlando and have a great group of friends. It is going to be a very hard transition for us and the kids.

[aquila]

Well, I really can't say much about Dublin. I've heard it's a nice area, but I have no clue what the schools are like there.

Personally, I'm not a Columbus fan. Never have been. Not sure why - it just doesn't "do it" for me. I always tell myself that if I was given the choice between Columbus and Indianapolis, I'd choose Indy any day. But that's a different story for a different thread.

To be quite frank...if you don't mind....you really can't make this decision without actually coming to visit both places. There are simply stark differences between the two that really must be experienced firsthand. Attempting to get a feel for either city, by simply reading our thoughts about each, is going to be inadequate. There are nuances about each area you have to immerse yourself in. Along with that, you are going to get a WIDE array of different opinions from those of us in the Ohio boards.

Nevertheless, I'll go ahead and give a shameless plug for my own area...West Chester. It's got a really great school system - Lakota, which is not the best in the area, but it is consistently ranked as one of the best...very near the top of the list. (Wyoming and Mason are better districts. Mason is right next door to West Chester, over in Warren County. Mason is a very similar area to West Chester, but perhaps a bit more upscale.) There are tons of families here, and different neighborhoods ranging from those which contain brand new construction, as well as some that contain older homes. All price ranges here.....but mostly on the upper middle-class scale, including the second wealthiest community in the Cincinnati region after Indian Hill. It's a growing part of the Cincinnati metro in which you'll find a large variety of amenities that include great hiking/biking trails, an assortment of retailers (mostly national chains, but also some unique shops, plus the only IKEA store in Ohio is located here)...good restaurants in the area, and some nice parks. It's also very close to Kings Island amusement park, so that's a plus you would have here for the kids.

Above all, like I said above you're really going to need to come visit both metro areas to get a better idea for where you'd like to be. Cincinnati is not the end all/be all of cities, but it's not the worst. I just think it has more charm, more class, more to do, and more sense of "home" and "family" than Columbus does.

[jlawrence01]

Based on your post, I would have to ask if your husband is going to be travelling throughout the territory that you mentioned. If he is going to be on the road, Columbus would probably be a better choice than Cincinnati.

Do realize that there are also a lot of smaller towns that have excellent schools and very good family environments.

[Joe 4520832257]

Did you like the sprawling suburbs in Florida? The outer suburbs of Columbus are probably the closest approximation to suburban Florida that exists within the territory you mentioned.

Obviously the weather and landscaping are totally different, but suburban Columbus is very new just like most of Florida. So it's a very similar development pattern. Moreso than even suburban Cincinnati or Pittsburgh.

Depending on your preferences, I think that would be a good metric for whether you should gravitate towards or away from Columubs.

[ktcutlip]

Thanks to everyone who posted a reply. We are going to visit next Monday and start in Columbus and then head to Cincinnati to look around a bit. I'll let you know.....

[Daytonnatian]

Okay, I have got to field this one.....

You realize there is a city, located between these two locales, that has great shopping, schools, history, and cultural activities? Along with a wide selection of housing that is way cheap?

Yes, It's called Dayton, Ohio. 1 hour to Cincy, 1 Hour to Columbus, especially if you live on the north or east sides. Plus, you got your own metro if you get bored of those two, and Indy if you're willing to travel 2 hours. What could be better than that?

Still, elaborate on what you mean by Cincy, so we can give you more accurate advice.

[ktcutlip]

Thanks, to both posts. My husband's father and grandfather were born in Dayton and he refuses to even say the name of the city. I won't go into that, just to say Dayton is definately an impossibility regardless of how nice it may be... I went to visit both Columbus and Cincinnati last week and we couldn't find very many houses for rent in the areas in Columbus we liked. It does not seem like there is much for rent in Columbus at all. Maybe because of the college? We drove to Cincinnati and were pleased to have so many choices. We ended up finding a great place in Adnerson Township. We thought we would be in Mason or West Chester, but I have to admit, it was very "new". Lots of subdivisions, separated by cornfields. I loved the little town, but I really like an area with trees and grass and a little space between the houses. Anderson seemed to fit the landscape of what we liked. I have read that Forest Hills Schools are excellent and so we are happy for now. We are going to try to get up there before school starts. If the move it doesn't kill me off, we should be moved in by the 20th of August. Thank you to everyone who posted a reply to my plea. It really did help and gave me great perspective and ideas of where to look.

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by ktcutlip

We ended up finding a great place in Adnerson Township. We thought we would be in Mason or West Chester, but I have to admit, it was very "new". Lots of subdivisions, separated by cornfields. I loved the little town, but I really like an area with trees and grass and a little space between the houses. Anderson seemed to fit the landscape of what we liked. I have read that Forest Hills Schools are excellent and so we are happy for now. We are going to try to get up there before school starts. If the move it doesn't kill me off, we should be moved in by the 20th of August. Thank you to everyone who posted a reply to my plea. It really did help and gave me great perspective and ideas of where to look.

Good choice. Most of the building in Anderson was in the 60's-80's so most of the schools, landscaping, and community institutions are well established.

In that Anderson Township is in UNincorporated Hamilton Co., the taxes are generally quite a bit lower than in some of the incorporated towns and villages.

What neighborhood did you end up in?