Summary of brief 1st trip to Cinci (Cincinnati, Kent: new home, neighborhoods)

[blue60]

[SIZE=3]I made my first trip to Cincinnati last weekend. Stayed downtown overlooking Fountain Square. I had heard that the city was dead at night and over the weekend, but there was always something going on in the square- live music, movie on the jumbotron, etc. The stores in and out of downtown seem to close up much earlier than they do in the East. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]Because I was there to research a possible relocation to the area next year my husband and I did a lot of driving around looking at the suburbs that were on my list- Montgomery, Blue Ash, and Mason. The Montgomery/Blue Ash definitely felt like a community much more than the suburban sprawl in Mason. Mason had a lot of nice newer houses in planned communities and amazing school and recreation facilities. Unfortunately, Mason did not seem to have a clear town center and the grade sizes in the schools are huge. The homes in Montgomery were older and a bit more expensive, but I like that you could walk to town or a park from many of the neighborhoods. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]We made a brief visit to Paddlefest on Friday night where I was amazed by the number of paddling organizations/clubs that existed. I live near two rivers in the NE and we don’t have clubs like that. The only concern I had when driving over the Little Miami River the previous day was that the water appeared to be brown. Is that the norm?[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]We had dinner one night in Newport on the levee. I think I was expecting more from what I had heard. I also forgot that smoking still exists in the restaurants in Kentucky. [/SIZE]
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[SIZE=3]I did find Graeters ice cream to be delicious. I hope my short trip summary may be somewhat useful to others who are not familiar with the area. [/SIZE]

[aquila]

Mason does have a town center. You probably didn't drive through it, though - or if you did, you may not have realized it. It's predominantly along Main Street extending from Montgomery Road west and down a bit along US 42. The stores are more along the lines of older homes as opposed to clusters of "small-town" storefronts such as you find in downtown Montgomery.

As for the Little Miami River, you may have driven over it after a heavy rain. When were you in town? We've had some flooding rains in the past several weeks. Parts of the LMR are more clear than others, depending on what section of the river you're looking at and how deep it is. The Ohio River is the one that is muddy brown most of the time.

[blue60]

I drove over the Little Miami River late Friday afternoon (6/26)

[aquila]

Yeah, we had major flooding rains and storms last Thursday night....dumped 5" across the area. So I'm not surprised the LMR was muddy. It was carrying all the runoff from upstream down to the Ohio River. It's not normally a muddy river. In fact, it's designated as a National Scenic River, and is usually very pretty most of the time.

[goyguy]

I concur; the brown stuff was probably mud and not you-know-what. The Mill Creek and its West Fork, at their worst, would turn a cloudy pale blue color in the days not too long ago when some sewers emptied directly into them. And the reek of you-know-what was unmistakable. Seeing them running brown was actually a relief.
Greater Cincinnati as a whole closes down a lot earlier than the cities of the Northeast - LOL!!!
If you're dead set on northeast suburbia, by all means expand your visiting to include Madeira and Loveland..
Glad you got to Graeter's!

[blue60]

Saw some of Loveland. I liked the other areas better. Didn't get to Madeira. With two school aged children, suburbia makes the most sense at this point in time.

[Sunnydee]

I'm glad you got to come to town and look around. Your observations were correct. This is a great place to raise a family and the public schools are terrific. I live in Montgomery and can walk to two parks and a nature preserve from my house at any time of the night or day and feel safe. We're also within walking distance of Sycamore High School which has an excellent rating from the state of Ohio. You can't go wrong with Blue Ash, Montgomery, Madeira, Wyoming, Mariemont, etc.

As for fine dining, I really enjoy Grand Finale and Barresis. Here are the links:
The Grand Finale Restaurant - Cincinnati, Ohio
Barresi's Italian Restaurant // Home Page

For less expensive eats I'd recommend:
Blue Ash Chili - for double deckers
Graeters - for old-fashioned handmade ice cream
Village Kitchen on Wooster - it reminds me of my Grandma's cooking/kitchen
Rileys in Greenhills - nice family restaurant
Skyline Chili - great, but unusual, cheese coneys and three ways
Toots on Montgomery - a quirky place that serves fried pickles
Silver Wok on Kenwood - a seven table, family owned, Chinese joint
Echo on Edwards - no frills, just great food
Arthur's on Edwards - good food w/Graeter's right around the corner


I hope you get to sample some of these local favorites and find your new hometown. Best wishes!