Lebanon Schools, the community, quality of life, relocation very soon! (Cincinnati: credit, house)

[catdog2022]

I love this forum, so many people helped us 2 years ago when we had a move to PA from NJ, and now we are looking at relocation in a few weeks to near Cincinnati - if we want to use that 8,000 tax credit, we also have to move fast.

I tried to base our search by choosing school districts first, we only had one day to look (in person) at the different towns and homes. We managed to find a nice little home in a subdivision in Lebanon very close to downtown (which looks adorable).

Since I haven't seen any current information about the schools...My biggest concern is how people feel about the school system and what experience and environment can my elementary age and my preschooler expect. The ratings for testing are 8 out of 10, so my concern rests on teachers, bullying, (arts, music, computer classes - do they have them), safety and security. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

[Ohiogirl81]

I don't have kids -- nor did I have them when I lived in Lebanon! -- but the school system is very well regarded.

[PhillytoCincy]

I as well am from Pennsylvania. You will like the Cincinnati area.

Maybe this can help:
Lebanon City Schools: Our Schools

[kjbrill]

Lebanon is quite a contrast - a mixture of the old and the new. I have a cousin who was career military. Can't remember his rank, but it was quite high. On retirement, he bought a huge old house in downtown Lebanon and set about to convert it to a bed-and-breakfast. As Dean said, I don't really have to worry about making money, just the satisfaction of preserving this grand old property. A good position to be in.

Some Lebanonites have been bent out of shape due to the huge growth of Mason surpassing them in population, equated to political influence. But Lebanon is situated to grow again.

[catdog2022]

My concerns stem from never having been there, besides 2 brief periods of time within 24 hours time. I mean on paper everything looks pretty great honestly, but I guess I am trying to find how people living there now feel about the community...is it supportive (as far as the schools go)...would you want your kids to go thru the school system. The town "looks" gorgeous, but am I missing something with the 4 or 5 blocks I was able to look at? Is there a seedy or dangerous area there? Do people still feel the school system is stellar, or at the very least a secure place they know there child will be looked after...what is the culture like, do people mind outsiders. I will say, everyone we just happened to meet when visiting, were really wonderful and nice and just very friendly.. and lastly, is it a horrible commute to the city (Cinci), Indiana, and Kentucky...(working in and around those areas -particularly Cincinnati)

[Ohiogirl81]

There's absolutely nothing dangerous or seedy about Lebanon. Like any other town, some parts are nicer than others. That fact probably wouldn't ruin your day.

As for the schools, the friends I have there whose children have gone through the system seem reasonably well-educated, encouraged and stimulated. It does indeed take a village to raise a child.

[Ohioan58]

Lebanon can vary wildly.

A year ago, a woman was raped on the bicycle path, roughly behind the Armory on East Main Street, in the middle of the afternoon. Last year there was an arson of a boarding house in town. There is a "trash" element of scary bottom class people here.

My perception of moving into Lebanon 15 years ago as a single male was that people in public here can be cluelessly rude and nasty here. I have been *shoved* out of the way by patrons of Kroger here on several occasions - and once by a staff person at Big Bear, which was a grocery here. At Home Depot in Lebanon a couple of years ago I was pushing a cart in the garden area and some a!!hole comes up to me and accuses me of stealing his empty cart and acts like he's going to start a fight with me.

I think because it's a small town with limited threats to one's safety, people act like they're entitled to act any way they like. In other words, people will do stuff here that would get them shot (as they probably deserve) in a larger city.

On the other hand, 99% of the time it's tame and predictable and a bit slower paced than nearby cities. I'm pointing out that it's no valhalla and the people here are not as "cute" as the town. Some here have as much edge and are as aggressive as any slum rat in Dayton or Cincinnati.

It's really not a "classic small town" socially. I'd call it a very socially alienated suburb of Dayton and Cincinnati.