Dublin vs Westerville vs New Albany (Columbus, Hamilton: houses, neighborhoods, best schools)

[217 to 614]

Possibly looking to move back to the Columbus area within the next couple years, but this time I won't be alone. Out of these 3 areas, which is better as far as schools, cost of living, affordable housing, etc.?

[dchamilton]

Well, there are a couple different levels to your questions. And before you stop reading, read my last paragraph.

In terms of schools, New Albany is best. New Albany is one of the top school systems in the state, and in fact, it seems to be getting even better. Dublin Schools would be next on the list of 3, and Westerville would be third (though Westerville Schools should not be assumed to be bad).

New Albany is an area that is experiencing tremendous growth. Most of the town is lined with white fences, and there are many wealthy people who live there. It definitely has the reputation for being the "new rich" area of Columbus. Houses are expensive, and taxes are the highest in Central Ohio.

Dublin is a great area too, and you will find more nice houses and higher taxes here.

Westerville is huge compared to New Albany and Dublin. Westerville has 3 school systems within it. And you can find everything from houses in the low-$100s to just as expensive as New Albany and Dublin (almost - there are some multi-million dollar homes in New Albany).

So, if you're looking for affordability and what would be the best investment, it comes down to what wou're looking to spend in a way. The New Albany market will be hot for a while, and so will Dublin most likely. But in Westerville, you can probably get more house for your money.

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[bgfalcons86]

Originally Posted by dchamilton

Well, there are a couple different levels to your questions. And before you stop reading, read my last paragraph.

In terms of schools, New Albany is best. New Albany is one of the top school systems in the state, and in fact, it seems to be getting even better. Dublin Schools would be next on the list of 3, and Westerville would be third (though Westerville Schools should not be assumed to be bad).

New Albany is an area that is experiencing tremendous growth. Most of the town is lined with white fences, and there are many wealthy people who live there. It definitely has the reputation for being the "new rich" area of Columbus. Houses are expensive, and taxes are the highest in Central Ohio.

Dublin is a great area too, and you will find more nice houses and higher taxes here.

Westerville is huge compared to New Albany and Dublin. Westerville has 3 school systems within it. And you can find everything from houses in the low-$100s to just as expensive as New Albany and Dublin (almost - there are some multi-million dollar homes in New Albany).

So, if you're looking for affordability and what would be the best investment, it comes down to what wou're looking to spend in a way. The New Albany market will be hot for a while, and so will Dublin most likely. But in Westerville, you can probably get more house for your money.

Not so sure that New Albany schools are better than Dublin schools. Both are very good, but I think Dublin's are arguably better. BTW, Dublin and Westerville are very comparable in size, but Westerville is going to have a broader range of housing options than Dublin and New Albany.

Dublin & New Albany are both elite suburbs. Westerville is what I would call a second-tier (does NOT mean second-class) suburb, meaning it has more socio-economic diversity than an elite suburb.

[GeminiGal]

Agree with dchamilton. If those are the areas you are looking at, then the economical - COL choice would be Westerville.

You'll be glad you returned to the area!

[macserv]

We're living in the New Albany area now, and moving to Dublin to put down stronger roots and start our family. In the research I've seen in recent years, Dublin Schools are consistently rated highest in the area (with Worthington and Hilliard following), housing is more affordable, jobs are more plentiful, and the people are more friendly and real (New Albany is too money- and appearance-focused for us). We also currently attend an excellent Church just south of Dublin into Hilliard.

[GeminiGal]

Originally Posted by macserv

We're living in the New Albany area now, and moving to Dublin to put down stronger roots and start our family. In the research I've seen in recent years, Dublin Schools are consistently rated highest in the area (with Worthington and Hilliard following), housing is more affordable, jobs are more plentiful, and the people are more friendly and real (New Albany is too money- and appearance-focused for us). We also currently attend an excellent Church just south of Dublin into Hilliard.

We are in Powell - Olentangy and love the community and GREAT schools.
This district has the potential of becoming too large. In hindsight, I wish we would have looked at New Albany. We didn't look because of the perception of the "money" but have found that is not the case (in our experience).

Looked quite a bit in Dublin but thought it was too big with two HS and then factor in some of those Dublin neighborhoods are actually Hillard schools. Again, it was just too large and the community feel wasn't there. Didn't feel stable enough for us. We also felt and still feel that Dublin is a bit more "appearance" oriented, again only our experiences.

I think OP is concerned with affordability - COL as well as great schools.
In that case, I would stick with Westerville and also check out Worthington. Upper Arlington is a great choice but the affordability factor is probably still not there.

Good luck.

[217 to 614]

Thanks for the info everybody. I first moved to Columbus in 2003. I had never lived anywhere outside of Illinois. I've been all over the city, but want to get an idea of the most affordable of the higher end suburbs of Columbus. Schools are very important too. We're looking to send our kids to the best schools possible and the 3 areas I named seem to get pretty positive remarks. All in all, I think Columbus is a great place to raise a family.

[sftong]

"In terms of schools, New Albany is best. "

Wow! Seems like this DCHamilton guy is a realtor selling his high priced home in New Albany?! Anyway, this guy already ID himeself as a realtor.

I am taking time here to present facts and let you decide. For years, the only debate in Columbus about Best School is only 2 choices -- Dublin, or Upper Arlington with UA being the recognized benchmark for years. Dublin is trying to take that honour away.

Based on Performance Index score on a district level, UA is definitely better than Dublin as they are the top 2 districts. But on individual school building level last year, Dublin's Jerome High (score 111.5) and UA High (112.4) are very closely against each other for last 2 years swapping the top 2 spots. Next in line is Bexley High (110.5) , then Olentangy Liberty High (110.1)

New Albany High (105.2)? Please stand aside for maybe 6th or 7th position. I did not check all schools, but with that score of 105.2, maybe NA can compete with Weserville or Hilliard. They are all pretty good schools. But BEST? Please.

EDIT: Worthington Kilbourne High 108.1, Westerville North High 107.4. Grandview Heights 108.2. Thomas Worthington High 106.7.

So that means New Albany High is closer to 10th position? Wow even Westerville High beat it ...... statistic and data don't lie.

[sftong]

217, if best school is what you are looking for, then it's easy to make a choice. Either Dublin or Upper Arlington. UA has better location and therefore price is significantly higher for a comparable home. Depend on where you work too. Good luck!

[bgfalcons86]

Below are the results from 07-08 Local Report Card. These are the district-wide results (includes elementary, middle school, high school) for some of the suburban districts around Columbus. The first number is the number of standards (out of 30) met by the specific district. The second number is the Performance Index Score, which weights achievement on the State Tests. sftong was referencing the high school results. I can provide an additional post which references all of the schools in these districts. Most of them have more than one high school.

Upper Arlington / 30 / 106.7
Grandview Hts. / 30 / 106.1
Dublin / 30 / 105.1
Bexley / 29 / 104.5
New Albany / 30 / 103.7
Olentangy / 29 / 103.5
Worthington / 28 / 101.9
Hilliard / 30 / 101.1
Pickerington / 29 / 100.9
Westerville / 25 / 98.8
Gahanna / 25 / 98.1