I need relocation help a.s.a.p.! (Columbus, Upper Arlington: homes, landscaping)

[zakheira]

Please if anyone can offer some input it would be greatly appreciated.... We are origionally from Long Island, New York and now after living the past two horrible years of our life on the gulf of Florida in New Port Richey, we are considering relcating to Ohio. We have friends who live in Columbus in Trabue Woods and their kids go to Hilliard Horizon. From researching, it seems like this is not one of the better schools in Hilliard shcools. I have 2 kids ( one in 2nd and another to be starting pre-k the following year) and would like to be able to find an affordable home in a neighborhood with great schools. I am at the point of total research confusion and if I leave it up to my husband he will settle to be near our friends. For the sake of the fear of pretty much relocating "sight unseen", I don't want to leave any stone unturned! Where to go and what is considered to be a better neighborhood and school district? I would like to be at ease when my son begins the new school year. Thanks for any input!

[NewToCA]

I lived in Hilliard from 1992 through 2001, and had three children go to their public schools.

If you want to stay in Hilliard, your best bet for schools is to stay north in the city. I personally would recommend that you look at the developments around Davidson Rd. In particular they have some nice homes south of Davidson along Avery Rd, north of Davidson at the intersection of Leap Rd, and finally along Dublin Rd, from Scioto Run Blvd to Hayden Run Rd. A couple of sizeable developments are located just on the west side of Dublin Rd south of Davidson Rd.

Homes in these areas run from $200-350 K. I hope you find this helpful.

[Paddington]

Hilliard is very average as far as public schools go. Not bad, but not great either. The area of Hilliard is not that great either, with a lot of tacky strip malls and bland developments. Some of the other suburbs of Columbus look nicer due to their strict building and landscaping codes, but Hilliard is more of a sprawlburb which tries to maximize population growth, Houston style, with minimal regulation.

The better school districts in Columbus are Dublin, Upper Arlington, and New Albany. Some parts of the city of Columbus fall inside suburban school districts.

If you want to be close to your friends, I would recommend Dublin as it borders the north side of Hilliard.

[bgfalcons86]

Originally Posted by Paddington

Hilliard is very average as far as public schools go. Not bad, but not great either. The area of Hilliard is not that great either, with a lot of tacky strip malls and bland developments. Some of the other suburbs of Columbus look nicer due to their strict building and landscaping codes, but Hilliard is more of a sprawlburb which tries to maximize population growth, Houston style, with minimal regulation.

The better school districts in Columbus are Dublin, Upper Arlington, and New Albany. Some parts of the city of Columbus fall inside suburban school districts.

If you want to be close to your friends, I would recommend Dublin as it borders the north side of Hilliard.

Hilliard CSD is far better than average as far as school districts go, meeting 25 out 25 of the state requirements last year and scoring a 101 on the Performance Index last year. Our kids have gone to Hilliard schools all the way through and we've been very pleased. Hilliard Horizon has the lowest performance index of all Hilliard elementaries, but even at that it met 6 of 8 state requirements. Scioto Darby and Ridgewood are among the elementaries that consistently rank near the top of Hilliard CSD as far as the performance index is concerned.

Dublin CSD has very highly-rated schools and very good reputation overall. However, I've met people that have had negative experiences in Dublin. So, you can't just tell from a couple of posts on this forum. Just like anything else, you're going to have a range of experiences.

[NewToCA]

Having lived in Hilliard for 9 years and subsequently Dublin for 5 years, I can assure you the differences are much more significant than school scores. Dublin is much, much more status conscious, and keeping up with the neighbors is not nearly the issue in Hilliard. Also, if you don't play golf, your conversations with neighbors may be more significantly limited in Dublin.

But Dublin certainly is prettier, and the schools may be somewhat better than Hilliard (but I think it is pretty close). If Dublin schools were such a huge advantage, why is one of the most successful recent developments, Ballantrae, which features Hilliard schools?

[bgfalcons86]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

Having lived in Hilliard for 9 years and subsequently Dublin for 5 years, I can assure you the differences are much more significant than school scores. Dublin is much, much more status conscious, and keeping up with the neighbors is not nearly the issue in Hilliard. Also, if you don't play golf, your conversations with neighbors may be more significantly limited in Dublin.

I agree with you what you've said here. Having quality schools is where the communities are similar. Be advised (zakheira) that even in Dublin CSD, there is a range of test scores and socioeconomics (compare Daniel Wright to Deer Run) at the elementary school level. Of course, there is also a danger in putting too much emphasis on test scores. My point was to take issue with Paddington's assessment of Hilliard's schools being very average.

On the upside, Dublin has amenities that are second to none. On the downside, the atmosphere can sometimes be a bit stifling. I'd suggest Upper Arlington over Dublin to someone looking for great schools in a wealthy community. UA doesn't seem to have the uptight feel that Dublin seems to have. We've got friends in both communities and I can say that some of it comes down to personal taste.

As far as Hilliard goes, the newer neighborhoods inside the city limits are already attractive. However, I do agree that much of Cemetery Road and Hilliard-Rome Road (between Cemetery & Roberts) lack aesthetic appeal. I think the City of Hilliard is working to improve this, but it is going to take some time.

zakheira...
NewToCA has already had some informative posts on Dublin/Hilliard on this forum that you might want to check out.

[xcountrymover]

We live in Westpoint - and the elementary school is Brown Elementary which I've heard great things about. This area is just 3 miles from the new highschool that is being built, not so much in the hustle and bustle, but 3 minutes from the freeway which is a great 20-minute commute to downtown.

[Cartouche]

zakheira, there are many places around town where one may be able to find a combination of affordability and good schools...it would help to know what you consider affordable though! It can make a difference for sure. For some buyers, even a 10K difference can keep them right out of areas they'd prefer to be. It depends.

Feel free to PM if I can help with anything.

[J&A'sMOM]

Zakheira - Have you visited yet?? What do you think if you have? We are in a similar boat. We maybe going to Columbus from CT and are originally from MI. We want awesome schools and also a walkable community. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks

[zakheira]

Thank you all for your input, as it is greatly appreciated. I will be arriving in Columbus on the 4th of July and will be spending a week or two there. Thanks to your suggestions we have a better sense of where to begin to look. Thanks again!