Would it be crazy to leave California for Dayton?

[Beavercreek33]

Originally Posted by Trabuco72

Thanks everyone! All your replies have been of great help. I look forward to having my "recon trip" done.

Very appreciated and I will contribute with more inputs after our visit in order to help otherones like myself.

Thanks again.

Glad we could help

Good luck!

[tgasper]

Dayton is a wonderful place to live and the interesting thing that happens is many transfer to WPAFB (sometimes kickig and screaming) but ultimately retire here. The joke is that a Dayton traffic jam is when four cars slow down to 65 mph. You can get virtually anywhere in the area in 20 minutes or less. We have four seasons, are on the western edge of the time zone so it stays light until 9:30 or later in the summer months. And we're known for our festivals, especially in September.

Beavercreek is the nicest suburb close to WPAFB and has no city income tax, but our property taxes can be steep. The schools are good.

If you want a more urban experience, then you might be happier in some of the historic districts closer to downtown Dayton such as the Oregon District, South Park or St Anne's Hill. They're all close to SR35 so you can get to the base in 10 minutes.

[Giesela]

I vote for staying in California. Moved here 2 years ago. Won't stay after I retire.

[Crew Chief]

Originally Posted by tgasper

...You can get virtually anywhere in the area in 20 minutes or less...

YOU obviously don't drive on I-75 thru the construction at Malfunction Junction... But you're right; Dayton is still a GREAT place to live!

[JefferyT]

^
..or the Dayton Mall area around rush hour. 20 minutes or less is an exgerration, but as a rule the area is easy to get around.

[tgasper]

I live in Beavercreek, I can get to the airport in 20-25 minutes, downtown in 10-15, Centerville in 15-20. But I also own my own business and work my own hours so I don't often travel during "rush hour" which we really don't have.

Those of you around the Dayton Mall, Springboro - sorry, but that's the price of sprawl and moving so far away from the urban core! As for malfunction junction - hello!? It's under construction. That hardly counts as typical traffic conditions.

[KaraG]

Trabuco - I just left Trabuco Canyon after living in the area for 11 years - I lived in Dayton/Columbus for 3 decades before moving to California. Now we are in the Carolinas. We still have family in Ohio and CA so we are familiar with both areas.

The cost of living is a huge plus.

I think the weather will be a big negative for you since you mention you like outdoor activities. Not only are you dealing with winters & significantly more rainfall than you're used to, the area can have long stretches of gloomy gray days/weeks without sunshine.

For the best schools/lowest crime, you should look to the suburban schools and stay out of the big city school districts. I don't think you'd like commuting from Columbus or Cinci, but I have heard some good things about the Mason area from friends who teach there. Northmont (north of Dayton) is also a good area for schools but they don't have many shopping choices close by.

If we had to go back to Ohio, we would move back to the Westerville/north of Columbus area, but that's 80 miles away from Dayton, too far to commute.

[tgasper]

Five Rivers MetroParks hired an outdoor director about 5 years ago, Greg Brummit. He's on a personal mission to create an incredible outdoor sporting culture in Dayton and is well on his way. We have MoMBA (a mountain biking course), lots of hiking & biking trails, lots of rivers to canoe or kayak on and they are working toward putting in a white water course for kayaks.

In addition, we have Urban Krag in the Oregon District, one of only two indoor climbing walls in the world built in a church...the other is in an abbey in the UK.

One thing about WPAFB is they pay based on prevailing wages on the coasts. The average salary of an aerospace engineer is roughly $90,000 a year - give or take a few thousand. The difference between Dayton and DC or LA is that because our cost of living is so much less, you only need to live on about $68k of that $90k. The extra money goes in your pocket to travel to warmer climes if the winters get to you! And, BTW, you can get from here to Cancun in about 3 hours and be on the beach by early afternoon.

[JefferyT]

I live in Beavercreek, I can get to the airport in 20-25 minutes...

25 minutes from Yankee/OH 725 to the airport with light weekend traffic. Starting at a location somewhere deeper within Centerville/Washington Twp might add more time due to stop signs and traffic lights.

Those of you around the Dayton Mall, Springboro - sorry, but that's the price of sprawl and moving so far away from the urban core!

The reason the Mall area is congested is because there is a lot of employment in the vicinity, as well as the concentration of shopping and food/drink places. In other words, it is congested the way a traditional downtown would have been congested 50 years ago, since it has essentially replaced downtown. Distance from the urban core has nothing to do with it. The "urban core" has light traffic because it's so empty: 30%-40% office vacancy, and minimal retail.

[Crew Chief]

Excellent response, JeffreyT! Tgasper, I've lived here BEFORE the Malfunction Junction rebuild and traffic was STILL slow at rush hour; as any metropolitan area is. I drag a 53' trailer through Malfunction Junction several times a day and maybe the traffic's not quite as bad as Cincy, but the on-and-off ramps downtown have always added a measure of insanity to the trip thru Dayton... (and I'm glad I live in Washington Twp)