Californian Seeking Advice Re: Suburbs of Dayton (Beavercreek, Centerville: eyeglasses, mortgage)

[smile42]

Someone wrote: "This school district, Northmont, along with Oakwood and Centerville, are the only three in the county rated an unqualified "Excellent" on the state school report card."

True for Montgomery County, but don't forget the Miami County schools! Tipp is also rated Excellent.

It's important when looking at the Miami Valley to include the other counties. Dayton, Oakwood, Kettering, Centerville, Vandalia, Englewood (Northmont), etc. are all in Montgomery County. However, there are some fantastic places to live in the surrounding counties.

Tipp City and Troy are both in Miami County, north of Dayton. Because of their location on I-75, you can be downtown in 15-20 minutes. But, you also have a better "small, Midwestern town feel" and could easily find a house bordering a corn field. It's a nice mix of country and city life.

I've already written a bunch about Tipp and Troy in other threads, so feel free to read more here:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/ohio/...ml#post1161052

I don't think 'south Dayton' people forget about the northern suburbs on purpose. It's just that Centerville, Oakwood, Springboro, etc. are larger, so they tend to get more attention. Having lived on both sides of Dayton, I'll say that Tipp and Troy, in my humble opinion, offer a better quality of life factor. Less traffic, lower taxes, Excellent Rated schools (Tipp City), small town charm, friendly people, and easy commuting distance to WPAFB, Wright State University, downtown, etc.

Best of luck finding your new home!

P.S. I lived in Carlsbad for two years before returning to Ohio. One thing to keep in mind is that it's much easier to travel between cities here than in Southern California. Once you've moved, you'll realize that quick trips to Cincinnati and Columbus are totally doable and open up more opportunities for sports, entertainment, shopping, dining, etc. NOTHING like I-5 from San Diego to North County! I dare say the trip on I-70 to Columbus is . . . kind of peaceful in comparison .

[midwestkid]

Originally Posted by the_pines

I went to Northmont as a kid and did not like it at all. It seemed like it was in the middle of nowhere and had a very depressing atmosphere there for some reason. We lived in Clayton when I went to Northmont. I cant remember much about the academics because I didn't go there very long. Southern Dayton is a lot better and probably a lot closer to what most people would like. Englewood has barely any shopping, and you have to go to Huber Heights to shop(which is always packed during peak traffic times). Englewood and Clayton are a sleepy towns where kids will get in to much trouble. Vandalia is probably the best bet in northern Dayton, but its schools are average.

I would have to disagree about Northmont. I've gone to Northmont since Kindergarten and I love it. We have great academics (Excellent state report card) and great athletics as well. Englewood and Clayton have seen more growth and development in the past 5 years, Clayton is in the process of building the Clayton Town Center, which is like a small version of the Greene essentially. Don't count out Englewood and Clayton.

[YoMikey617]

Originally Posted by demichae

Hi everyone. I'm considering applying for a job in Dayton. From my research, it looks like Dayton itself has a rather high crime rate and poor-performing schools. According to posts on this thread, one of the best suburbs is Springboro. With three young children, the schools are the most important factor. How are the schools in Springboro? What are the other top suburbs?

I've looked at home prices and it looks like prices start in the low $300's. Are there bad parts of Springboro?

Weather: I realize it snows. How many months out of the year is it cold? How much snow is there?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

I'm not saying Springboro is bad, but they do have issues with not building schools to keep up with their growth. Ditto for Beavercreek.

Strongest School Districts: (not necessarily in the order listed)
1. Centerville.
2. Bellbrook.
3. Oakwood (if you like preppy old money appearing environs check it out).

Beavercreek and Springboro are the current "IT Towns" when it comes to building McMansions at the lowest possible prices. But the communities do have their drawbacks.

Beavercreek is a swath of senseless suburban sprawl, and it really kinda looks like a high traffic dump when you drive around the town (it's starting to resemble a newer version of East Dayton). Good zoning would've have helped... But town planning officials were more interested in allowing everything and anything to be built.

Springboro is OK, but I'm not so sure I'd bend over backwards to buy a house there. The exits off 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton are kinda shady (adult book stores and the like). The nearest mall is Dayton's worst, The Dayton Mall. People in towns surrounding the Dayton Mall will drive 3-4 exits further to avoid Dayton Mall.

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by YoMikey617

I'm not saying Springboro is bad, but they do have issues with not building schools to keep up with their growth. Ditto for Beavercreek.

Strongest School Districts: (not necessarily in the order listed)
1. Centerville.
2. Bellbrook.
3. Oakwood (if you like preppy old money appearing environs check it out).

Beavercreek and Springboro are the current "IT Towns" when it comes to building McMansions at the lowest possible prices. But the communities do have their drawbacks.

Beavercreek is a swath of senseless suburban sprawl, and it really kinda looks like a high traffic dump when you drive around the town (it's starting to resemble a newer version of East Dayton). Good zoning would've have helped... But town planning officials were more interested in allowing everything and anything to be built.

Springboro is OK, but I'm not so sure I'd bend over backwards to buy a house there. The exits off 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton are kinda shady (adult book stores and the like). The nearest mall is Dayton's worst, The Dayton Mall. People in towns surrounding the Dayton Mall will drive 3-4 exits further to avoid Dayton Mall.

I kind of resent the whole "East Dayton" look. For one, Beavercreek is a whole lot safer than parts of East Dayton, has better schools, and still looks better. Just because it looks dated doesn't mean its trashy. So the homes are older, but having done door to door sales in these neighborhoods, they sure have more character (and trees) then Washington Twp/Clearcreek Twp's Cornfield McMansions.

Zoning and planning in Beavercreek is no different from that of Centerville or Springboro. In fact, its better around the mall area (Fairfield Mall). High traffic dump? Have you tried to drive the roads in Centerville and Clearcreek Twp. They're just the same. Obviously, any place with growth is going to have traffic problems for a little bit.

As for the schools, yes it's true. There is (IMHO) a small group of individuals who run around with false information about the schools, thus more people feel unwilling to support the bond issues. It also doesn't help when the local paper prints every letter no matter how absurd. I guess that's the price of local politics. But I feel that I have received a wonderful education from Beavercreek, even if the school building is a little old.

[YoMikey617]

I think if you're moving from California, and if your housing dollar is way stronger than anywhere in Ohio... You might as well move into the BEST communities. Don't settle for communities that don't build schools to keep up with growth. Don't buy in communities that struggle to pass levies for basics like funding the schools (like Beavercreek and Springboro). Don't move somewhere that's only half nice but the other half is iffy.

Bellbrook, Centerville and Oakwood are well established. They have the facilities, they pass the tax levy's, they have the good shopping... When Beavercreek and Springboro are squabbling about building sufficient classroom space, Centerville is squabbling about where to build a $4M performing arts facility. Most of Bellbrook's schools are brand new. And Oakwood's class sizes are small enough that kids can participate in sports without having to compete with 500 other would-be's.

The essense of living South of Dayton:
1. Good shopping.
2. Proximity to Cincinnati (which makes living in Dayton tolerable).
3. You're in the best area of town... But you can live very well with a 300K housing budget.

[YoMikey617]

Unless you have a specific need to be north of Dayton I would pass up living north of town. Yes there are nice areas north of town... But aside from that it's really, REALLY boring up there. The shopping is subsistence level, it's an extra 40 minutes to Cincinnati, and... ...it's just really boring !!!

Northmont is a good district btw. But the upscale Northmont housing market is in serious decline. It's a good place to be if you're from north of town. But moving there from California ? You'll be miserable.

[Ohiogirl81]

I worked at a newspaper in Springboro for a few years not long ago. Springboro is an old crossroads farming town that is still trying to cope with the fact that it's now a suburb of Dayton. That attitude carries over to how the school district is run. There's still a bit of the good ol' boy mentality there, and then residents often don't support changes in the school district's operation because of an overall resistance to change. It's not a horrible school district, but it isn't the best.

2. Proximity to Cincinnati (which makes living in Dayton tolerable).

Ha. Contrary to popular belief (in Cincinnati, anyway) the world does not revolve around Cincinnati!

[middyDJ]

Originally Posted by YoMikey617

The nearest mall is Dayton's worst, The Dayton Mall. People in towns surrounding the Dayton Mall will drive 3-4 exits further to avoid Dayton Mall.

Maybe Im reading wrong. But please expound on this for me. Did you mean the exists near the Dayton Mall are worse are did you actually mean the Dayton Mall is horrible? Lol I found it funny you said that.

[penelopelp]

Originally Posted by YoMikey617

The nearest mall is Dayton's worst, The Dayton Mall. People in towns surrounding the Dayton Mall will drive 3-4 exits further to avoid Dayton Mall.

You have got to be kidding me! I purposely drive to the Dayton Mall area--there are all kinds of stores there to satisfy any needs, i.e., craft, clothing, eyeglasses, books, restaurants, pet, electronic, etc. The only reason why I can imagine anyone avoiding the area is because the traffic is heavy because it is a big shopping area.

[JefferyT]

Clayton is in the process of building the Clayton Town Center, which is like a small version of the Greene essentially.

Actually this will be better than the Greene (if its build according to plan) as it really does integrated shopping with housing, creating an almost Euroepan style community.

It will be a modern, better, version of Mariemont, down in Cincinnati.

The Greene is just a big shopping center seperate from the surrounding subdivisions, but the Clayton Village will have houses on streets leading to the shopping square, and apartments on top of the store..its a much more integrated plan.