Moving to Dayton in 2 weeks!!! (Kettering, Fairfield: rental car, apartments, rentals)

[Big new adventure]

Hello Everyone,

I've been reading through a lot of the information on this site and I've found it to be very useful. However, I find myself in the sudden situation of having to move to Dayton for work. I'm moving with my wife and two young sons (3,5). I will be moving from Ontario, Canada and I have never lived in the US before. We will be starting our new life from scratch...no car, no furniture, no nothing. Just the clothes on our back and a ton of boxes.

As we won't have any wheels right away it will be important for us to rent a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment or house near U Dayton. We'll probably stay there for our first year while we get accustomed to the city. I guess we'll look for a house after that. One of the most important factors is to find a very safe community/neighbourhood that has a good kindergarten and lots of facilities for the kids.

I've read that Oakwood is nice and that the school district is good. I see from a Dayton map, that this neighbourhood is close to U Dayton. Would that be a good place to start our big new adventure in Dayton?

I would appreciate any advice on the above as well as suggestions on where to buy cheap furniture and a good used car.

Thanks.

[wrightflyer]

Oakwood would be a good choice. Safe (both literally and by definition of being new to the US) and probably happy to have non-students in the rentals just south of campus. The city really discourages students from renting homes in Oakwood (corporation limit is south of Irving). The biggest problem may be transportation, even here.

Oakwood school does not use school buses, but considering the close nit community, if you are at the bottom of the hill near UD, you can probably find car pools to the elementary schools. Otherwise, the RTA routes along OH-48 (Far Hills Ave.) and Brown St. onto Far Hills would be good options for daily transport.

Dayton really is not the most walking friendly city, even in its more dense areas. RTA can also be a pain too, but seems to have frequent lines and runs down OH-48/Far Hills.

Not good at recommending car dealers. We always got are vehicles from Voss. Also heard good things about some of the Jeff Schmidt Auto Group dealers. Furniture can be found at any of the cheaper big box stores scattered around the suburbs. Ashley Home Furniture probably a good place to start.

Also, if you will have a car prior to late October, biking to UD may be an option. Just be aware of the hill leading up into Oakwood from UD. It can be a bit of a climb (for the Dayton area).

[Big new adventure]

Hi wrightflyer,

Thanks for your advice. I've enjoyed reading your comments on this site. Are their any other suburbs or neighbourhoods in the area that you would recommend over Oakwood? I read that Beavercreek and Centerville are also good but they seem like a bit of a hike to the U Dayton area. I'm just looking at rentals now and would like to keep a few options open.

Thanks again.

[wrightflyer]

It's a question of how long you will be without a car.

Beavercreek has no public transit options to UD (yet).

While Centerville has public transit, it is still quite a hike up the bus route to get to UD.

While they both will have many more rentals listed online, they both really require a car. Much of anything in Dayton requires a car, so the sooner you have one, the better it probably will be. I understand that probably is easier said than done, especially for someone coming from outside the United States.

Probably a hard option at first, but stay at an apartment, like the Marriott (probably closest to Oakwood, but a bit of a walk, best to possibly do this with a rental car) and drive around looking for the tell-tale "for rent" signs. Most Oakwood listings are probably not on Craigslist. Or talk with a Realtor specializing in rentals and/or relocation.

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by Big new adventure

Hello Everyone,

I've been reading through a lot of the information on this site and I've found it to be very useful. However, I find myself in the sudden situation of having to move to Dayton for work. I'm moving with my wife and two young sons (3,5). I will be moving from Ontario, Canada and I have never lived in the US before. We will be starting our new life from scratch...no car, no furniture, no nothing. Just the clothes on our back and a ton of boxes.

As we won't have any wheels right away it will be important for us to rent a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment or house near U Dayton. We'll probably stay there for our first year while we get accustomed to the city. I guess we'll look for a house after that. One of the most important factors is to find a very safe community/neighbourhood that has a good kindergarten and lots of facilities for the kids.

I've read that Oakwood is nice and that the school district is good. I see from a Dayton map, that this neighbourhood is close to U Dayton. Would that be a good place to start our big new adventure in Dayton?

I would appreciate any advice on the above as well as suggestions on where to buy cheap furniture and a good used car.

Thanks.

Hi Big new adventure--

Allow me to be among the first to welcome you to Dayton; it isn't nearly as bad as some people make it out to be. I distinctly remember taking the drive to Windsor when I was in college to drink, gamble, and take advantage of the exchange rates at the casinos.

I hate to admit it but given the state of Dayton's mass transit options your number one priority should be getting some wheels. I don't know what your price range (or how much money you have in general) is but $3-4,000 could easily get you a decent serviceable car that will run for at least three to five years. Add in the fact that most major shopping outlets (The Greene, Dayton Mall, Fairfield Commons) are all out in the suburbs and most are in areas beyond RTA's service range and you'll need a vehicle even more. On the plus side, gasoline is something like 85 cents per liter if my metric calculations aren't too rusty.

As far as living, I recommend either Oakwood or Kettering, along Far Hills Lane or Dorothy Lane. This'll place you close to most of the bus lines and both are pretty quiet neighborhoods. Kettering would be cheaper; Oakwood closer to UD. I'm a grad student at UD and I'm currently living downtown <Dayton Landing Apartments | Dayton Ohio> and I have no complaints about the safety or facilities (although it would be nice to have a better grocer downtown; CVS is located at Courthouse Square, but they don't have it all). The YMCA is also nearby, with childcare and activities. I wouldn't be so hot about the schools anywhere within Dayton city limits, though - so Dayton may not be your best shot.

With regards to cheap furniture and a vehicle, I recommend the Goodwill outlet on Woodman Avenue, although you'll most certainly need a car to get to/from there.

And as for a vehicle, I recommend Highland Motors in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky - which is about an hour south of Dayton. I bought a car there back in 2007 - a 2000 Toyota Echo with 80,000 miles - for $4,000 and I drove the snot out of it all through college. Sold it this year with 180,000 miles and $3,300. Can't beat Toyota's resale value. Guy by the name of Tom Middendorf works there; he rebuilds cars that have been in fenders, etc. and sells them for a cut rate. A lot of people will tell you to stay away from vehicles with rebuilt titles, but I've found it an excellent way to pay 30% under blue book value for a car that ran great.

Hope it all helps. If there's any further questions, issues, or ideas, feel free to PM me.

[Big new adventure]

Hi hensleya1,

Thanks for the warm welcome. I appreciate your advice. I had a look at some car prices here and in the Dayton area. It will definitely be cheaper to buy a car once we get Stateside. I'll try to contact Tom Middendorf before I come over just to see what he has available. Looks like Oakwood may be a good place to start on the home front. I hope to be in Dayton for a while so a move elsewhere, once I get to know the town, is a possibility.

Thanks a lot.

[TomJones123]

The eastern side of Oakwood, away from the mansions on the more secluded west, has many UD faculty in the area. I assume you will be working at UD form your post. Best of luck.

[Dayton Sux]

For Public Transit. Bus 17 and 14 serve Oakwood. Both will get you to the UD area (I ride 17 almost every day and sometimes 14 on weekends). I think there is also a trolly bus line . 17 serves the eastern side of Oakwood, along Shroyer and Irving, and 14 and the trollly the central part, along Far Hills Avenue. The buses are fairly reliable and well maintained but they are not very frequent. There appear to be quite a few rentals along the 17 route, from what I see.

Both these lines run north-south and sort of parallel each other into the next suburb sout, which is Kettering. They come together in the Town & Country area of Kettering, which also has a lot of rentals (four-plexes and duplexes), as well as grocery shopping (if you need to walk or take the bus to the grocery)

So if you want to use a bus to get around at first and even if you want to use it to commute or go to school after you get a car this Shroyer/Far Hills corridor is a great place to locate to.

I have a community card at the UD library and have used the bus to get to and from UD, and the campus is quite do-able via transit.

[joe from dayton]

What is your budget?

[Big new adventure]

Thanks TomJones123 for the info on where UD faculty may live. You're right in assuming I'll be working there. Thanks as well to Dayton Sux, not a very inspiring name, but lots of good info. I was wondering about public transportation since my wife won't be able to drive right away.

I'm still not sure what my budget is as I am still researching good reliable used cars to buy, the cost of furniture and reasonable housing.

I suppose I'll be going cheap with furniture from a big box store to start.

What do you all think a 3-bedroom would go for in the area that TomJones123 mentioned?

For cars, we're a family of four, so I was thinking MiniVan or small SUV. Again, I'm not sure of costs.

Part of my problem is that I just moved back to North America from a lengthy stay overseas. I just don't know what things cost over here anymore. I don't know what could be a good value and what may be a rip off. As a result, I'd like to stay cheap and work up from there. Hard to do when planning on longevity without a major financial outlay.

Thanks for the posts and sorry for the late reply. Busy days, these are.