Family with young kids moving to work at WPAFB (Dayton: for sale by owner, apartments)

[weatherphotographer]

Maybe "Huberville" above 70 in Huber near the Charlesgate area?

[RDriesenUD]

Originally Posted by meggoo

Thanks! Schools are most important to us. Given the lower cost of housing in the area we may be willing to send the kids to private school but we want the option of public. Does anyone have experience with private schools in the area?

Check your messages.

[wrightflyer]

For private, the only and expensive independent school in the area is The Miami Valley School. Located in Washington Township near Kettering, 5151 Denise Drive: The Miami Valley School | An independent day school, early childhood to grade 12

There are a number of Catholic schools in the area, and a few Christian schools. Not as familiar with the private Christian schools, but I do know Catholic schools fall under the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, here: http://www.catholiccincinnati.org/listing-of-schools/

Cincinnati is a hot bed of Catholic schools, so you may have to sort through the list. I'd name the one's here, but there are many in the Dayton region as well. If you want, I can PM you the bigger ones in the area I recommended, but keep in mind IIRC you aren't restricted anymore by where you live for your school. You just need to be parishioners and have transport. Some local public schools provide transport to one or multiple private schools too.

Four major Catholic HS and their locations: Alter HS (Kettering), Carroll HS (Riverside), CJ HS (downtown Dayton), Bishop Fenwick HS (Middletown).

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by meggoo

Thanks! Schools are most important to us. Given the lower cost of housing in the area we may be willing to send the kids to private school but we want the option of public. Does anyone have experience with private schools in the area?

meggoo--

The other posters pretty much hit the nails on the heads. If you're working on base, live in a non-taxing area (as mentioned, Beavercreek, Bellbrook, or an unincorporated township) as it'll save you thousands of dollars in city taxes per year. Because of the weird way Ohio collects taxes for its schools (via local property tax levies determined by millage and subject to votes), expect to pay anywhere from 2-4% of the house's value in property taxes each year, the lion's share of which goes to the school district.

That said, to weigh in a bit more on school districts: I can only really endorse Beavercreek and Sugarcreek schools. Despite the greatschools ranking, I have a low opinion of Kettering Fairmont mainly because of the culture/students I've run into that attend there. (Or their low opinion of the school).

If you have time, I would honestly poke around the area a bit - check out the schools in person, talk to students and parents if possible. Since you mentioned the kids are 3 and 1, you have some time before settling on a school district... can I suggest renting for a few months or even a year before making a final decision?

I don't enough about Oakwood to make a call, apart from it's high ranking on state tests - I can't comment on the culture or how it "feels" to attend there. I do know there isn't a tax levy in Oakwood that hasn't passed in... ha.

I spend all this time talking about public schools because if you buy a $400k house in Sugarcreek Township, you can realistically expect to pay upwards of $10,000 per year in property taxes. And Beavercreek isn't far behind (at roughly 70 mills) - $9,000 annually, give or take.

[meggoo]

So if I live in an area with no city taxes are the property taxes higher? I am amazed at the high property taxes in the area compared to Maryland. Renting is not the best option but we will if we have to. I am terrified of moving and packing with two little ones and I want to avoid having to do it again

[SWOH]

I wouldn't worry about taxes too much. The lower cost of living greatly outweighs any potential tax increase. Check it out:

Cost of Living comparison calculator


For a lot of municipalities, property tax is used instead of income tax. I don't know why, it's a moronic system. What if you inherit a lot of property but go unemployed for a while? Essentially you have to move because you get penalized for having assets.... Also bad for farmers who make little but have a lot of real estate assets. Income taxes everyone equally.



Schools - I wouldn't worry too much about private schools. Basically they are good if:
1. You are a devout religious person that wants to send your child to a religious school
2. You live in Dayton city limits, etc. and want school choice.

Nothing like the south or west where many public schools are atrocious and you have to do private. Heck, having good public schools is where a lot of those tax dollars go. Those dollars don't just vanish into thin air, they provide a better community. Infrequent rant poster jim man can probably attest to that (he has a problem with his neighbors, who are slobs). BUT if you are a more "free-spirit" type that does not want tight community restrictions, you are probably going to want a lower-tax, lower-regulation community. Or live in Dayton proper (like I'm going to do).

[hensleya1]

Originally Posted by meggoo

So if I live in an area with no city taxes are the property taxes higher? I am amazed at the high property taxes in the area compared to Maryland. Renting is not the best option but we will if we have to. I am terrified of moving and packing with two little ones and I want to avoid having to do it again

meggoo--

The best answer is "it depends".

Any location in Montgomery County has a higher property tax rate than any location in Greene County, with the possible exception of Bellbrook - that's because Montgomery County has passed numerous levies subsidizing Sinclair Community College, RTA, the libraries, etc. It's actually got one of the highest rates in the state.

***

I'd hate the idea of moving twice in a year but unless I had a month or more to just poke around I'd rent first to get a feel for the area. Nothing like moving in, buying a house, and finding out you can't stand the neighborhood. (Plus, if you bide your time you can get a much better deal on a house.)

[wrightflyer]

There are also plenty of homes in the areas mentioned that you can rent. Rent, due to the base, for a home that would sell for 350-400K would be at least 1900/month. My guess, it will be in the 2100-2400 range depending on house size, location to base, schools, etc.

It's a lot of money to sink in for a year without going towards a mortgage. But it may also be worth the piece of mind of finding the right place, especially if you plan on staying here for 5-10 or more years.

Keep in mind too, when looking at houses that 400-500K tends to be the high end of easy reselling, maybe with the exception of Oakwood and parts of Washington Township. Most homes in the area over 500K tend to be custom homes, which can be nice but harder to sell when someone else can build their own personal custom home for the same price you are reselling your home for.

[cjmeck]

You want to consider either Centerville, Oakwood, Bellbrook and Beavercreek for the top areas commutable to Wright Patt. Parts of Kettering are nice too, but schools tend to get a bit lower scores there. Those areas are all suburbia, loaded with things for kids to do. Oakwood is older, and more historic looking but Centerville and Bellbrook are going to have newer homes which will naturally have younger families (I'm partial to that area though, that's where I grew up and where we chose to live when my husband was stationed at WPAFB). Best of luck.

[cjmeck]

Originally Posted by meggoo

So if I live in an area with no city taxes are the property taxes higher? I am amazed at the high property taxes in the area compared to Maryland. Renting is not the best option but we will if we have to. I am terrified of moving and packing with two little ones and I want to avoid having to do it again

Yes, property taxes are actually higher in Ohio than in Maryland (I'm in MD now, but grew up in Ohio) and its crazy. The price of homes may be cheaper but the property taxes are not. I see that you are coming from Annapolis. You know how Severna Park and Howard County are viewed in Maryland as the areas to be with the best schools? That is how the Centerville/Bellbrook area is looked at in Ohio--VERY similar to Severna Park.