Hispanics in Oakwood? (Dayton, Kettering, Beavercreek: credit, home, neighborhoods)

[prfcttimeofday]

Originally Posted by lookingforhappyendings

HI! We are a professional, educated Hispanic couple moving to Dayton. We like older houses, small town, walkable feel, close to the city. We have 2 kids, Oakwood seems ideal, but seems to have ZERO diversity. Does anyone have an idea as to how we would be recieved there?

Hello. . .I live in Oakwood and live next door to a family that is bi-racial, he's irish and she is filipino. they have 4 children who seem to just love it here. There is also a family across the street from me, that is latino-american and they too seem to just love it here. I live on the East Side and towards the south and our little pocket of Oakwood tends to be the more progressive, liberal area. But, overwhelming Oakwood is a great area and you shouldn't face any issues because of your ethnicity.

It sounds like Oakwood is exactly what you may be looking for in a community. I too had reservations when I moved here, but it's one of the best decisions I've ever made, and I just love it here. It may not be for everyone, but I'm very happy here. I find there is a lot of open minded and educated people residing here. . .possibly because we have the highest % of college professors per capita in the Dayton area living in Oakwood.

Best of luck on your move!

[dayton_ohio]

Originally Posted by willabee

Well, your wrong. I'm gonna give DPS a try. If it is complete FAIL then I will pursue other alternatives. (Charter schools, Private schools, home schooling) Your point of view, at least to me, is rather narrow and judgmental. You don't know me or the importance I deem my kid's education to have in his life.

Let me make my agenda plain. It's to share my experiences from living in Dayton. I thought this would be one of the places to do that since this is a Dayton forum. I moved into Dayton from one of the northern towns last July and city-data forums offered very little help unless I wanted to move to one of the ever so highly esteemed suburbs.

Furthermore, I find your logic nonobjective. Here's what I understand from what you have posted. "Children should have the best education. I think Oakwood offers the best education system based on state report cards. Therefore, for children to have the best education and their parents to deem education important they must attend Oakwood schools over DPS or their parents have an alternate agenda they value more than their kid's education."

Look, I'm not trying to be offensive. It's just that I take exception to your comments about what you think I value in relation to my child. Maybe you shouldn't assume that you have a good bead on someone without knowing them first. Is this what one could expect from Oakwood?

Best of luck with Dayton Public Schools. I'm sure you will be delighted by the quality.

[willabee]

Originally Posted by dayton_ohio

Best of luck with Dayton Public Schools. I'm sure you will be delighted by the quality.

And your experiences with DPS?

[5flags]

In my online real estate searches I notice that Oakwood prices increase east to west, for obvious reasons, but also north to south, for less apparent reasons (to me anyway). Why would homes in northern Oakwood be so much less expensive than seemingly equivalent homes in southern Oakwood? Is this associated with their to proximity to the city, and associated crime (real or perceived), etc?

[malachai23]

Originally Posted by lookingforhappyendings

HI! We are a professional, educated Hispanic couple moving to Dayton. We like older houses, small town, walkable feel, close to the city. We have 2 kids, Oakwood seems ideal, but seems to have ZERO diversity. Does anyone have an idea as to how we would be recieved there?

Hi lookingforhappyendings, and welcome in advance to the Dayton area!

I think Oakwood would be a great fit for you. I live in Dayton, but *near* Oakwood. In fact, I came *this close* to making an offer on a house in Oakwood but when it came down to it I decided to purchase one in Dayton. Anyhow, I do a lot of my shopping, dining, etc in Oakwood and even though I'm not old money and don't drive a Jaguar - heck, I'm not even an Ohioan, and I've never felt "out of place" in Oakwood. In fact, after like the 4th time I looked at the house I was about to buy, I had met nearly all the neighbors and they were all super nice and welcoming toward me. I think every small town is "cliquish" in its own way. I think that is the nature of small towns. And Oakwood is like a small town (rather than just a suburb). I personally like Oakwood a lot and think it would be a great place to live. It has charm and is exceptionally visually appealing (in my opinion).

Now I'm not saying Dayton is not any of those things. Dayton is a GREAT place to live too. I have no qualms about living in Dayton. And it's a heck of a lot less expensive too. Like a previous poster said, some of its individual neighborhoods actually function like small towns in themselves - so you can find that in Dayton as well.

Another suggestion, if you are bent on living in a small town as opposed to a Dayton neighborhood - have you considered Miamisburg? It is a technically a suburb of Dayton, but it is also its own small town as is Oakwood. Miamisburg is VERY walkable, quite historic (like some buildings left from the 1700s!), and it has a cute "downtown/Main Street" that is larger than Oakwood's "downtown/Main Street". I think it's very picturesque and right on the river too! It's not far at all from the city of Dayton - like 1/2 hour max. I'm not sure how the schools are though. I know people who have children in Miamisburg schools and they seem satisfied with the district - but I don't know about rankings and test scores, etc.

[dayton_ohio]

Originally Posted by willabee

And your experiences with DPS?

See the following state report card: http://www.ode.state.oh.us/reportcar...IST/043844.pdf

Dayton City Schools Statistics:

Number of State Indicators Met Out of 30 = 2
Adequate Yearly Progress = Not Met
3rd Grade Reading Achievement = 55.3% meeting state standards
3rd Grade Math Achievement = 54.5%

Impressive.

I'm sure your kid won't be among the 44.7% of 3rd graders who can't read, but who will his or her classmates be? What will he or she learn from them?

Any parent who chooses to put their kid in DPS -- versus any number of good to excellent school districts around Dayton -- is making the statement that they'd rather accept mediocre-to-terrible schools than live in a different neighborhood.

I don't have an experience with DPS because I don't want my kids in a terrible school district.

Again, best of luck to you.

[dayton_ohio]

Originally Posted by 5flags

In my online real estate searches I notice that Oakwood prices increase east to west, for obvious reasons, but also north to south, for less apparent reasons (to me anyway). Why would homes in northern Oakwood be so much less expensive than seemingly equivalent homes in southern Oakwood? Is this associated with their to proximity to the city, and associated crime (real or perceived), etc?

Some of it is UD. Prices are lower near campus, especially on Irving, due to the traffic, parking issues, and student noise/issues. Some of it is convenience, as prices are highest in the areas closest to the schools, library, and shops.

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by 5flags

In my online real estate searches I notice that Oakwood prices increase east to west, for obvious reasons, but also north to south, for less apparent reasons (to me anyway). Why would homes in northern Oakwood be so much less expensive than seemingly equivalent homes in southern Oakwood? Is this associated with their to proximity to the city, and associated crime (real or perceived), etc?

No, the part of Dayton bordering Oakwood is mostly student housing so there is little crime apart from the occasional drunk college student. My mother walks down Volusia and Irving when the weather is nice, but doesn't go past these streets because of "the hill". Because the area covered is so small, Oakwood doesn't have busing for it's students, so many walk (or have their parents drive them). Since there is a huge uphill climb after Volusia, the same hill you climb when you drive south on OH48 out of downtown, the homes are cheaper because people don't want their kids climbing the hill. Sounds ridiculous to me, but that's what's been explained to my mother by residents and local realtors.

I'm sure the proximity to UD and traffic on Irving are also factors, but Volusia Ave is a nice street that isn't bordering campus houses or has a ton of traffic.

[dayton_ohio]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

No, the part of Dayton bordering Oakwood is mostly student housing so there is little crime apart from the occasional drunk college student. My mother walks down Volusia and Irving when the weather is nice, but doesn't go past these streets because of "the hill". Because the area covered is so small, Oakwood doesn't have busing for it's students, so many walk (or have their parents drive them). Since there is a huge uphill climb after Volusia, the same hill you climb when you drive south on OH48 out of downtown, the homes are cheaper because people don't want their kids climbing the hill. Sounds ridiculous to me, but that's what's been explained to my mother by residents and local realtors.

I'm sure the proximity to UD and traffic on Irving are also factors, but Volusia Ave is a nice street that isn't bordering campus houses or has a ton of traffic.

Good post, but Volusia has never struck me as a "cheaper than you'd expect" street in Oakwood.

[willabee]

Originally Posted by dayton_ohio

I'm sure your kid won't be among the 44.7% of 3rd graders who can't read, but who will his or her classmates be? What will he or she learn from them?

Wow. Do you know who they will be? Yet, you judge them on some state report card. You have no idea who the people in DPS are and yet you can make judgments on them. That is really prejudiced.

On the other hand. DPS needs lots of work but at least there is a little bit of somewhat positive press. At least I enjoyed the read.

DaytonDailyNews: Dayton, Ohio, news and information

Interesting insight, even from DDN.

Originally Posted by dayton_ohio

Any parent who chooses to put their kid in DPS -- versus any number of good to excellent school districts around Dayton -- is making the statement that they'd rather accept mediocre-to-terrible schools than live in a different neighborhood.

Again with the absolutes. Maybe some of the parents are making the statement that they recognize that some of the problems are in part due lack of parental involvement. Did it ever occur to you that there are people who recognize the problems and prefer to be part of the solution by their involvement? I would rather be part of the solution.

Also there are people like Jim Wier.

Dave Wier - Grand Rapids, MI | Facebook

He has his kid in DPS and is running for election to the school board. So he is making the statement that he would rather accept mediocre to terrible schools?

Originally Posted by dayton_ohio

I don't have an experience with DPS because I don't want my kids in a terrible school district.

Again, best of luck to you.

God Bless.