Possible Internship at WPAFB (Dayton, Kettering: rentals, how much, townhomes)

[mrsfig]

I may be moving to the Dayton area for a 2 yr AF internship at Wright Patterson. I need advice on where to live. I will be coming with just part of my family, myself and a 9 year old daughter. I'm looking for a community that would be safe for us, with an easy commute to the base and with good schools and activities for my daughter. Would like any information on catholic schools as well as the public ones.

-Where you are working?
WPAFB
-How much you are willing to spend on housing?
would like to rent a single family home or townhome, less than $1000 a month for 3 bedrooms
-How long of a commute you're willing to tolerate
No more than 20 minutes
-If you have kids: Private school or public school?
Either, but would need before and after school care
-What type of neighborhood environment you are looking for: small town feeling? small city excitement? suburbia delight?
like the small town feel, but safety is most important as well as a sense of community
-Community amenities important to you?
youth sports and some shopping

And most importantly...
-Pie or cake?
Both

[wrightflyer]

For what you want in your price range, I'd recommend one of the following. These are in no particular order. First I would go with Kettering. There are plenty of rentals, mostly small 2-3 bedroom single family homes from the post WWII era housing boom. It is a safe community with excellent schools (don't believe the state report card, no one believes the state report card), plenty of Catholic schools (Ascension, St. Albert the Great, Alter High School), inside your commute time, and it has wonderful parks and recs. I specifically like the rec center that Ketting has. It is a true community gem.

Second, parts of Riverside/Dayton, specifically the Forest Ridge area (Union School House Rd, Baker Rd, Kitridge Rd area). This has plenty of rentals in your price range, is a quiet community, and is served by either the Fairborn (an ok district), Mad River, and Huber Heights schools (the last two are pretty good). There isn't a set community center like Kettering from what I can remember, but you can probably get more house here for your money, as many of the homes are "newer". By newer, I mean 1970's to present. Huber Heights' catholic schools would probably be the closest or St Helen in Riverside.

Finally, I'd recommend Vandalia. It might be stretching the commute time a little, but it is like Forest Ridge, but with Kettering's amenities. The school's are excellent, there's a rec center, and it is safe. Where Forest Ridge is more like a subdivision, Vandalia is an actual city. Not sure about Catholic schools up here. To my knowledge, the closest catholic elemantary is in Huber Heights, while CJ in downtown Dayton is the closest catholic high school. The draw back here is that most shopping is in other communities such as Huber Heights and Beavercreek.

If you can't find anything here, I'd try parts of northern Huber Heights north of I-70, and Beavercreek if you can actually find a decent 3 bedroom house rental under $1000.

Hopefully your internship works out and welcome to the Dayton area.

[Daytonnatian]

It sounds like you want Page Manor - right off Area B (Wright Field, by the USAF museum)

It's in Mad River Schools, has great rentals/access to mall/etc. There area great townhomes, and a wide variety to choose from, as Page Manor is the size of a small town. Many in the community have small kids, and most work at WPAFB.