Moving to Dayton.. Help? (Cincinnati, Springfield: real estate, crime, houses)

[Rottdog]

Welcome to Dayton! You will love it. I grew up in NOVA and you will find that many of the opportunities you had there are coming to OHIO. Kettering is a fine school district south of Dayton. You will find it similar to Annandale without the crime. Centerville and Oakwood schools are the best in the area hands down. Housing pricing will also reflect this. You will be able to find ranch homes in the Centerville area for less than 200,000. Move to Centerville, you will be glad you did.

[babyguke]

Hello. We have just been transferred out of Dayton and our selling our house! We are in Huber Heights. The schools here are doing fairly well. I have worked in a lot of the districts in the north. Vandalia-Butler, Northmont & Huber are all good schools for the north 'suburb' areas. Tipp City & Troy also have decent schools. It really depends on what you are looking for in an area. Dayton Public Schools are DEFINITELY OUT. So is Fairborn. Beavercreek & Centerville are supposed to be good, but I have not worked at either so I am sharing what I have heard. Good luck in your search.

[wrightflyer]

Just to answer all school questions, here is a link to the State's Dept of Education School District Report Cards for the 2005-2006 year (This years won't be out 'till Aug or Sept). Ohio Department of Education Home Page

You can search by district and by county. Everything is in a PDF so I'm sorry if you cannot access the information. There's also a list of all of the Excellent school districts in the state, as well as other statistics such as attendance rates, etc...

As someone who has worked with students from many of the southern suburbs (Oakwood, Kettering, Centerville, Beavercreek, and some Cincinnati ones), I can say with ease that if your looking for good schools south of Dayton, these are the ones to look at. For older char, go with Oakwood and then Kettering. For newer suburban homes and larger lots (some w/ acreage), go with Beavercreek or Centerville. Other mentions should go out to Springboro, Miamisburg, and Sugarcreek Local. I've never worked directly with them, but if the report cards are any indication, then these deserve to be here. That should answer any future questions on schools in the Dayton area, assuming people read back in the forum.

Of note and a little off topic, if you love marching bands or have a kid in marching band, be careful with Sugarcreek (Bellbrook High School). Despite their record, the program has been in rollar coaster mode with two or three directors in the past couple of years. One was found doing some illicit activities and promply fired. That's about all I can remember in the papers (DDN).

[dyt937]

don't move to yellowsprings!
nothing is really happening there
the college is closing

[smile42]

Hi, AdamandKim -

So, if I'm reading your posts correctly, you're looking for an affordable area near Dayton with historic homes and excellent elementary schools? Correct?

Well, at the risk of sounding like a broken record on this forum, I'll chime in again with Tipp City and Troy.

I live in Tipp and frequently visit Troy. The neighboring towns both have the advantage of being ideally located on I-75, but surrounded by corn fields as well

TAXES/HOMES/SITUATION
Because both are in Miami County, they'll have lower taxes than popular Montgomery County areas like Centerville, Kettering, Huber Heights, and Vandalia. Also, they both have lovely historic districts with the kind of Victorian homes you mentioned. And, both towns are very walkable.

HISTORIC DISTRICTS
Troy has a small first-run movie theater, several great restaurants (La Piazza is especially good for an Italian bistro feel), Hayner Culture Center, the public library, an Irish pub, an awesome throwback-style diner, an indoor ice rink, and a neat coffee/sandwich/ice cream shop called Night Sky.

Tipp misses out on the movie theater, but the downtown historic district has wonderful restaurants (Coldwater Cafe and Harrison's are great), a cozy coffeehouse with awesome desserts, a deli, a fun breakfast spot (Sam & Ethel's), lots of artsy/antique stores, the public library, barbershops, bars, a family-owned ice cream shop, pizza, two parks, an aquatic center, the high school's football/soccer stadium, and a corner grocery for last-minute items. On most Fridays during the summer, you'll find live music out on the sidewalk outside the Hotel Gallery, and several shops stay open late to accommodate the restaurant crowd. Great atmosphere!

SCHOOLS
Regarding schools, both districts are good. I'm not as familiar with Troy's system, but it is Division I in sports (the largest division in the area) and gets good academic ratings. Tipp is often praised throughout the state for its schools -- and especially the level of community pride/support that follows them. We have a brand new high school, VERY competitive sports, and some interesting academic options (like studying Mandarin Chinese at the high school level).

Note: if you're doing your homework on the Ohio Department of Education site, it should be noted that the school names are a little tricky.

Zip 45373 = Troy = Troy City Schools = Troy High School
Zip 45371 = Tipp = Tipp City Schools = Tippecanoe High School
and also
Zip 45371 = Bethel Township = Bethel Local Schools = Bethel High School

Tipp City proper goes to Tippecanoe. The neighboring rural area to the east goes to Bethel in an entirely separate school district. Just FYI!

SHOPPING & DINING OUTSIDE THE HISTORIC DISTRICTS
Okay, finally . . . convenience. Tipp is more centrally located, but both towns offer easy access via I-75 or I-70 to the Dayton International Airport (5 minute drive), Ginghamsburg Church (a popular megachurch), downtown Dayton (15-20 minutes on the interstate), etc.

Tipp itself offers the historic district plus an area near the interstate with Chin's China Grill (very popular, upscale); Hickory River Barbeque; a full-service grocery store; Subway, Taco Bell, Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Arby's, Frisch's (sp?), Bob Evans, etc.; banks; and a Holiday Inn Express.

Troy, just 3 or 4 miles north on I-75, offers all of the above plus Lowe's, Meijer, Super Wal-Mart, Staples, Outback, Applebee's, more hotels, Kroger, Blockbuster, etc.

If you go a little south from both communities along SR 202, you hit the northern part of Huber Heights which offers Elder Beerman (department store), Kohl's, Marshall's, Target, another Lowe's, another Staples, another Meijer, another Super Wal-Mart, Ruby Tuesday's, Hobby Lobby, Bed Bath & Beyond, etc. and Showcase Cinemas complex.

And, if you go south just an exit or two on I-75, you hit what we lovingly call "Restaurant Row." It's at the Benchwood exit in Vandalia, and they have many hotels along with literally every chain casual-dining restaurant ever made: Panera, Red Lobster, Joe's Crabshack, Outback, Don Pablo's, Tim Horton's, Olive Garden, etc.

And if, heaven forbid, that's not enough for shopping and dining options, you can shoot down I-675 to Fairfield Commons or the Greene in Beavercreek. Between those two mall areas, you'll find Macy's, Sears, Penney's, another Elder Beerman, Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Michael's, another Target, all the usual mall stores like Abercrombie and Banana Republic, and another long list of restaurants like Fleming's, Cheesecake Factory, Adobe Gilas, McCormick & Schmick's (coming soon), Potbelly, Brio Tuscan Grille, BD's Mongolian Grille, another Panera, Bar Louie, Cafe Istanbul, Mimi's, etc.

Seriously, it's a wonder we're not all maxed out on our credit cards and weighing 500 pounds with all these options!

SUMMARY
Well, if you eat too much, come back to your adorable Victorian in Tipp's historic district and walk it all off by heading up to the city park and then window shopping on your way back through Main Street. And, forget waiting for the school bus. Your kids can walk safely to Broadway Elementary. Swing by the farm market on Saturday morning. And, head out to Fulton Farms for fresh produce every day, all summer. Does life really get any better than this?

[penelopelp]

I agree with others that you should avoid Dayton Public Schools. If you live in Dayton, I would suggest the Catholic schools. I taught in Dayton Public for 5 years, and I wouldn't encourage my worst enemy to send their kids there.

[Crew Chief]

GREAT post, Smile42! (Even if my favorite breakfast spot; Tipp o' the Town wasn't mentioned!)

[faithwlkr]

My husband and I are also moving to the Dayton area and this forum has been very helpful..thanks so much. We are interested in 2-story homes and I have seen a lot in the Englewood/Clayton and Huber Heights areas in our price range, but schools are very important..do these have good schools? Are there any I should avoid? I looked at the report cards and some were very good, but a few were bad as far as scores, but I know that doesn't say everything about a school. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

[JefferyT]

If you are looking north and want good schools the Northmont school district has excellent schools. I am not sure where this district is at, though.

[wrightflyer]

Northmont draws from the cities of Clayton (rural or older suburban depending on where you are), Englewood, Philipsburg area, and Union. The district does well on tests, in sports, and other actvities. High school building seems older, but not in disrepair.

Huber Heights (Wayne High School) is a decent district, but probably a step down from where Northmont is. The town is a little more diverse in the economic background of its residents then parts of Englewood/Clayton. Still, not a bad place to live. Just a large number of working and middle class with most of the housing stock from the 1950's-1970's but still some growth.