Small rural towns north of Dayton??? (Springfield, Xenia: for sale, houses, YMCA)

[Sweetardnas1885]

Hello everyone! We are playing with the idea of moving to Ohio (well back for my boyfriend). We are looking at the Dayton area. The other half wants to look to the north of Dayton. I just want a nice town that is family and pet oriented. I would love to have a few acres of land. A nice rural town outside of Dayton would be ideal. I want some place that would be a good place to ne day raise a family and my beloved huskies. Also how is the weather? Amy snow and how often does it snow? Where are the best rural places to live north of Dayton? Thanks for any help you guys can provide!

[wrightflyer]

These places are the ones you should check out: I-75 North gives you Tipp City and West Milton. More to the NE along I-70 West is Clayton (west of Englewood and North of I-70), Brookville, and Phillipsburg. Then there are the villages and townships around Miami County. I'm not as familiar with the areas outside those above but I've heard that they are beautiful countryside. These will be areas around Casstown, Laura, Pleasant Hill, and Ludlow Falls. While the first ones are closer to suburban areas and shopping, they still provide large tract lots and farms. All of them have at least above average to excellent schools and some provide facilities like YMCAs. There are towns further north, but if you are communting to Dayton, the drive might be hitting 30 min.

Also, the weather in Ohio is typically pleasant springs with rain and cool falls. Summers range in the 80's to low 90's and can be somewhat dry. Thunderstorms and small tornados come through every couple of years but none (except Xenia's) have been large. Straight line winds probably do more damage. Winters can be cold and gray from about Nov. to March and snowfalls can vary from only a couple of inches in one season to a few feet in others.

Like I said, I'm not as familiar with these areas but I do know that many of the small towns are beautiful, family friendly, and offer good schools. Good luck with your moving!

[Sweetardnas1885]

Thanks so much for the info. I can't wait to tell my Christopher! Oh, also, does anyone have any info about German town? From what I understand, it is a smaller town. How are the housing prices? Any land for sale for a good price? How many pets do they allow? I was looking at Troy too, but after finding that you are only allowed 3 dogs, I don't think so. we have 2 dogs now and we plan on getting a couple more (I want to show siberian huskies). Any advice would be great. Chris is now also looking to the south of Dayton. What do you guys think? Thanks!

[NLay]

If I were you and had quite a few dogs I would check into Brookville, its just west of 75 and very close to Dayton and its more a small town, and almost everyone there has quite a bit of land. My in laws live there and love it. Its a really nice quiet place.

[babyguke]

You could search the 'area' north of Huber on either 201 or 202. There are lots of houses along those routes and they all have land. They are close to Huber and to Tipp City so you would have easy access to things you needed. I think both areas are considered to be Tippecanue (sp?) schools.

[Sweetardnas1885]

Thanks so much for the responses...Please keep them coming!

[boo88tb]

How is Springfield? I may be moving to the MW from the SW also. I was curious to know how is the Springfield area?

[JefferyT]

Springfield is a dying industrial city, but it is picturesque in a gritty sort of way.

Pix of Springfield:

Rustbelt Reverie
Rustbelt Reverie

The Haunted Factory
The Haunted Factory

The areas around are nice. The next town north, Urbana, is really very nice, classic old Midwestern county seat town.

The area between Springfield and Dayton, which inculdes places like Enon and New Carlisle, and the villages of Medway and Donnellsville, are redneck.

[babyguke]

Springfield is very rough and schools are not good. Lots of crime.

[kingwaffle]

I'm from West Milton, so I can shed some light on the "northern" areas.

West Milton - Small, quiet town with ~4,900 people. Average school district...tends to be influenced by drugs and alcohol moreso than other school districts in the area. There are nice houses being built on the outskirts of town, probably in the 200K+ range. Lots of land available. Neat little downtown area with little novelty shops. Within 10 minutes of just about anything you need.

Laura - Smaller, ~2,000 people. No stores/shops...extremely quiet. Little growth.

Ludlow Falls - Similar to Laura...pretty quiet/stable. Some nicer homes are built in the rural parts of the town.

Potsdam - Really small (200 people). Almost no growth. About 5-6 churches.

(Note: West Milton, Laura, Ludlow Falls, and Potsdam residents all tie into the same school district) The Elementary and Middle schools are NOT broken up...so your children will all attend the same schools with the same people each year.

Tipp City - Very nice community. Schools are better than West Milton's, but house values are higher. There is more business in Tipp, but that's only because it sits on the highway. About 9,000 people.

Casstown - Not worth your time...really small. Brand new High School, but the district isn't very good. Probably pretty low land values.

Troy - Very good school district, but not rural. 30,000+ people, growing.

Brookville - Nice little community, much like West Milton. Average school district.

Union - Also, Much like West Milton...not as much business. Similar in size/School quality.