Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Ohio > Dayton
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-26-2010, 10:42 AM
 
110 posts, read 260,612 times
Reputation: 148

Advertisements

My husband and I are moving to Dayton from southeastern Michigan. We are in our mid-twenties with two dogs but no children.

-Working at? Wright Patterson AFB area B

-Housing budget? $200k or under

-Commute time? 30 minutes would be okay but would prefer 15-20 minutes

-Schools? Since we don't have children schools aren't a high priority for us. However, we would prefer that the area schools have at least a decent reputation for the sake of future resale value.

-Home preferences? Good-sized, fenced backyard

-Preferred neighborhood environment? Suburban

-Community amenities? Nice public library, other young professionals, low crime, not sky-high taxes


Thus far we've been looking at Tipp City, Beavercreek, Miamisburg, Xenia, Huber Heights, Clearcreek Township, Kettering and Fairborn. Any thoughts on these areas? Any other areas you might recommend?

A couple more questions: Are there large bodies of water that permit boating relatively close to the Dayton area? Do the neighborhoods near the base suffer from a lot of noise pollution from the airplanes?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Last edited by Brie85; 05-26-2010 at 10:51 AM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-26-2010, 03:08 PM
 
Location: Miami Twp.
164 posts, read 379,275 times
Reputation: 134
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brie85 View Post
My husband and I are moving to Dayton from southeastern Michigan. We are in our mid-twenties with two dogs but no children.

-Working at? Wright Patterson AFB area B

-Housing budget? $200k or under

-Commute time? 30 minutes would be okay but would prefer 15-20 minutes

-Schools? Since we don't have children schools aren't a high priority for us. However, we would prefer that the area schools have at least a decent reputation for the sake of future resale value.

-Home preferences? Good-sized, fenced backyard

-Preferred neighborhood environment? Suburban

-Community amenities? Nice public library, other young professionals, low crime, not sky-high taxes

Thus far we've been looking at Tipp City, Beavercreek, Miamisburg, Xenia, Huber Heights, Clearcreek Township, Kettering and Fairborn. Any thoughts on these areas? Any other areas you might recommend?

A couple more questions: Are there large bodies of water that permit boating relatively close to the Dayton area? Do the neighborhoods near the base suffer from a lot of noise pollution from the airplanes?

Thank you in advance for your help!
I can't answer everything but wanted to say hello since my fiance and I are also in our mid-twenties and were from SE Michigan - Brighton and Novi, originally - before relocating to the area. I've been here for 3 years and her for 1 1/2 now.

Lakes - The closest big lake for boating, etc. is Caesar Creek Lake. It's about 30 minutes from Centerville/Bellbrook/Beavercreek and would be longer from the more northern suburbs.

Airplane Noise - Well I am a pilot so I'll admit to that bias right away, but I should note that the giant C-5 transports that fly out of WPAFB can be heard anywhere around here. Depending on the winds and the runway in use, you'll hear the unmistakable whine of those engines from time to time. That aside, it's not too noisy. We live less than a mile from Wright Brothers Airport (mainly used for general aviation traffic like personal planes and business - no airliners) and even here it's not distracting at all.

We bought our first house a little over a year ago in Miami Twp. (Miamisburg City Schools) and are very happy with the area. No kids either but the schools are rated good and it's a good area for resale down the road. From our house, the commute to WPAFB Area B is about 25 minutes.

During our house search we only looked at houses in the Beavercreek, Bellbrook/Sugarcreek, Centerville, Springboro, Kettering, and Miamisburg school districts. Ultimately, we decided on Miamisburg for a variety of reasons and felt it was a great area without the 'premium' you might pay for an identical house in Centerville, for example. To each their own...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-26-2010, 03:42 PM
 
12,060 posts, read 23,089,443 times
Reputation: 27159
I agree with the above poster re.cities to check out and will also add Oakwood to the mix, however it does have pretty high property taxes. Tipp City is also a nice little town. I would stay out of Huber, Fairborn and Riverside because their schools don't have a great reputation. I don't know anything about Xenia other than the fact that they just laid off four police officers (which is a lot for a small town), so I'm guessing they are having some money problems.

You used to be able to boat in Englewood at the reservoir, but I don't know if you can anymore. Not much local boating, so you need to trailer your boat to Caesar's Creek or Houston Woods State Park in Preble County. We have a lot of rivers, so there is a lot of local kayaking and canoeing, but not a lot of conventional boating.

My house lies in one of Wright pat's flight paths, so there can be a lot of noise, but you get used to it. It's not really a big deal--at least not for me.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-26-2010, 06:32 PM
 
Location: NKY's Campbell Co.
2,107 posts, read 5,052,888 times
Reputation: 1302
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brie85 View Post
My husband and I are moving to Dayton from southeastern Michigan. We are in our mid-twenties with two dogs but no children.

-Working at? Wright Patterson AFB area B

-Housing budget? $200k or under

-Commute time? 30 minutes would be okay but would prefer 15-20 minutes

-Schools? Since we don't have children schools aren't a high priority for us. However, we would prefer that the area schools have at least a decent reputation for the sake of future resale value.

-Home preferences? Good-sized, fenced backyard

-Preferred neighborhood environment? Suburban

-Community amenities? Nice public library, other young professionals, low crime, not sky-high taxes


Thus far we've been looking at Tipp City, Beavercreek, Miamisburg, Xenia, Huber Heights, Clearcreek Township, Kettering and Fairborn. Any thoughts on these areas? Any other areas you might recommend?

A couple more questions: Are there large bodies of water that permit boating relatively close to the Dayton area? Do the neighborhoods near the base suffer from a lot of noise pollution from the airplanes?

Thank you in advance for your help!
Hearing what you want out of a community, I'd recommend narrowing your search in no particular order to Tipp City, Beavercreek, Miamisburg, and Kettering.

First, why I'd eliminate the others (+ Oakwood, which was mentioned by another poster). Xenia, while having a decent township area, which is served by the wonderful Greene County Sheriff's Office, lags beacuse the schools are just ok. They seem to be improving, but still have a little ways to go. Huber Heights is the same way, school wise. Also, while parts of Huber are nice, parts also are suffering from the foreclosure crisis and are falling into disrepair. Fairborn, which probably has the school district in the worst state, can be rahter redneckish in parts, but the numerous rentals and many transient residents makes for some apathy. FYI, parts of Fairborn do go to Beavercreek schools but pay Fairborn taxes and have newer, suburban hosuing with decent lots, so that may be a possibility. Clearcreek Township, while nice, can be expensive, and you would have a longish to long commute for what you are looking for in a home. I'd rule out Oakwood (and maybe Centerville) due to high taxes. Also, for under 200K, you won't have a huge yard in Oakwood.

Now, for the ones I recommended. All have good qualities, and some rank higher in some areas than others. Beavercreek would be the closest to the base. While taxes can be a little high, they aren't as high as Centerville or Oakwood. The only district that is probably better on that narrowed list than Beavercreek would be Tipp City. Tipp's biggest drawback would be a 25-30 minute commute depending on weather and occasional accidents. Both Miamisburg and Beavercreek would get you either a smaller, new two-story home, or an older 60's/70's ranch with a larger lot. Kettering, while having smaller and older homes in a denser, inner-suburban setting, has plenty of parks and may have the best all-around character and offerings for the taxes. It's biggest drawbacks are some foreclosures brought on by the closing of Delphi and GM. Shopping and restaurants would be greatest in either Miami Twp/Miamisburg or Beavercreek.

Beavercreek, while being closest to the base, thus probably suffering from the most airplane noise, isn't inundated by it, as the flights are usually (or seem) far between. I've lived there for a while now and hardly notice it. Again, as someone said, depending on the runway in use, the planes sometimes run a little low by the Fairfield Commons Mall, due to final approach. Personally, I've never heard anyone here in Beavercreek (or the Dayton metro) complain about the aircraft noise.

Boating is usally done on Caesar Creek Lake at the state park of the same name. It isn't rather large (compared to the Great Lakes, or Lake St. Clair), so it can become somewhat crowded on nice summer days.

Hopefully, that narrows down your search a little bit. If anything, it's just the ramblings of a local. I hope you find what you are looking for, but hearing what you want, it shouldn't be to hard to get it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-26-2010, 10:07 PM
 
Location: Miami Twp.
164 posts, read 379,275 times
Reputation: 134
Quote:
Originally Posted by joe from dayton View Post
I agree with the above poster re.cities to check out and will also add Oakwood to the mix, however it does have pretty high property taxes. Tipp City is also a nice little town. I would stay out of Huber, Fairborn and Riverside because their schools don't have a great reputation. I don't know anything about Xenia other than the fact that they just laid off four police officers (which is a lot for a small town), so I'm guessing they are having some money problems.
I actually forgot Oakwood in my list - thanks for pointing that out. We did in fact look at some houses there last year.

There are definitely some nice areas north of town but for us (we work in Kettering and Riverside) staying on the east or south side made the most sense.

One other big thing down here (different from MI, at least) is that most cities have an income tax - Beavercreek is the notable exception. So if the city you live in has a higher tax rate than where you work, that's extra money that'll be taken out of every paycheck. I'm not sure what the rate is for those employed on-base but someone on here should be able to chime in with that information. Living in a township (as we do) means no city income tax. Not that it helps me since I work in Kettering and their 2.25% tax rate is one of the highest in the area, but I digress...
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-27-2010, 05:59 PM
 
8,228 posts, read 14,150,794 times
Reputation: 11225
Pretty much everything Wrightflyer said. I live across the street from Area B and work in Area A.
A couple of other tidbits. The C-5s are going away though not sure when, as are the Springfield ANG F-16s. So no appreciable air traffic from the base to worry about in a year or two. Personally I will miss the C-5s roaring over my place while beating up the pattern practicing touch n go's.
For resale, Beavercreek, Centerville seem to be where I see most military members buying/selling. Some also Springboro which is sort of far and for those military members who are originally from here they are more likely to go Kettering. There is also the small town of Enon. Sort of an outlyer suburb/small town. Nothing special but thought I'd throw it out there.
There are older parts of Beavercreek with fully grown trees and larger lots that are quite nice. If working with a realtor I would discuss that. Beforwarned that resale to military - well military tend to like brand new or almost brand new around other military members.
Xenia is on the way to Caeser Creek but the commute has a choke point and resale will be harder.
SugarCreek township and Bellbrook are nice. But the taxes are craaazzy. In fact in addition to checking the school ratings I suggest you do some digging and find out various taxes for the different areas. Property taxes here are nothing to sneeze at.
Last, there are parts of Vandalia that are nice, again older neighborhoods, larger lots. I talked to a realtor last summer based in Vandalia and he was freaking a bit about the market. So.....
Discuss the market here with your realtor. You hear a lot of "well we didn't have a bubble so we didn't have to much of a drop". True to a point but I think realtors and sellers are finding that things are still struggling despite the rosy picture the Dayton Area Board of Realtor portrays. There is lots of housing stock. If a realtor won't get down and dirty honest and commit to getting you a good price I might keep looking. A Capt couple turned around their house in Kettering recently and lost some money (they had it 2-3 years).
Dayton mls
http://www.dabr.com/

Local large realtor - Irongate Realtor has a pretty good search, just google

Links to all county assessors offices where you can look up a specific property, taxes, any sales, assessments. You'll probably be looking in Greene county most. Most of Dayton proper and Vandalia are in Montgomery. Springboro is partly in Warren and Tipp City is in Miami county.

http://www.gispilot.com/States/Ohio.html

Last edited by Giesela; 05-27-2010 at 06:26 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-03-2010, 07:25 PM
 
Location: AL
160 posts, read 629,236 times
Reputation: 52
Hey there - I work in Area B too and live in Fairborn. However, its the part of Fairborn that is near the Nutter Center, so off of Old Yellow Springs. It takes, max, 12 minutes door to door. Very convenient. There is a nice, newer subdivision called Faircreek Ridge. There are a bunch of homes for sale and for rent. Good luck.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-05-2010, 03:48 PM
 
6,351 posts, read 21,466,335 times
Reputation: 10007
Maybe someone can correct me with more current information, but I believe the C-5s at Wright-Patt will be replaced by the C-17 which has a turbofan jet engine similar to the C-5's and sounds a lot like it. I admit to being retired USAF, so jet noise has always been a plus rather than a minus for me... But I honestly believe it's something you get used to. I live in Washington Twp. and really like it there. The property taxes are somewhat higher than the cities, but townships are not able to tax income, so that, IMHO, pretty much makes up the difference.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2010, 10:42 PM
 
Location: Blue Ash, Ohio (Cincinnati)
2,785 posts, read 6,599,993 times
Reputation: 705
If you are looking for a suburban style environment, check into the suburbs of Kettering and Beavercreek, not far from WP. Great schools, good communities, and lots of shopping, eating, and great parks.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 06-06-2010, 11:04 PM
 
Location: Dayton Ohio
104 posts, read 312,348 times
Reputation: 70
A small note - there is also Eastwood Lake for boating. It's not as big as Caesar's Creek, but it's between downtown and WPAFB. Check out www.metroparks.org for info about kayaking, parks, etc.

What I'm about to say next is an observation from my work in Historic South Park. Most of our prospects fall into two categories - young professionals in their 20-30s and empty nesters who are 50+. Of the young professionals (YPs) I've talked to and in many cases rented to, it seems most have lived in Chicago at some point of their lives and were somehow steered to Kettering, either to the Greene or near the Fraza Pavillion. Those at the Greene often view it as fake or staged and prefer an authentic urban experience. Those anywhere near the Fraze will say across the board, they loved Kettering, but their neighbors were all very old - as in 70s & 80s old.

That being said, I know urban living isn't for everyone - but urban living doesn't have to mean downtown, central biz district without a yard or grass. South Park is a very diverse community - architecturally, culturally and socioeconomically - and we have a lot of WPAFB personnel living there because it's only a 10-15 minute drive. Some even ride their bikes to work.

It's a transitional neighborhood and has been hard hit by foreclosures, so it's not for everyone. But if you want to be part of something special, and if you want an active neighborhood, it might be a good option. Plus our anchor neighbors are all growing - the Univ of Dayton, Miami Valley Hospital, even (believe it or not), Woodland Cemetery. It was just announced Friday that the City received $950,000 from the state to redo the streetscape on Brown/Warren Street which is our western boundary. We are also part of a newly named Aerospace HUB Zone.

If you're interested, check out www.historicsouthpark.org
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Ohio > Dayton
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top