Areas near Wright-Pat (Dayton, Kettering, Fairfield: condo, income, rental)

[HIgirl]

My husband and I will be moving in a few months for a job at Wright-Pat. I have started looking into nearby areas that would be nice to live in. We do not have any kids - just a small dog. Any recommendations on nice, safe areas? I was looking into Beavercreek and Fairborn. Any thoughts on those two areas - or any other suggestions? We were thinking of renting/buying a house with a decent yard.

[wrightflyer]

What exactly is your price range. Both communities have a variety of housing options at different price levels and Beavercreek will be more expensive, possibly limiting your options.

I normally wouldn't recommend Fairborn. The place has some nice areas but the town is past its prime with a failing school district, a large number of rental properties, and a certain stigma (low income or redneck depending on how you look). If you want an older historic home, have no kids, and don't plan to start a family, then Fairborn has some of that north of its Main Street. Otherwise, all the new housing is small, cheap, and of cookie-cutter variety. Resale too can be a harder in Fairborn. Heck, a developer in Beavercreek built out a condo complex in 2-3 years at $120K+ and that same developer can't sell the exact same home in Fairborn's nicer side of town for $100K. And that's new.

What Beavercreek has that Fairborn doesn't is a stellar school district. The older homes tend to be ranches (1950's and 1960's) and colonials/tri-levels (1970's and 1980's). On the south side of US-35 between Shakertown to the north and Indian Ripple to the South and Fairfield to the west and Factory to the east, the Tara neighborhood is a wonderful example of this mix with lots full of mature trees. The newer sections, however, are larger and expensive homes from 400K+.

For newer housing in Beavercreek, most of the cheaper homes border I-675. I'd recommend Hunter's Point (Bandit Tr and Beaver Valley (cheaper)) and areas out towards the township (Hunter's Ridge, Stone Hill Village). Rentals can also be found in Beavercreek (most seem to be around the Fairfield Mall in Royal Gateway subdivision) but usually range from upper $1000's easily into the $2000's.

Finally, there are communities such as Kettering (older and schools aren't as nice as Beavercreek), Sugarcreek Twp. (expensive but lots of land), Centerville/Washington Twp. (maybe a little nicer then Beavercreek but 30 min from base and newer housing is farther).

Sorry that's long, but for a city Dayton's size there are numerous housing options. Especially between each suburb. If you have anymore questions, just send me a PM.

[HIgirl]

Thank you for all of the info Wrightflyer! Re: our price range - I think we are leaning more towards renting rather than buying. The max rent we would want to pay would be about $1,500. Since we do not have kids - the school system is not a priority. In talking to my husband, he said that he did not want a really big yard - but we do want a yard. From your post, Beavercreek, Kettering and Centerville seem appealing. Any areas in these three places that we should stay away from?

[Bjoy]

HIgirl, I live in Kettering. I have been here since '75 and grew up in Dayton. Kettering and Beavercreek would be more in your price range than Centerville, I beleive. Stay away from the Beavertown area in Kettering, also the area near Patterson and Woodman Dr. Look south of Dorothy Lane. Not sure about Beavercreek. Good luck, Bjoy

[wrightflyer]

The only place I'd be a tad weary of would be the area around Parkwood, on the west side of I-675. The homes tend to be older and its kind of cut off from the rest of Beavercreek. Thus, I think it gets some of the stigma that goes with Riverside (an ok, but for the most part lower middle class suburb w/ petty crime issues). Also the Concept subdivision. This is the neighborhood bi-sected by I-675 (Behind the shopping center at the NE corner of Indian Ripple and County Line). You can still see the orginal subdivsion on the county's property map before they put a highway through it. That has caused some of the home values to drop and people to not take as good care of their homes.

Kettering would be a good bet and from what I know, Bjoy has it down. Otherwise, most of Beavercreek's older neighborhoods are a mix of older couples, young families, and the occasional, albeit rare, house in need of TLC. Your best bet is too take a drive through neighborhoods and see how they are.

[Crew Chief]

HIgirl, I retired from the USAF and we live in Centerville/Washington Twp. I concur with all the advice above. We landed in Centerville mostly because of my wife's job teaching here. We love it here. $150,000 will get you a nice older home in a nice subdivision. Centerville's schools are rated "Excellent", which partly explains why the property values are somewhat higher than some of the surrounding areas. Much of Centerville/Washington Twp. has easy access to I-675, a straight shot to WPAFB. You have many great choices near WPAFB; welcome!

[HIgirl]

Thank you everyone with your great replies - very helfpul. Crew Chief - about how many minutes away is Centerville from WPAFB? I believe WrightFlyer said 30 minutes. We were also considering living on base; is housing on base or is it an off base location?

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful Independence Day!!

[islandFever]

Does anyone know how long the waiting list for base housing is (if there is a waiting list)?

[wrightflyer]

Opps, didn't realize that. Sorry

[wrightflyer]

I've been deleted. Opps.

Ok, base housing. From what I've seen on the base website, the majority of enlisted housing is off base but considered federal property. The base recently privatized this portion of the housing. Most of it is in new, townhome style units that were a huge upgrade to the area. The area, however, is in a somewhat grity area. I wouldn't call it unsafe, but there are plenty of nicer neighborhoods in other suburbs for decent prices. In terms of the offbase housing, a majority if not all of it is in the Mad River Schools. While the district recently built all new schools with state tax dollars, the improvements haven't done a ton with the test scores.

If your not in Mad River (all on base housing I believe), your children will be attending the Fairborn Schools. If there is any districts to avoid on this side of Dayton, it would be Fairborn. Due to a high number of rentals, the city finds little support for its school funding levies. Thus, the schools are being driven to the point where the state must step in and manage the district. That is a sure sign of a district to avoid. The other problem with being on base is the housing stock. It appears old and most are small (w/ exception to the large senior officer duplexes and few homes). Suburbs such as Beavercreek can offer newer housing or at least larger homes at decent prices in excellent schools. While property values have risen across the board, I'd expect another boom here when the base starts bringing in the BRAC positions in a few years.

If you have any more questions about Beavercreek schools, shopping, neighborhoods, or surrounding cities or suburbs, feel free to post back or send me a Private Message.