Possibly moving to Ohio, near Anna area?

[Ohioagain]

Thanks so much, WCRob, for giving us such a comprehensive overview of Sidney! We are planning a scouting trip up there this summer. We will be visiting several towns surrounding Dayton. Right now we're in Hampton, Virginia. What we're looking for is an older home in a small town that offers a farmer's market, good churches, community festivals, a Lowes, Walmart, and I don't fear going to the local grocery store. That is the problem with Dayton. I think I would fear just running to the local grocery store. It breaks my heart that Dayton has so many absolutely wonderful older homes in an area that is surrounded by crime and gloom. If they could clean up the city, people wanting to retire in a beautiful older home would relocate there. As it is right now, and has been for some time, we won't take the chance.

[Regula Fidei]

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Originally Posted by jrag

Whoever said Piqua is a nice city to live doesn't look around much or watch the news. I would stay away from Piqua and Sidney. Any of the smaller towns in the area are all real nice as well. If you like a larger than "village" town you might like Troy. The best school systems in the area are Versailles, Ft. Loramie, New Bremen, Anna, Minster...

I concur... I have lived in Piqua since 1977. Piqua is a very small town, has some nice people but the crime rate seems a bit high compared to other areas. As with any city there are those with a chip on their shoulder, and of course the typical good and bad areas. Yes, at one time, the KKK distributed flyers and had a parade. However, they are no longer active in such events any further (thank God). South Piqua is a place that is less than desirable to live in. I had lived in the south end for about 23 of those 30 years, and recently moved to the north section (much nicer). I do plan on leaving Piqua in the near future. This is due to economic reasons, and of course, my job is in the field of electrical/electronics, which the market is very, slim in this area (Mason, being one of the top areas for pay in my field). Piqua has Edison State Community College, which is a decent college for the money. They also have a JVS for high school students to learn a trade.

Piqua is desperately trying to reclaim their image (mostly wrecked due to poor management during the Knobby Cruse as Mayor Tenure) and have made a few advancements. These include a Fort Piqua Motel revamp, new bike path (which is nice BTW), new strip mall which includes a Wal-Mart, and Home Depot. There have been a few unsolved murders in Piqua and a few missing persons that still to this day have not been solved (10+ years). I think the Police department is mediocre, but certainly better than no enforcement at all. Not to induce panic, but I would feel uncomfortable walking in certain areas after dark in Piqua. While nothing bad has happened to me, I have had bad things happen to family members after nightfall in Piqua. (I am sure many cities also are susceptible to this). There are no rival gangs, mostly wanna-be gangsters that want to steal your hubcaps, or garage items (happened to me more than one occasion). A good rule of thumb for Piqua is, if you leave it, lock it. If you cherish it, lock it. If you can, find a house with off street parking in the Piqua area.

I did not see any stats on Sidney's crime rate, but I am positive it is slightly higher than Piqua and Troy. The thing to really look for if you have children is the school systems. Piqua is below the average as far as test scores, Sidney is similar. I have heard a few good things about the Northern Sidney schools (ie Lehman). Sidney seems to have a historical section, and would look nice if they took better care of the houses, but I attribute that to less than average wages (not able to afford the expenses). The construction contractors seem to overcharge for work in this area. Doctors also charge above the normalcy. Most often, I find that my insurance will often state charges are above the national average, and will either negotiate, or leave me with the bill. (Most typical of many places in Ohio I imagine).

Ohio has one of the largest unemployment rates, and one of the highest foreclosure raters in America. Sure, there are reasons behind this and not saying Ohio is a bad place to live, but I surely would not want to necessarily retire here.

I would recommend going further north to Anna. While Anna is a much smaller town, it would suit a good place for peaceful living for the most part. Troy is not a bad town, it seems to be growing more than Piqua, and Sidney combined. If you would want to change your job at Honda, you may find that Sidney and areas north might have more suitable positions than Piqua or Troy.

As a comparison for industry, Sidney has more places for employment than Piqua or Troy (industrial working with hands type of work) without trouble. The biggest issue of course is the lower than average wages, but you will have that even in the larger metropolitan areas. Some people like it in Miami/Shelby County, others loathe this area.

Honda is a nice place to work; my only concern would be what would happen if you no longer worked at Honda? Would you be able to comfortably live making less, or would it be easy to find a comparable job.

[Ohio4ever]

Originally Posted by Ohioagain

Hi, I have found Sidney's online homepage quite interesting and it sounded like a nice small community. We are looking to retire in Ohio and Sidney seemed to fit our desire for an older home in a nice community. Several posts I've read on small towns in Ohio seem to indicate it is not well recommended. Can anyone add any more insight into Sidney?

Hello, I have resided in Ohio all of my life, mainly more in the north eastern portion of Ohio and am fairly new to the areas which are near Botkins, Anna, Ft. Loramie, Sidney and surrounding villages. I have been in the area for almost two years now and I have to agree with some of the others when they say that the towns around this area are quaint and quiet. I think you would enjoy the towns in the area. It would be a very nice place to retire to or to move to raise a new family.

[Ohioagain]

Well, last summer we did take that drive up to Ohio to check out small communities North of Dayton. As far as Sidney goes, it's been taken off our list. The community really needs to roll up its sleeves and clean up their town. We drove around seeing plenty of men gathered on their porches, with their houses needing paint and their yards littered with junk. Really a sad disapointment to us. As I said before, they have an outstanding town web page and a beautiful downtown court house. It just doesn't reflect the true nature of that community.

[mapcat]

Originally Posted by Ohioagain

Well, last summer we did take that drive up to Ohio to check out small communities North of Dayton. As far as Sidney goes, it's been taken off our list. The community really needs to roll up its sleeves and clean up their town. We drove around seeing plenty of men gathered on their porches, with their houses needing paint and their yards littered with junk. Really a sad disapointment to us. As I said before, they have an outstanding town web page and a beautiful downtown court house. It just doesn't reflect the true nature of that community.

Are you still looking at Ohio? I agree that Sidney has seen better days, but if you're not tied to the western part of the state, consider Millersburg in Holmes County. It's in the heart of Amish country in Eastern Ohio (SW of Canton). Beautiful hills, quaint countryside, farmers markets, and lots of places to take relatives when they come to visit. There are many Amish farms: real working farms, not theme parks set up for tourists. Weekends during the summer and fall bring in lots of tourists, but the touristy stuff is so spread out that you're unlikely to find yourself trapped by them. Most of that is east of Millersburg anyway.

[anitak1982]

I am stunned at the responses about Sidney. I have lived in this town for 25 1/2 years and cannot say that this town is any worse than any other's I have visited. I love the small town feel and friendly atmosphere. For example: I went with my Mother to pay bills ones afternoon and they live in a suburb of Cincinnati, not one clerk spoke to her or seemed friendly. When you go to any of the surrounding stores, banks and such they get to know your face and will smile and be friendly in Sidney. Sure we could use some more restaurant choices but Sidney is not a bad place to live. The Sidney Christian Academy is a great school for a private school.

[anitak1982]

I posted to add, the only thing I wish we had more of is restaurants with more choices. Stores besides Kroger and Walmart to shop. But outside that this is a nice town. Anna, Botkins, Jackson Center are lovely towns as well.