Can anyone tell me about Oxford? (Cincinnati, Hamilton: school, university, camping)

[keylay]

Hello all,

I have a phone interview for a position in Oxofrd, Ohio tomorrow. I have browsed the city website and searched photos, but wanted to find out more information about it.

What is the atmosphere there like? With Miami University there, is a transient city, with students coming and going? It doesn't seem to be that large to begin with?

How far and how long does it take to get to Cincinnati? From Google Maps, it doesn't seem to bad of a drive.

What can I expect in terms of weather and recreation? I'm a big fan of mountain biking, hiking and camping. I'm also not a fan of TONS of snow, but can deal with it if need be.

Shed some light onto this possible future relocation.

[Ohio2112]

Oxford is definitely built to be a college town so the transient city atmosphere you describe is pretty accurate you can definitely see the difference in the town when Miami is in and out of session gets pretty quiet. The drive from downtown Cincinnati to Oxford is about 40 minutes depending on how long you spend on I-275. In terms of recreation there are a lot of people running and biking around the town and if you want to check out Hueston Woods which is located right near Oxford they offer a lot of what you are probably looking for. Snow is not too bad not TONS but a few inches every now and then

[Umbrous]

Oxford is a great town. Sure it's a college town, but its still has that small town feel. I was just down that way at Hueston Woods mountain biking this weekend. There's about 12 miles of riding with all levels of difficulty, and it has a nice lake with all sorts of things to do. You'll have about 35 miles of hiking available, as well as camping and a beach at the lake. Boating is limited to 10 HP, but you're close enough to Brookville Lake in Indiana if you have a larger boat.

As for snow, it's Ohio so you'll have a week or two of the thick stuff, but mostly freezing rain is more of an issue in this neck of the woods.

Don't know where you'd be moving from, but I'd suggest you visit and possibly camp at Hueston Woods, I think you'd like the area based on your hobbies. Also Cinci is close and it opens up virtually unlimited things to do.

[Daytonnatian]

Oxford is nice, but again, you'll be living with a bunch of crazy college students.

If you want urban, go to Hamilton. If you want suburban, go to Liberty twp., and if you want cheap, go to Colerain. Good Luck!

[aquila]

Originally Posted by keylay

Hello all,

I have a phone interview for a position in Oxofrd, Ohio tomorrow. I have browsed the city website and searched photos, but wanted to find out more information about it.

What is the atmosphere there like? With Miami University there, is a transient city, with students coming and going? It doesn't seem to be that large to begin with?

How far and how long does it take to get to Cincinnati? From Google Maps, it doesn't seem to bad of a drive.

What can I expect in terms of weather and recreation? I'm a big fan of mountain biking, hiking and camping. I'm also not a fan of TONS of snow, but can deal with it if need be.

Shed some light onto this possible future relocation.

Oxford is a moderately liberal town in the otherwise conservative Cincinnati metro area, so the atmosphere is basically one of openness and acceptance. That's probably due to it being a college town. The ambience of the town in the Summer varies somewhat significantly from the school season. During the school season, the town is actually quite lively and full of energy. During the Summer, it's more relaxed and quiet...less traffic, less noise (except for Music in the Park on Thursdays evenings during the Summer), and less of a "party energy" in the air. I actually like it both times of the year. Oxford has some quirky little shops and interesting places, and definitely feels larger than it actually is.

Depending on what part of Cincinnati you want to go to, the drive can be relatively easy or a pain in the neck. Oxford is roughly an hour's drive from downtown Cincinnati. Given its location in NW Butler county, it's much easier to go to Colerain Township for shopping, or Hamilton/West Chester/Liberty Township....places such as Bridgewater Falls or the VOA Centre.

As others have said, recreation options are pretty decent since you have Hueston Woods closeby.

As for snow, the weather patterns around SW Ohio vary a lot. There are times when places south and east of Cincinnati get much more snow than we do up here. Other times, Oxford gets hammered with snow, whereas I will only get a dusting...and I'm only 22 miles away to the southeast. This past Winter, places south and east of town saw more snow than we did up here in Butler County. So it all depends on how the storms track.

As a general rule, expect to get snow each Winter in Oxford, but don't expect "tons" of it....just a few storms each season that drop maybe 3-5" at a time.

You don't need to feel as though you have to live in Oxford just because you get a job there. There are other areas within a decent commute that you might like....Hamilton, Fairfield, West Chester, Monroe. The entire area is within a quick drive of several recreation areas where you'll be able to get your fix for camping, mountain biking and hiking....even canoeing, cross-country skiing and wakeboarding.

Originally Posted by Ohio2112

Oxford is definitely built to be a college town so the transient city atmosphere you describe is pretty accurate you can definitely see the difference in the town when Miami is in and out of session gets pretty quiet. The drive from downtown Cincinnati to Oxford is about 40 minutes depending on how long you spend on I-275. In terms of recreation there are a lot of people running and biking around the town and if you want to check out Hueston Woods which is located right near Oxford they offer a lot of what you are probably looking for. Snow is not too bad not TONS but a few inches every now and then

No offense (seriously), but it takes a lot longer than 40 minutes to get to Oxford from downtown Cincinnati. I live in West Chester, and it takes me 35 minutes to get there from here.